Moving forwards, you can expect a new dev log every Friday. Dev Log Fridays! 

So, this game, Cerebratum: Taking Initiative. What is it, and where did this idea come from?

Long ago, a flash game called Stick Wars was released, a simple side scrolling RTS game of stick figures stabbing each other that contained a curious and (seemingly) unique mechanic: the ability to possess any one of your units at any time, allowing you to fully control and play as them. This allowed for unique strategies, such as playing as an archer and harassing your enemies while your miners got to work, or playing as a large, tanky spartan that would lead a charge, etc etc. 

Another game, this one a steam released game, shared a similar idea of possessing units amidst a massive battle. Cortex Command, where two brain-in-a-jar commanders would build up fleets of miners, soldiers and defenses with the goal to destroy the others brain. You could, at any moment, possess any unit you wanted and take full manual control, allowing for ridiculous stunts such as a miner lunging head-first into the enemy lines, or a large and bulky unit with a flamethrower nimbly darting through enemy defenses. 

This idea of possessing individual units within a massive battle created the idea of Cerebratum, a Real Time Strategy game that myself and Brandon (who made the lovely sprites you see below) are currently developing that will involve massive battles and, crucially, the ability to control any unit on the battlefield and take manual control.

Cerebratum is an Real-Time Strategy game where the player must find balance between building and upgrading spawners for their units, capturing powerful objects across the battlefield and fending off the tides of the enemy forces, ultimately defeating their enemy HQ or being defeated. This is done both by traditional RTS base management as well as an unorthodox possession mechanic, allowing you to play as any unit in your legion, leading troops in a squad, capturing objectives and blowing apart the enemy lines with unique abilities only available to units while you are possessing them. 

Things are still very early in development, but a playable pre-Alpha build is planned sometime before the end of 2023. Stay tuned!

- Noah