Greetings, fellow clerks!
A year has passed since you got your job at the Border Post. We’re sure all of you fulfilled your duty to the best of your abilities. But today we don’t have to work, it’s time to celebrate!
Check out our new accolades trailer:
Watch on YouTube
Honor Board
In this year we achieved a lot, all thanks to you! The Capital is proud of our citizens. THRESHOLD sold more than 30,000 copies, with more than 90% of players actually showing up on the job! (we have our eye on you, slackers). We also got more than 1000 reviews, with 86% being positive, for which we are endlessly grateful.
Let’s take a look into YOUR achievements now! Spoiler warning, if you haven't completed the game yet!
- Almost 85% of you saw the contents of the endless train.
- ~38% of you fixed everything that needed fixing in your workplace. Admirable diligence! And ~40% actively took part in destroying it. No comment on that.
- 15% of you decided not to ask any questions to the Capital. Ignorance is bliss. And only 7.8% were exceptionally curious and asked about everything, straining the patience of your higher-ups.
- A bit less than 10% of you broke the chains of the working class, disabled the Capital communication room for good.
- 38.7% managed to reverse the train and stop this cruel process, albeit only in part.
- 13.5% let the train continue its ride, no matter the consequences.
- 27,5 fled to the mountains, saving your life. The dam is beyond saving anyway,
And, most importantly of all!
- 13.3% of you befriended Duckey and saved it from the Border Post’s fate!
Behind the Post
We also wanted to share some inspirations for THRESHOLD. The whole idea of the game, from the counter at the end to dead bodies flooding the Border post was taken from some websites, visualising the consumption of resources by humanity.
What if every plastic bottle people buy fell on you? Well, you can see it here. It was a very general inspiration. To show the actual scale and speed with which we burn through resources.
And the animal counter at the end of the game is based on another site:
It just showcases numbers for animals killed. This website focuses only on the US, but in the game the number actually changes with each country, according to its own stats.
It is important to note that the game never intended to accuse anybody of cruelty. This is just how our world functions, whether it’s bad or not. It just shows statistics, and, just like with any piece of art – it's more about asking the question, rather than preaching you on something.
Pathologic
But enough about interpretation! Let’s talk gameplay. The main inspiration for the game’s feel was Pathologic – a 2005 game about surviving in a rural town in the middle of the epidemic. It has a slow, even sluggish, uncomfortably pressing atmosphere that keeps you on the edge without showing much.
Most of the gameplay is as simple as getting from one part of the town to another. And most of the time it isn’t even that difficult. But the path lets the atmosphere sink in. Every infected house is full of suffering, people are hopeless and desperate, and nobody knows how to save their loved ones from the incurable disease.
The idea was to capture this atmosphere and make it a slow-burn horror, making you ask frightening questions. Why is the train endless? What’s that important in it to have people maintain its pace 24 hours a day? What’s special about the water? THRESHOLD is supposed to give each idea some time to breath, while not giving this luxury to the player.
And that is all for now! We are very grateful for the warm welcome the game received, all the kind words in reviews and on social media, this is great to feel that so many people liked this game. Now, let’s see what the future holds!
As always…
The country salutes its worker heroes!
Take care.
Julien Eveillé & CRITICAL REFLEX
