This Indie Horror Game Dies When Its Players Do

An upcoming indie game will launch with one of the more unique business models we've ever seen.

When Vogelsap's first-person asymmetrical multiplayer horror game The Flock arrives in Q3 2015 (sometime before October), the time left for people to buy the game will depend on the in-game death rate.

Basically, every time a player dies in the game, one life will be removed from the total population of the "Flock." There will be a population countdown widget available in the in-game menus, the Steam store page, and other social channels.

When the Flock's population hits zero, no one will be able to buy the game ever again. At this point, assuming it happens, only the players who already bought The Flock will get to participate in what Vogelsap is calling a "cinematic finale."

"After the ending, the game will go offline permanently and no longer be playable," the developer said.

This even applies to The Flock's offline mode, a representative for Vogelsap confirmed: "The game will not be playable offline. It is online multiplayer only."

Vogelsap did not announce how much The Flock will cost.

The Flock, which began as a student project, is set on an "uncrecognizable" earth in the year 3000. Horrible pollution has blocked out the sun, wiping out humanity in the process. You play as a new breed of monster creatures known as the Flock, who are prospering until a new race called Carrier emerges.

Here is a description of how the gameplay actually works, courtesy of Vogelsap:

"Each player begins as a member of the Flock, when a strange light emitting device known as the Light Artifact will suddenly appear somewhere on the map. The first player who touches the Light Artifact will transform into the Carrier, who then becomes the hunted."

"Equipped with the Light Artifact, the Carrier can defeat the Flock by using the Light Artifact to illuminate the creatures. The Flock can in turn avoid the light’s lethal effects by remaining motionless when caught by the beam. When a member of the Flock successfully lunges at the Carrier, it seizes control of the Light Artifact and becomes the new humanoid hunted. The previous Carrier then respawns as a member of the Flock just arriving at the scene."

There is only one way to win a match of The Flock. You must survive as the Carrier while also not allowing the light to be extinguished--or you can capture objectives. Check out the video above to see how it all works.

Does The Flock sound interesting to you? Share you thoughts in the comments below.

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