Hi everyone!

So originally I wasn’t going to post anymore devlogs until demo release, because if you haven’t heard... 

The Full Alaris Demo Will Be Releasing July 15, 2022!

I decided I would do one last check-in before release so you all have an idea of what to expect, what’s being worked on until the release, and things of that nature! How exciting!!! The last devlog before the final demo release!!! It’s finally upon us?

Supporter Shout-Outs / Announcements

As a quick note, because I always want to make sure I thank anyone who supports the game, I’d like to thank someone for recently donating to the Alaris: Season’s Greetings DLC. Hope you enjoyed it --- it was super fun and wholesome to make :’) 

We also reached 600 followers on itch.io recently and are actually almost at 900 followers on Twitter (el oh el wtf). I’m super excited to release the demo and finally give you all what feels like an actual concrete product to play with! I know I’ve released samples of the demo already, but to finally reach the stage where I have the actual full demo to be released is so rewarding and exciting right now <3 

Also, we finally have a trailer and released it on Twitter and here! If you haven’t checked it out yet, please feel free to do! Yes, the date on the Twitter post is wrong. Yes, that is an accurate representation of how my mind is functioning right now. 

Demo Updates

Right now, similar to the last devlog, the only things I really have been working on are polishing features, cleaning up bugs/errors from playtester submissions, and final script edits.

For features, I reworked the prologue so now it feels more like a storybook feel hopefully. Here is a sneak peek, if any of you didn’t get to see it on Twitter! 

It’s simpler, but I think fits better with setting the mood :’)

I also have compiled the things I need to fix based on playtester runs. I’ll also be spending the last week or two playtesting the game into oblivion to hopefully clean it as much as I can before release. This, along with script editing is where most of my time is being allocated as we wrap up for release.

Other than that, “release” stuff is happening on the backburner. Finished the trailer (and I’m actually so happy and proud of it :’)). And I actually got to commission the key visual and some other stuff I’ll be using for release promo. So excited for those to be ready to show you all!!

With all that being said, I’d say game development is maybe at like 99.5%. Only 1.5% increase from last time, but it’s a lot of tedious things is why and there have been some wait times involved. Because it’s the last bit before I release, I also anticipate it takes longer because polishing and editing can just take a million years. On the bright side, we have a release date!!! This will be the last devlog until release because I’ll be working on these same things until demo release, but I’ll still be positing the official game announcement along with key visuals and stuff along the way. Hope you’re all excited!! Only three weeks left!!!

Developer Ramblings

As you all may (or may not) know, I’ve worked on Alaris as a sole developer for the past year, meaning I haven’t commissioned anything. Everything, from the script, programming, and art assets were either done by me or draw from free-to-use resources online. Because the ~official~ release is upon us, I wanted to actually “step things up” per-say and commission at least the key visual. 

Someone opened editing commissions to raise money for personal reasons recently, and seeing an opportunity to just really elevate the demo, I decided to reach out. We’ve been working together on the final script for the past couple of weeks and are about 3/4 of the way through the script. Reading it now, I am SO happy with it and have honestly learned so much from the person I’m commissioning. So I’m super grateful to have had the opportunity to do so because I feel like I’ve learned things about writing that I never would’ve known since I have 0 experience with creative writing. I think the script now is so much more effective, and it’s honestly the biggest thing I’m excited for people to see. Even the playtesters haven’t read the new script since it wasn’t ready at all when I sent the alpha build out. 

So I hope even people who have played the sample releases get a new experience with the demo. Even if the base content is still the same, it reads different to me and feels like a new experience, so I hope you’re all excited!! I keep saying that, but I think it’s partly because I’m in disbelief this is even happening haha. Anyways, that’s all for this update! Hope you’re all excited for release <3