Town of Salem is back in business

[BlankMediaGames]

Hello everyone!

I am the co-founder of BlankMediaGames and I am pleased to announce the creation of our stand alone Mafia video game called Town of Salem. It is currently in alpha testing and we are getting ready to launch our kickstarter. Dark Revenant wants to make sure the discussion of this game stays within this thread.

Before everyone starts asking questions that were answered in our thread of 6 months ago, go check it out: https://www.sc2mafia.com/forum/showth...em-Kickstarter

Here is our tech demo video (ignore kickstarter instructions): https://goo.gl/9WQV8Y

Follow us on facebook: https://goo.gl/TUIbbM
and on twitter: https://twitter.com/TownOfSalemGame

Stay up to date and get news on the games kickstarter progress. Feel free to post any questions in this thread and I will answer them.
Thanks everyone and have fun playing Mafia!

[Bruno]

Not investing this time.

[BlankMediaGames]

Well thats too Bad Bruno, we already have an investor backing us for $5000 so we aren't completely relying on the Kickstarter to get the game done but more money means more features and more polish. We hope that when you see the kickstarter youll come around

[Orpz]

yay

[Aldaris]

I have a few questions.

1. What differentiates mechanics-wise town of salem vs sc2 mafia?
2. Are you going to implement any features from epic mafia?
3. How will games be played? Will there be a lobby leader like in sc2 mafia or something elae?

[Mateo]

Well thats too Bad Bruno, we already have an investor backing us for $5000 so we aren't completely relying on the Kickstarter to get the game done but more money means more features and more polish. We hope that when you see the kickstarter youll come around

What polish? The interface is simple text and buttons. Graphics are completely aesthetic

[BlankMediaGames]

yay

1.) First, we have two new roles (the retributionist and the medium) which offer new mechanics with the game involving the graveyard which will give players who have died more incentive to stay around and finish the game. This will not be the last of the new roles that we add, we will continue updating and adding new roles to the game.

Secondly, Citizens and Detectives have been removed. Detectives are very similar to Lookouts but had a weaker ability and the Citizens were not exciting to play. We understand that some people may not support this decision but we feel it will improve the gameplay.

Bodyguards now have one bulletproof vest which helps during the first night when noone knows who anyone else is. It sucks to defend a Mafia member from a serial killer and forfeit your life.
For a similar reason Doctors have been given one self heal. They can choose to use this on night one when they aren't sure who to protect or they can save the self heal for when they out themselves as the towns doctor (and are most likely to be attacked that night).

The Jester can choose who they want to kill among their guilty voters instead of having it be random. It's just more fun to choose who dies

2) We have only played a few games of epic mafia. Are there any particular features you would like to see implemented?

3) Since we aren't going through SC2 there is no "double lobby" scenario. We have one lobby at the start where the roles list can be chosen. There will be a lobby leader that chooses which roles to add to the roles list for the game.

Additionally we have houses in this game with customization options and different towns as well. You don't have to keep looking at the same zone/town every time.

[Bruno]

1.) First, we have two new roles (the retributionist and the medium) which offer new mechanics with the game involving the graveyard which will give players who have died more incentive to stay around and finish the game. This will not be the last of the new roles that we add, we will continue updating and adding new roles to the game.

Secondly, Citizens and Detectives have been removed. Detectives are very similar to Lookouts but had a weaker ability and the Citizens were not exciting to play. We understand that some people may not support this decision but we feel it will improve the gameplay.

Bodyguards now have one bulletproof vest which helps during the first night when noone knows who anyone else is. It sucks to defend a Mafia member from a serial killer and forfeit your life.
For a similar reason Doctors have been given one self heal. They can choose to use this on night one when they aren't sure who to protect or they can save the self heal for when they out themselves as the towns doctor (and are most likely to be attacked that night).

The Jester can choose who they want to kill among their guilty voters instead of having it be random. It's just more fun to choose who dies

2) We have only played a few games of epic mafia. Are there any particular features you would like to see implemented?

3) Since we aren't going through SC2 there is no "double lobby" scenario. We have one lobby at the start where the roles list can be chosen. There will be a lobby leader that chooses which roles to add to the roles list for the game.

Additionally we have houses in this game with customization options and different towns as well. You don't have to keep looking at the same zone/town every time.

No citizens? How are detectives anything LIKE lookouts? You mean investigators? Detectives get pairing, requires more DETECTIVE WORK, instead of being investigator and getting an instant confirmation.

On a scale of 1 to 10, please select your casual level here:

Also, is ThinkLiveLife your anonymous 5 grand donor? Is he doing it in exchange for moderator? Don't trust him.

[oops_ur_dead]

Secondly, Citizens ... have been removed.

[Mugy]

1.) First, we have two new roles (the retributionist and the medium) which offer new mechanics with the game involving the graveyard which will give players who have died more incentive to stay around and finish the game. This will not be the last of the new roles that we add, we will continue updating and adding new roles to the game.

Secondly, Citizens and Detectives have been removed. Detectives are very similar to Lookouts but had a weaker ability and the Citizens were not exciting to play. We understand that some people may not support this decision but we feel it will improve the gameplay.

Bodyguards now have one bulletproof vest which helps during the first night when noone knows who anyone else is. It sucks to defend a Mafia member from a serial killer and forfeit your life.
For a similar reason Doctors have been given one self heal. They can choose to use this on night one when they aren't sure who to protect or they can save the self heal for when they out themselves as the towns doctor (and are most likely to be attacked that night).

The Jester can choose who they want to kill among their guilty voters instead of having it be random. It's just more fun to choose who dies

You are going to be ridiculed so much for this...

[ika]

need lightkeeper.

unfortunately, need citizens or game is just mass role call it has been statistically proven without citizens a mass roll call will result in town wins about every time

[Slaol]

You are going to be ridiculed so much for this...

Nah, who needs balance?

Do Doctors still have the option to self heal?

[ika]

Nah, who needs balance?

Do Doctors still have the option to self heal?

For a similar reason Doctors have been given one self heal. They can choose to use this on night one when they aren't sure who to protect or they can save the self heal for when they out themselves as the towns doctor (and are most likely to be attacked that night).

...

[BlankMediaGames]

I see you guys have alot to say about the citizens subject haha. If it becomes a problem it won't be any work to add them back in but we are trying this out. Maybe you are right and we need them, that will come up in beta testing.

The 5k investor won't be getting any benefits in-game or on the website/forums so don't worry about that

[BlankMediaGames]

The website is back up! We also created some Forums for people to post on as well. Feel free to check them out: www.blankmediagames.com/phpbb/ We aren't trying to steal people away but we don't want to flood these forums with questions about the game and stuff.

The alpha should be back up sometime this weekend, hopefully by the end of the day. You'll be able to play it at our website: www.blankmediagames.com

[Bruno]

Nah, who needs balance?

Do Doctors still have the option to self heal?

svrvivor

[Aldaris]

@BlankMediaGames

Thanks for your reply.

1. Your initial ideas seem fine and can be tested.
2. In my opinion, The best parts about EpicMafia that SC2 Mafia does not have are the following

a. Members of the same team but not in chat

Epic Mafia has a few interesting roles such as Traitor and Hitman. Traitor wins with the Mafia, but does not participate in Mafia meetings, otherwise they are like a Citizen. Hitman is a member of the mafia and can kill 1 person at night, but does no participate in Night Chat. If you created the game with the idea of variable night chats in mind, that is to say, there were options to make Veterans, Vigilanes, etc. in Town Night chat, or only Consiglieres and Godfathers in the Mafia chat. There's a lot of potential for really dynamic setups involving teams within and without night chat beyond SC2 Mafia's basic implementation

b. Unlike SC2 Mafia, Epic Mafia has items. Gunsmiths can hand out guns to other people and use them like a vigilante. Blacksmiths can hand out vests to other people and use them like a survivor. Items imply more possibilities and more mechanics for roles. Which means people can do something other than just 1 thing at night (or day).

3. You should keep the best parts of SC2 Mafia though, the options, and the Opportunity for randomness, implement role weights as well as Custom Random Slots as described here

4. Your Forum registration doesn't work! It never emails you back.

[Slaol]

I see you guys have alot to say about the citizens subject haha. If it becomes a problem it won't be any work to add them back in but we are trying this out. Maybe you are right and we need them, that will come up in beta testing.

The 5k investor won't be getting any benefits in-game or on the website/forums so don't worry about that

It won't come up if you're going into beta testing assuming that your product isn't garbage. It wasn't added last time we mentioned it, and you've clearly thrown all interest in balance out the window. You said you think removal of Citizen will improve gameplay, but that no one would use them anyway. How is removing something no one would use beneficial to gameplay? You're removing something that you are stating is a non-factor. Clearly you don't understand the root of Mafia or what makes it a game and merely want to create an overly buffed zombie version of the game. I would vomit in disgust if it didn't mean losing the delicious buffalo wild wings I've just eaten.

[Aldaris]

Slaol,

If they want to test no Citizen, let them test no Citizen. The basic Citizen is literally the easiest role to implement. I would say if anything you have a slavish devotion to your preconceptions of what mafia is, which really blinds you to all the fun variants it can encompass.

[Slaol]

Slaol,

If they want to test no Citizen, let them test no Citizen. The basic Citizen is literally the easiest role to implement. I would say if anything you have a slavish devotion to your preconceptions of what mafia is, which really blinds you to all the fun variants it can encompass.

I proudly acknowledge that my opinion of the game is different from the masses. Even still, I have at every turn attempted to add more to the game. Kidnapper+Beguiler+Agent+Witch Doctor, as well as the Triad additions came from me with the goal being ONLY to enhance the potential versions of setups. Even with the clusterfucks of Marshall and Crier I did my best to balance so they were not breaking. Feel free to limit yourself to strictly things from over a year ago and tell me how the potential variants changes.

Now, let's look at yours. You are aware that the masses hate your concepts of 'fun variants' with a pretty burning passion and that the best thing to come to the game recently generates Citizens mid game, yes?
Aldaris setups are just about the #1 cause of leave trains.

Town of Salem looks like someone that has no idea where he is coming from. You have to understand where you are coming from to successfully go forward.

[AppleyNO]

Please keep your discussion relevant to Town of Salem.

[BlankMediaGames]

@BlankMediaGames

Thanks for your reply.

1. Your initial ideas seem fine and can be tested.
2. In my opinion, The best parts about EpicMafia that SC2 Mafia does not have are the following

a. Members of the same team but not in chat

Epic Mafia has a few interesting roles such as Traitor and Hitman. Traitor wins with the Mafia, but does not participate in Mafia meetings, otherwise they are like a Citizen. Hitman is a member of the mafia and can kill 1 person at night, but does no participate in Night Chat. If you created the game with the idea of variable night chats in mind, that is to say, there were options to make Veterans, Vigilanes, etc. in Town Night chat, or only Consiglieres and Godfathers in the Mafia chat. There's a lot of potential for really dynamic setups involving teams within and without night chat beyond SC2 Mafia's basic implementation

b. Unlike SC2 Mafia, Epic Mafia has items. Gunsmiths can hand out guns to other people and use them like a vigilante. Blacksmiths can hand out vests to other people and use them like a survivor. Items imply more possibilities and more mechanics for roles. Which means people can do something other than just 1 thing at night (or day).

3. You should keep the best parts of SC2 Mafia though, the options, and the Opportunity for randomness, implement role weights as well as Custom Random Slots as described here

4. Your Forum registration doesn't work! It never emails you back.

1.) Thanks for your support. We understand that some things we try will not work out but that will not keep us from trying new and different things.

2.) We will be sure to explore all possible avenues for interesting game mechanics. Even after our release we will continue updating the game, adding new features and roles.

3.) We currently have the ability to create that randomness that everyone who loves Mafia games are used to and appreciate. Things like a role in the role list being a random towns member, random mafia, etc. That randomness is one of the reasons why we think the game might work without the use of citizens.

4.) We will look into that right away! Thanks for bringing that to our attention.

[BlankMediaGames]

... you've clearly thrown all interest in balance out the window.

Balance in the game is our number one concern. If something turns out to be over or underpowered we will be sure to tune the roles. We want to make sure the experience is enjoyable for Mafia veterans and newbies alike.

[Slaol]

We want to make sure the experience is enjoyable for Mafia veterans and newbies alike.

You're doing a really bad job at this. You might establish newbies that can't perceive the game, but I played 1 game back when your game was first announced and it is infinitely impossible to balance. You think the addition of randoms will make up for Citizen, but what you don't seem to grasp is how power role numbers work together. Any game that has more Town Power Roles than Evil Power Roles is heavily slanted for Town. As of right now you have given Town the advantage in 100% of games, and then taken it from that point and given certain already impactful roles even more power.
As well, use of the graveyard is vile and immediately breaks balance further. Please find your way through our Mafia Discussion forum to see argument after argument explaining why this idea is bordering on the shittiest in recorded history.

This is what I think of Town of Salem's balance: https://i3.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/...756/5-ever.jpg

[Frog]

I'm just very confused...

What aspects of the product are you focusing on?

What is your business model?

What is your experience with creating games?

I don't want to seem like a downer, but I don't see growth in this sector. I don't see focus on balance. And I don't see experience in creating custom card games. Are you planning on making up for all of this with graphics? I would totally play if the graphics are insane.

[Slaol]

Actually, this depiction of the SuperBowl this year more accurately describes the balance:

[Orpz]

Balance.

[Frog]

Balance

[Mateo]

if dr could make mafia in high school why do u need 5k+ to make this

[BlankMediaGames]

I'm just very confused...

What aspects of the product are you focusing on?

What is your business model?

What is your experience with creating games?

I don't want to seem like a downer, but I don't see growth in this sector. I don't see focus on balance. And I don't see experience in creating custom card games. Are you planning on making up for all of this with graphics? I would totally play if the graphics are insane.

We are making a game that will show passion for Mafia-style games. The biggest things we are focusing on are the ease of access so people don't have to buy SC2 to play a game of Mafia online, allowing heavy customization of your Mafia game and doing things that other Mafia games don't currently have. That last part may mean we go through phases of testing where things don't work but that's okay. That why we test.

Our business model is be very similar to League of Legends if you have ever played that game. We will offer cosmetic effects from a shop that you can buy. The game will be free to play and you will never have to buy anything if you don't want to.

My co-creator and I were professional game developers for a largish company and while it was a great experience we didn't feel the passion that comes from making something that you really want to play. Something that you want to create because you want it.

I understand your concern. While it may seem like there isn't much to be had from a game like this at first glance, many people have never heard of or played Mafia-style games because of certain restrictions. Such as needed to get together 15 friends to play the game at a party or having to purchase SC2 to play the Mafia mod. We believe, like most people, that graphics don't make a game. They certainly help with the initial appeal but the fun comes from the game mechanics themselves and we hope to deliver that.

[BlankMediaGames]

if dr could make mafia in high school why do u need 5k+ to make this

Instead of creating a game as a mod in a pre-built engine, we have a stand-alone version of this game created with an engine we created from scratch. The cost of art is also something that a SC2 Mod doesn't have to think about. The reason why we did this was to have a browser-based game that wouldn't require you to download, install or pay for anything. You just get on and play.

[Bruno]

We are making a game that will show passion for Mafia-style games. The biggest things we are focusing on are the ease of access so people don't have to buy SC2 to play a game of Mafia online, allowing heavy customization of your Mafia game and doing things that other Mafia games don't currently have. That last part may mean we go through phases of testing where things don't work but that's okay. That why we test.

Our business model is be very similar to League of Legends if you have ever played that game. We will offer cosmetic effects from a shop that you can buy. The game will be free to play and you will never have to buy anything if you don't want to.

My co-creator and I were professional game developers for a largish company and while it was a great experience we didn't feel the passion that comes from making something that you really want to play. Something that you want to create because you want it.

I understand your concern. While it may seem like there isn't much to be had from a game like this at first glance, many people have never heard of or played Mafia-style games because of certain restrictions. Such as needed to get together 15 friends to play the game at a party or having to purchase SC2 to play the Mafia mod. We believe, like most people, that graphics don't make a game. They certainly help with the initial appeal but the fun comes from the game mechanics themselves and we hope to deliver that.

BAHAHAHAHHA

PASSION FOR MAFIA-STYLE GAMES MINUS CITIZENS, DOCTORS WHO CAN SELF HEAL, AND A MISSING DETECTIVE ROLE

[Frog]

We are making a game that will show passion for Mafia-style games. The biggest things we are focusing on are the ease of access so people don't have to buy SC2 to play a game of Mafia online, allowing heavy customization of your Mafia game and doing things that other Mafia games don't currently have. That last part may mean we go through phases of testing where things don't work but that's okay. That why we test.

Our business model is be very similar to League of Legends if you have ever played that game. We will offer cosmetic effects from a shop that you can buy. The game will be free to play and you will never have to buy anything if you don't want to.

My co-creator and I were professional game developers for a largish company and while it was a great experience we didn't feel the passion that comes from making something that you really want to play. Something that you want to create because you want it.

I understand your concern. While it may seem like there isn't much to be had from a game like this at first glance, many people have never heard of or played Mafia-style games because of certain restrictions. Such as needed to get together 15 friends to play the game at a party or having to purchase SC2 to play the Mafia mod. We believe, like most people, that graphics don't make a game. They certainly help with the initial appeal but the fun comes from the game mechanics themselves and we hope to deliver that.

Thank for taking the time to respond. I'll give it a look, however I would highly heed the game play criticisms the SC2 mafia community is suggesting.

[Aldaris]

Thank for taking the time to respond. I'll give it a look, however I would highly heed the game play criticisms the SC2 mafia community is suggesting.

I'm sure the team does. They've already based their engine on SC2 Mafia which shows they like it. The problem with posts like Bruno's and Slaol's is that they're ignorant and show no understanding of the concept of testing. Will a 1 time self healing doctor or a 1 time Bodyguard vest be gamebreaking? I don't know, you don't know, and nobody knows until it's properly tested. I mean these over the top criticisms of variants that NO ONE HERE HAS EXPERIMENTED WITH really show how childish and ignorant some members of this community can be.

[oops_ur_dead]

Also why do I need to log in with my Facebook account? There's no reason for that.

[Apocist]

Also why do I need to log in with my Facebook account? There's no reason for that.

That's one reason Apo has never even attempted to play it.

[AppleyNO]

Look, I think ToS can use a lot of balance tweaks and I would rather not see facebook implementation, but it is in Alpha.

Alpha games are supposed to have terribad balance because Alpha testing is more mechanical testing then balancing.
However, I do think its a mistake to not take advantage of the years of balance testing Sc2Mafia and Sc2mafia.com Forum Mafia has naturally produced into your game.

Please let us know when you get the game up and running.

I'm sure the team does. They've already based their engine on SC2 Mafia which shows they like it. The problem with posts like Bruno's and Slaol's is that they're ignorant and show no understanding of the concept of testing. Will a 1 time self healing doctor or a 1 time Bodyguard vest be gamebreaking? I don't know, you don't know, and nobody knows until it's properly tested. I mean these over the top criticisms of variants that NO ONE HERE HAS EXPERIMENTED WITH really show how childish and ignorant some members of this community can be.

Aldaris, as a friend of Slaol, I wish that you take the "no concept of testing" statement back. He is singlehandly responsible several roles designs and testing, and without him we wouldn't have anything past the Cultist, including the SoTD.

[Aldaris]

Aldaris, as a friend of Slaol, I wish that you take the "no concept of testing" statement back. He is singlehandly responsible several roles designs and testing, and without him we wouldn't have anything past the Cultist, including the SoTD.

If he's helped and been good with testing in the past, great, good for him and his contributions to the community. His recent posts do not indicate this. I'll respond to some of his recent quotes below.

You might establish newbies that can't perceive the game, but I played 1 game back when your game was first announced and it is infinitely impossible to balance.

1 game tested is hardy a test or scientific.

You think the addition of randoms will make up for Citizen, but what you don't seem to grasp is how power role numbers work together. Any game that has more Town Power Roles than Evil Power Roles is heavily slanted for Town. As of right now you have given Town the advantage in 100% of games, and then taken it from that point and given certain already impactful roles even more power.

This assumes a 9 3 3 save. Maybe the balance will change and 8 4 2 will be better. Maybe it won't. Again, this statement has a lot of assumptions in it that is unverified.

As well, use of the graveyard is vile and immediately breaks balance further. Please find your way through our Mafia Discussion forum to see argument after argument explaining why this idea is bordering on the shittiest in recorded history.

Forum discussions are not testing. We'll have to see what gets implemented and actually test it scientifically in several games.

I can't speak on the past, but when I see these kind of posts and childishness and posting image gifs, it lends me to my previous conclusion.

[Slaol]

If he's helped and been good with testing in the past, great, good for him and his contributions to the community. His recent posts do not indicate this.

You want to take a few posts on a forum, in a thread occupied by people with horrendous opinions, as worth more than actual additions to the game? Jesus christ I'm glad you're here to save us from our blind slavish devotion to the thing we've been doing a lot longer than you.
Why does anyone know who you are? Oh yea, something added to the game under my stead.
They can test whatever they want their product will just be shit if they maintain these atrocious ideas and a mentality that uses shockingly shallow understandings of roles to finalize decisions. Can they remove Detective? Sure. Is Detective actually like Lookout in any way in terms of it's impact to the game? Not even remotely. I bet they'd be a fan of Channeler.

I'll take my complaints elsewhere from now on, this thread isn't gonna go anywhere i'm fairly sure. T'was fun though.

[Aldaris]

Why does anyone know who you are? Oh yea, something added to the game under my stead.

Thanks for the SOTD suggestion. It was a good one in my opinion.

They can test whatever they want their product will just be shit if they maintain these atrocious ideas and a mentality that uses shockingly shallow understandings of roles to finalize decisions.

Who said anything about finalizing anything? This is an alpha test for a game. The key takeaway is this.

1. You might be right or wrong about various mechanical decisions, but we don't really know for sure until we actually test it in a game.

2. There's no reason to assume that the devs won't change something if testing seems to indicate a certain item is too much or too little

3. Even if the Devs didn't change something that was somehow provably unbalanced against some metric, all that would mean is that setups might differ slightly to make using that role more balanced, and/or setups might exclude the unbalanced role

[BlankMediaGames]

Thank for taking the time to respond. I'll give it a look, however I would highly heed the game play criticisms the SC2 mafia community is suggesting.

We are definitely taking into account all suggestions on this forum. It will take some time to test our changes and if they don't work we will begin integrating the changes recommended by the SC2 community.

Also why do I need to log in with my Facebook account? There's no reason for that.

From the last kickstarter we learned how many people are Facebook adverse. We are going to implement our own login system so that Facebook will be entirely optional.

This assumes a 9 3 3 save. Maybe the balance will change and 8 4 2 will be better. Maybe it won't. Again, this statement has a lot of assumptions in it that is unverified.

This is another reason we feel that balancing a game like this is very subjective. If town roles are more powerful now then perhaps creating a game with 1 more mafia member and 1 less town member will balance things out. It will take some testing to see if that works out or not. During our Beta phase we will be continuously testing the game and if something appears to be too strong, such as the town role changes, then it can be adjusted. Nothing is 100% yet in the game. We are still in a state of flux.

[AppleyNO]

From the last kickstarter we learned how many people are Facebook adverse. We are going to implement our own login system so that Facebook will be entirely optional.

Yay

[Numbertwo]

Yay

slaol likes this

[Slaol]

slaol likes this

He actually does. The facebook mechanic wasn't good, and i'm glad to see they plan on making it an option and not mandatory.

[BlankMediaGames]

It should be said though that the login system will be something the Kickstarter will fund. So don't expect to see the new login system when the alpha comes back up. It will be a beta feature. Sorry guys to get your hopes up

[Bruno]

It should be said though that the login system will be something the Kickstarter will fund. So don't expect to see the new login system when the alpha comes back up. It will be a beta feature. Sorry guys to get your hopes up

Why does the Kickstarter need to fund that? It's not like the game engine or art is too sophisticated to be paid for with some money left. Sounds like a cash grab.

[BlankMediaGames]

The game is now live for alpha testing! Go play and give us feedback on the forums:

www.blankmediagames.com/townofsalem

Forums:
www.blankmediagames.com/phpbb

[oops_ur_dead]

It should be said though that the login system will be something the Kickstarter will fund. So don't expect to see the new login system when the alpha comes back up. It will be a beta feature. Sorry guys to get your hopes up

That doesn't sound very right. It would take 2 seconds to set up a login system especially given that you have phpBB already in place and you can use its API to login.

[Bruno]

That doesn't sound very right. It would take 2 seconds to set up a login system especially given that you have phpBB already in place and you can use its API to login.

Scam artists.

[BlankMediaGames]

That doesn't sound very right. It would take 2 seconds to set up a login system especially given that you have phpBB already in place and you can use its API to login.

The forums and the game database aren't related. We could possibly jerry-rig something that might resemble a login system, not sure how well that would work though. The reason this will be a beta feature isn't that it is necessarily hard but that we just don't have money to continue development on the game full time, pay artists, pay for marketing, etc. Without large investors, we aren't able to quit our day jobs to work on this as much as we want to. Hopefully we will get funded on kickstarter so we can finish the game, polish, test and balance in only a couple of months since we can go at it full time. Most indie developers are in a similar situation.