innovative independent games for mac os windows and linux . it was started by david rosen in 2003 to organize his open source video game contest entries . after graduating college in 2008 he was joined by his twin brother and three friends and wolfire games officially dove into the independent game industry we have finished our first shareware game lugaru . please check it out here we are currently hard at work on the sequel overgrowth and you can follow our progress on the wolfire blog . wolfire discord server 7 comments september 28th 2016 by lukas orsv rn we ve been running our own irc internet relay chat server for many years now as a space for the wolfire community to chat with each other and the developers . back when it was set up there weren t really any good alternatives to irc so if you wanted a big chat room that could hold hundreds of people irc was the way to go . this changed last year with the release of discord . discord feels like a modern take on irc that is geared towards gamers . it s got a pretty interface voice chat friends list phone support and more . for more information about discord check out the discord website . we ve set up an official wolfire server on discord follow this link to join it . join the wolfire discord server as to not split up the community on different chat platforms we will shut down the wolfire irc server on october 31st 2016 share tweet read more 7 comments overgrowth weekly 111 3 comments september 6th 2016 by lukas orsv rn here is the new overgrowth weekly the community content highlighted this time is . . fan remake of lugaru soundtrack updates on therium 2 mod first person mod update forest themed arena level lion castle level random path following mod for links and timestamps to each item in the video see the video description . share tweet read more 3 comments overgrowth a226 video changelog 41 comments august 17th 2016 by lukas orsv rn here is the new overgrowth alpha video don t forget that you can help support us try out our alphas such as the one in the video and chat with other preorderers in the secret preorder forum by preordering overgrowth . if you d like to see real time news about overgrowth you can follow us on twitter at wolfire . be sure to watch it in hd the features highlighted in the above video are as follows as well as some that didn t make it into the video arena mode all arena levels updated with kill hotspots and invisible walls where needed removed pauses between fights in arena mode the stats displayed at the end of each arena round is gone for now and will be back in the next version the arena mode with the story and map is removed read more about this decision in this blog post graphics prettier water in waterfall arena prettier rendering for characters and the environment reflection probes can now be added to levels for more accurate reflections . there are now three graphics presets to choose from light probes can be turned on and off in the graphics settings prettier fire added light flash for metal sparks and eye lightning f in editor mode low detail shadows use a less noisy shadow filtering method other there is now a tutorial accessible from the main menu if you start a level from anywhere but the editor menu you now can t use debug keys or enter editor mode pressing escape now pauses the game versus mode is now available from main menu terrain and nav mesh cache files are now included in the game for much improved initial load times editor now shows the name of the selected object the credits button on the main menu works now camera safe zones in dialogue editor fixed placeholder music from lugaru in main menu removed some broken test levels added disable rendering startup flag mods can now specify if the game needs to be restarted for the game to function see example usage in the example mod that is shipped with the game loads of bug fixes thanks as always for all the support see you guys in irc and the forums . if you liked this video be sure to subscribe to our youtube channel . also feel free to support us by preordering overgrowth share tweet read more 41 comments overgrowth species visual development 23 comments july 13th 2016 by steve hong while everyone else is working on the new game plan for overgrowth and preparing the next alpha for release within a couple weeks steve is continuing to iterate on the character design for the different species . after designing the preliminary base models i was tasked with developing rabbit character concepts for the lugaru and arena campaigns . while this was a welcome change from doing purely anatomical drawings my initial approach was too unfocused . consequently the designs were inconsistent and i struggled to develop a distinct rabbit look . i decided to start defining the aesthetics of the other overgrowth species as my ideas were starting to feel very stale and i hadn t set clear design parameters to work within . as i progressed materials clothing armor fit clothing armor components and shape language were the key elements of distinction i used to set boundaries . improving base sketches before jumping into designing the cultural clothing and armor of the different overgrowth species i wanted to have solid three quarter pose drawings to work on top of . i used this opportunity to fix anatomical issues from my orthographic drawings and to improve the look of the species overall . dog for dog clothing and armor i started with the characteristics that were already established rectangular shape language heavy use of metal and leather simple pragmatic design and loose fit . i quickly sketched a batch of concepts and picked 5 to refine . i later returned to further explore dog armor . prominent thick belts and battle harnesses were a couple ideas i had for dog only gear . though dogs are not an ostentatious society and prefer plain functional design i added visual interest through metal and leather color variation repetition of shapes studs rivets and laminar banded plating and simple embellishments that may distinguish one dog clan from another . cat given that cats are largely aristocratic conveying their wealth and opulent nature through luxurious fabrics precious metals vibrant colors and intricate detailing was important in their outfits and armors . to contrast from the rectangular shape language of the dogs i settled on triangular shape language for the cats . as well i decided to feature chainmail in cat armor design . while i initially felt that chainmail was too advanced for the overgrowth world after learning that humans have been using chainmail from as early as the 4th century bce i concluded that cats have the material intellectual and labor resources to produce it . furthermore i can imagine the cats would be quite pleased with armor that provides decent protection relative comfort and a slim look rabbit after exploring dog and cat styles i returned to have another go at the rabbits . i kept some of the ideas i liked from the earlier concepts thickly woven fiber knot ornamentation braided rope and introduced rounded shape language and asymmetric clothing arrangements . as well utilizing only plant based materials natural plant fiber wicker rattan was a key restriction as i felt it reflected the predominantly peaceful nature and agrarian culture of rabbits . afterwards i remixed some of my favorite elements into 3 concept sets for turner in the lugaru campaign . each set shows how turner s outfit will change as he progresses through the story and different environments . rat i know a lot of people including myself were eager for more rat concepts so i was very excited to work on these . i spent time collecting photos and compiling a mood board before starting my sketches to refresh my visual library for the rats . i repeated this process for the refined dog and cat warrior concepts as well . you ll notice that i made sure to stay away from film and video game sources except for a screenshot from the revenant and to draw from a variety of different inspirational subjects . the rats being the scavenger species of overgrowth are visually distinguished by a ragged and ragtag appearance tattered and discolored uneven patchwork and disparate materials . additionally i paired long shirts with poncho or vest like tops and tried out variations in length to complement their long torsos . similarly high waisted pants or shorts seemed to suit rat proportions . however since the scavenger look is pretty unoriginal the rats needed a unique twist . fortunately for me rats wearing parts of their ancestors is a really neat idea that aubrey came up with in a society like the rats where resources are scarce making use of the remains of kin is not only practical but could be a form of ancestor worship . instead of simply wearing the fur and bones of their dead i came up with more elaborate ways that rats could prepare and utilize them ritually dreading the fur of their deceased kin into their own or fashioning ceremonial garb and carving inscribed bone beads to be worn as talismans or even as armor . besides these customs rat skins can be converted to leather tendons and intestines converted to sinew and the muscles and organs used as compost for underground fungi farms if not consumed during times of famine . i feel like i ve only scratched the surface of this concept and haven t visually executed it to it s full potential so stay tuned for further updates . wolf and finally the wolves . since wolves don t wear clothing or armor well designed anatomy is crucial . i wasn t satisfied with the upright posture of my earlier wolf sketches so i redrew them from scratch with the goal of making them look more feral . i gave them a pronounced hunch on their upper back thrusting their head forward . this not only makes them look more animalistic and fierce but it also makes sense physiologically because a wolf s mouth is one of its primary weapons . this was also a great opportunity to give their fur some much needed attention . when designing their fur i concentrated on areas of volume major planes direction of flow and placement of tufts . scarification was a neat idea from aubrey for how wolves might embellish their bodies . i thought body paint might be interesting as well . wolves may not create paint in the traditional sense but they would certainly have a nice supply of blood after each kill . the stiff quality of dried blood would also allow wolves to style their fur . additionally white pigment could be created by chewing sun dried bones into a chalky paste . while adding visual interest is important it would be great to add context to these body decoration practices through pack identities or some sort of wolf religion something to think about still lots of work to be done but i hope you found this post interesting and my progress appealing . please let us know what you think share tweet read more 23 comments overgrowth s new game plan 29 comments june 18th 2016 by lukas orsv rn around seven months ago we increased the team size and started releasing alphas every other week . during this time we ve made good progress but the game hasn t been coming together as quickly as we hoped