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Dev Update February 2023

Hello starlight dreamers and holofeed viewers! The Long Journey Crew is back with another update for February 2023.

To kick off the excitement, the entire story of Long Journey is fully in the game! We’ve been playing through, fixing bugs, and drumming up ideas for future development as well. And speaking of playing through…

The Closed Beta Test will be going out this March! If you selected this Kickstarter Reward tier make sure you keep an eye on your email from the Long Journey team.

Also, backers who selected the Design-an-NPC reward should have already gotten their emails regarding that reward. We’ve been so excited to get that sent out to everyone. Can’t wait to see all of the exciting and diverse NPCs that get added in! (Please no “Journey McJourneyFace” though 😉) In addition to that, we’ve got another exciting reveal...

The Spaceship Miniatures have arrived and they’re ready for takeoff! This awesome miniature was also part of our backer rewards so make sure to double-check your tier and see if you’ll be getting one of these exclusive collectibles.

Continuing with the reveals, we’ve started sharing some of the amazing Voice-Over actors for our crew and characters on our TikTok and Twitter feeds. You can check out our VO actors for Aylah and Matias as we share more in the coming months!

Well, that’s it for February's updates. If you’re looking for more exclusive updates and a chance to chat with other fans and developers, check out our Discord channel for the game!

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Stay safe and keep flying, Crispy Creative

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Time flies when you are visiting somewhere new 👀 Wishlist

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Customize your holographic form, chat with your crew, and complete jobs to gather resources! Learn more

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Guide your crew into taking the best choices for your long journey through your galaxies 🚀

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Be honest: what type of person are you?

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Zeke’s role as the ship’s cook was one of the first the team came up with. Out of everyone, her character has the most inspiration from family. “In Becky Chambers’ Wayfarer series, there’s a wonderful character who’s the doctor/cook onboard called (appropriately) Doc Chef,” says Creative Director Kylan Coats. “Cooking has always been an intrinsically intimate act; providing nourishment for others to live. Doc Chef occupies a unique role of not only a preparer of meals, but also a therapist and general caregiver for the crew. That role, while not as action-packed as say a pilot, is crucial for long voyages and one I definitely wanted to have in our game. Zeke is named after his great-aunt Zera, whom his family called ‘Aunt Zeke’ or “Na-naw.” She loved to cook and was a wonderful character in her own right. Zeke is also inspired by the friends and extended family members who have left high-performing and high-energy careers in business to pursue more artistic careers like cooking; who feel they can do more good in the world by baking over entering law, like Maggie Gyllenhaal’s character in Stranger Than Fiction. Regarding Zeke’s design, her standout bionic arms and backpack were inspired from illustrations by Josan Gonzalez.

“When I first saw the arms it clicked that our ship’s cook would absolutely have something similar. The visuals of an extra set of hands, and the self-reliance they implied, were incredibly engaging and uniquely sci-fi,” says Kylan. “From what I’d seen from my own family and friends, leaving high-energy careers behind didn’t mean the high-energy went away. Anyone who’s seen a professional kitchen can testify to their organized chaos. Zeke’s bionic arms are an extension of her need to always be doing something; maintaining a whirlwind of prepping and creating meals. It’s also representative of her desire to be self-sufficient; not relying on anyone else to do double the work another person would.” To be constantly busy means to live in the moment, leaving little room for reflection or contemplation. Allowing people to avoid confronting or dealing with issues is sometimes an accidental byproduct of this. It’s not uncommon to hear of people throwing themselves into work or hobbies following tragedies, and this is a core aspect of Zeke’s character. “Like the friends she’s based on, it made sense she would direct all of her energies outward, and those who are solely focused outward often do so to their own detriment,” says Kylan. “This led to Zeke’s bubbly attitude and eagerness to engage with the player and crew. The flip side of that is her caginess and subtle pivoting questions away when the attention is focused on her. It’s a really interesting dynamic to work with. Some of our narrative team have strongly gravitated to her character, which makes me feel like we created someone really authentic!”

But just who is Zera Hakkimirez? 31-years-old and a master chef, Zeke, as she prefers to be called, is a whirlwind of positivity and kindness aboard the hectic ship, offering warmth, food, and an extra hand (or four) for the rest of the crew. Like most of her crew, a childhood rooted in trauma follows her to every corner of the galaxy, with respite from her thoughts a rarity. But Zeke has her crew now, and a job to do. Using her duties and the wellness of her crewmates to distract herself from her anxieties and her past, Zeke keeps moving, keeps working, and stays busy. For Zeke, food has become the answer to every problem, and she uses her natural cooking talents (with the help of her bionic arms) to bring people together, because nothing breaks down barriers like a good feast and full bellies. Generosity, kindness, and an overwhelming sense of duty to help others are key tenets of her personality. When your crew is *this* crew, a kind heart and a caring soul on board is no bad thing.

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A Long Journey to an Uncertain End

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Meet Arya! Our pup is now immortalised as C.O.R.G.I., the holo-dog AI in our LGBTQ+ game! 

ISN'T SHE BEAUTIFUL?! Please meet Arya, our delightful little Pembroke Welsh corgi puppy, and the stunning inspiration for the holo-dog C.O.R.G.I. in our super inclusive, LGBTQ+ focused sci-fi narrative strategy game, A Long Journey to an Uncertain End.

C.O.R.G.I. is low-key the star of the show in A Long Journey, I mean, how could ze not be, look at that image? C.O.R.G.I. is your Comprehensive Operational Responsive Graphical Interface. While not really a dog in the old-fashioned sense of the word, C.O.R.G.I. does have all the characteristics of zeir organic counterparts: loyal, trusting, and always with your best interests in mind - the rest of the crew being a close second. As you can probably guess, yes, C.O.R.G.I.'s loving attributes are also inspired heavily by Arya, our IRL corgi. You can't tell us you wouldn't immortalise your pets in the same way. :'D

Aylah is such an important character to us and is rare to see in video games. If you are interested in an LGBTQ+ spaceship management narrative game with inclusivity as a foundation, from a diverse development team then please do go and wishlist on Steam here: https://bit.ly/3V1gSag

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A Long Journey to an Uncertain End

Wishlist on Steam

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Meet Matias Vidala, AKA Gloria Borealis

Creative Director Kylan Coats’ creation of Matias Vidala was inspired by a combination of several people and situations, including a bombastic neighbor and friend, a couple of both new and experienced drag queens, and the struggle of aspiring actors in Los Angeles. “From the beginning I wanted to have a drag queen crew member in some form or fashion. Dressing in drag is such a quintessentially queer and powerful act. And it fits into the space opera genre so well (see drag-adjacent Ruby Rhod in the Fifth Element)!” says Kylan.

“Drag queens tend to have big personalities both on and off-stage so they’re a perfect foil for more subdued crew members like Aylah or Truly. With drag there’s also a bit of sketchiness always on the periphery; the same that accompanies most subversively creative endeavors. So imagining a drag queen on the run was a fairly easy idea. As with most of our characters, we try to subvert people’s expectations on what they would be good at. Anyone who’s been to drag shows can testify to how physically strenuous the performances can be. Just like everyone else, queens come in many shapes and the idea of a big beefy queen for our Muscle skill was quite compelling.”

Kylan’s initial inspiration for Matias is a “former neighbor and friend who has such a wonderful personality. He’s a beefy gay man who came out later in life, his deep voice is husky from a long history of smoking and flavored by a sometimes thick Argentine accent.” “The first time I met him he towered over me dressed as Frida Kahlo at a Halloween party. While that was as close as he ever came to drag, when I was coming up with crew members, he was at the top of my mind for someone I’d want onboard.”

“For the real-life drag queens, one of them is a wonderful person who actually performed at my wedding,” says Kylan. “In the time before the wedding, he’d mention how he felt he was getting too old to compete with the younger queens (he was just a few years older than myself). The amount of energy and drive to keep performing and creating night-after-night was definitely intimidating. It lined up, to a lesser degree, with stories I’d heard from many small-time and aspiring actors in Los Angeles.”

But just who is Matias Vidala? A 44-year-old male performer/former drag queen, Matias Vidala is larger than life, both in his broad stature, and his vivacious personality. A born performer, Matias has always struggled to strike the perfect balance between his bulky, barrel-chested outer appearance and his delicate inner diva. Following a short-lived career as the unique “Gloria Borealis”, his pyrotechnic drag persona which involved third degree burns and the odd audience member, Matias may or may not be on the run and/or doing a revival tour of his fiery show. Kind, encouraging, but with absolutely no room in his big heart for criticism of a performance, Matias is quick to anger and even quicker to tears, he’s the epitome of “all bark, no bite”. Life is a show for Matias Vidala, and this big queen is the star. There’s no point debating that with him, trust us.

If you are interested in an LGBTQ+ spaceship management narrative game with inclusivity as a foundation, from a diverse development team then please do go and wishlist A Long Journey to an Uncertain End here: https://bit.ly/3V1gSag

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A Long Journey to an Uncertain End trailer

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A Long Journey to an Uncertain End Demo Gameplay

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Meet Aylah Tress, our wonderful mechanic!

Aylah was heavily influenced by two people that Creative Director Kylan Coats knew: a friend, former hairstylist, and flamboyant storyteller, and an intimidatingly brilliant former boss. “The hairstylist, a gay Jewish man from Brooklyn who was in his early 20s in New York City during the AIDS epidemic, always had some wisdom to share; some response to everything,” says Kylan. “On one visit I remarked how he always had a response to everything. He leaned in and told me, ‘Hard to believe, but I wasn’t born this fabulous. You used to learn these things from your elders.’ As I listened to my friend talk about New York in the 80s before AIDS, I started to realize just how big of a loss our queer family has taken.”

The second person, Kylan’s former boss, is “one of the few mentors I’ve had who really catapulted my personal and professional growth. I’d watch her navigate outright hostile work situations with a degree of empathy and shrewdness I haven’t seen since. Within all of this piercing intellect, there also seemed to be a bit of hippy, flower-power energy from somewhere long ago. This was an ardent, hopeful energy that had stood the test of time somehow.” And that’s how Aylah was born -- as an embodiment of the loss and hope of these two extraordinary people. She is an homage to the painful past of the LGBTQ+ community, a recognition of a generation lost to the AIDS epidemic -- and a hopeful advocate for a better world.

Aylah is such an important character to us and is rare to see in video games. If you are interested in an LGBTQ+ spaceship management narrative game with inclusivity as a foundation, from a diverse development team then please do go and wishlist on Steam here: https://bit.ly/3V1gSag

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A Long Journey to an Uncertain End Trailer

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C.O.R.G.I. moods

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A Long Journey to an Uncertain End game trailer