Devlog 8. Learnings from the Demo and Major Updates

A baker leaves one loaf on the windowsill every night, and it is always gone the same morning. Couple of weeks later, he realizes that he accidentally poisoned all of the rabbits in his town, gets arrested, and spent the rest of his life in prison.

The rough early demo did its job. People played it, told me what was broken, and a lot of what was broken is now not.

Steam post imageSteam post image

What follows is the longer version of what "a lot of updates" means.

Script. Episode 1's script sits around 90% done, after hundreds of rewrites. I would describe the current quality as actually good, which is not a phrase I use lightly.

Visual overhaul. The visual style had a major pass. I am using stencils to separate environments, MetaHumans, and even individual body parts of the MetaHumans. Not final, but the screenshots through this post are where it stands.

Eyes. Do you like eyes? I do. Every character now has their own eyes, built to read their emotional state and personality. It sounds like a minor thing, but once you start noticing the eyes you cannot stop.

Open World. The full game leans much harder into open world. You explore the map however you want, and the exploration itself is what opens new storylines and pulls you in different directions. The old demo handled routes mostly through level loads.

Release and localization

Here is where things stand. I am releasing an early version of the 'final' demo on June 4th, but some content may be missing. I also made a separate content creator build accessible via playtest keys with some easter.............. eggs.......

The full public version goes live June 14th, the day before Steam Next Fest. I will provide specifics in the next devlog update, because I FINALLY figured out what I think is a great way to distribute the game for free but with voluntary options to support me if you liked it.

On languages: after the response from players in Mainland China, the game now ships fully localized in English, Japanese, and Simplified Chinese. Voice acting is English and Japanese to start. If the game finds its people, I would love to bring voices to other languages later.

The demo currently available on Steam has some visual updates, but it is a very outdated build that is missing lots of new content.

Last thing. I am co-writing a new book with Milha Vek called Evi Alba. It will also become our next game, which we start after Good Children Say Grace is finished. Good Children Say Grace will be finished. I am simply running several things in parallel, because that is the shape my life is currently in.

Evi Alba:

2009, a small town in rural Albania. After a photograph of Evi drowning her friend goes viral, she becomes the world's most popular meme. Among the strangers piling onto her is a 4chan account named Alba, who steals Evi's identity and leaks her private photos. To stop the spread of misinformation, Evi decides to burn down the town's only telecom station.

Moments later, every exit from the town is blockaded by a humanoid beast, and sandstorms tear through the streets. Hiding in a bunker, Evi discovers underground structures full of cables, and a screen with a single message on an empty imageboard.

[Alba]: tf no one wants you here

A literary sci-fi novel about what 4chan does to a girl who cannot see color.

Wishlist and follow if you want to see where this goes.

Denis Morozov（デニス・モロゾフ）