Developer Statement

COG IS NOW RELEASED! 

COG is our O2A2 2026 game jam submission, made in 10-days through the power of grit and a few tears and will retail for $2.99 with a Steam build coming at some point in the not-too-far-off nebulous future.

Why are we charging for such a short game when similar games from our catalog like TOY BOX and PIG are free? 

Well... because we believe games are art, and art has value! 

We love supporting other creators by buying their work, and if we want to keep creating ourselves, we have to let our work support us, too. 

When you purchase one of our games, you are helping to sustain a team of independent creators and make it possible for us to keep making art we believe in.

COG is a game about burnout and the pressure to be constantly producing until there's nothing left to give. The message that our worth is measured only by how much we provide or achieve is ubiquitous in society. We are all caught up in a system that rewards exploitation.

Every product you interact with exists because someone, somewhere, gave a piece of themselves to create it, whether that be their time, energy, health, skills, or passion. How much should we expect them to give... and at what cost?

When does ambition stop being fulfilling and become just another form of obligation? When does the pursuit of more, more, more become a distraction from what is already enough?

What do you consume? What does that consumption ask of others? What do you expect from the people around you? What do they expect from you? What do you expect from yourself?

How much of your identity is tied to your productivity? 

Because here is maybe the most important question:

If you stopped producing today, what remains? What gives your life value beyond what you contribute to society?

As with all our games, we're not here to tell you what the right answer is, but we hope this game encourages you to reflect on your place within that seemingly endless cycle of consumption and production.

..........and because of all that, we also believe that access to art should not be restricted exclusively to those who can afford it. Art is fundamental to the human experience, to helping us all learn and grow and become better citizens of the world. We don't want financial circumstances to be the only thing standing between someone and an experience that could resonate with them.  

The world is kinda shitty sometimes, and the economy is not Doing So Great, so there is never any expectation to support us financially, and in fact, there are so many different ways you can support us:

• You can watch streamers play our games!
• You can join our Discord and wait for announcements about when we'll be dropping free Community Copies!
• You can participate in fan creation contests when we host them, where we give away free copies!
• Did you experience one of our games through any of the above means and you had fun? Leaving reviews like and ratings helps support us too, because it improves our visibility on Steam and itch.io algorithms! 

No matter how you experience the stuff we make, we're happy to have you in our little ant colony, DEADliner! 

Thanks for sticking around. <3

- notafish