Vogelsap's The Flock Relies on Players to Survive, Literally

Here's an interesting concept for a game:

A multiplayer game that begins with a counter that constantly depletes with perma-death. However, once that counter hits 0, the game is done. Gone. No longer existent.

Sounds curiosity-piquing, but also sounds like a waste of money, depending on details.

Vogelsap's asymmetrical multiplayer horror game The Flock embraces this unique idea. The duration of this title, coming to Steam in Q3 this year, will depend 100% on the players. Basically, the game will begin with a full population of the Flock, but when the population depletes to zero, The Flock will no longer be available for purchase. Those that own the game will be able to take part in a "climatic finale" before servers go offline and become unplayable.

The population of the Flock will be available in several areas: the game's menus, Steam's store page, Vogelsap's website, and The Flock's sub-reddit.

There is a plot behind this, of course:

"Set in the year 3000, an unrecognizable Earth is in ruins. Centuries of devastating pollution have blocked out the sun, blanketing the planet in darkness. No longer able to support human life, a horrifying race of monstrous creatures known as the Flock is the world's new dominant species. That is, until the emergence of the Carrier."

Every player starts off as a member of the Flock, however if they come in contact with a blast of light from the Light Artifact, they will transform into the Carrier. This only happens to the first Flock that touches the artifact, by the by.

Carriers thus become prey to the Flock, but the Carrier is able to defeat the Flock by utilizing the Light Artifact. However, the Flock can avoid the effects of the deadly light by standing still when the light shines on them. When the member of the Flock manages to secure the Light Artifact, it becomes the new Carrier, while the old Carrier respawns as part of the Flock. Carriers can survive "matches" by maintaining the light's life, or capture objectives using the artifact's light.

Yes, my friends, it is a deadlier and scarier version of "Red Light, Green Light."



Once again, The Flock seems interesting as a concept, but players probably can't help but worry over the price or the amount of Flock lives the game will start off with. Hopefully, the game will run for at least a year, but that fate is determined by the players. Additionally, the amount of gamers playing The Flock can potentially speed up the process of "killing" the game.

The Flock's price has not been revealed, but it will show up at Gamescom in a playable state at the Indie Arena Booth.