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There are 2 big highlights I'd like to celebrate from last month in this update: [olist]
First things firstAmadeus: A Riddle for Thee ~ Episode 1 ~ Waltz is part of the WINGS Women's Day Sale on Steam! I'm really thankful to be included alongside this banger lineup of games. Definitely go over to the sale page and check out discounts for released games and upcoming demos. I'll give a special shout-out to So, This Vampire Walks Into A Bar (my table neighbors from MAGWest). As for this month's development progress:
Last month was really good for development despite the fact that I lost a week being sick with COVID. I made good progress towards full game completion, now that I'm satisfied with the mechanics in the demo. I feel strongly oriented in the right direction.
This is a brief update on the Amadeus: A Riddle for Thee ~ Episode 1 ~ Waltz release timeline, and an overview on development progress made this year. If you're interested in more details, a much longer version of this update can be read on itch.io.
The updated demo for Amadeus: A Riddle for Thee ~ Episode 1 ~ Waltz is now live. You can install and play it right now on Windows, MacOS, or Linux! This demo includes nearly every feature intended for the final episode release, such as:
I'll keep this short: last month, life stuff happened, and I did not finish the overhauled demo build. It is almost ready, and it will be very worth the wait. I also wish to announce that I've addressed the bug that causes the cursor to disappear on Linux. The fix will be included in the new demo. I now have a proper Linux test machine, so no future builds should have such egregious platform-specific issues. Not going to waste more time on words when it's better spent on development - just know the new demo build is coming very soon! Look forward to it.
It's been a week since Amadeus was featured at the Indie Games Expo at MAGWest, and this is intended as an update both for people who attended and found this game at the event, and people who have been following this game and are awaiting updates. For those from MAGWest: the version of the game presented at the booth isn't publicly available yet, but will be this month. The currently live demo is from February and does not include most new mechanics featured at MAGWest. More details follow. A longer version of this log can be read on itch.io here.
The most important announcement I'd like to make is that Amadeus now has an opening cinematic that will play after the prologue. Final version may be tweaked, but please enjoy the current version: [previewyoutube=ZzhVnQY1-J4;full][/previewyoutube] This opening will be implemented in the new demo build. Want to know when you'll be able to play it? Here is the timeline:
Amadeus will be tabling at MAGWest's Indie Games Expo. This means the following:
Changes, updates, and progress from this month:
Before outlining the work I did this month, I want to share this write-up on participating in Steam Next Fest as a small developer with a small following. The event pretty much doubled outstanding wishlists for Amadeus - thank you all so much for the support. As for this month's updates: I spent the month of June inserting Sonic Adventure-flavored swag into my melancholy serious visual novel. This was a self-motivation tactic, but doing so has also resulted in an overall more compelling narrative. It's added an underlying layer of fun that the game was sorely lacking. The game is still serious, and it's still heartfelt; but there is now room in it for a little more insanity to dig into over the course of 5 episodes. It's got more life breathed into it. I've made a little more work for myself, but it's work I'm more excited about doing. I can't wait to share the new vision with you when it's ready. Other than that, I knocked out the bulk of this month's major tasks:
Amadeus: A Riddle for Thee ~ Episode 1 ~ Waltz is participating in the June 2024 Steam Next Fest. Check out the livestream of the current demo; full episode launches in Fall 2024!
Amadeus: A Riddle for Thee ~ Episode 1 ~ Waltz is participating in the June 2024 Steam Next Fest. Check out the livestream of the current demo; full episode launches in Fall 2024!
A longer version of this post with additional details and teasers can be read on itch.io.
A while ago, I announced that Amadeus: A Riddle for Thee ~ Episode 1 ~ Waltz had reached 100 wishlists, which for me is a milestone worth celebrating. That number has since grown into over 120!
To celebrate, I've completely revamped the soundtrack album, including the 3 new tracks from the demo that weren't in the original prototype, as well as unique track art for every track and a new album cover. I also created a (mobile friendly) page on my website where they're all embedded along with little narrative snippets cataloguing the journey of the demo.
Check it out here - enjoy!
Thank you so much for the support. Stay tuned for more development updates at the end of the month - exciting things are in the works.
Stay up-to-date: linktr.ee/amadeusgame
Back in February, I planned out my next several months to help stay on track for Amadeus: A Riddle for Thee ~ Episode 1 ~ Waltz to release this Fall. I had a good chunk of work planned for April:
It's been a month since the demo release, and Amadeus: A Riddle for Thee ~ Episode 1 ~ Waltz has just reached 100 wishlists on Steam. I'm incredibly grateful for the support and interest.
Because this has been the month following a major release, most of my efforts have been focused on communications as opposed to development. I still want to discuss these efforts, both as a retrospective for my own reference, and in case anyone else finds it enlightening. This was meant to be a short and to-the-point marketing discussion, but it accidentally... and inevitably... transformed into something incredibly long and sentimental.
The long and short of it is that I've had an overwhelmingly successful month by my standards. Discussing marketing means I have been analyzing why that is. In doing so, I slowly became aware of just how much of my entire life has been building up to this.
I originally planned to mention other things in this update... discuss the recent demo livestream, announce an upcoming "100 wishlists" celebration... but those no longer really suit the tone of this update. I will post about them another time. I wasn't prepared to celebrate 100 wishlists this quickly, anyway! I had no idea I would get that much in the first month! I'm not ready to make that announcement! I would like to do something appropriate for this milestone, so please give me some more time to put proper thought into it.
You can reference here for the livestream video and other resources: https://linktr.ee/amadeusgame
I don't expect very many people to read the rest of this. But I am writing it anyway because it's important for me to express. And if you got anything out of the Amadeus demo, you probably got the fact that I am a bit of a long-winded and sentimental person. Bearing that in mind...
Tomorrow, March 23, at 6pm Pacific I'm going to dust off my Twitch channel [strike]that I used to use to speedrun Tales of Symphonia[/strike] to stream the Amadeus: A Riddle for Thee demo.
This will be an opportunity to:
The demo for Amadeus: A Riddle for Thee ~ Episode 1 ~ Waltz launched last Friday. Its first weekend saw 55 wishlists (22 installs) on Steam, and 2 donations* (18 downloads) on itch!! I really didn't dare to dream it would get such a positive receptionmy very stubborn approach to development has been "make the game for ME, stick to MY vision and MY priorities, be open about MY influences," so I was reaching a point where I somewhat doubted if the game would appeal to anyone else at all. I've never been more thrilled to be wrong. Some of my favorite things people have said about it:
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