Reflect. Adapt. Overcome #
Curating the PAX 2025 Experience #
Feeling what is now becoming a familiar crunch of an impending event, the pressure from which has made us reflect, adapt and prioritise. As eternal optimists, we’re often aiming for a target close to the best case scenario with a built-in expectation for some adaptation along the way; a pragmatist’s nightmare, but a process that brings motivation and momentum. As we began planning the ramp-up to PAX 2025, we reflected on the exhibition last year and decided to make some changes to the approach.
Last year was the first public showing of Bearers, and at the time it was ultimately a tech demo. The simple goal was getting the name out there and getting it into peoples hands to test the water. Some two years of development had already gone into it by solo dev Christian at that point, so showcasing it in that stage was in itself an achievement. With our return to PAX there comes some expectation, both from the players and viewers, but also from ourselves; the game of course has made a lot of progress, but how can we improve the showcase and experience…
The mission for PAX 2025 - Showcase the game in an efficient and effective manner, allowing for the volume of guests as well as a tighter and more meaningful experience.
With this goal in mind, we went down another layer on the Bearers nesting egg in creating an encapsulation of the core game loop, to showcase important differentiators in gameplay design, feel and style, whilst keeping it a tight and linear experience that hopefully means we can make the most impressions (accurately, and at volume).
This investment also serves a dual purpose - not only will it be a more holistic experience for the PAX crowd to enjoy, but we intend it to become the tutorial and prologue of the full game. Using this approach helps to create a great showcase whilst simultaneously laying the foundation for how every player will first experience Bearers going forward.
The world from the 2024 demo was open, but fairly bare bones. At the time, it was essentially and simply a forest, sparsely populated with mobs to allow the players a chance to test the mechanics. One of the highlights from the experience was the high average play time from the players, and although we loved watching folks exploring the map for up to 20-30 minutes, it meant that a lot of the time observers weren’t watching something that properly reflected the direction of the game.
To further ensure action on the screens with minimal downtime, we’re skipping character creation for this build. That mysterious hooded figure from our promotional art finally gets their moment to shine! More time to explore and battle; less time adjusting chin sliders to achieve the perfect jawline.
Getting to The Core #
Like Dr. Josh Keyes in 2003 #
In planning an encapsulated Bearers experience, we identified the following 5 key aspects most important to feature and communicate; these will speak to the core gameplay loop, as well as the feel and immersion, whilst allowing some comparison and contrast to other titles in the genre/s.
- Souls-inspired Combat and Movement
- Abilities
- Ability Capture
- Story and Aesthetics
- Co-op/Party Play
Souls-inspired Combat and Movement #
In terms of input and gameplay, the 2024 demo gave a small and relatively accurate taste of the mobility and combat (bugs aside). Importantly, the pace and feel were on show, and the Souls-inspired combat was well received, both explicitly with direct feedback, and implicitly based on the high average play time (that saw many players motivated to clear the entire map of enemies). There were however only martial weapon options and animations at the time.
Player expression and experimentation is a core tenet of Bearers, so the lack of optionality in weapons at the time was at odds with the overall mission statement. The implementation of ranged and spellcasting weapons over the last year opens up significantly more play styles, and allows each person to find a style of play that suits their preferences.
| PAX Demo | |
|---|---|
| 2024 | Small and relatively accurate taste of mobility and combat, featured 3 professions with a martial weapon for each. |
| 2025 | Updated movement. All 8 professions with a working weapon and animations, including melee, ranged and spell casting options. |
Abilities #
The ability system is why Bearers exists. It was built with flexibility and player agency at the forefront; to not only encourage the player to experiment, but expect it. It’s about discovery - creating builds by synergising combinations of abilities and gear based on both your personal play style, as well as the upcoming areas or enemies. Taking away the grind of levelling and respec costs, and allowing the player full control of their builds - the challenge is in understanding and execution rather than filling a progress bar.
With abilities being this critical to the Bearers experience, and our first showcase only featuring a handful of skills with no conditional synergy meant that communicating this was difficult. This year with a full selection of professions, each with a pool of abilities, including some conditional abilities, the strength and direction of the concept should be much clearer.
| PAX Demo | |
|---|---|
| 2024 | A small number (3-4) of abilities for each of the 3 featured professions, based on unique hit animations, damage dealing and one condition (burning). |
| 2025 | A set of 4+ abilities for each of the 8 professions, featuring a combination of hit animations, damage dealing, conditions, conditional damage, environmental manipulation, etc. Allowing the player to have a full ability bar whilst dual-classing. |
Ability Capture #
No grinding levels - progression in Bearers (other than improving mechanical skill) comes through strategy, and adaptation of your build to suit the next challenge. The ability side of your build sees the greatest opportunity for increasing effectiveness and power through synergy. A critical part of this process is the optionality from having a diverse pool of abilities. Therefore, building your pool of abilities is the primary method of progression.
Rather than simply having a merchant to purchase abilities, or side quests that reward them, in Bearers, the player will be encouraged to explore and discover every kind of enemy, and defeat every boss - all in the name of capturing the abilities of fallen foes, broadening the players possibilities and potential.
| PAX Demo | |
|---|---|
| 2024 | N/A |
| 2025 | Tutorial for ability capture. A variety of enemies from which abilities can be captured for each profession. |
Theme, Story and Aesthetics #
The PAX 2024 demo featured mostly generic forest terrain, with some campsites, tutorial and vendor NPCs, and a Shrine - i.e. very little to set it apart from any other medieval style fantasy title. This space was essentially a sandbox, and although the feedback was very positive on the environment, it wasn’t representative of the unique style that is envisioned for Bearers.
This 2025 encapsulation will showcase a much clearer visual identity, embracing the crystalpunk/aetherpunk aesthetic. Crystal formations don’t just decorate the Celestial Isles, they pulse with arcane energy, powering everything from clockwork cities to the majestic airships that navigate the isles.
We’ll look to tell stories through the remnants of bygone eras, of different factions with clashing ideologies, each with their own relationship to the crystal’s power. Each environment aims to reflect the game’s fantasy core - a world where magic, technology, and divine energy converge.
| PAX Demo | |
|---|---|
| 2024 | No story and limited text lines. A small selection of NPCs. Some stylised models, but primarily with a generic fantasy style. |
| 2025 | A cohesive but linear tutorial world featuring multiple biomes, stylised environmental storytelling, one guiding character with voice lines for lore, story and direction for the player. A sample of the style/aesthetics and immersion intended for Bearers. |
Co-op/Party Play #
Bearers was always designed around the idea that diverse abilities create powerful combinations, and now, for the first time at this exhibition, players will be able to experience that vision with their friends. This build will feature co-op gameplay, allowing you and your party to experiment with different builds and discover powerful synergies together!
| PAX Demo | |
|---|---|
| 2024 | N/A |
| 2025 | Integrated co-op experience for up to 3 players |
Looking ahead… #
The 2025 demo represents more than just a PAX showcase; it’s a meaningful introduction to the core Bearers experience. Every element from the crystalpunk aesthetic to co-op build synergies, has been designed to highlight what makes the game unique. This is just another beginning of course - the feedback we gather from PAX will be invaluable as we polish and expand this build for Steam NextFest early next year, where we recruit Bearers from all over the globe to join the fight for the Celestial Isles.