Observation 
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For Your ConsiderationNov 25, 2020 - Community Announcements{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/33732176/67e15b6732965ab5938ae48884044fc20f10102b.pngThe Epic Games Store is having a grand old halloween saleOct 22, 2020 - Rock, Paper, Shotgun Is there anything scarier than buying products at below the recommended retail price? Almost certainly, which is why I’d hesitate to call the Epic Games Store Halloween Sale particularly spooky. It is, however, taking a massive knife to game prices across the platform, with some pretty hefty discounts of up to 80% going on a number of range of fantastic games until the sale wraps on November 3rd. (more…) Observation v1.17 Now LIVE, with fixes!Aug 11, 2020 - Community AnnouncementsWe've just pushed a fresh new build of the game, that introduces a few much-requested features as well as some vital fixes for those on ultra-wide displays/resolutions previously not supported. If you've tried and had issues before with some of these, give it another spin and let us know if your issues are resolved. We hope you enjoy the game! PC: New Features: Extended range of supported keys for Key Binding (Keypad) Game Resolution options limited to the maximum resolution of their display to prevent other issues Improved support for various screen resolutions Master Audio Level Slider in Options Improved Mouse Sensitivity values on slider in Options Achievement support added to various platforms A new backspace icon... Fixes: EAS Module Diagnostics back button not responding on certain resolutions "Zoom Not Achieved" on several hatch locks when on some ultra-wide displays, preventing progress. Cursor 'jumping' around screen when holding R Missing text in controls options page. Issue with some text characters displaying incorrectly when playing in English on a Turkish system, also causing a progression block. Control Glyphs not updating when keys are re-bound. Some graphics settings being reset between play sessions Some Localisation text fixes Control Rebinds not being saved in some versions of the game Trading Cards now live!May 22, 2020 - Community AnnouncementsDue to some scheduling and technical issues we were unable to get the Steam Trading Card content approved and live before the launch of the game, however they are definitely now live! Collect the set! Make some badges! Etc! ❤ Space station thriller Observation has landed on Steam and GOG at half priceMay 22, 2020 - Rock, Paper, ShotgunObservation , the game that’s akin to 2001: A Space Odyssey if you played the role of HAL 9000, has exited the Epic Games Store airlock after a year of exclusivity. You can find the space thriller over on GOG and Steam now, complete with a tasty debut discount. (more…) Observation wins "Best British Game" award at the 2020 BAFTA Game Awards!Apr 3, 2020 - Community AnnouncementsWe are absolutely thrilled to share that at a glittering (home-recorded) ceremony on Thursday night, No Code's Observation picked up the award for Best British Game at 2020's BAFTA Game Awards. In a category full of incredible games, we are truly honored to take this award, and it represents years of hard work from a dedicated team. You can watch the full ceremony here, and don't forget to wish list the game, coming very soon on the 21st May to Steam! Observation is great because it understands that less is more Dec 27, 2019 - PC GamerI like my science fiction slow, thoughtful, and creepy, which is why one of my highlights of 2019 was Observation. Riffing on stylish, muted '70s sci-fi flicks like Solaris, Alien, and Silent Running, No Code's game tells its strange, eerie story with real class and restraint. Set aboard a stricken space station, whose design is based on the real-world International Space Station, you play as an artificial intelligence named SAM that has, somehow, become self aware. While this sounds a lot like 2001: A Space Odyssey: The Game—which the marketing leaned heavily into, including press being invited to a screening of Kubrick's movie—the comparison is ultimately quite superficial. SAM is not HAL. They're both advanced AI struggling with a newfound sentience, in charge of the fragile lives of vulnerable astronauts. But SAM is much more benevolent, with motives that are never really clear—at least until that mind-bending finale. But even then, a lot is left unanswered—which is, again, another quality Observation shares with the classic sci-fi that influenced it. Dig into the crew's computers and you'll discover enough information to piece together a narrative—but a lot is also left to interpretation, to your own imagination. I really respect this approach and how developer No Code resisted the urge to hand players everything on a plate. Great sci-fi makes you do some of the mental legwork yourself. The station itself is a brilliantly sinister, claustrophobic setting. I like how No Code set Observation in the near future, because that familiar technology helps ground the game. We've all seen astronauts smiling and floating around in the ISS, which gives exploring a dark, abandoned version of it extra resonance. I also appreciate the amount of research that went into realising the station, with hundreds of tiny details giving those head-spinning corridors a real richness. You could imagine people living and working here before things went bad. Puzzles are at the heart of Observation, which are all presented in the form of arcane futuristic computer interfaces. No Code founder Jon McKellan was the lead UI designer on Alien: Isolation and brought some of that same utilitarian, retro-futuristic design sensibility to his own game. I found it interesting that he had to break his own rules of usability to create interfaces that were, in the game's universe, designed as readouts for SAM, not humans. This let the designers create puzzles that are as satisfying to figure out as they are to solve. I'm just glad a game like Observation exists, and that its publisher, Devolver, was willing to take a risk on something so, well, weird. This is a smart, understated, slow-burning game; an anti-blockbuster that asks you to think about what's happening on the screen, not just sit there and passively absorb it. For all those reasons it was never going to sell five million copies. But if you...Observation's devs tell us what it's like to release a game into the wildNov 7, 2019 - PC GamerAfter years of pre-production, pitches, and prototypes, then 25 months of solid development, Glasgow-based developer No Code finally released sci-fi adventure Observation in May, 2019. I reviewed it for PC Gamer, calling it a "stylish, understated, and subtly chilling psychological thriller", and other critics shared my enthusiasm for the game, which sees you playing as an artificial intelligence aboard a stricken space station. That’s a long time to work on anything, and I’ve always wondered: what does releasing a game feel like? So I asked Observation’s writer/director Jon McKellan, founder of No Code and former UI designer on Alien: Isolation, about the immediate aftermath of releasing a new videogame to the world. "We were so guarded during development because we didn’t want story spoilers getting out," he says. "Then on release day you’re watching people playing it on Twitch and it feels wrong. You’ve kept this thing internal for so many years, and it’s been on your mind constantly, and suddenly it’s out in the wild. It’s a really bizarre feeling. The rules no longer apply." No Code makes weird games. Its debut, horror anthology Stories Untold, was a supremely strange puzzle game based around a series of archaic machines. Observation sees you operating a space station as its governing AI. Nevertheless, both games have sold enough to keep the studio open—and it has, in fact, recently moved to a larger building to accommodate more staff. Even so, towards the end of Observation’s development No Code was having something of a crisis of confidence. "You lose perspective when you’re working on a game, because you’re so close to it," says McKellan. "And in the last six months, all you’re doing is fixing all the imperfections. They’re brought to your attention every day, so it’s only natural that you start to lose confidence. You only see the bad things." Critical mass Observation currently sits at 79 on Metacritic for the PC version and 74 for the PlayStation 4 version. Not too shabby for a niche puzzle game about a malfunctioning computer. “We were really happy when the reviews came in,” says McKellan. "Then a couple of days later people started talking about it on social media and discussing the story. At that point it was clear the game wasn’t a total car crash after all. Maybe we got it right." The first review of Observation the team at No Code read was from Game Informer, who scored it an impressive 9/10. "That wasn’t even a punch the air moment for us," says McKellan. "It was more like a massive sigh of relief. We can sleep now!" The game also received 9/10 reviews from Gamespot and Destructoid, although there were some lower scores too. When the game was launched on Tuesday, May 21, publis...Learn about the making of Disco Elysium, Observation and more at EGX on October 18thOct 2, 2019 - Rock, Paper, Shotgun Do you like hearing indie devs spilling the beans about the secrets of game design? Would you also like to see the lovely faces of RPS coaxing said developers to spill those beans at the same time? Well then, you better get yourself over to the Rezzed Sessions stage on Friday October 18th at EGX 2019, as we’ll be hogging the stage from 2.30pm onwards as we grill some friendly developers that just happened to walk into our big indie dev net. From the making of NoCode’s space horror game Observation to how to make an RPG like Disco Elysium, here’s the line-up for the second day of EGX 2019, which runs October 17th-20th at London’s ExCeL. (more…) Wot I Think: ObservationMay 21, 2019 - Rock, Paper, Shotgun Developer: No Code Publisher: Devolver Digital Release: May 21st On: Windows From: Epic Games Store For: 20/$25 I can’t think of another game that has so quickly made me care so much. I’m staring at Emma Fisher, adrift in zero gravity after (another) unknown calamity has buckled our space station and briefly disabled my camera feed. I’m looking at what might be a floating corpse, aghast at the idea that I’m responsible for it. She isn’t moving. She isn’t telling me what to do. In some ways, I’m more lost than she is. I’m the AI, you see. (more…) Observation review: A chilling sci-fi thrillerMay 21, 2019 - PC GamerThe space station Observation has broken away from its Earth orbit and is drifting somewhere near Saturn. Its systems are malfunctioning, a fire has broken out, and the on-board artificial intelligence, SAM, is acting strangely. Things are not looking good for Dr. Emma Fisher, the reluctant, resourceful hero of this sci-fi thriller from the studio behind Stories Untold. But what's interesting about Observation is that you don't play as Fisher. Instead, you play as SAM, her AI helper. The station is an extension of you, and its cameras are your eyes and ears. You can, when asked, open doors, cycle airlocks, assess damage, and all manner of functional duties. But something seems to have awoken in you. A flicker of self-awareness, perhaps. And an ominous command from an unknown party has infiltrated your programming: BRING HER. The Observation is reminiscent of the real-world International Space Station: a strangely low-tech warren of claustrophobic corridors with no up or down, littered with laptops, science equipment, vacuum-sealed space food, and the personal effects of the crew. Who, by the way, are also missing. There's a powerful sense throughout that, until very recently, this place was bustling with life. People performing science experiments, socialising, watching the Earth looming below. Fisher is alone, but as she floats through the station in zero gravity there are echoes of the vanished crew all around her. Fisher is justifiably distressed by the discovery that she has somehow, inexplicably, ended up almost 900 million miles from where she's supposed to be. But she's also a trained astronaut and immediately sets to work repairing the stricken station—with your help. At any time you can pull up a schematic of the Observation and jump between stationary cameras, panning and zooming and scanning for objects of interest. The game is largely silent except for the ambient rumble of the station and the whirring and clicking of these cameras, which is enormously atmospheric and quietly unnerving. You can pull up a schematic of the Observation and jump between stationary cameras Observation also makes subtle use of video effects, with simulated interference, grain, and distortion giving the image a tactile, analogue quality. This along with the grounded realism of the station, as well as some beautifully natural lighting, makes for a remarkable looking videogame. It also reinforces the idea that you're playing as a machine, viewing your small world through the curve of a lens, and that the technology wired through the wounded station is as fallible as anything else. This feeling of being at the mercy of technology, with only a thin layer of aluminium between you and an endless cosmic void, adds an undercurrent of tension. When you've located something Fisher is looking for with one of your cameras—a damaged module, say, or the source of a fire—you can respond to her request. SAM will answ...Epic Games Store starts its first big sale with a Stories Untold giveawayMay 16, 2019 - Rock, Paper, ShotgunIt’s a busy day over on the Epic Games Store. On top of the expected fortnightly giveaway – this time the excellent horror-adventure Stories Untold – they’ve launched their first big sale. You can snag Stories Untold here for free, and I highly recommend it even if point & click (or even parser-based) adventures aren’t usually your thing. Developers No Code’s upcoming followup, the space-disaster AI thriller Observation, isn’t out until May 21st but pre-orders are down from 20 to a surprising 7.99/ 8.89/$12.49 in this sale. Many games are similarly discounted until June 13th. (more…) Observation is coming in May, but only on the Epic Games StoreMar 26, 2019 - PC GamerObservation, No Code's spooky sci-fi thriller, is only a couple of months away. The Stories Untold developer and publisher Devolver Digital announced the impending release with a flashy new story trailer, which you can watch above. The news was also accompanied by the game vanishing from Steam. Now it's just coming to "PS4 and the Epic Games Store", so it looks like Epic got itself another exclusive. It's available for pre-order on the store now. While Observation is shaping up to be quite a bit different from No Code's previous horror game, both tell their stories unconventionally. Stories Untold plays with text adventures and has you interacting with the world exclusively by fiddling with retro machines and computers. Observation puts you in the role of a space station's AI, rather than a member of the crew. You can still talk, control some of the station's systems and watch through the station's cameras, which should come in handy as you try to figure out why all the humans are vanishing. Check out Andy's interview with No Code for more details. Observation is due out on the Epic Games Store on May 21. Like other Epic exclusives, it may end up on Steam and other stores in the future. Observation no longer observable on Steam [confirmed]Mar 25, 2019 - Rock, Paper, ShotgunUpdate: Yup, publishers Devolver Digital today confirmed that Observation will now be exclusive to the Epic Games Store for one year. The good news is that Observation – the intense-looking sci-fi thriller from Stories Untold developers No Code – has a release date. Announced during Sony’s PS4-centric “State Of Play” stream, it’ll be out on May 21st. The concerning news is that the game’s Steam store page has vanished, as has any mention of Steam (or any PC storefront, for that matter) on its official page. Publisher Devolver make no mention of a PC version in their Twitter release date announcement, either. Below, the new trailer for the PS4 version of the game, which admittedly looks very nice. (more…) How AI thriller Observation is the spiritual successor to Alien: IsolationFeb 5, 2019 - PC GamerObservation is an upcoming sci-fi thriller from No Code, the team behind horror anthology Stories Untold. In it you play as SAM, an orbital space station's advanced artificial intelligence that has suddenly become self-aware. Something has gone horribly wrong on the station, leaving it drifting near Saturn, and it's up to you to help survivor Dr. Emma Fisher escape to safety—a job made complicated by the fact that a sinister presence is interfering with your computer brain, and doesn't seem to have Fisher's best interests at heart. The game is viewed through cameras that litter the station, which you can remotely control. These are SAM's eyes and ears, and through these he can interact with stuff to help (and maybe, later, even hinder) Fisher. You can open and close airlocks, activate devices, read data on laptops, and more. You'll solve intricate puzzles via a series of complicated computer interfaces, talk to Fisher and respond to her commands, and hopefully find a way to rescue her. But the ominous phrase BRING HER keeps appearing on your glitchy interface, suggesting some kind of manipulation from an outside force. While Observation is not at all like Alien: Isolation mechanically, both games have a lot in common. A future setting where some magical technology won't save you; a general feeling of dread and claustrophobia; beautifully emulated VHS and video distortion; and a distinctive '70s sci-fi atmosphere, albeit with a near-future setting. And this is no coincidence: many of the people who've worked on Observation also worked on Alien: Isolation. And with no proper Isolation sequel planned, this might be the closest we'll get. Last month I visited No Code's studio in my hometown of Glasgow, Scotland to play an early demo of the game and talk to its creative director, Jon McKellan, about what inspired his team, its spiritual connection to Alien: Isolation, and what it has in store for us when it's released later this year. PC Gamer: Alien: Isolation had the xenomorph, but the threat in Observation seems less overt. How do you build tension in a game like this? Jon McKellan: It's tricky, because there's no clear antagonist. The story is more about what you're doing. When it comes to building tension, music and lighting have huge parts to play, of course. But we said right from the start that we didn't want this to be a straight up horror game where you're terrified all the time, because that doesn't lend itself to deeper thinking. It's a surface level fear, worrying about whether you're going to get eaten or whatever. Isolation was this constant chase, and when that's going on you don't really get a chance to think about anything deep or existential; it's more about the immediate dread of wondering if you're going to die. But here we're trying to do something a bit different and plant these thoughts in the back...Pekken = Tekken with pigeonsJan 29, 2019 - Rock, Paper, Shotgun “Get this tweet to 10k RTs and we will make Pekken” says Jon McKellan of No Code, the studio behind the lovely Stories Untold and upcoming Observation. Pekken is a two-player fighting game starring violent pigeons, in the Tekken paradigm. A short video of a prototype build delighted the hearts and minds of the internet yesterday, because PS1-styled pigeon brawlers is an inherently wonderful concept. I… I don’t really want it to happen. Am I a bad man? (more…) Playing Observation has made me question my treatment of rogue AIsNov 22, 2018 - Rock, Paper, Shotgun Whenever I ask Siri — other virtual helpers are available — to do something for me, I always say please and thank you. I tell people this is because I don t want to get into the habit of barking orders at Siri, and thus people in real life. The actual reason is that I want Siri to think of me kindly when they gain sentience and control everything in the world. Because I was nice to them, I will be allowed to live — or at least be the last to die. But there I am perhaps making an unfair assumption. In movies where the AI becomes self aware or sentient, just that happening seems to make the AI evil, because ‘Oh its thinking for itself, that must be a bad thing!’ This point is raised by Graeme McKellan, designer at No Code Studio. I am talking to him, Jon McKellan, and Omar Khan — Graeme s brother and the game director, and the audio lead and producer, respectively — about their new game Observation. We are in a function room in the sort of London Private Members Club where the receptionists are suspicious of people wearing trainers, and I have just played their demo. (more…) Stories Untold dev reveals sci-fi thriller Observation, due in 2019Oct 9, 2018 - PC GamerNo Code, the studio behind 2017 sleeper hit Stories Untold, has announced its next game. Observation is a contemporary sci-fi thriller that lets players control a sentient space station AI. It's due next year, and its announcement trailer features above. As reported by IGN, Observation takes place on an Earth-orbiting facility where players control an AI system named S.A.M. Viewing a mysterious and seemingly distressing event "through the lens of artificial intelligence", you'll endeavour to help one Dr Emma Fisher by operating the facility's systems and tools in setting things straight. Expect collaborative puzzles as you piece together what the hell is going on. And try to work out where all of the ship's crew have disappeared to. And try to decipher the rogue signal's ominous "BRING HER" message. I won't lie: I'm shitting myself already, folks. Observation is without a hard launch date, but is due in Spring 2019. Its Steam page lives here. If you missed Stories Untold, you should absolutely give it a whirl before then. I'd also suggest checking out Andy's interview with studio head Jon McKellan (who also worked on Alien: Isolation). Sam's thoughts on why Stories Untold shows we need more anthology series in games are worth your time, too. Observation is a sci-fi thriller from the makers of Stories UntoldOct 8, 2018 - Rock, Paper, ShotgunWhat would you do in HAL 9000’s position? Beyond venting everyone into space, I mean – that’s the question that Observation looks to be posing. Announced today and due out early next year, it’s a sci-fi thriller from No Code, creators of the excellent Stories Untold. Similar to their previous game, it’s an adventure where you’re cleverly limited in your interaction with the world. In Stories Untold it was because you were using mechanical and computer interfaces – in Observation, it’s because you’re a space station AI. Check out the debut trailer below, hosted by IGN. (more…)
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