Heartworm developer looking for a new publisher
If you’ve been looking atthe current crop of Silent Hill sequels, remakes and remastersand pining for the foggy streets and busted doorknobs of yesteryear, I recommend trying thedemoforHeartworm. This is survivalhorrorjust the way Mother used to make it - before Mother read all those forbidden books and decided to sacrifice you to Samael, Lord of Serpents and Reeds. You’ve got your 3D engine with fixed camera perspectives, your thick coating of TV static, your sluggish vehicular control scheme, your enemies that could be either demons or metaphors and will murder you either way.
There’s a big dollop ofResident Evilhere, too, and a gentler dusting ofFatal Frame. The main character is driven by grief, sports a fiesty tank-and-shorts combo, and is equipped with a flash camcorder for exorcising spooks rather than a firearm. In other words, she’s the point on the Venn diagram between Jill Valentine, Miku Hinasaki and Harry Mason. The individual camera choices are more Evil than Hilly: the game frequently switches to a close-up face-on perspective when you enter a room, forcing you to step into the blindspot. That endless inter-dimensional staircase, though? Pure Team Silent. Other influences includeHalf-Life, Puppet Combo and Donnie Darko.
I’m pretty sold on Heartworm, though I’m still waiting for it to spark its own identity from all those grated-together shards of older horror games. So it’s a bit sad that the project is in enormous trouble.
As revealed by lead developer Vincent Adinolfi, the game recently lost its publisher, and it won’t reach the finish line unless Adinolfi finds another. “I was really hoping we could dodge the rough times hitting games lately but unfortunately our publisher has decided to exit our contract due to financial issues and we need a publishing agreement to finish Heartworm,” AdinolfiXeetedover the weekend. “Any leads or help would be appreciated.”
Accordingto Adinolfi, Heartworm is “about 50%” complete and has beenwishlisted on Steamto the tune of five figures. “Idk if this is the best way to do this but I am desperate to do anything I can to keep & support my team for all the hard work they’ve done - and we want people to play this game,” hewent on. The developer says hedoesn’t have the means to self-publish. Fingers crossed that another company steps in.
