Hopetown gameplay teaser trailer, investigation and publishing mechanics detailed

Longdue has released a gameplay teaser trailer, information, screenshots, and artwork for “psychogeographic” RPG Hopetown, as well as announced that Olga Moskvina, a key writer and editor on Disco Elysium, is part of the game’s development team.

Moskvina wrote Ruby, Bird’s Nest Roy, and other Disco Elysium characters, as well as delivered the final language polish across the title.

“I am thrilled to have such a talented professional join the team,” said Hopetown narrative lead, ZA/UM co-founder, and Disco Elysium writer Martin Luiga in a press release. “Her proficiencies as both a writer and editor are likely to get us to a level of polish befitting our audience, as evidenced by her undeniable contributions to Disco Elysium.”

Science-fiction / western novelist Stark Holborn, lead writer on detective adventure game Shadows of Doubt and writer on Nivalis, has also been confirmed as part of the development team.

Here are the latest details:

Hopetown takes place in the fictional mining town of New Greenwich, decades after “The Flare”—a coronal mass ejection that fried all electronics and communication devices across the globe. It was here that the De Luna Corporation unearthed Quicksilver, a substance capable of reconnecting a fractured world.

Until now. In the wake of a devastating aurora storm, there are whispers of disappearing miners and the flow of Quicksilver halting. The official narrative of the De Luna Corporation is being brought into question.

The people want The Truth. As a journalist, players step into the role of witness and investigator, chasing stories as they unfold across the island of Entre.

You’ll delve into the island’s seedy underbelly and scale the caustic ivory towers of corporate surveillance as one of three distinct journalism classes:

• Correspondent – The investigative journalist—eyes like a camera, hands like a clock.
• Columnist – The voice of culture and taste who decides what’s in and what’s out.
• Gonzo – The clickbait mouthpiece, willing to say anything to keep eyes on the page.

Shape your character’s background and gender to compose a narrative uniquely your own.

Utilize distinct journo mechanics during your investigations, each designed to interweave and produce multiple outcomes.

• Photography – Your camera lets you extract meaning from images, uncovering details and hidden connections through photographic inspection sequences..
• Interviews – Question a wide range of characters, drawing on investigative instinct, cultural critique, or gonzo exaggeration.
• Observations – Read and record people, places, and objects for contradictions, tensions, and details others may overlook.
• Publication – The system that brings it all together. What evidence you present (or even decide to fake), the quotes you use, and the observations you make allow you to pick your story, define your angle, and write in your chosen style.
• Psychogeography – Your mental map of the world—told through the stories you choose to publish—changes the state of the playable environment and the unfolding story, altering relationships between characters, your standing with different factions, your popularity with the public, and the fate of the island’s future… because word travels fast.

A total of 21 distinct skill-voices guide your journey—including three writing disciplines—with Gonzo favoring Sensationalism, Correspondents favoring Investigative, and Columnists favoring Vogue.

Each skill is attached to one of seven personas—Nobody, Abacus, Journo, Animal, Fashionista, Huntress, and a seventh persona that may or may not reveal itself depending on the choices you make.

To mark the release of the gameplay teaser, a time and number limited “Newsflash” edition of the game is available for pre-order on Kickstarter until May 29. Backers that purchase this copy will have their name featured in an in-game readable newspaper, plus unlock an exclusive Discord tier option that features additional access to the developers, as well as updates on its development and testing.

Key Points

• New Gameplay Teaser – First look at gameplay from Hopetown in the new teaser.
• Olga Moskvina Joins the Team – Disco Elysium writer Olga joins Longdue, working alongside ex-ZA/UM founder Martin Luiga, early Disco Elysium software developer Veljo Hagu, Technical Lead Piotr Sobolewski, Disco Elysium narrator Lenval Brown, and Art Director Astri Lohne.
• An RPG Worth the Gossip – Hopetown builds on reactive, branching storytelling designed to reward curiosity, bias, and interpretation.
• Choose Your Class With Three Distinct Journalist Types – Correspondent, Columnist, or Gonzo, and control how the story unfolds.
• Become a Journalist – Good, bad, or somewhere in between, Hopetown‘s journalism mechanics give you the tools to construct your own version of events. Take photos, log observations, interview subjects, and compile evidence (real or fabricated) to publish stories with lasting consequences.
• Voices, Voices, Voices – Yours is far from the only one. 21 unique skill-voices shape how you see and interpret the world. Read between the lines with Codes, pierce the social veil with Aura, or clickbait your way to the top with Sensationalism.
• New Greenwich Awaits – Together with unlockable companion characters, you’ll explore an island dominated by The Network, years after the global cataclysm known as The Hush. Duck and weave between a multitude of factions—including the Postmasters, Betweeners, and the downloadable content—all clawing for power as you try to make a name for yourself or promote The Truth.
• Newsflash Edition of the game available on Kickstarter Until May 29 – This limited edition copy of the game lets Kickstarter backers have their name featured in the game world, and get advanced access to the development team.

Watch the teaser trailer below. View the screenshots at the gallery.

Gameplay Teaser Trailer