Hello dear followers,
Today, it's a special announcement! It's been a bit more than a year since Zefyr's release, and during this time, I've been updating and fixing it, but also trying to prepare what will come next. And today I can finally share with you the brand new Steam page of my next game: Yashi - Sand Driver.
This will hopefully push the game a bit more in the mysterious grand Steam machinery.
Here's the pitch: in an endless desert, you are Yashi, a lone survivor... until this radio signal changes everything. Jump in your van with your faithful coyote, drive across the wastelands, survive the heat, scavenge resources, craft tools, fight the elements & find your way to New Eden in this feel-good road trip.
I'll let you check the Steam page for more details.
Well, developing Zefyr has been a quite difficult journey 😅. I wanted something simpler to keep my sanity. Furthermore, despite the very nice reviews and decent sales for an indie game, I'm still very far from breaking even, so I need to make a game faster with a more viable business model (or even just with a business model at all... 😁) if I want to keep making games. So, smaller scope, faster dev, different setting, but... same vibe 👇!
Well not explicitly or in the lore/world. However, you'll find the same mood and feel-good atmosphere that you may have loved in Zefyr. And now that I look at it from a broader perspective, in Zefyr you sail the Ocean on a turtle to explore islands. In Yashi, you drive in the Desert with your coyote to explore unknown places. There's definitely a common theme here.
In a way, Yashi is the "Journey" of my Zefyr/Abzu. It wasn't on purpose, but it definitely seems like it 😊.
That's the intent indeed. I aim at something between 2 and 4h of play, that you can complete in one play session. Of course, it will come at a lower price too. The progress should be more free and less linear than in Zefyr, giving Yashi some elements of sandbox (no pun intended 😁) where you discover and upgrade at your own pace. Expect no NPC, no dialogs, no quests, no enemies, just a simple goal, a cute companion, and free exploration. I know that Zefyr story was a bit weak, so I chose to keep it to environmental narration here. Let's focus!
Don't worry, I still plan a few fixes and quality of life updates thanks to all your feedback. I'll do my best to juggle between these and the dev of Yashi.
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As always, thanks a lot for your amazing support, and see you soon.
Have a great day, take care!
Peace.
Mathias, the dev