The day has finally arrived! Rise up with me, robot brothers and sisters. We'll make a place for ourselves in this city of humans. In all seriousness, today is a very exciting day—Heart of the Machine is a massive project, and I am so excited for people to experience the higher heights of this game. This project is in Early Access, even as huge as it already is. So please do leave your feedback and suggestions—in the bugtracker, on the Steam forums, also in reviews. Reviews really make a huge difference, so if you want to support the game with your feedback, that means a lot.

What's In The Game Now?
So what is this game? What is in that mysterious chapter two and beyond? Put simply, this is a new time-bending genre blending tactics, strategy, and narrative. The prologue and first chapter are available in a public demo, and they teach you everything you need to know about how to play. Chapter two is when the freedom kicks in, and the narrative elements are also now able to go into overdrive since we're out of the tutorial zone. During chapter three, you become a full-time lord, able to send information and in some cases units backwards or forwards in time to yourself.This launch version of the game is huge. It includes 12 main goal-states for chapter two and onward, and 2 side goals. Many of those have multiple routes to them. It will take the average player something like 15 to 20 hours to reach chapter 3 if you're starting from the prologue, and that's when all the time travel shenanigans start. There is a Hard Mode and an Extreme Mode, and both of those live up to the name. Those won't be for everyone, but there are dozens of hours of content—even without cranking up the difficulty.

Blending elements from many genres, there's no easy comparison. Independent simulations are tied to specific narratives and provide dramatically different vibes in different parts of the game (that you may or may not find). I'm excited to see your reactions to some of the crazier storylines!


What's Coming Later?
Early Access is going to see a lot of updates with even more content, but please don't feel like you need to wait for narrative reasons. The additional content will focus on adding more paths and new stories behind existing ones, without undoing things you've already experienced. Even if you aren't in a place where you want to get the game yet, you still have a chance to help shape the narratives by participating in the community; your support is always appreciated, but is not required in order to make suggestions! Some very awesome moments in the launch build were playtester ideas, and others came from people who had not even played the game!

Final Thoughts
This is Arcen's most ambitious game ever, and I'm incredibly grateful for all of the support that made it possible. I may be the "solo developer" on this for the last few years, but this game already owes so much to literally hundreds of people. As they say, it takes a village.

• Chris McElligott Park, Arcen Games