In my announcements that soundStrider is free and S.E.A. is canceled I closed with teasers of something new: Periphery Synthetic EP.

As an extended play, it’s a collection of musical playgrounds to explore. As an episodic game, it connects these worlds with shared mechanics, narrative, and progression systems. Ultimately it’s an experiment with procedural generation and universal design that will become my largest project yet.

Continue reading to begin your journey to Alpha Periphery.

Welcome to Alpha Periphery

Situated at the edge of explored space, Alpha Periphery is the brightest star of its cluster. Tasked with surveying its planetary system for valuable metals and terraformable worlds, pilots will also find it a source of intrigue.

In the first episode, pilots make their first footfall on Alpha Periphery B, a hot desert planet very different from the environments of my previous games. There they will learn to drive and drift across its windswept dunes, with high winds revealing the secrets beneath them. This is all paired with warm arid drones that trace Alpha Periphery across its sandswept sky.

With this first episode I’m excited to introduce pilots to a fresh experience that’s couched in the familiar mechanics of my previous games. From there, the next two episodes will be a return to form.

Returning to E.X.O.

A goal of Periphery Synthetic EP is to combine enhanced versions of my games S.E.A. and E.X.O. into a cohesive experience. In its second episode, pilots will return to Alpha Periphery C1, a low-gravity moon paired with cool icy drones. There they will ascend treacherous heights to push their exosuits to their highest potential.

Also returning from E.X.O. is its crafting system. Scattered across each world is a variety of materials for pilots to collect and synthesize. Choosing from a variety of upgrade paths, pilots can customize their exosuits to their liking. New episodes open new paths to assist in navigating their challenges, and can generally be taken back to previous areas.

Returning to S.E.A.

The genesis of Periphery Synthetic EP sparked from the creeping scope of my game S.E.A. and the story it wanted to tell. In the third episode, pilots will return to the depths of Alpha Periphery C, a tropical ocean planet with multiple musical layers. There they will search its seabed for openings to underwater caves, and perhaps dare to reach its turbulent surface.

Cut from S.E.A. was an intergalactic mystery that can be gleaned from its buried treasure. This will be fully developed in Periphery Synethetic EP and presented to pilots through their codex, which expands with scientific observations and thoughts as they explore and collect artifacts. Its fast travel system even connects points of interest with a quick loading screen.

A note on pricing

Although it’s being released episodically, copies of Periphery Synthetic EP will include access to all episodes. On release of its first episode, it will become available for purchase for a low price. Then its price will increase by a small amount with the release of every new episode.

Anyone who has previously supported my work is eligible to receive Periphery Synthetic EP for free when its first episode is released. Copies will be distributed through the platform which you purchased soundStrider and will include a free Steam key.

Like soundStrider, the initial release will also launch a free community copy program. For every purchase of Periphery Synthetic EP, a copy will be added to the community pool on itch.io. These are set aside for folks who cannot afford a copy for any reason.

Coming soon

In total there are six planned episodes for Periphery Synthetic EP. Each episode includes a new musical world to explore with unique materials to collect, abilities to unlock, and clues to uncover.

Pre-production is currently underway as I plan its locations and systems. For example, I’m currently working out the details of how travel between episodes will work. After that I’ll be examining the technical requirements and making adjustments to my engine to support them.

I’m excited to share more about the Alpha Periphery system soon. Cheers!