Help this game get on Steam!

(Update 9/23) The Oil Blue's price has been cut from $14.95 to $8.95! However, if we get accepted to Steam via Greenlight, I will permanently cut the price down to $6.95! Everyone who bought the game on any distribution portal will receive a Steam key as well.

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"It just all looks fantastic - and the sound-scape backs the looks, dealing out a phenomenal mix of calming, watery melodies, with piano scales crashing along as the going gets a little tougher. Put this together with the engaging gameplay and it's sheer gaming bliss.

What I'm trying to tell you is this - I've had a huge amount of fun with The Oil Blue, and with good reason - it's challenging, it's gorgeous and it's by far the most unique experience I've played in a good while. This is something to officially 'be excited about' - I know I am." -Mike Rose, IndieGames.com

"The Oil Blue looks great, plays great, and will suck you in for hours at a time." -JayisGames.com

"...a rich and rewarding experience that’s really unlike any game out there." -About.com

“Games like The Oil Blue are always a pleasant surprise. We often expect nothing from them and they deliver an experience that is nothing sort of a joy. Vertigo games should be proud of what they’ve created here, and anyone interested in playing something great should check this out.” -Gamezebo

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Game Summary

The Oil Blue is an indie action-sim that has you drilling for oil in the world's oceans, selling barrels of oil on the market, and exploring new islands once you completed objectives set by your employer, the United Oil of Oceania company. Set in the ocean in the near future, the world's dependency on oil has grown to an even larger amount. It’s up to you and a crew of men to travel the ocean, find abandoned oil drilling islands, and reclaim them for the United Oil of Oceana company.

Once you land on an island, you have a set amount of days and oil barrels to make during your stay. Fire up those old drilling machines and start making oil underwater, watch the oil barrel market and sell at the highest price, repair machines and do it all within the time you’re given…or the UOO will boot you off the island for a better crew. Sell more barrels to achieve higher ranks and perks, upgrade your machines, and conquer the ocean!

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About the Game

I wanted to set out creating a different type of game. I didn't think about how it would sell, the commercial viability, or anything like that. All I knew is that if I could create a unique environment with two very talented artists, Sara Gross (artist) and Jonathan Geer (composer), and create a fun experience that players haven't quite had before, that the game would sell itself.

Well, the game itself turned out to be a personal great success with good reviews and positive feedback. The game, alas, did not sell itself, likely due to the fact that marketing an "oil drilling simulator" is next to impossible, even though the game isn't a commercial sim, and more of an action arcade sim experience. And so, with just a few dozen copies sold I put a fork in it and continued to make games. Steam would later reject the game for the first time, offering me no explanation, just like how they've done with every single dev before and after me who got rejected.

Then something awesome happened. Mike Rose wrote a book called 250 Indie Games You Must Play, and asked that the Oil Blue be a part of it. Soon more people experienced the game and I got a bit more positive feedback. Armed with this new accolade of being published in a book and more great quotes from customers and reviewers, I applied again to Steam, asking for the game to be accepted. They declined a second time. So, that was that.

Then once again, something even awesomer happened: the Indie Royale bundle was created, and I was asked if Oil Blue could be a part of a bundle. I readily accepted, and I made several times more money in the first few hours of the Xmas Bundle than I did for almost two whole years. I asked if Steam would accept the game this time around, having garnered even more press and reviews, and they declined a third time. I'm very thankful for the Indie Royale folks and their bundle gave me the funds to continue my game making career. Still, I know the player count for the Oil Blue is quite low, never quite reaching an audience outside of my website, the bundle, and the few that reviewed it (posted above).

But now the power is in the community's hands. I don't really plan to pin my future to the success of the Oil Blue anymore; my next game is called Cook, Serve, Delicious!, a hardcore restaurant sim that will be on Greenlight and released this September 2012. But I would like that one last shot at Steam with this game now that Greenlight has launched, and if anything maybe get that elusive fourth rejection letter...because, really, why not?


For a demo and review links, please visit:
http://www.vertigogaming.net/blog/?portfolio=the-oil-blue

Check out our newest Greenlight game, "Cook, Serve, Delicious!":
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=100875859