Dev Diary #66: Luckless Seven is now Freeborn

Today, we’re bringing you the last-ever update on Luckless Seven. (Record scratch.)

Because Luckless Seven is now Freeborn.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/433370/Freeborn/

Why we're changing the name

We’ve been on this journey for a long time. (Historians debate the actual origins of the game, but a Google doc titled “Card game 2012” indicates the game has been in progress for a whole decade.) And as we approach the final stages of development, marketing is becoming a top priority. Few things are as important as the name.

But in the decade since we started conceiving of Luckless Seven, things have changed in how indie games are distributed, promoted, and found. Our attention spans are shorter than ever, and indie gaming is more crowded – both in general, and in our immediate namespace. Check Steam and you’ll find names as similar as “Unlucky Seven” – not to mention a number of sixth sequels!

As we looked to ramp up our marketing efforts, we knew we wanted to stake out a new space with our name:

• Something with two or three syllables max, and preferably one word.

• Something that captured a key theme of Mark’s journey and the story broadly.

• Something with a less crowded namespace.

After a lot of exploration, we found a name that checked every box: Freeborn. And we’re so excited to continue development, share updates more frequently, and finally release the game under the new name.

So, that’s the big news. But what’s actually going on in development?

This sketch became the finished piece shown above, of Mark in his bedroom.

Dev progress

Progress continues on the last few environments of the game which encompass different areas of a massive cruise ship. The cruise ship exterior is mostly complete, and Jesse has done a great job completing almost all of its interiors! As you may know already, the cruise ship is owned by some less than reputable people, so don’t let your guard down as you make your way through the luxurious scenery.

A spacious, luxurious cruise ship lobby and room entrances.

Luxury settings for high-rolling VIPs.

The inner lair: where bad dudes retire to eat and play.

Besides the in-game environments, we’re continuing to expand and round out some art assets to showcase the game world. Below is the latest game art we’ve completed. We are overjoyed at the gag of Mark’s dresser being filled with identical shirts/jackets. #justprotagonistthings

Mark Vesco, our hero and protagonist, at the start of his journey.

We’ve also decided to do some additional revamps of older NPC portraits. Over the years, we’ve received feedback on how Mark and his parents look very different. As we were working on the redesigns to Mark’s appearance, we thought it was only fair to update his parents as well. Below is some work in progress development of their new look.

A preview of the new portraits for Mark's parents.

And we even decided to give the Ekosi trainer, TylerBot, a reboot to match the current appearance of his IRL inspiration: our writer, Tyler! (Editor’s note: Tyler insists this portrait is a “too chadly” rendition of him, but we think it’s perfect.) Great work as always by our artist, Emma Salamanca.

TylerBot's glow-up. So handsome!

And on a final note, here's some nightmare fuel:

PhotoShop's content-aware fill offers new body horror. Wishlist or this