Black Salt Games, the studio behind DREDGE, is supporting the establishment of Christchurch-based developer Team Trifold, which is already working on its debut title. Nothing Lost is a generational action-roguelike where the successes, failures, and accumulated powers of previous heroes will shape those who come after them.

Team Trifold operates alongside Black Salt Games and Disc 2 Games in Christchurch, with all three independent studios developing their own projects under the same roof. They are supported by the newly established Saltworks Entertainment, which provides shared expertise across production, publishing, marketing, QA, localization, audio, and business operations. Each development team will remain a separate studio with control over its own project and creative decisions. The idea is to preserve the advantages of small development teams without forcing each one to build an entire support operation of its own.

“We really enjoy being a small development team,” said Nadia Thorne, CEO of Black Salt Games. “We find it works well to keep development teams small and creatively focused, while sharing the resources and experience that it doesn’t make sense for the teams to necessarily have on hand across the full development of a game.” Saltworks Entertainment is intended to provide exactly that shared infrastructure for the three studios.

Team Trifold is currently focused on developing Nothing Lost. The generational action-roguelike sends players through ever-shifting dungeons, but a failed run does not simply erase everything that came before it. Fallen heroes leave something behind, allowing later generations to inherit powers accumulated by their predecessors. Over time, players build an entire lineage of heroes shaped by the accomplishments and failures of earlier generations. That accumulation of progress is one of the central ideas behind the game.

For Team Trifold’s Jed Uy, the system also reflects a deliberate theme. “What resonates most with me is that Nothing Lost is a game that celebrates the optimism of incremental human progress,” Uy said. “The story and gameplay mechanics work together to express the notion that in some sense, time is never truly wasted.”

Wilson Teo of Team Trifold says the same idea is directly reflected in the game’s mechanics. “Unlike other action-roguelikes, Nothing Lost remembers every attempt the player has made,” Teo explained. “With each spirit’s power you infuse, you’ll begin to compound them, making each run more powerful over time.” In other words, the next hero does not simply return to the same starting point but inherits the consequences of what came before.

Nothing Lost is currently in development for PC, although no release date has been announced yet. Its Steam page is already live, allowing players to wishlist the game now. Team Trifold currently consists of three developers working on the project in Christchurch.

The announcement also coincides with another release from the same Christchurch development community, as Disc 2 Games has launched a free Steam demo for Canvas City. The rebellious turn-based tactics RPG combines tactical combat with roller skating and street art, while the demo includes the tutorial, the first four levels, and six playable characters across three classes. The full version of Canvas City is in development for PC and Nintendo Switch. The Nothing Lost announcement trailer will become available at this YouTube link when the embargo lifts.

Source: Saltworks Entertainment