- Henchmen For HIre Bundle, and the Steam Sale! - 21 November 2023
Okay, you know how this works -- Papa Gabe comes along and offers a rich bounty of discounts for all his Steam kiddies. Same deal, everything goes down a little, wishlists fire off, everybody wins. But this time around we have a little something new for you... Introducing Henchmen For HIre, a bundle of two great games -- Penny Larceny and Henchman Story! If you like your social satire with a splash of crime and comic book shenanigans, your ship has officially arrived. Get both games at a discount! We've also got plenty of Arcade Spirits and The New Challengers love too, so if you've played the first Arcade Spirits but didn't know about the sequel... your OTHER ship has arrived! Look, you've got a lot of ships in this hypothetical scenario, okay?
- For Your Consideration: Outstanding Story-Rich Game! - 21 November 2023
Roll out the red carpet, fire up the spotlights, strike up the band -- it's awards season! Get hounded by paparazzi! Wear a dress made of meat! Have your darkest secrets exposed by TMZ! It's all part of the magic of show business. For this year's Steam Awards, we'd very much like to submit for your consideration: Penny Larceny: Gig Economy Supervillain. You can tell we're serious because we have two colons in a row, which is a style guide no-no. If you could toss us a nomination for Outstanding Story-Rich Game, well, it'd show the world we do in fact stand outside of a thing and we are wealthy with story (even if we are far, far from rich). And let your friends know, too! We've got a lovely little one-caper demo they can try if they're all like "Eeeeeh, I dunnoooo, visual novels, not my thing." Trust us -- that demo's gold and will win them over. Thanks for your consideration. Hope we c…
- Comic book adventure Penny Larceny: Gig Economy Supervillain is out now - 15 August 2023
Enjoy comics and visual novels? How about super heroes? You should take a look at the recently released Penny Larceny: Gig Economy Supervillain which looks great. Read the full article here: https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2023/08/comic-book-adventure-penny-larceny-gig-economy-supervillain-is-out-now
- Penny Larceny is NOW AVAILABLE! - 7 August 2023
Welcome to the Steam Visual Novel Fest, and welcome to the gigaverse of crime and consequences known as Penny Larceny: Gig Economy Supervillain! To celebrate launch week, we're offering a 10% release discount! This is the first fully independent release from Fiction Factory Games, and we're SO thankful for your support. This wouldn't have been possible without the ongoing efforts of our fans. Tell your friends, tell your enemies, wishlist it, leave a review, help is defeat the algorithm! Some handy links to get you prepped: Our Socials and More (Including Discord) Content Warning Streamer Guide Now let's get stealin'!
- Release Date Moving to August 7th! - 18 July 2023
I have good-bad news! We're moving from a July 25th release to August 7th. Delays may suck, but we have good reason -- and Fiction Factory Games believes in being open and transparent. Steam has a Visual Novel Fest sales event coming up on August 7th. We're moving to better align with it, and give Penny Larceny the best possible chance of launching with eyes on it from media, press, influencers, and fans who love visual novels. Unfortunately, due to the way sale cooldown timers work on Steam (because Steam is a giant algorithmic driven MMO with its own metagame, much like capitalism itself) we can't launch on our planned date of July 25th and still have a discount during Visual Novel Fest. The only way to fully participate and get the best visibility during the event is to move. Penny Larceny is an indie project through and through. No publisher, no outside funding. Just one small team…
- Steam Next Fest Demo Now Available! - 19 June 2023
It's time! Load your grappling gun and give your hacker cat some treats, because we're stealing a national monument! Play the one-caper demo of Penny Larceny today -- and don't forget to wishlist the game, to help us fight THE ALGORITHM(tm)! Our visibly during Next Fest can be improved by you clicking one little button! (Also technically the event officially starts in a few hours, but we wanted to get the demo up early to make sure everything was A-OK and nothing was on fire.) And throughout Next Fest, we'll have a looping video playing through the demo with the lead developer and content creator JellyCrowned! You could just watch that instead of playing yourself, but maybe do both? I mean, it's just a suggestion. Whatever, I'm not your dad. See you on Crimr!
- Release Date Announcement! - 15 June 2023
It's almost time! Get your grappling hooks swinging and your masks on straight, because Penny Larceny dives into the action on July 25, 2023! I know, right? So soon?! But we're ready. Crimr's online, the bosses have missions for you, and summer is going to heat up with all the illegal stuff you'll be doing! (Please do not commit crimes. I mean, like, in real life. Or do, whatever, I'm not your dad.) Want a taste of the action? The playable demo releases June 19 at Steam Next Fest! Dang, that's not far away at all, is it? The demo includes a shortened version of the "Meet Your Bosses" scene, and the "Monumental Proportions" caper (one of fifteen playable capers in the game). A nice snack that'll give you a taste of what's to come! ... wait, I already used a "taste" metaphor earlier in this paragraph I can't repeat it that's just weird abort ABORT --hope to see you at Steam Next Fest, and…
- Meet the Writer: Stefan Gagne - 7 June 2023
Okay, so we've profiled our character art team and our music team... what's left? The writer? Hooboy. This is gonna be awkward, since (to step outside of the Corporate Royal We for a moment) I'm basically interviewing myself. But I am trying to be better at taking pride in my own work after years and years of worry at looking self-centered. Soooo... why not? Tell me a bit about yourself -- your background, how you got where you are now. My name is Stefan Gagne. I'm asexual and physically disabled and live in a generic middle class suburban hell. You might also know me as Twoflower; I started using the moniker back in my teenage years to mask the fact that I was piggybacking off my sister's university Internet account. (This is back in the days of dial-up modems, before commercial ISPs. Yes, I am that old. I am so old.) I've been writing stories since I was a little kid, going through an…
- Meet the Musicians: Star and Keiko - 31 May 2023
This week we've got a delightful pair of interviews for your reading enjoyment -- we're talking with the music team behind Penny Larceny! Star, who created the original electro-jazz soundtrack, and Keiko, who created the theme song "Back of the House." Star! Tell me a bit about yourself -- your background, how you got where you are now. My name is Star Victoria Power and I write music under the name Slide20XX - I decided I wanted to write music for video games when I was around 13 years old and have been at it ever since. How would you describe your musical style? What do you enjoy most about it? The genre I identify most with is the “Digital Fusion” style - which for me, if I’m being totally honest, is just a really clever way of saying “video game music” ha - but in all seriousness, my music is inspired by elements of classical music, jazz, and especially combinations of those two sty…
- Meet the Artists: Crowbar and Solient - 24 May 2023
For the last few weeks of the dev blog (because we're coming up on release sooner than you think...) I'd like to put a spotlight on some of the people who helped make Penny Larceny happen! This week, it's all about the art. After initial character designs for the main cast were done by Molly Nemecek, we brought on board a two-member art crew -- Crowbar and Solient. Lines and color, respectively. An unbeatable tag team! First, let's learn about... Crowbar! Heya, I’m Crowbar, a non-binary artist from Canada who has worked in TTRPGs, board games, and comics! I’m a full time freelance artist and when I’m not bringing others’ characters to life, I’m drawing my own, playing D&D, or riding my motorcycle. Comics have always been the biggest influence in my art, from the likes of Trigun, to the reboot of Prophet, to all the webcomic labours of love out there. The need to get the characters in my…
- Improving Accessibility - 17 May 2023
This week I'd like to talk about something a bit less flashy and cool and marketing friendly, but still very important to us -- accessibility. No matter your means or ability, we want you to be able to enjoy Penny Larceny. The lead developer at Fiction Factory Games is physically disabled himself and has struggled with playing major tentpole AAA games which lack accessibility options -- so when the time came to make our own games, we resolved to develop features that will allow anyone to play. We're carrying forward all the features we rolled into the Arcade Spirits games, but have a few new ones to show you. (Unfortunately Steam doesn't allow alt text on images, so we'll caption these with text right below them. The irony is... unpleasant.) The major new feature is the ability to change the character dialogue you'll be reading in the game. You can change how it uses color, and change w…
- Introducing Farsight - 10 May 2023
You can't have a world of comic book criminal adventure without comic book heroes to fight your comic book villains using comic book sound effects. Without opposition, there's no challenge. And without challenge, how do you know if you're a true gamer who can git gud instead of being a scrub? So in Penny Larceny: Gig Economy Supervillain, you'll be frequently going up against Farsight -- the hero to your villain, the cape to your mask. Unlike Penny, Farsight has actual superpowers -- after a lab accident during a school field trip to a Continuum facility, she gained the ability to see through the possibility-space of time. She knows every move you're going to make before you make it, which means she can always counterplay your actions. She can dodge bullets by making sure she's not where you're going to shoot them, she can avoid punches and kicks by repositioning herself ahead of time,…
- Introducing HATE-4000 - 3 May 2023
"Gentlemen of the Department of Defense (because I'm pretending it's 1968 and let's be honest there would be no ladies in the war room) I have gathered you here today to introduce you to the future of warfare... the Hauke-Alexandros Technology Enterprises 4000. The most powerful 16-bit computer ever created, purpose-built to do one thing and one thing only -- to hate the enemies of the United States of America, and calculate the best possible ways to completely destroy them. This in no way can backfire with our own creation turning against us! Hurrah for America! Now, let's all smoke a cigarette and cheat on our wives." That was the thinking that led to the creation of HATE-4000, a computer to solve the Vietnam War. A computer with only one governing emotion: Hatred. A computer that would get mothballed and forgotten, left dusty and unused in some abandoned basement, for damn near fifty…
- Introducing Doctor Mayhem - 26 April 2023
A recent arrival to the criminal underworld, the sinister Doctor Mayhem is wanted for corporate espionage, plagiarism, and multiple violations of scientific ethics in his fanatical quest to complete his doomsday research. He lurks in shadowy, mildew-stained basements conducting abhorrent experiments which will one day lead to the downfall of mankind itself. His hubris knows no bounds. If you see him, do not approach, and contact federal authorities immediately. And above all? Do not call him Mister Mayhem. It's Doctor Mayhem, and he has six figures of student loan debt to prove it. ...okay, that's the official statement. But I'm guessing you don't want the box text, you want the real story. Doctor Isaac Marquez really, really does not want to be a mask. He started out with big dreams of curing cancer and saving humanity, but when he leaked the formula for a life-saving drug his company…
- Play it Your Way - 19 April 2023
You know what's the most thrilling, captivating, cinematic developer blog topic we could possibly cover? Staring at screenshots of character customization options! No, seriously, this is the kind of thing I live for. Whenever a game is coming out I'm the one hammering web searches trying to find pictures of how extensive the player creation system is, so I can plan ahead and dream of what may be. Admittedly I am a complete weirdo. While customization of Penny Larceny herself is limited, there are some interesting new options here not available in previous games that we should go over -- including diversity representation and content comfort levels to ensure the play experience goes down smooth... Let's take it from the top. There are six things you can change each time you start playing the game: Penny's undercover alias, Penny's pronouns, Penny's skin tone, what level of obscene langua…
- All Hail the Overmistress - 12 April 2023
The Overmistress. You do not require her true name, for her role in this world is more true than any mere name could possibly be. It is whispered in the halls of power, in the secret places where the wealthy and decadent hold sway. She is Ruler of the Council of Twelve, Herald of the Many-Faceted One, Keeper of the Sanguinomicon's Unknowable Secret. She also likes butter pecan ice cream, playing violin, and trashy reality television shows. Because no matter what shadow-circles you dominate in this world, everybody likes those horrible programs where they vote people off the island with roses and stuff. As one of the three bosses you can work for in Crimr, she is probably the second most villainous -- but that's because HATE-4000 wants to blow up the world, which gives them top billing by default. The Overmistress's goals are far more insidious than that; making power plays and winning i…
- Choice, Consequence, and Five Star Gigs - 5 April 2023
The following statements are both true: 1. There is no player character in this game. 2. You are the player character of this game. Because this is the story of Penny Larceny -- up-and-coming catburglar, aspiring supervillain, a mask on the rise. But this is also the story of you, the whisper in her ear, the voice in her head, the combination devil / angel on her shoulder. That means you are not Penny -- you are you, engaged in conversation with Penny's internal thoughts and helping guide her steps through this world. Periodically when Penny comes to a moment of indecision, she'll stop to consider the best path forward... and that's when you step in, to suggest a course of action. Often she'll agree! Sometimes she won't! Occasionally you'll bicker back-and-forth. But in the end, it's your responsibility to be a good mentor and guide on her path to becoming an epic-tier mask, just like h…
- How To Commit Crimes - 29 March 2023
Welcome back to the Penny Larceny: Gig Economy Supervillain developer's blog. As promised, each Wednesday you'll get more lore and more game details straight from Fiction Factory Games. Last week, we introduced you to Crimr, the villainous matchmaking service sponsored by the infamous King in Yellow. And lore is fun, but let's talk about how it actually works in-game. Your goal is to pull off criminal capers for three different bosses: The Overmistress, HATE-4000, and Doctor Mayhem. Each boss wants different things. Doctor Mayhem and The Overmistress may want you to rob a bank, but HATE-4000 is an anticapitalist computing machine and doesn't care about money. HATE-4000 and Doctor Mayhem may take an interest in stealing from a cryptocurrency techbro, but the Overmistress cares not for such things. And all three of them might be up for stealing a shrink ray, for their own reasons... Acros…
- Dev Blog: What Is Crimr? - 22 March 2023
Welcome to the Penny Larceny: Gig Economy Supervillain developer's blog. Every Wednesday we'll be giving you fresh deets on the next visual novel from Fiction Factory Games, detailing game systems and canonical lore. Drop by every week for an inside look into development, and to learn more about the world of the "Gigaverse" you will be hustling for. This week, let's talk about Crimr -- a freelance job app and social media network for masks. I have a promotional email here in my inbox that I can pass your way, let's see if I can copy and paste it into Steam's announcement editor... Hello. My name is the Matchmaker, right hand of the King in Yellow, and I have a fantastic opportunity for your consideration. Are you a hot and happening villain on the go, who doesn't have time to sit around hiring and training henchmen to do your evil bidding? Who can you turn to for quick and easy contract…
