This month is all about wrapping development on the Xbox 360 version of Bastion and getting ready for our showing at June's Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles. We haven't quite crossed the finish line with development yet but we're so close we can taste it. Here's the latest from our camp:

Friday, May 27: "Building the Bastion" on Giant Bomb! We'll be live on Giant Bomb once again this coming Friday at 3:30pm Pacific to bring you the latest episode of Building the Bastion, which provides an inside look at our sometimes-strange development process. In this episode, you'll get a glimpse of what it's like trying to pull the final pieces of a game together and get it ready for release. Witness the anticlimax! Fair warning: Many late nights were involved, and things maybe got a little loopy. You can see how it all turned out and tune in for live Q&A plus get a sneak peek at the new content we'll be showing at E3. Tune in and let us know what you think! And if you want to get up to speed, check out the previous episodes.

New Preview, Video, & Screens on IGN Find out why IGN says "this game is awesome and people should be talking about it" in their new preview of Bastion.

The preview is based on the hands-on-playable build we'll be showing at E3, and the video preview (embedded in the story) shows how it all looks in action. Also if you dig into the screen gallery you'll find six new screenshots we've prepared in time for the big show, which feature some never-before-seen weapons and environments. We'll be talking more about these soon. Look for lots more coverage of Bastion online both before and after E3.

Supergiant Games @ E3 2011 The first full week of June, all seven of us at Supergiant Games will be piling into a couple of vehicles and driving on down to Los Angeles for E3. We'll be there on the show floor from June 7 through 9 letting people get their hands on Bastion and answering any questions they may have. Bastion will be one of the games featured in the Warner Bros. booth in South Hall, so if you're going to the show, do stop on by and say hello. And try the game of course! We'll be letting people get their hands on the latest version of the prologue as well as a never-before-seen area from farther into the adventure, which showcases later environments, foes, and weapons. Don't worry, we wouldn't show it if it was too much of a spoiler.

Home Stretch With any luck we'll soon be able to call the game "done" but technically we're not quite there yet. Things are simmering down a bit, though, and we're taking some time to reflect back on our development process and jot down some notes for our future selves. Still no official word on our release date on XBLA, which continues to be "summer", but we hope to have a specific date and pricing information out there soon. Got any questions about the game? Check out our recently posted Bastion FAQ and send us a note if we missed anything.

Last Updated Aug. 28, 2018: We've compiled a list of frequently asked questions about Bastion for easy reference in case you're wondering about the game.

Can I make and monetize Let's Play videos of Bastion? Short answer is yes, and thank you. For more details please read our policy on Let's Play videos.

What is Bastion? Bastion is an original action role-playing game featuring a reactive narrator who marks your every move, lush hand-painted 2D artwork, and tight responsive gameplay that rewards playing with finesse. The game is designed to be simple to pick up and start playing, while offering a lot of rich choices around character customization as well as a deep story and gameworld you can lose yourself in.

Is it any good? Bastion has earned more than 100 industry accolades from dozens of different publications, including spots of Best of the Year lists from TIME, the Associated Press, NPR, CNN, USA Today, Entertainment Weekly, Wired, and more.

Who is the developer? That's us. Bastion is the debut title from Supergiant Games, and we're a small independent studio that started in San Jose, California (we're now in San Francisco). Our team includes former members of Electronic Arts' Command & Conquer franchise and Infinity Ward's Modern Warfare franchise. We moved on from working for giant publishers to make games our way. If you'd like to know more about us, you can see how we operate and what's gone into the making of our first game in the Building the Bastion documentary series featured at GiantBomb.com.

Where can I get your soundtrack? The Bastion Original Soundtrack is now available at our online store! Bastion includes an hour of original music composed and created by our audio director, Darren Korb. Darren started making music for Bastion relatively early in development as we were working to define the exact tone we wanted to strike with the game. As we started talking about a fantasy frontier world, Darren came up with a musical style he calls "acoustic frontier trip-hop", which struck the balance we were looking for. You'll hear this musical style all throughout the game. The Bastion Original Soundtrack is also available through the Steam Store.

What platforms is it available for and what is the release date? Bastion launched on Xbox LIVE Arcade on July 20 as the first title in the fourth annual Summer of Arcade. Visit the game's official page on Xbox.com.

Bastion launched on PC on August 16, 2011 on the Steam Store. Visit Bastion's Steam page for more information. Bastion is also available from other select digital retailers.

Bastion launched on December 9, 2011 on the Chrome Web Store, where you could play the game right in your browser! Unfortunately, this version is no longer available due to some Chrome services that are no longer supported.

Bastion launched on April 26, 2012 on the Mac App Store. This version is no longer available due to updated Mac App Store requirements.

Bastion for iPad launched on August 29, 2012 on the App Store. An update released on November 14, 2012 added compatibility for iPhone. Visit Bastion's page on the App Store to download it.

Bastion for PlayStation 4 launched on April 7, 2015 on the PlayStation Store. Visit Bastion's page on the PlayStation Store to download it. Bastion for the Vita launched later that year on December 5, 2015. The two versions are cross-buy-enabled.

Bastion for Xbox One launched on December 12, 2016 on the Microsoft Store. Visit Bastion's page on the Microsoft Store to download it.

Bastion for Nintendo Switch was released on September 13, 2018!

What is the game's content rating? The game is rated E10+ by the ESRB, and 12+ by PEGI, USK, CERO, ACB, and GRB. The ESRB cited the game's fantasy violence, animated blood, and alcohol and tobacco reference.

Is there a playable demo available? Yes, there is a free demo available on Steam. There is also a free trial version of Bastion on Xbox LIVE Arcade, containing the prologue of the game. This early portion introduces the reactive narrator and the story, the style of play including several different weapons and secret skills, various aspects of character customization through the use of specially-brewed Spirits, and of course our lush gameworld. As such, the demo should provide a good sense of what the full experience has to offer.

How big is the development team? During Bastion's development, Supergiant Games was a core team of seven including our voice actor whose performance is so integral to the game. To learn more about us, visit the Team page. In addition to the core team, we got invaluable assistance from some of our friends and former colleagues in disciplines like animation, 3D modeling, and quality assurance.

How long was the game in development? Bastion started development in September 2009, so development took a little less than two years for the original Xbox 360 version of the game.

What engine is the game running on? Bastion runs on our own proprietary tools and technology, which were written in C# by Gavin Simon expressly for this game.

Which languages does the game support besides English? Bastion's voiceover is in English only. The game's text and subtitles are available in English, French, Italian, German, and Spanish.

We decided not to localize the voiceover for a variety of reasons, the most important of which is the quality of the English voiceover performance. We worked very closely with Logan our voice actor in countless recording sessions to get the timing and tone of the performance just right for the game, and we could not have replicated this relationship with any other actor. Further, the in-game voiceover is timed manually and carefully, to fractions of a second. All that said, we feel the English voiceover will lead to the best possible experience even for players who don't speak the language, since even the tone of the voice is important to the game.

What is the story of the game about? In Bastion, you play as a young man who wakes up to find his world shattered to pieces in a surreal catastrophe called the Calamity. You head for a place called the Bastion, where your people were supposed to go in case anything ever went wrong. But all you find there is an old man... who believes he can fix everything that's happened, but he needs your help. You then seek out the materials necessary to complete the Bastion and realize its true power.

This story unfolds through the use of real-time narration, so you will be piecing together the mysteries of the gameworld every step of the way, as the narrator conveys the greater meaning behind your every action.

What do you mean when you say the combat rewards finesse and experimentation? Bastion is designed to be an active, action-packed experience. In some role-playing games, the difference between victory and defeat can boil down to how high your stats are and how good your equipment is, rather than on your skill as a player. In Bastion, the combat has much more of an action-oriented feel, where you'll have to keep moving to evade or defend against your foes, take advantage of the terrain you're fighting in, and attack when you see an opening.

As you gain experience levels, rather than simply becoming more powerful, you will gain access to more and more options with which you can custom-tailor your playstyle to best suit your preferences. The numerous weapons in the game are not designed in a way where each one is bigger and better than the rest. All weapons remain viable throughout the game and can be upgraded and paired in a variety of different ways. The game makes it easy to try different options for customizing your character, so you won't feel like you're locked in to choices you made early on.

How long is the game? We aimed to create a game with a "just right" length and scope – the kind of game that feels truly complete in every sense – but we know that players have very different expectations about optimal game length. Bastion is paced such that you will spend no time grinding for experience or loot, or performing the kinds of menial tasks that can pad the length of some games. Even so, in our tests the average player usually takes from 8 to 10 hours to play from start to finish the first time. The game includes a lot of optional content and offers a variety of reasons to revisit the story after you finish it the first time, so Bastion can last you a good long while if you want it to.

How open-ended is the game? Bastion is designed to feel like a grand adventure with a clear purpose, so it isn't the sort of game in which you'll spend time wandering aimlessly looking for things to do. However, the structure of the game means you will always be given a choice of different areas to explore. Some areas must be completed to advance the story while others are purely optional but will reward you in different ways should you choose to complete them.

The moment-to-moment combat in the game is also quite open-ended, in the sense that you will have access to a growing number of viable options for configuring your character. Choosing different weapons, upgrades, secret skills, and spirits will result in a significantly different experience.

How much puzzle-solving is in the game? Bastion isn't a game about puzzle-solving. Puzzles didn't align well with the type of play experience we wanted, in that we never want the player to feel "stumped" about how to proceed. We didn't want to slow the pace of the game with a lot of puzzles.

What are some of the ways in which you can customize your character in Bastion? Some of the main ways in which you can customize your character and playstyle in Bastion is through making different choices in the Distillery, Arsenal, and Forge structures.

The Distillery contains a variety of specially-brewed Spirits, which can enhance your abilities in a variety of ways by providing various passive bonuses. For example, Werewhiskey grants you a 100% chance to deal critical hits for bonus damage, but only when your health is very low. Alternately, Bull Brandy makes you more resistant to damage. As you gain levels, your drink limit increases, allowing you to benefit from more Spirits at once.

In the Arsenal, you can choose from any two available weapons, plus a Secret Skill. Some Secret Skills must be earned, and require you to have a particular weapon equipped. Bastion does not restrict you from choosing whichever weapons you want, so if you want to go in with two melee weapons such as the Cael Hammer and the War Machete, you're more than welcome. All combinations are viable.

The Forge is where you upgrade all those different weapons you've collected. Upgrading weapons costs resources so you'll have to make some tough choices about which ones you want to improve. Each time you upgrade a weapon, you unlock two different improvements for it, and can freely swap back and forth between them. For example, when you upgrade the Cael Hammer for the first time, you can either improve its base damage or give it a chance to deal critical hits.

By engaging with these different systems, you can shape your character into a close-combat slugger, a lightning-fast flurry, a cool-headed sharpshooter, or anywhere in between.

Does the game offer adjustable difficulty settings? Yes, Bastion offers adjustable difficulty settings, though not in the conventional manner you've come to expect from other games. In most games you're asked to make a blind choice about difficulty before you begin play, such as by choosing between "Normal" or "Hard" modes. In Bastion, the game's default difficulty setting is designed to be suitable for anyone with basic reading ability (for brief onscreen tutorial prompts) and a grasp of how to use a game controller. Beyond that, players may wish to engage the Shrine, which is our in-game difficulty system that's introduced at a certain point during the story.

In the Shrine, you can invoke a variety of different Idols to raise the difficulty of the game in specific ways. As a basic example, the idol to the Goddess Hense causes foes to hit harder than usual. The effects of the idols are cumulative, so the more idols you invoke, the tougher the game gets. Apart from the inherent appeal of having to learn different tactics and when fighting Shrine-enhanced enemies, the advantage of invoking more idols is that you gain a bonus to experience earned, as well as more Fragments (a currency you'll use in the game).

How much narration is in the game? We recorded thousands of lines of narration for the game, somewhere in the vicinity of 3,000. The narration is a pervasive part of the experience. It is designed to vary based on how the player goes through each of the different areas of the game, so players will never hear all of the narration their first time through, and probably not the second or third time either. Our hope is that the narration will end up feeling like it was crafted to your own personal play experience.

Does the game offer multiplayer or co-op? Bastion is a single-player game. We prototyped cooperative play and considered supporting it earlier in development but eventually decided to focus only on single-player because cooperative play did not fit well with the aesthetic of the game and the personal journey we aimed to deliver.

Who does the artwork for the game? Is it all 2D? The art of Bastion is created by our art director Jen Zee. Almost every single asset in the game is something she painted by hand.

Who provides the voice of your narrator? Our narrator is voiced by Logan Cunningham, an actor based in New York. His performance in Bastion represents the first work he's done for a video game. If you wish to contact Logan regarding other acting opportunities, we'd be happy to put you in touch.

Ever since PAX East we've been getting a lot of requests for our Bastion bandanas from folks who couldn't make it to the show. We're going to start giving more of these away with some regularity. All you need to do to enter the bandana giveaway is follow @supergiantgames on Twitter and ask us anything using the #bastion hashtag. That'll be the clue that you want to be considered for the giveaway. Then we'll randomly select winners from that group and send them a bandana, wherever they may be! Read on for details.

Any aspect of the game or development process you want to know about, fire away. Asking multiple questions won't improve your chances, and although winners will be picked at random, we'll select from only those people who send in reasonably legitimate questions (e.g. asking us what one plus one is or asking us if you can have a bandana would not make you eligible). If you're selected, we'll follow you on Twitter and reply asking for mailing info, which would only be used for the purposes of this giveaway. We'll answer as many questions as we can, or if we can't or don't want to answer certain questions for some reason we'll probably just say so. For example, we'll continue to keep story details closely guarded. That's about it for the rules. We'll be looking forward to your questions!

As we prepare to release Bastion on Xbox LIVE Arcade this summer, one of the details we've worked out is our box art. OK, so the game doesn't technically come in a box but you'll still be seeing this on the XBLA marketplace:

What say you? Rather than try and capture the intense white-knuckle action of fighting a couple of Scumbags while the ground beneath your feet is falling away, we figured we'd go for something a little more in line with the tone and style of the game. Hope you like it.

Additionally, last week we got word from the ESRB about our official content rating, and it is:

E10+ means the game is suitable for ages 10 and up, at least according to the standards here in North America where. It felt good getting a content rating that reflected our desire for Bastion to be the sort of game that could be played and enjoyed by people of various ages... as opposed to just the 17-to-34-year-old male, the preferred target of most retail games. While Bastion was not designed specifically for younger players, it is meant to be an age-agnostic sort of game. If you know how to use a game controller and how to read basic onscreen prompts, the game will take care of you.

Let us know if you have questions about our content ratings in other territories.

This has been a crucial month for us at Supergiant Games: After a big push by everyone on team, we locked down all the game's content last week. That means we're just about finished with development. The Xbox 360 version of Bastion is nearly ready!

We're not quite there yet, of course. Andrew and Gavin are still hard at work on some key fixes so that we'll be good and ready for Microsoft's certification process to get on Xbox LIVE Arcade. In turn, that process can take a little while. Even so, at this point we can safely say it's been an amazing experience, late nights and all. We've had a great time playing through the game over and over in different ways and we're very much looking forward to getting the game out there to people. These next few weeks are going to be agonizing while we wait... fortunately, there's still a lot to do, and talk about! For example:

First Look at New Supergiant Games Logo Since we're on the verge of releasing our first game, it seemed like the appropriate time to update our studio logo to something that felt more in line with our spirit than what we started with. Here it is:

Through the course of creating Bastion we've gained a stronger grip on our identity as a team and studio, and this idea of wanting to make games that spark your imagination like the games you've played as a kid has stuck pretty well. Our new logo by Jen Zee reflects this, and even ties back to the game a bit, in ways you might notice when you play it. Hope you like it.

First Bastion Fan Art OK, I guess we're not counting the dude with the Bastion tattoo and the dude with the awesome Xbox 360 case mod, but notwithstanding those guys we're pleased to reveal the first piece of Bastion fan art we've received!

This one comes from Gabriel, the 6-year-old son of one of our colleagues from Warner Bros., who's been playing through the game father-and-son-style. In all seriousness it feels great to have made an impression on the young man (and his dad).

A Comment on Our Release Date This seems like a good time to point out that as soon as we have a specific announcement about a release date, we will come right out and say it. The exact timing is not entirely up to us since Microsoft works with publishers and developers to determine optimal release timing for its slate of XBLA titles. At any rate, there should be a good amount of advance warning before the release date so we'll all know well in advance exactly when to expect the game. Shouldn't be too long.

...

And that's all we've got for right now, but we'll have lots more in the coming days. We'll be presenting some new artwork from the game probably next week, and also giving details on how you can get your hands on one of our Bastion bandanas if you missed us at PAX East. With development wrapping up, you can expect us to be a little more talkative here for the time being as we change gears to getting the word out about our game. We think it turned out pretty special and very soon you'll be able to make that determination for yourselves.

Update: Thanks very much to everyone who tuned in live! In case you missed the latest installment, you can watch it here. As always the show was a ton of fun and it was great / slightly scary to show you examples of us ever-so-gently unraveling in these past couple of months as we've been putting the finishing touches on the game.

There was so much to cover this time that we couldn't give shouts-out to everyone we wanted to but we can make it up here: First off thanks to all the dudes from the Giant Bomb community who came up to us at PAX East recently, as your vote of support really means a lot. We're really happy to get to reveal so much of the process to you. Second, big thanks to our Seattle-based QA team that's currently putting the game through the ringer! You're helping us find all sorts of heinous stuff and giving us confidence as we put the finishing touches on the game. Everybody keep your fingers crossed for us, because even though we're almost done, some of the most important days are still ahead.

Original Post: This Friday, be sure to tune in to GiantBomb.com at 3:30pm Pacific and join Amir, Gavin, Jen, and Greg for the latest episode of Building the Bastion, in which we take you behind the scenes of the game we're making and give a rare glimpse into the world of game development. And as always, we'll be live on the air taking questions from the audience.

This time around we'll be showing you one of the most up-to-date versions of the game, including some of the rich RPG systems you'll get to sink your teeth into as a core part of the experience. We'll also show more of a build from around a year ago, when the game's reactive narration system first came online and when we were still exploring different ideas for the art style and world design. Be sure to let us know what you think!

If you need a refresher, check out the previous episode of the show!

It was only months ago when we first unveiled Bastion at PAX Prime in September 2010. That show was a truly amazing moment for all of us involved with the game, since Bastion struck a chord with a lot of people there. So, we really really wanted to make our next big appearance at PAX East. Thankfully the stars aligned and the folks at Warner Bros. really came through to help us have a great presence at the show. Our objective was simple: get as many people to play Bastion as possible. Our five stations were always full every minute of the show. We handed out thousands of our bandanas and overall we couldn't have been any happier by the amazing response we got. Here's a rundown of some of the show highlights:

Bastion in the News We got a lot of great press coverage during PAX East (and just prior). Check out what people are saying and let us know if we missed anybody.

The Escapist "Out of everything I played at PAX East 2011, the game that got me most excited was an action-RPG called Bastion."

Rock Paper Shotgun "What captured my imagination about the game was that it was just so charming."

GameSpy "Bastion ... is generating some serious buzz as it approaches its summer Xbox Live Arcade debut."

Destructoid "With lush visuals and an interactive story told by a narrator in real time as you play, it seemed like the best of brilliant games I love, yet something entirely all its own."

GamePro "An innovative new action role-playing game with a fantastic and unique narrator."

Wired "When the 20-minute demo ended, I wanted nothing more than to keep hacking, collecting and listening."

GameSpot (New Video Interview w/ Greg)

Shonen Jump (we're cheating, this is from GDC last week) "From the soulful guitar strumming to the gravely voice of the narrator, [the audio] really adds a whole other dimension to the game."

Team Xbox "With quality as its pedigree, I wouldn't be surprised to see this game headlining the Summer of Arcade."

Evil Avatar "I absolutely adore the art style and the narration elements."

Gaming Lives "Bastion has that something special that not many games have... It has a soul."

Shogun Gamer "So far Bastion is turning out to be one of the greatest indie games to be released in recent years and I am not alone on that one."

Armless Octopus "What Bastion does to stand out from the rest... is offer a fresh look on exploration through engaging narrative and dynamically built paths."

8-bit Horse "As apocalypses go, this is one of the more beautiful ones you’re likely to find."

It's the Lingo "Was [I] in for a shock when I laid my eyes on what may be the most beautiful game I’ve ever seen."

Co-Optimus "Supergiant Games' first effort appears to be a classic in the making."

ScrawlFX "It's certainly BIG for a downloadable title crafted by a small team of garage developers, and more than certainly promising."

GameHounds "Bastion is far from just another dungeon hack, and if you enjoy RPGs, I highly suggest checking it out."

Rochester Democrat and Chronicle "It...feels really different when you’re actually playing the game versus just watching a video and hearing the narration, you feel a deeper connection."

Gaming Bits "Within the first few minutes you realize Bastion is more than just a gorgeous game."

Sit Sam's Video Game Resource "... a game that will not only draw you in visually but will keep you tied to your seat with its narrative."

Warp Zoned "I can tell Bastion is going to have some truly great pacing."

Games James "The colorful art style, the smooth combat, the amazing voice work, and interesting storytelling all come together to create something I found to be worth a lot of attention."

Whew! Still with us? Let's move on!

PAX East Twitter Giveaway Winners During the show we randomly gave away 14 signed, framed Bastion posters to folks who posted photos of themselves wearing our Bastion bandana. Here are the winners! @billyteng, @iheartnerds, @grioden @kayma, @gam3rg1rl, @RobTheArtist, @lim3light, @migalicious, @iamdeantate, @outsydr, @mattmoody, @ThatDispenser, @KROmphroy, and @GreggTurek

Congratulations again you guys! We'll be in touch.

Supergiant Games @ After Hours with Kris and Scott In the hard-to-describe-but-awesome department, we got to be special guests during an epic late-night live panel by Kristofer Straub and Scott Kurtz of Penny Arcade fame, who blew threw a whole series of hysterical misadventures that left us completely exhausted and bleary-eyed... no thanks to a couple of shots of alcoholic whipped cream. You don't want to know. As part of the show our own Amir Rao and Darren Korb performed their infamous Internet-hit single, "Bind Those Keys", a musical tribute to Diablo II. Here's the video on YouTube in case you're not sure if we're serious.

PAX East Photos & Video Check out our PAX East photo gallery on Facebook for a taste of what happened. We also filmed a bunch of the proceedings, which may be showing up on a future installment of Building the Bastion on Giant Bomb. Kudos to all those folks out there who said they've been watching the series.

What's Next What's next is that we're wrapping up the game! With PAX East and GDC out of the way, our focus now is on tuning and polishing the game as close as we can get to perfection. We're re-recording tons of narration to get it just right, tweaking all the weapons, upgrades, creatures, and spirits to get them feeling really good, and fine-tuning tons of encounters across all our different scenarios to make sure the whole game feels great. It's going to be an intense next couple of months but at the end of it we should be sitting on a finished game that we'll be absolutely thrilled to share with you this summer when it lands on Xbox LIVE Arcade.

Special Thanks One of the greatest parts of events like PAX East is getting to meet and hang out with fellow industry folks. So here's to the guys at (in illiterate alphabetical order) Uber Entertainment, Twisted Pixel, Haunted Temple Studios, Firehose Games (Slambolt Scrappers is out now on PSN!!), Trapdoor, Capy, Harmonix, Turbine, Moonshot Games, Doublefine Productions, Irrational Games, Valve, 2K Games, Penny Arcade, and all the other folks who were at the show for more than just fun, for taking time out of your busy schedules to come say hello or check out the game. You guys are no small part of the reason we won't forget this show.

We're very happy to announce we've joined forces with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment to bring you Bastion this summer. Check out the official announcement right here, and read on for our take on the news.

The big question is, what changes now that we have a major game publisher like Warner Bros. in our corner? You may be surprised to learn… not much! We're still six people making Bastion out of a living room in San Jose with the invaluable aid of a few of our close friends. We're still an independently owned game studio creating our first game and, with it, our own original IP. What Warner Bros. provides is the opportunity to release the game on Xbox LIVE Arcade – all XBLA titles are either published by Microsoft directly or by a licensed third-party – as well as heavy-duty promotional support for events like PAX East and E3. In other words, Warner Bros. is helping us see to it that Bastion reaches the biggest possible audience. They saw the potential in Bastion straightaway and it's great to be working with the folks over there. As stated in the announcement, Bastion will be debuting on Xbox LIVE Arcade and coming to the PC later this year. These are the only platforms we expect to support in 2011. Beyond that, anything goes – it's going to come down to how much demand there is and what makes the most sense for us to do next. We're now in the process of putting the finishing touches on Bastion for the Xbox 360 and you'll be able to try and it and play it before long. That will be the deciding moment for Bastion and Supergiant Games, but until then, this is a pretty big one for us. So thanks again to all of you who've been following us to this point, and to those of you just joining us, it's great to have you along for the ride – the best is yet to come!

All right, here's the deal. We made a whole bunch of these rad Bastion bandanas and we're going to be giving them away at our PAX East booth, #724, all throughout the show. Limit one per person unless you do the old Trick-or-Treating trick where you come back disguised as someone else and freeload more, but please don't. On top of that, we figured we'd do a little something extra:

If you post a photo of yourself wearing a Bastion bandana on Twitter with hashtag #bastion during PAX East, you'll automatically be entered into a random drawing to win a signed, framed Bastion poster. Twice a day for three days we'll pick winners from the pool to receive a poster that we'll send you sometime after the show. Or if you want the info in the form of a JPEG:

One more thing: The more followers we get during PAX East, the more prizes we'll give out, so by all means retweet us with impunity.

We'll have photos of the posters soon. The wallpaper we released recently is based on the same piece, and is the original work of our amazing artist, Jen Zee. The bandanas feature her original design as well.

Lastly, a note to those of you who can't make it to PAX East and have been asking if there's a way to get one of those bandanas: Don't worry! While we created these especially for the PAX East crowd we'll make sure the people who can't make it to the show have a chance or two to get their hands on one sometime down the line.

So yeah, come play the game at booth 724 at PAX East, meet some of the team, and join us for what ought to be a show to remember!

What a week...! First off, thank you very much to everyone who took the time to check out Bastion at the Game Developers Conference this week. It was an honor to be included among the games in the 13th annual Independent Games Festival, and we couldn't have asked for a better couple of neighbors with QCF Designs' elegant Desktop Dungeons on one side of our little IGF kiosk and the raw awesomeness of Brian Provinciano's 8-bit-style Retro City Rampage on the other. One of the best parts of a show like this is getting to meet fellow developers, many of whom we look up to as masters of their craft, and then being treated as peers by them.

At the IGF we showed off a fresh new build of Bastion, which got a great response -- everything we hoped for. The content of this build was similar to the one we showed at PAX in September, though we've since made a bunch of improvements to the interface and visuals. We thought about showing new areas from the game, but the setup in the very first scenes is so important to us that we didn't want to present anything out of context. We'll have the same build at PAX East this coming week, where many more people will get to experience the game for themselves.

PAX East is going to be a huge deal for us, and next week we'll have more details about why. This is the first time we're going to have a proper setup where more than one or two people can play the game at once, plus we have some great giveaways in store. We won't be able to get our whole crew out to Boston for the show but four of us will be there. If you're attending, we'd love to meet you and let you try our game. Once again, thanks so much to everyone for their support and kind words about Bastion, as your encouragement means an awful lot and makes all the difference.