E3 2017 Big Indie Pitch winner Squeelings has launched on Android devices in the US completely free.
A Squeeling is a colourful creature that cuddles with its kind for warmth. They have extremely suggestive emotions, so when banded together with sad or grumpy Squeelings the whole pact feeds off the negativity.
The player's aim is to keep the group happy by working on the best combo hugging strategy. There are currently 300 levels available to play.
No monetisation
Squeelings has been in development for a number of years but due to the developer’s VR commitments it was pushed back.
The title was intended to incorporate a free-to-play model, however the title has been released with no ads, no in-app purchases and is free to download.
Squeelings developer E McNeill said the current strategy is to see if the game goes viral and potentially do something more with the game depending on its success.
“I had to spend a lot of time working on Squeelings and this pervasive niceness definitely had an effect on me, always leaving me in a better mood,” Squeelings developer E McNeill told PocketGamer.Biz.
“Devs who work on violent games or horror games sometimes report extra stress or even having nightmares and Squeelings was kind of the opposite of that.
"I felt more relaxed and more kind. My hope is that the game will have the same effect on players. In these times, I feel like a lot of people could use something like that in their lives.”
You can check out Squeelings on Google Play.
The next Big Indie Pitch will take place at GDC 2019 on March 19th. It'll be followed by BIPs at GameDevDays (April 11th) and Pocket Gamer Connects Seattle (May 13th to 14th).
