Iron Lung news & patch notes

https://clan.fastly.steamstatic.com/images/34055240/4a4541d5c11d0f52218fad6e8371aae572b16eb2.png https://store.steampowered.com/app/3111080/Secret_Agent_Wizard_Boy_and_the_International_Crime_Syndicate/

Use magic spells and military surplus explosives to topple an evil crime syndicate hidden beneath a prestigious wizarding school. Learn spells, engage in espionage, and spread lore-unfriendly chaos.

https://clan.fastly.steamstatic.com/images/34055240/8a10814a7cc6b72e23f82b9f42a3b57ac9509b37.gif Secret Agent Wizard Boy and the International Crime Syndicate is a comedic sandbox with a complete lack of safety nets or boundaries. Players are free to indulge in the full abject chaos of untethered physics simulations and uncontainable emergent gameplay, using a toolkit of magical spells and items to solve problems in ways we cannot hope to balance against. https://clan.fastly.steamstatic.com/images/34055240/41808760a60aae8aeb109cad8ea3bb4fddf828b1.gif Wizard Boy can also team up with other Wizard Boys in cooperative(?) multiplayer to explore (blow up) the castle together and thwart the evil International crime syndicate S.P.I.D.E.R once and for all! https://clan.fastly.steamstatic.com/images/34055240/936ff34a9038dfe99745f535206b311537012ad3.gif

FEATURES

• A multitude of spells to learn and inflict on others
• Chaotic, barely contained physics-based mayhem
• Open-ended goals to accomplish (or ignore) however you see fit
• Online co-op, although actual cooperation is unlikely
• Retro-themed third person action, straight from the days of Unreal Engine 1
• Landmines and other non-magical ordnance

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3111080/Secret_Agent_Wizard_Boy_and_the_International_Crime_Syndicate/

https://clan.fastly.steamstatic.com/images/34055240/a2a280c65d75ca9252fb955192680d7c1f05a54b.jpg A troubled loner with a hunger for cinematic gore finds himself on the other side of the camera when rumors of authentic snuff videotapes lead him to an abandoned cabin near Butcher's Creek, Pennsylvania. What starts as illicit urban exploration becomes a fight for survival when he's captured by a gang of sadistic killers. Now his only option is to pick up a box cutter, a hammer, a pickaxe, or whatever else is at hand, and unleash a little video violence of his own.

FEATURES

• Use hammers, axes, pipes, 2x4s, box cutters, and more to brutalize anything that stands between you and freedom
• When all else fails, the level itself can be a weapon. Kick props into enemies, or enemies into environment hazards.
• Photograph gruesome murder scenes to fulfill your dark desires and regain lost health
• Explore decaying farmhouses, collapsing factories, and seedy strip clubs in a forgotten corner of the Appalachian Forest
• Experience a unique aesthetic combining the gritty shot-on-video look of found footage with the photosourced visual style of Source Engine games
• Learn more about the bizarre nightmare world introduced in Squirrel Stapler and The Pony Factory

https://youtu.be/3TLL1g8Z8Y0?si=jCY8kkxFaEhi3XpY https://store.steampowered.com/app/2512560/Butchers_Creek/

DEMO AVAILABLE NOW

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3281870/Secret_Agent_Wizard_Boy_and_the_International_Crime_Syndicate_Demo/

TRAILER:

https://youtu.be/zZUtbPIZyaY?si=CF-VtU4Uz0YVL78o https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/34055240/7362ade645c19a49bb02640e8115533bb18702dd.png Secret Agent Wizard Boy was a normal Wizard Boy on his way to his first year at Wizard School until he received a message from MI6. "Wizard Boy," it said. "We've received intel that the headmaster of Wizard School, Grumblemort, is the leader of a criminal organization named S.P.I.D.E.R. We need you to investigate!" And so Wizard Boy started his first year at Wizard School, trying to uncover the mysteries that lay before him. https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/34055240/6193717666145158acbcf0e3c93d36c23f2c98a4.png Secret Agent Wizard Boy is a sandbox wizard sim that can be played alone or in cooperative(?) multiplayer. Explore (blow up) the castle, find secrets, solve puzzles, and discover the mystery hidden deep in the castle.

FEATURES:

• A multitude of spells to learn and inflict on others
• Physics-based mayhem
• Open-ended goals to accomplish (or ignore) however you see fit
• Online multiplayer
• Retro-themed third person action, straight from the days of Unreal Engine 1
• Landmines

https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/34055240/1a706856e6cb9c0173ac8127a325c213ec8f0a37.png . . . And the demo is available to play right now! Go take a look! https://store.steampowered.com/app/3281870/Secret_Agent_Wizard_Boy_and_the_International_Crime_Syndicate_Demo/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3144590/Butchers_Creek_Demo/ https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/34055240/2041a5da298992bee065f8a606cf3b73f1d2acd7.jpg The demo for Butcher's Creek is now available to download and play! This demo features the introduction and first level of the full game and should take about 30 minutes to complete. It will remain available (and free) for the foreseeable future.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2536530/The_Pony_Factory/ Winston arrived at a solution to the moral decay of his town. He called out to hell, and hell answered. The human body could, hell promised, be twisted and stretched into a kinder, more equine shape. Winston's town, now filled with ignorant hate-mongers, could instead be filled with magical ponies, if he could provide a factory in which to make them. Winston thought they would be beautiful, gentle, and good. Hell had other plans... https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images/34055240/f5b229a724a8109c1102ffd3ab63b19ca8c0ae9d.png The Pony Factory is a short action/horror game inspired by Doom 3, with a darkly comedic story, striking black and white visual style, and visceral FPS gameplay. This is an updated standalone release of the original game, which was created in 7 days as part of the Dread X Collection 1.

FEATURES

• Meaty FPS combat against highly agile foes who will attempt to evade and flank you.
• Darkness is your enemy! Use muzzle flashes, sparks, sound, and other clues to track foes during combat.
• High contrast black and white aesthetic inspired by early 1950's science fiction films.
• A short minimalist campaign that can be completed in about 30 minutes.
• Numerous improvements from the original release, including many new quality of life features, balance and game feel improvements, new story and gameplay content, full gamepad support, and of course bugfixes!

https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images/34055240/95215f003c102674f4b81e4e08fa0ab9bbb4d4dc.png My brother John Szymanski (director of My Friendly Neighborhood) assisted with this version and will be receiving half of the royalties in an effort to provide him with enough income to continue game development until he begins receiving money from MFN. John also released his own game today: a tense puzzle/horror game called Exiled: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2741620/Exiled/

Both games can be purchased as a bundle together too!

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41806420/5789ef0119e2dff48eb7e7689fdddb38f4992059.png YouTube Music Spotify Apple Music Bandcamp

Cheats Update!

As of today, Iron Lung now has a few fun cheats for you to try! To activate a cheat, type the appropriate command into the computer terminal at the back of the sub. Cheats can be stacked (if you dare). There are only a few at the moment but I hope to add some more later on. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41806420/a6d6cd41726b28a1422b30508b0e1c35e3dbe7c8.jpg Currently, you can use the following cheats (which are also listed in cheats.txt in the game's install folder):

• chclear - clears all cheats
• chnoir - activates black and white visual mode
• chview - allows you to see out the front porthole
• chrave - makes the lighting more colorful
• chava - adds a speaker to the Iron Lung
• chvest - gives you a light
• chmark - activates 'Markiplier Mode'

Halloween Sale

Iron Lung is going to be 20% off as part of Steam's Halloween sale, which starts on October 26th and ends on Novermber 2nd. This is a great time to tell your friends to pick it up because...

Price Change

...after the end of the Halloween sale on Nov. 2, Iron Lung's price will be changing from $6 to $8, and I want to make sure everyone has ample warning and time to buy it at the current price. This is the only price increase I plan on doing for Iron Lung (I believe any more than $8 would be unfair), and as before all subsequent updates and DLC will be free. That includes a large collection of behind the scenes photos I plan on releasing as DLC once the movie is out. When I first released Iron Lung I wasn't confident that people would resonate with the odd concept, and I expected to simply release it and move on. Now that the game has seen (and will probably continue to see) updates in content, features, and usability, I believe $8 is a fairer price, more in line with what similar horror games ask, and more sustainable for me over the long run. Since my intent here is not to gouge people for money, but rather to make sure Iron Lung is priced competitively for the long haul, I again want to emphasize that if you know anyone who might want Iron Lung in the near future, make sure they know to grab it during the Halloween sale from Oct. 26th to Nov. 2nd.

The next update (which adds some fun cheats to the game) is currently on the beta branch for testing, if anyone is interested. For more information and patch notes see the readme file and cheats.txt

Watch the official trailer for 'Iron Lung,' coming soon to theaters...

https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/34055240/a83e137110567f69e1fc66955a2be5eb9d2ea2a2.png It's an early Fall miracle! Squirrel Stapler is out now! https://store.steampowered.com/app/2535830/Squirrel_Stapler/

https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images/34055240/44a02a67259b893e9cfd71b07904bacfa56d9b89.png https://store.steampowered.com/app/2535830/Squirrel_Stapler/

IT IS TIME TO HUNT THE SQUIRRELS...

A lonely man living in a remote cabin wakes up one day and realizes his beloved--a dismembered corpse nailed to the cabin wall--has been made ugly and rotten by the flies that swarm her. He wishes she were beautiful, like the squirrels of the wood. And so he sets out to hunt the squirrels of the wood, so that he might staple them to her and make her beautiful again. Originally created as part of The Dread X Collection II, Squirrel Stapler is a horror hunting simulator that satirizes low budget edutainment games with pitch black humor and panic-inducing absurdist horror, and a new and improved standalone version is coming September 15th! https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images/34055240/83f766b4a2e6747a0eaf84e28965d8e7aa4f2653.png

IN SQUIRREL STAPLER YOU CAN...

• Hunt squirrels! Move quietly, hide in bushes, stay low, and pick the right time to pull the trigger!
• Lure even bigger squirrels with a squirrel call!
• Be wary of larger creatures and vengeful ghosts! You aren't the only alpha predator in the forest!
• Freely explore a large nonlinear map littered with educational squirrel facts and more!
• Meet god!

For more information, check out the Steam page! https://store.steampowered.com/app/2535830/Squirrel_Stapler/

Excited to finally be able to tell people about this! I've been working with Markiplier for the last few months on an Iron Lung movie! Check out the official teaser: I've been heavily involved with production, including collaborating on the script and being on set for the entire filming, and you'll also get to see me in a small cameo in the film itself! More details will follow in the coming months. Stay tuned!

Version 2.2

• Improved controller support. Game can now be played from beginning to end with a controller, although the computer terminal still requires a keyboard.

https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34055240/206a03619b5e7f6ac88d36a711f922479853501f.png Introducing the Blood and Goblins bundle! If you own either Iron Lung or Chop Goblins, you can get the other game for an additional 10% off! Or, if you don't own either one... get them both for an additional 10% off! Unknowable claustrophobic horror followed by upbeat Goblin slaughter: the perfect way to spend an evening! https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/30428/Blood_and_Goblins/

Updated the soundtrack DLC to have proper metadata and the album cover ːileyeː

https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34055240/fb9d499a41ce38090225d570be2e54d4612d7a07.png You thought it would be fun to break into a nearby museum and root through the artifacts stored there. Little did you know that a dusty chest in the basement imprisoned the evil CHOP GOBLINS. Now they're loose, wrecking bladed havok on the world once again. It's up to you to chase them through the city and across space and time, in a bespoke FPS campaign spanning the modern day, 1800's Transylvania, ancient Greece, and the not too distant future. And you can finish it in about 30 minutes! https://store.steampowered.com/app/1935660/Chop_Goblins/ Chop Goblins is a "microshooter": An FPS designed to be completed in a single sitting, without sacrificing depth, variety, or creativity in its gameplay and level design. It's a game you can play for less than an hour, or replay for many hours. Need something to distract you from work, boredom, or grinding in other games? Take a Chop Goblins Break, with a fun and satisfying FPS campaign that only takes one sitting to fully experience.

I started a Discord server for discussing Iron Lung, my other games, memes, general stuff, etc. If that sounds interesting, you can join it here: https://discord.gg/myDsqP4E55

HOORAY AN UPDATE!

Here's the first large-scale update to Iron Lung, bringing it to version 2.X. I say "first" but truthfully this will likely be the only major content update for the game, other than potential (potential, not promised!) future quality of life updates such as controller support, subtitles, etc. WARNING: OLD SAVES WILL NOT WORK (SEE BELOW)

MORE LORE

So what does this update bring? Well, first and foremost STORY STUFF. In the form of the C.O.I Informational Terminal, now located in the back of the sub. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41806420/a152c9907039339080e7e3344c3f136ed42f4ca6.jpg {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41806420/81a822cf7b5e3e2c9d275afb1f053a62710cba52.jpg Here you can query various informational documents and learn a little more about the world of Iron Lung. Not a lot mind you. This is not a giant lore bible dump. It's just a way of fleshing things out a bit more than not at all, and maybe giving you some clues about who you are, why you're down there, who sent you, etc. Go ahead and type in whatever you want to learn about, and see if it finds anything! There's also something new to find out in the depths of the blood ocean...

POINTS SHOP AND TRADING CARDS

I'm also excited to bring you both Steam trading cards (which I know you will just sell for wallet funds to buy hentai match 3 games instead of actually crafting into badges, but that's ok) and points shop items, including this awesome animated profile background by Dusk comic artist Jacob: {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41806420/259969e5deb4b8318b493fa0ed6b3be185320fdf.jpg animation not shown here

ACHIEVEMENTS

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41806420/d46fc9b414f6224ed31d44baade8c72a9f0c49f8.png And if you feel like playing through the whole game again, there are now 7 Steam achievements for you to unlock. Most of these are pretty simple and just for fun, but there are two secret ones for those that really want to delve into the game and find/try things. Or, you know... read someone else's guide lol.

A NOTE ABOUT SAVES

For stupid but unavoidable reasons, saves from a previous version of Iron Lung will not work after this update. For most of you this isn't going to be an issue, but if you happen to have like... saved your game last night and want to continue today or something like that, I've provided a new branch you can use to finish your game. Simply opt into the "save_compatibility" beta branch. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41806420/7901921b167bf8df817b41661d2dfd089a57ac6e.png

WHAT'S NEXT?

I don't plan on adding any more lore or major content to Iron Lung after this, but for those who have been asking... yes, I do plan on revisiting the world in the future. I don't know whether that will be a direct followup or a completely different game set in the same universe. I have ideas for both! Only time will tell... {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41806420/8eb959bb408e548235215071cc2bde908ce5f8c0.png Thanks again for all the support, and stay safe out there in the Blood Ocean...

The upcoming 2.0 patch for Iron Lung is now on the beta branch, for anyone who wishes to help test it. I expect to release it for realsies in a few weeks, if you wanna wait, but if you're eager to see the changes now or grab the achievements before anyone else, well... go nuts! Note that OLD SAVES WILL NOT WORK. This is for stupid but unavoidable reasons. When this releases officially I'll provide a version 1.2 branch for a few weeks that players can opt into if the update happens right in the middle of their playthrough and they want to continue with their existing save. The final update will also have trading cards and points shop items, but they're still being worked on. Changes: - Steam Achievements! - Added computer terminal to the inside of the Iron Lung, where various documents can be queried. This isn't really a "lore bible." It just gives more background to your situation and the overall universe. - Added something new to find in the world. Achievements are all hidden right now because they aren't live on the main branch, but here's a list if you wanna try getting them: - Finish the game - Read what the last person left - Photograph the complete skeleton - Photograph the anomaly - Crash into a wall - - And of course if you encounter any issues, please report them on the forum (and specify that you're testing the beta branch) Thanks! -David

I'm currently working on implementing achievements for an update, and even though I've done this before and should KNOW how to do it right, I accidentally set them live for everyone to see, even though it's not possible to unlock them in the current version of the game. The achievement update should be coming soon so you don't have to wait too long, but I just wanted to let everyone know that even though you can see a list of achievements, you can't actually unlock any of them yet. Sorry for the confusion. In my defense the Steam backend is some eldritch crap a lot of the time lol

Like many developers, I have a giant brainstorm list of many more ideas than I'll likely have time to realize. That's where Iron Lung sat following my trip to a Loch Ness museum in 2019, where a random bit of narration got me thinking about the idea of being underwater taking fuzzy pictures of some unseen creature. It sat there for a few years afterward, while I worked on projects with New Blood and DreadXP and went through a series of prototypes that all ended up shelved for various reasons. It's been hard to get any larger solo project to "stick" since Dusk, and frustrating to continually start a game only to end up stalled on it for whatever reason, with too much work in it to comfortably abandon but not enough to brute force my way toward a release. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41806420/bf78e0641943233a0ded80ffc3a29aa071ef8ea4.jpg Throughout that time I kept coming back to the basic idea of Iron Lung, and thinking "I should really just do this." It was a simple concept, befitting a short simple game. And eventually "I should really just do this" turned into "ok screw it let's just do this." I spent a few months working part time to create what was basically a small experiment that I didn't expect or need to sell very well. I just wanted to experiment with the concept, and get back into both self-publishing and serious horror, which I hadn't really done since 2015. I expected to maybe sell around 5k copies in the first month or two and have a little following of people who liked the niche concept. At the time of this announcement Iron Lung has sold roughly 37k copies and holds at 95% positive reviews and has blown past all my expectations. I didn't expect so many people to resonate with the gameplay or the approach to horror, or be so drawn into the world (which I've always planned on expanding on at some point, so don't worry!). {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41806420/ed014069934b08057e4471eb60ca7b3972ab09bd.png So I guess what I'm trying to say in a very roundabout fashion is "thank you." I'm immensely grateful for the support you've all shown for this little idea, and I genuinely don't feel like I deserve it. Iron Lung is just an idea I thought was cool and wanted to try out, and I never expected it to be this popular. I've said this in the past, but it really does mean a lot to me that I can do stuff like Iron Lung, or Squirrel Stapler, or Dusk '82, and you guys are willing to give it all a chance and enjoy it for what it is, even when there are bugs, the visuals aren't the best, and they aren't Dusk 2. And speaking of bugs... I just released Iron Lung patch 1.2 onto the public branch. This is mainly to address two of the biggest issues in the game: the resolution not defaulting correctly, and "The Jerma Bug" where you could accidentally hit a checkpoint while running into a wall, resulting in an effective softlock. So hopefully new players won't be running into any more gamebreaking problems. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41806420/e3ca5cf69953705e4d8b28b49574f3e9e77f9c28.png Do what's next? Well... I plan on adding trading cards and achievements at some point soon, as well as some requested quality of life features like control rebinds and gamepad support. I'm considering the possibility of adding more lore-related stuff since people are hungry for that, but I'm not sure if I will or what form it would take. As I said, I do plan on revisiting the world in some fashion regardless. I'm not sure when since I tend to just do whatever seems like a good project at the moment, but... hopefully soon. A lot of people have requested a VR version, and I'm gonna consider that although I don't want to promise anything. Same with console ports. I'd like to port Iron Lung to consoles but I've run into some issues with porting my older games because of their short length, so we'll see. Now... if you're new here, and are like "man I wish this guy made other games I could play" then have I got news for you! I've made a bunch of games, and hope to make many more! If you want to see everything I've done, and/or want to follow me to keep up with future releases, check out my Steam creator page I've even got a handy bundle of everything I've self-published, if you want to splurge: https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/24702/The_David_Szymanski_Publisher_Bundle/ And now, a handy bundle with Dusk, Dusk '82, and Iron Lung together, if you're into fast-paced shooting action as well as horror: https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/25842/IRON_DUSK/ You can also follow me on Twitter, although that's mostly cursed memes and general clowning, not so much game development. Oh and uhh... make sure to check out the Iron Lung goodies folder in the install location for some fun stuff :)

I've added a beta branch to Iron Lung (called, appropriately enough, "beta"). The purpose will be for testing patches before I release them, to make sure I didn't screw something up. If you'd like to help test Iron Lung, or if you just want to see what new stuff is coming, you can opt in to the beta branch by right clicking on the game in your library, selecting "properties," choosing the "betas" tab, and selecting "beta" from the dropdown list. Currently patch 1.2 is on the beta branch, which includes fixes for two of the game's biggest bugs (the loading softlock and incorrect resolution defaults for some players), as well as some new behind the scenes shots in the goodies folder. Refer to readme.txt for more info. If you encounter any issues please report them on the forums, and make sure to specify what version you've been playing. Thanks! - David

Pilot a tiny submarine through an ocean of blood on an alien moon in Iron Lung, a short dread-driven underwater (underblood?) horror game

OUT NOW

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1846170/Iron_Lung/ Set entirely within a claustrophobic one-man submarine nicknamed the "Iron Lung," you must blindly navigate an ocean of blood to take photographs of key locations, and hope whatever lives below doesn't find you. There is only a single porthole on the sub, and it needs to be closed due to depth pressure, so you have to navigate purely via an incomplete map, proximity sensors, sound, and a primitive external camera which can be used to take the pictures you need to complete your mission, or to get a grainy low resolution visual of what's happening outside. Success will require resourcefulness and patience. https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34055240/7bbf04170ab9a9b3b990f9d15af65a7c002ae7f1.png

FEATURES

• Experimental minimalist gameplay, where your senses are limited and anything could be lurking around you
• Glimpse your surroundings through the lens of a grainy still camera and navigate using an incomplete satellite map and proximity sensors
• Horror based around building dread and paranoia
• Original soundtrack inspired by the work of Aubrey Hodges (Doom 64)
• A short experience intended to be finished in under an hour

https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34055240/ff693bc80fa81dae5d2f799d259307870cce45c6.png Soundtrack also available at https://davidszymanski.bandcamp.com/album/iron-lung-ost

Iron Lung's OST is inspired by some of the techniques used by Aubrey Hodges in Doom 64, with music wrought out of groaning metal and industrial tools. Here's a preview! Twitter version: https://twitter.com/DUSKdev/status/1491505947025588232 The OST will be available to purchase as DLC when Iron Lung releases on March 10th. Or you'll be able to listen for free and/or purchase from my bandcamp I've got a bunch of other music there too if you want to listen :)