CLEANING.INC UPDATE 1.0.8

Bug fix & quality of life update

Hello,

CLEANING.INC has been available for two months now! To be honest, the game's release was a bit of a disaster, but it wasn't really a surprise to me...

I developed this game alone for almost a year in my spare time, without any real knowledge of the video game market and without any understanding of marketing or time management. I pushed forward as much as possible, blindly, and encountered problems I hadn't anticipated.Wanting to impose a time limit on myself to push my project forward, I chose to release the game imperfect.

The game therefore arrived with a few flaws: a completely botched and non-functional English translation, as well as some issues with usability and quality of life, as some reviews have shown. Far from discouraging me, this mixed experience motivates me to work even harder to create better games, by getting closer to the players to offer them an improved experience that better meets their expectations.

With this in mind, and because this little game is very dear to me, I continued developing CLEANING.INC, taking into account both the positive and negative feedback I received, in order to deliver a solid update to you soon.

Two months may seem like a long time for potential players waiting for a better version, but I developed this game without an engine, using Lua and Löve2D, creating my own architecture and code that was also full of imperfections. This led to an entirely unforeseen increase in workload, unforeseen constraints, and an extension of the time required to complete the project that I hadn't anticipated.

Nevertheless, with a little more experience and time, I was able to properly address all the game's areas for improvement, which I considered essential flaws that needed fixing. At the same time, I learned a great deal and took away a lot of positive things!

I am therefore pleased to announce today the first update, which will arrive in a few days and will bring the following changes:

• A revised, corrected, and fully functional English translation!

• An expanded translation for 4 new languages: Italian, Spanish, German, and Dutch!

• General bug fix.

• Adjusted sensitivity when clicking the "sponge" on an object to be cleaned. Previously, the "pixel-perfect" click could be too sensitive, forcing the player to click again. The hitbox of objects to be cleaned with the sponge (stains, puddles, etc.) is now based on a box with a safe width, making the click feel more natural.

• Redesigned some objects and adjusted object categories for clear visual feedback, eliminating confusion.

• Added details to most assets.

• Fixed the clickable area of ​​some interface elements, which could sometimes be misplaced.

• Added a new ranking screen for visual tracking of your in-game rankings. Accessible from your desktop, like other game screens, if you purchase the locker from the store.

• Reward adjustments to make the game slightly easier.

• Added a pop-up window to visually notify players when they achieve an in-game milestone.

• Fixed and translated all hard-coded screens that weren't receiving translations.

• Added quality-of-life features requested by some players, such as in-game sound and music toggle, and a larger, more natural drop zone for the cardboard box and trash can.

I hope you enjoy this update, even though it doesn't add much new content. My main focus was on improving the translation and expanding it to benefit as many people as possible. It will be released at the end of the current promotional period, which concludes on March 13th. Although I consider this game to be finished, it will still receive some updates to fix other bugs such as resolution problems with resolutions higher than 1920x1080 encountered on some game screens or even throughout the entire game for some.

I'm also working on adjustments to ensure the game is Steam Deck compatible, and it's possible I'll develop a mobile version later, but that's not confirmed.

For now, this game is just a small part of what I'm working on at the moment and primarily represents my first step into the world of video games (out of game jam or projects I never talked about). It's meant to be modest and intentionally transparent about the process, as my goal has always been to release a first game (you have to start somewhere) to get my hands dirty and then move on to more enjoyable, technically polished games with a satisfying gameplay experience.

I'm currently working on a sequel to CLEANING.INC with more management and gameplay mechanics, a gentler cleaning experience, and still that slightly offbeat, grubby vibe in an urban setting.

Other projects are underway, and I'll be able to give you more updates soon. This is a top-down arcade space shooter with roguelite progression, and a fantasy visual novel including RPG gameplay whose development has moved beyond the prototype phase and just entered a new stage!

You can already see the page on Steam here:

Astiel le Voleur Le Mystre du Amaad

While waiting for the update, I thank the players who have given me valuable feedback, as well as those who have purchased the game! If you wish to support me, the best way is to leave a positive review on the game to help as many people as possible discover it!