Hey there everyone! I just wanted to pop in and let you all know that the physical campaign for Gas Station Story is a success :D We\'ve surpassed the minimum amount of preorders needed to move ahead with production, and will be doing so when the campaign closes.

Speaking of, the campaign closes in 1 MORE WEEK! That means there\'s less than 7 days to snag a copy if you want one. Once this campaign is over, I won\'t be printing any more of this edition, so make sure to order a copy now before it\'s too late!

Alright, that\'s it from me! I\'m really looking forward to holding my copy in my hands, it\'s gonna be so cool :3

Hit the link to order now!

Love,

Enzi

Hi!

[img src=\"https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/44830066/0f3cf0426852f68a5876f1275c0d1f48273354c4.png\"][/img]

Preorder Now!

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Hi!

I\'ve got a bunch of updates for you here today - the structure on this one is a little all over the place, as Im wrapping up the final touches on this project, but I tried to organize it as best I could. If you\'d be willing to leave a review on Steam for me it would be greatly appreciated! I\'m hoping to get up to at least 10 reviews, in the hopes that the Almighty Algorithm will start showingGas Station Storyto more people :)

Before I get into the full update, I wanted to let you all know that a preorder campaign for a physical cartridge ofGas Station Storywill be starting next week over at the [u]Homebrew Factory [/u]! If this interests you, keep an eye on my channels (here in my devlogs, on [u]instagram [/u], and on [u]bluesky [/u]) I\'ll be posting an update on the 21st when the campaign goes live. Im so stoked to finally get these made!

[img src=\"https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/44830066/0f3cf0426852f68a5876f1275c0d1f48273354c4.png\"][/img]

Okay, on to the updates!

New Content:

With this update comes the release ofGas Station Story2.0! Full patch notes will be at the bottom of this devlog, as always. There are quite a few new features in there worth taking a peek at, especially if you\'ve been planning on going for a second playthrough. For those on Steam, a reminder: Game Boy ROM saves aren\'t compatible between versions, so make sure to turn automatic updates off if you\'re in the middle of a playthrough!

- Deluxe Mode -

With Deluxe Mode, I wanted to restore a few of the customer encounters I cut out of the original release. These four encounters were never fully coded in, but had all the assets ready (with the exception of an additional alien that I had written dialogue for but never made portraits of). I\'ve spread them across the first four days of the game (Day 0 - Day 3) to not throw off the balance of the story, but They do throw the pacing off a little bit, which is why they were cut in the first place. There\'s also a few new secrets in the final day, before the finale. One of these is RNG based (like the cat!) so it may be tough to spot, but it does lead to a new unique \"bad\" ending so I wanted it to be a bit harder to find.

When playing in Deluxe Mode, you\'ll also be able to see the games Major and Minor Statistics at each save checkpoint, previously only viewable after rolling the credits. This is built off of my dev tools, where I would see a readout of every variable the game is tracking so I could balance out the endings and make sure everything was working. These readouts are optional, so you don\'t have to look at all 30+ stats every time if you don\'t want to, but I thought this would be a useful tool for players that want to map out how each choice affects the SAM and BOSS relationships.

Deluxe Mode is accessible from the new \"Mode Select\" menu at the title screen. You can pick between Standard Mode, Edgeless Mode, Deluxe Mode, or the demo version of the game (in case you want to show it to a friend or just want to reminisce. I also couldnt think of another mode to add to the menu but wanted the balance of having 4 modes \\\\_()_/ It is nice being able to run the demo without downloading a separate application, though).

- Achievements -

For those of you on Steam, achievements are now fully implemented! The 15 achievements accessible in the Game Boy Color ROM have been added to the Steam client and should now unlock when acquired in-game. These triggers only work on the 2.0 update, though, so make sure to update if youre hunting them!This feature is a little weird, and sometimes when the GBC achievement fires off Steam doesn\'t recognize it. If you have this issue, save your game and head to the achievement view from the continue / reset screen. There\'s a failsafe built in there that will re-fire any achievement you\'ve already received so Steam can pick it up.

To give you all a hint on how to get the 5 Steam exclusive achievements: if you show the 3D overworld (with the desk and computer) youll notice a lot of items surrounding the desktop. The mouse might be hidden when the game isnt paused, but clicking still works

- Art Book and Manual -

Finally, theArt of Gas Station Storyis complete! For those of you that purchased this as a reward from my Kickstarter campaign, be sure to check your email, as a copy has been emailed to you (finally fulfilling the last of those Kickstarter rewards). For anybody else that is interested, you can purchase a copy over here on my [u]Patreon page [/u] (more about this down below). This little PDF showcases every portrait in the game, every raw Game Boy Camera photo, and gives some extra details on each character that you can encounter. Little bits of lore are sprinkled throughout, and a few hints at the next story I want to tell.

[img src=\"https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/44830066/79dd2a88b9758a79760a107eeb64b81dd086fa18.png\"][/img]

Alongside the art book, I\'ve also put together an official manual for the game, which is included with all purchases on every platform (its in the sidebar on the Steam page, but on the download page for itch). The manual details the game\'s core mechanics, sets the stage with a little story dump (the title crawl from the game, as well as some text from the website), and gives you some hints towards obscure secrets.

GSS IRL

- The Indie Game Awards -

Gas Station Storyhas been nominated for the Innovation category attheIndie Game Awards this year! I can\'t tell you how exciting just being nominated is, this feels like the most prestigious recognition of my life so far. The ceremony goes live on December 18th, so make sure to tune in to see if we take home the award :D

[img src=\"https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/44830066/17152fa1792375518cf4d5a195c8decfaa6e35df.png\"][/img]

- Super MAGFest 2026 -

Want to check out Gas Station Story in person on some era-appropriate hardware? It will be at Super MAGFest this year in their Indie Retro Homebrew Showcase, from January 8th to the 11th at the Gaylord National Resort Convention Center in Maryland! I won\'t be able to attend this, so please send any photos my way:)

[img src=\"https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/44830066/f91d2b3e6db4e9a186c63963401b33afa9101de0.png\"][/img]

Looking to the Future

As mentioned previously, I now have a [u]Patreon[/u] ! This is where Im going to post monthly updates, as Ill be starting the prototyping phase for my next game in January. Ive been working on the story and setting for this game for almost a decade, so Im incredibly excited to break ground on it now that I have the requisite gamedev experience.

This is also the page you can purchase theArt of Gas Station Storyon, with no subscription or membership required! If you do choose to subscribe though, youll receive a tidy little zip file containing everything Ive made so far, including the art book. Whenever I get around to making some merch, members will get discounts and exclusive offers. Ive been dreaming about an 8-Fifteen beanie

Well, that\'s it for this devlog! With Achievements fully added to Steam, the completion of \"Deluxe Mode\", the Official Manual andArt of Gas Station Storyfinished, and the limited physical run underway, I\'ve completed almost every goal I originally set out to complete with this project! Beyond this point, any other changes will just be bug fixes and/or minor text fixes. I hope you enjoy your time in my lonely little gas station game, as it is finally fleshed out to where I want it to be, and I\'ve learned the basics of everything I\'d like to do with game development going forward. This won\'t be the final devlog forGas Station Story,but the time has come for me to shift my focus on the next project... And I can\'t wait to show you what that is! :D

One more time, if you could leave a review on Steam I would greatly appreciate it, they really help with The Algorithm. Ill be back on the 21st with more details on the physical campaign!

Love,

Enzi

Version 2.0.1 Patch Notes:

General:

- Gas Station Story Official Manual added

- Added new \"Mode Select\" to Start Screen

- Added new \"Deluxe Mode\" to Mode Select

- Can now access the Demo from Mode Select

Fixes

- Fixed censor bars showing up outside of Edgeless Mode

- Fixed swear words showing up inside of Edgeless Mode

- Fixed a bug where Sam would show up in the back room on Day 4 even after quitting

- Fixed a bug where you wouldn\'t be able to swing your sword after being caught on the left conveyor belt in the Cybernetic Catacombs

- Fixed a bug on Day 1 where you wouldn\'t be able to leave after shutting down the Q Boy

- \"...\" Achievement can now be acquired

- \"Missed the Moment\" Achievement can now be acquired

- \"In the Moment\" Achievement now works on all kiss-related endings

- Fixed broken Sam animation during \"Promotion\" ending

- Minor graphical fixes

- Minor text fixes

Steam:

- Full achievement support added

Deluxe Mode Content:

- 4 cut customer encounters restored

- 1 new character

- 2 new character portraits

- 1 new secret ending

- Added optional game statistic readouts at all Save Checkpoints

- Added additional secrets to Level 4

Changes:

- Fortune System rebuilt from ground up, gives more accurate predictions

- Likelihood of encountering the Cat is now 20% higher across all days

Final (?) Game Statistics:

Models - 28 Humans, 1 Cat, 1 Mannequin Head, 1 Vending Machine, and 1 Apartment Call Box

NPCs - 48

Game Boy CameraPortraits - 185

(Non-Portrait) Game Boy CameraPhotographs - 29

Endings - 30

Songs - 23

Word Count - 45,000+

ROM Size - 3.85 MB / 4 MB

Hey there everyone, just a heads up that a big update is coming on Friday this week (November 14th)! Make sure to turn off automatic updates, or finish your current play through before then as the update will be pushed to the public branch, and it will overwrite your save file (the Game Boy ROM at the heart of this game has to be updated, and the save files won\'t be compatible).

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Hello all!

I\'m back with a big update that fixes some major game-breaking bugs! There were a few issues with the final boss battle (seemingly mostly from hitting multiple inputs at the same time), so I rebuilt it from scratch using a different scene type that has 8-directional movement. It feels really different from the other battles in the story, but it also fixed the \"launch you through the wall\" bug (and feels weird, but like, in a good way). There\'s an additional patch added in as well, just in case that bug still occurs, where pressing the Select button will reset your position to the center of the stage.

On that note, I want to talk about updates. Since Gas Station Story is primarily a Game Boy Color game under the hood, there\'s not really a way for me to make save files compatible across updates as I have to generate a new ROM file every time I write new code. Part of the reason I waited so long to release this game is that I wanted to make sure I polished every corner possible so I wouldn\'t have to cause anybody to lose their save files. That said, it seems like I missed a few, and since the bugs patched in V 1.1.1 are so major, I couldn\'t hold off on making this update live (especially since it\'s been a pretty quiet launch due to the Steam Summer Sale I need to make sure these issues are fixed if/when sales pick up). After this update, I\'m going to push any other ROM-changing patches to the Beta branch first, with a devlog post to announce when it will go live on the release branch - so that people can be aware before their saves are overwritten. My genuine apologies to anybody that was affected by this issue! Next project I won\'t be using such archaic architecture and will be making sure saves can transfer between versions. If there arent any other major bugs that need patching, Ill likely save all public branch updates for a 2.0 version, and if theres enough interest Id be open to making a public beta branch for those that want the latest updates.

Beyond these fixes, I\'ve also bundled a \"Streamer Mode\"/\"Edgeless Mode\"/\"Family FriendlyMode\"into the game that can be activated at the title screen by pressing the Select Button (image below): this mode removes the game\'s edginess (swear words and cigarettes), as well as adding in two new ending variations for this mode only (that override every other potential ending). This is primarilyfor streamers or content creators that are worried about branding or demonetization, which hasn\'t been an issue yet but I thought it would be a good idea to build in before I start sending keys to streamers for promotional purposes. I, personally, also find it hilarious that \"removing cigarettes\" mechanically translates to disabling the smoke animation and changing \"cigarettes\" to \"sugarsticks\" in the script.

[img src=\"https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/44830066/d4b7b5592c7081ef5a73db8308d265b7f7687ffb.png\"][/img]

That\'s it for this dev log. Thanks for reading this far! Patch Notes are down below. Next we\'re going to be working on getting those full achievements integrated in. More coming soon :)

Love,

Enzi \n

Patch Notes - V 1.1.1

Bugs:

- Buying an item from Vendo no longer causes a time travel loop

- Clerk no longer goes invisible after pre-boss fight conversation with Sam

- Rebuilt final boss fight from scratch, patched out wall collision bug (if for some reason this bug still happens, press Select to reset your position to the center of the screen)

- Wizard conversation no longer hardlocks dialogue

Updates (All):

- Point-of-Sale pointer location is now persistent across scenes

- Sam relationship balanced (slightly easier to get Best Ending)

- Added option to Remove Edginess (removes swears, drug references, cigarettes, and includes two new ending variations exclusive to this mode, the Fake Out Family Friendly endings)

- Minor performance improvements

Updates (Steam):

- Swapped A/B button inputs on MacOS and Linux

- Added X/Y buttons as inputs for pause menu

Hello all! If youre reading this, it means I didnt perish from a terrible death - which is to say:

GAS STATION STORY IS NOW AVAILABLE TO PURCHASE!

Thank you all so so much for following along with me these past 3.5 years. Learning how to create this project has been a joy, but watching you all play it and react to it has been so much more than that. From the bottom of my heart, thank you

To celebrate the launch, GSS will be on sale for the next week on both Steam and itch! I might continue the discount through the Steam Summer Sale, but Im not sure if I can add that due to the launch discount.

Im really looking forward to everyones feedback! If you would be so kind as to leave a review on the Steam page, that would help me a lot with discoverability. I also added the Official Soundtrack to Steam for free, make sure to give that a listen - it's available for free as well on my itch (in the form of a GB ROM) and Bandcamp, with links to all of the wonderful artists that created these amazing sounds! There's also a way to listen to the soundtrack in the Steam version, but I don't want to spoil any secrets (or achievements)...

That's it for now! I'll be back soon with updates and patches, but first... I'm gonna take a break ()

Seriously though, thank you all.

Love,

Enzi

Gas Station Story releases at 9am PST on June 23rd



Be ready

Hi!

Im back with an update on the Kickstarter Campaign for Gas Station Story, an overview of planned enhancements that will be coming soon, as well as a peek at the next few months leading up to release. I've got a lot to cover this time so I'm just gonna get into it!

Kickstarter Campaign:
Gas Station Story's Kickstarter Campaign was successful! 140 backers came together to raise $4,284 to help me finish development, and I am just so so so grateful for the support. With this, I'll be able to commission more music to extend the soundtrack, create an "Art of Gas Station Story" art book (in PDF form, I'll look at possibly creating physical copies of this book at a later date), compensate a couple of models for the Game Boy Camera portraits, extend the supported platforms to Linux / Steam Deck (more on that down below), as well as pay for some other miscellaneous development fees that will help me get this game across the finish line! I didn't quite meet the stretch goal for a Gas Station Story DX DLC, but I'm still planning on enhancing this title even more in the next year or so after release with a free update. I'll announce more about that when it's ready, but we're already looking at a much better finished game with what was raised! Thank you all so much, endlessly :)

Steam Edition:
I've been messing around with Godot lately to create a new wrapper for PC, huge shout out to GreenFox and his GodotBoy Template , he's been helping me get this working on MacOS. With this new wrapper comes a TON of improvements and quality-of-life updates!

- Display Options -
To start with, check out this snazzy new Overworld!
This is the primary way to experience Gas Station Story in the new PC wrapper. I felt like the surreal/meta feeling of playing an in-game Game Boy on your Game Boy could be enhanced for the PC edition by putting in an era-appropriate in-game PC inside of your PC. There is also a fullscreen option if you prefer that, as well as a toggle for the overlaid CRT filter in both modes.
I've also plugged in some colorblindness accessibility options! I would really like to integrate a screen-reader as I've heard that some of the text in Gas Station Story can be tough to read, but I'm not sure if there's a way to expose the dialogue from the emulator to the Godot build. I'll keep picking at this though and hopefully I can come up with something!

- Keybinding / Controller Support -
You can now choose which keys and buttons are mapped to the GB Emulator! This should allow for limitless options of play, but due to the limitations of emulation, I won't be able to switch the in-game glyphs to match players' chosen inputs. Due to this, I'll be changing the "Z Key" glyph recently added in to the PC builds back to the "A Button" glyph from the GB build, as well as reverting tutorial verbiage back to GB appropriate language.
I've also tested out controller support with a DualShock 4 and a Nintendo Switch Pro controller, and they're working great! I don't have an Xbox controller or a DualSense to test with, but I'm pretty sure it will work just fine as well.

- Compatibility -
I'm also happy to announce that Gas Station Story will be compatible with Linux / Steam Deck at launch! I'm working on a way to test this out with a buddy of mine, so stayed tuned. This game is really built for the handheld experience, so I'm excited to get this thing optimized for PC / Linux handhelds.


Roadmap to Release:
As you can see, we're on track to release in roughly 3 months! I'll be doing a lot of promo in June for NEXT Fest - possibly streaming myself playing or putting the final touches on the game if I can get off work, and then releasing shortly after. The soundtrack extension is already being worked on, and I'm really excited to show you what's cooking. But, if music commissions or achievements take too long to finish up before release, I'll patch them in later with a 1.1 update so we don't have to delay any further. I know some of you will have been waiting for 3.5 years by June, and I don't want you to have to wait any longer!

Miscellaneous:
- Pierrot la Mode Goes Free-to-Play! -
In case you missed it, Gas Station Story's "Spiritual Prequel" is now Free-to-Play (and I explained my reasoning behind this decision in another devlog, which you can find here )! You can download it now on Steam or itch - see if you can get a perfect score and unlock the secret ending!

- Gas Station Story in the Press -
Gas Station Story was recently featured in a couple of articles - with a Preview here and a Review here . Thanks to Seb at retrododo and Oliver at waytoomanygames for the coverage!


Okay, that's all I've got for you for now. I've got quite a bit left to do in the next few months, so you won't hear from me that much leading up to release, but I'll make sure to post another log when the official release date is set. See ya at NEXT Fest!

Love,
Enzi

Hi there!

Its been 3 years of developing Gas Station Story as of today. Thanks for following along with this project, especially to those of you who have been watching for the whole 3 years. Were so, so, so close to being done!

Todays devlog is a small one: Ive updated the demo (for the final time?) to Version 6, which introduces the station bathroom to the overworld! Theres an additional line of dialogue at the mirror every day, plus the functioning reflection which Im just so dang proud of - make sure to check it out! Beyond that, just a few bug fixes and spell checks, as well as an update for the PC version on Steam that changes the A Button graphic to a Z Button graphic, and updated text tutorials in game that match the system (shift key instead of select button, etc).

Id also like to take the time to announce the official launch of my Kickstarter campaign ! The campaign will be going live this coming Tuesday, February 25th!

The campaign will be live for the next month, and I hope all who are able and willing to pitch in will do so - I really need the extra funds for music, web hosting, and possibly even cover art. I also have some fun stretch goals that Ill unveil if/when we get closer to the funding goal. Pledge today to get your name in the credits, a discounted copy of the game, or even to leave a secret message within one of the in-game mini games! Im not doing any physical rewards for this run, as I dont have the manpower or logistical experience to attempt manufacturing and shipping, but if the digital launch goes well theres definitely a chance that a publisher will be interested in at least making some Game Boy Color cartridges.

Thanks so much for reading and supporting me on this journey :) I look forward to sending out Kickstarter updates as the next few months progress, and to finally getting a copy of this game in all of your (digital) hands. It will have been well worth the wait! There is truly no game out there thats exactly like Gas Station Story, and Im really excited to see everyones reactions to the plot, mechanics, and endings.

Patch Notes are below, Ill be back soon with an update on the Kickstarter!

Love,
Enzi


Patch Notes (Demo v6):

General
- Button Sprites Changed for MacOS / Windows
- Tutorial Text Changed for MacOS / Windows
- Minor Spelling Fixes

Overworld
- Bathroom Added

Hi!

Im here with a small Gas Station Story devlog, just in time for the holidays. As of writing, weve just moved up to Beta 1.0! The story is playable from start to finish, with about a third of the endings fully implemented so far. Its looking like theres just enough space for all my planned content and music, so Ive added some small, fun features that will enhance the narrative and experience without taking up too much ROM space: Overworld Encounters, the Clerks Apartment, and Secret Characters.


Overworld Encounters:
There are a variety of unique characters that players will be able to interact with in the overworld during the free-roam portions of the game. These characters will sell you interesting items, chat with you, and even influence the ending of the game (hint hint).

- VENDO -
VENDO the walking-talking vending machine can be found out back during the day. If you have any spare change around you can spend it on a variety of completely useless items!

- The Tweaker -
The Tweaker can only be found outside a few times at night, and will engage in thrilling "conversation" with you.

- The Dealer -
The Dealer Well, Ill let you imagine what hes doing out back. Dont be a narc!

- The Cat -
Once per day / night, you can interact with the cat that lives in the back alley. Theres a random chance every time you enter the back alley that the cat will appear, so keep an eye out! The RNG is really easy to manipulate, but Ill let you figure out how that works when the game is released.


Clerk's Apartment:
This is where the Clerk lives, a small house out in the desert. Youll start and end most days of the story here - make sure to take a shower before work, you dont want your coworker to think youre smelly!
Im really proud of the bathroom, exclusively because the mirror is actually functional! I also added a bathroom to the gas station itself, I figured if theres one in the game at all then there better be one in the station too.


Secret Characters:
These characters are mythical, incredibly powerful beings that mortals cant fully comprehend. The methods to meeting these strange characters are obscure, obscene, and downright obtuse in some ways. Only the bravest and most thorough adventurers will be able to find them!
I wanted to give players of Gas Station Story a chance to meet some of the key players in future stories I plan to tell. The events of GSS don't particularly influence the greater goings-on in the universe, but that doesn't mean it's disconnected entirely. So, if you're thorough, and you explore every option and interaction in the game, you might just come across these characters.

- The Blue Lady -
The Blue Lady is a benevolent force in the universe, dedicated to combatting the forces of chaos. Some say she dates back to the early 1300s. Some say she is older than time itself. If you manage to find her, be sure to bring something to ease her mourning, otherwise you may not escape with your life intact.
Hint: Desert

- The Wizard -
The Wizard will visit the station during the Finale if 3 out of 5 of his triggers are met. These triggers are placed across all 5 days of the story in random interactions, some with other NPCs, and some with random items or locations. See if you can get him to visit you in your playthrough!
Hint: Coffee

- The Nameless One -
[Information Not Found]
Hint: Psychedelic


And thats it for this devlog! Im all set to run the Kickstarter (pre-save link here) in mid-February, so the next you'll hear from me again should be a little before then. Thanks so much for reading, as always, and Happy Holidays to those that celebrate!

- Enzi

log 7 - Demo V5.1 Changelog & Updated Statistics

Hello!

I'm back with a small update to the Demo, as well as updated statistics. Preparation for the Kickstarter is well underway, though I'm thinking I'll launch it later rather than sooner (holidays are coming up soon, and all the advice I've received says to avoid the back 3 months of the year when it comes to Kickstarters). More info about that soon, but if you'd like to pre-save the page so you can be notified when it goes live, here's a link!

- Beta 0.4.1 Statistics -

[b]Models - 26 Humans, 1 Cat, 1 Mannequin Head, and 1 Vending Machine
Characters - 44
Portraits - 171
Non-Portrait Photographs - 24
Endings Implemented - 6 / 26
Songs - 5 Finished, 2 Underway
Word Count - 32,636[/b]


- Demo Changelog -

General:
- Music placement tweaks
- First Customer now purchases a candy bar instead of 20 bits of gas (many players were confused by the "..." emote)

POS:
- Pump Pointer now corrects itself to nearest Pump Number when reloading screen after asking customers which pump they were at (instead of getting stuck in between pumps)

And thats it for now! Time for me to go back to programming, and maybe sleeping if I get lucky

Much Love,
Enzi

Hi there!

So, its Summer of 2024 and Gas Station Story still isnt out. Why is that?
A lot of new features have been making their way into the game: another POS overhaul, more portraits, a new demo, secrets galore, and so on. I really want this game to come out in its best possible state, and so Ive pushed release back a bit (again). I dont have an official release date or window yet, but Ill talk about that more down below.

Lets start with the good news:

(also, to anybody reading this on Steam: hello! there are 5 other devlogs that you can find at the official website )


The Good:

- Beta Build -
Gas Station Story is officially in the Beta phase of development! Im still not up to Beta 1.0 as of yet, but were getting close. All the major systems have been implemented and the game is almost playable from start to finish. Im only a few boss encounters and cutscenes away from a full 1.0 build, and then its on to the ending cutscenes and final polishes. The first four levels have been polished to hell and back, so once these fights and cutscenes are finished all thats really left is polishing the final level, balancing out the variables that influence the ending, and finishing up all the music and sound effects commissions.

Alongside this beta version of the game, we have some small improvements to the visuals and gameplay:


Text boxes now have a simple little border around them so they can pop out more, as well as arrows to show that dialogue is continuing. This is a small change, but has required a lot of going back and editing dialogue placement so as not to clip the border (and adding every individual arrow to every text box 0.o).



The advanced functions on your Q Boy now live all together under one menu activated by the Select Button - including an option to re-run the tutorial in case youve forgotten how it works!



You can now ask your customers how much gas they were wanting to purchase, as well as what pump theyre parked at. This function lives on the B Button! This little pop-up is the main reason text-boxes have a border now - they draw from the same UI file and I needed to make sure this was distinguishable from the rest of the Q Boys dialogue boxes.



Both the Clerks internal thoughts and conversations with customers during checkout scenes now print from the top of the screen. This is to help differentiate the overworld dialogue from the Q Boy dialogue prompts.



- Demo V5 -
I've updated the demo to reflect the new features added, and shuffled some scenes around.
The demo runs a little shorter now due to this. Ive also made the decision to officially cut DMG support. There are certain segments in the late game where performance on the DMG is severely impacted, and Ive been able to add in more Game Boy Camera photos due to the increased tile limits of the Game Boy Color. Id like to possibly go back and fix these performance issues before release so Gas Station Story can run on all Game Boy hardware, but my primary targets are Game Boy Color and Steam so thats low on my priority list.

The full changelog is down at the bottom of the page. I hope you enjoy the new demo!


- Seattle Indies Expo -
Gas Station Story recently made an appearance at Seattle Indies Expo, with a public test for the v5 Demo and new POS features. Huge thanks to Seattle Indies for the opportunity and support, and to everybody that played and watched others play! :) The turnout this year was bonkers! It honestly felt like there was always somebody at the booth, I don't think the chair was empty for more than 5 minutes at any point.


- The Spiritual Prequel Official Release -
In case you missed it, Gas Station Storys weird(er) little brother, Pierrot la Mode, is now on Steam! This updated version has a lot of bugfixes, a new secret ending, and increased difficulty >:) Ive also slowed the flashing colors down, just to be safe. You can snag that on Steam for MacOS and Windows or on itch.io for Game Boy Color for just $1.99. Im planning on launching a Steam bundle with both PlM and GSS when the latter is finished, so if you buy PlM now youll be able to snag a discount on GSS when its released!
I originally made this as a fun 2-week project for the Big Mode Game Jam last year, as a quick and dirty little project using the style Ive developed for Gas Station Story, but cleaned up the code to pop on Steam a few months ago so I could learn how SteamPipe works and prototype a wrapper for the MacOS and Windows release of GSS. I still need to figure out why saves arent loading before GSS releases on Steam, but Im going to actually finish the game first lol thankfully PlM has a runtime of 30 minutes and is designed to play in one sitting.
(btw: this spiritual prequel is not at all important to the narrative of Gas Station Story, but it is cute and shows a very small glimpse of whats going on in Divinity City before the events of the Upgrade Virus. Winona, the model for the main character of GSS, appears in PlM, and a character from PlM may appear in a secret scene in GSS if you make the right decisions *wink wink nudge nudge*)


- Crowd Funding -
Im going to be running a modest Kickstarter for the project here pretty soon, just to raise enough money to finish out the commissions for music and pay for some other expensive development costs. If theres sufficient interest, though, I have some stretch goals in mind as well that will enhance the project without pushing release out any further. You can pre-save the kickstarter here , but Ill make sure to post another update on all channels when it goes live. Backers can get their name in the credits, snag a copy of the game at a discount, and even possibly get their hands on my testing cartridge!


The Bad:

So. Ive run my mouth a bit about release dates. Summer 2024, Q4 2024 But Im not sure when this game is going to come out, to be completely honest. At the earliest, its done by the end of the year. At the latest, Im thinking it could be midway through next year. I want to do this story justice, and cant justify releasing the project before any and all kinks are ironed out. I want to make sure the project is free of major issues, as the Game Boy architecture will make updating the project and keeping older saves compatible very difficult.
(maybe once this is released I wont have to work so many hours at the job and I can focus on storytelling and gamedev I have a looot of plans for and notes about my next project)

So, for now, theres no official release date or window. Im going to wait until the project is just about ready to push out the door before I announce when its coming. I gotta get this one right, yknow? I dont want to make another promise I cant keep by setting a date I know Ill likely kick down the road anyways. Until then Coming Soon.



Thanks as always for reading this far! I definitely see a light at the end of this tunnel, even if theres still a good bit left to do. Were getting close!

- enzi



- Changelog (Demo V5) -

General:
- Some scenes removed for a quicker demo experience
- Additional free-roam segment added
- SFX updated
- Music placement tweaked
- DMG support removed
- text box borders added
- text box arrows added

POS:
- Q Boy Advanced Functions reworked to a drop-down menu
- cleartotal.exe moved to advanced functions
- tutorial.exe added to advanced functions
- B Button now lets you ask customer how much gas they wanted / on what pump
- Clerk Monologue / Dialogue now prints from the top of the screen


post-script:

this is Oliver: Winonas cat and my close friend.
He doesnt have a portrait in the game, cause the mf wont sit still long enough for me to photograph, but if you get the right endings you might see a sprite of he in a certain someones apartment ;3