Why is this game SO short?

[Simon Blackquill]

Never realized upon watching playthroughs of this game as a teen how short this thing actually was. I think this would bother me less if the game wasn’t $20. It’s the exact same length as the free-to-play version that’s on itch.io as far as I can tell.

And honestly the only reason I’m upset is because of how fun this game actually was! The story, the setting, the characters... Was pretty sad to finish it within just a few hours. Hitting that realization moment of “oh holy crap this is the very end of the game already isn’t it?” Felt kinda... crappy. It was like the same feeling as beating Sonic’s stage in SADX — You’re just kinda left there going “that’s it?” but at least there’s technically more game in that one. I know the shorts exist but I finished both within 15min.

I looked up “Why is Octodad so short” and saw some discussions on here from devs saying they were planning on releasing either new levels or new Octodad games entirely, but that was in 2014. I’d be pretty sad to know this franchise is dead, ngl.

[D-ray]

I don't know either. My theory is that they couldn't expand the actual gameplay due to how much it is tied to the story.
Like, every single level in the story is pretty easy and straightforward, a vegetable can do that.
I would have LOVED to see this game as a platformer or something, but the genre does not go well with a plot based gameplay like the one present in Octodad.
It's wasted potential to me.

[Njã¥l]

Short games isn't necessary a bad thing. With the amount of games today short and high quality is really nice in my opinion

[Luthyr]

The original Octodad was a free student version that is quite a bit jankier. Dadliest Catch was our first commercial game as an 8-person team. We priced it at $15 since that's what similar length other boutique indie games were charging when we released. It takes on average 3-4 hours to be finished with it for most people and seems to still be the case on howlongtobeat.com.

There is an aspect of replayability with achievements, co-op, time trials, workshop mods, but ultimately, we learned from making this game that if we don't force the player to interact with all the content as part of a goal, many people will miss it or get bored. Like making a segway or redbox in the grocery store are fun toys, but it was probably a missed opportunity not to involve many of these toys as part of larger goals.

We did do the new shorts levels after release and ported the game to about everything, but the team wanted to try our hands on creating another new IP. Our second game Bugsnax, released about a year or so ago, and is coming to Steam within a couple months. That game is longer and will be even longer with the free expansion that is coinciding with the launch.

I wouldn't rule out an Octodad sequel in the future, but its success has given us the freedom to make new and different things.

[D-ray]

Originally posted by Luthyr:

There is an aspect of replayability with achievements, co-op, time trials, workshop mods, but ultimately, we learned from making this game that if we don't force the player to interact with all the content as part of a goal, many people will miss it or get bored. Like making a segway or redbox in the grocery store are fun toys, but it was probably a missed opportunity not to involve many of these toys as part of larger goals.

Calling "aspect of replayability" achievement's like the one's where you need to fail a hundred times, plugging in a controller, or make a domino effect in the marriage stage is rather... SILLY.
Because they were FAR from being a challenge, and just a way so waste even more time on those levels, or replay the entire chapter just to reach that part.
Don't get me wrong tho, for being your first game, it was quite ok. I'm glad that you guys kept making and learning from Octodad.

[Luthyr]

Yeah, I wasn't personally paying attention when the team made the fail 100 times achievement and we nixed it from the following port releases. 😅

I'm not saying the extra aspects to the game are going to be good or enjoyable to everyone, but they are there for people who want to try to expand their time with the game.

[PipPopPuddinPop]

It's worth mentioning that it's fun to play the game again with two players. There's a whole new level of difficulty when you're each controlling one side of his body.

[A0_B0]

Originally posted by Luthyr:

Yeah, I wasn't personally paying attention when the team made the fail 100 times achievement and we nixed it from the following port releases. 😅

I'm not saying the extra aspects to the game are going to be good or enjoyable to everyone, but they are there for people who want to try to expand their time with the game.

100% octodad was a pain ONLY due to the achievement of the domino effect, everything else was fun though, I just lost 10 times a level then got on with other achievements. Still octodad has remained a massive part of my gaming life and I even bought the soundtrack just to put the main theme tune onto my soundboard can't wait to see if you make any new content in the future, or even a sequel/prequel??