Final Version and Post Mortem

Hi there,

today I’m releasing Version 1.11, which marks what I consider the final version of The Empathy Algorithm. This update focuses on polishing the experience and making the game accessible to more players around the world.

What’s new in 1.11

• Improved performance (this should reduce issues on slower PCs causing the game to "stutter")

• Added Japanese fan translation (done by "RabbihornRhino" / らびりの)

• Various minor fixes and stability improvements

Looking back - a "Post Mortem"

When I started working on The Empathy Algorithm, I just wanted to create a small little game to learn coding and "get my feet wet". I haven't expected how much fun I had creating it and I'm really happy with the final product and with what I have learned. Also it feels great to have people from all around the world playing my game and giving feedback. 500+ downloads in the first two month (from Ghana, Vietnam to Bolivia...) 38 reviews / 86% positive about 25% of players did a second playthrough

What went well:

• The core concept resonated with players more than I expected

• I gained a huge amount of skills and learned so much, thanks to a great community and incredibly useful feedback! Thanks to everyone!

• The atmosphere and writing landed the way I had hoped

• I had incredible help from passionate voice actors (Lauren Pak, Soli Adna, Elissa Park and Nao Yuudai) and with a japanese translation (Rabbihorn Rhino / らびりの). This game wouldn't be the same without them!

What didn’t go as planned:

• I wish I had spend more time with planing ahead.

• Underestimating how long polish and bug fixing would take

• I really need better time management

• Not all parts of the creation process are fun Steam post image

Thank you

I want to thank everyone who played the game, left a review, reported bugs, or simply spent time thinking about it. This project means a lot to me, and seeing people engage with it made all the difference.

What’s next? ----> GRIDBREAKER!

Currently I am working on my next game, "Gridbreaker" Right now, I am learning Godot. ("The Empathy Algorithm" was done with Ren'py). "Gridbreaker" will be a hybrid between Visual Novel and Roguelike Stealth Dungeon Crawler. You play as Kiara "White Rabbit" Denker, a cyber criminal in Hamburg 2097, who fights against a rogue AI named "Alma" to rescue a friend that she thought had died 9 years ago. Hack systems, unveil a conspiracy and answer the question: How much would you sacrifice of yourself for a friend?

Version 1.11 feels like the right place to close this chapter.

Thank you for being part of it.

— ZEITGEISTLABOR