Hi,

This is just a reminder that on 2nd October, two weeks from today (depending on your time zone), the free Beta playtest for my horror adventure Dark Lessons will start.

If you'd like to participate, please sign up to my newsletter below.

Sign up for the Beta

Hi,

As the date for Dark Lessons' Beta approaches, I've been trying to make sure you'll get as polished an experience as time allows. Development-wise, this means I've been turning all sorts of screws in the last couple of months.

Most importantly, I've been inviting my closest friends to pizza playtests to gather and then implement their feedback. Compared to last year's early Alpha, which revolved aroundstability and first impressions, the current tests focus on the game's particularlook and feel. What emotions do players experience, where do they get stuck, where do they lose motivation, where does immersion break?

Image 1: Added interactable items drive the story forward and increase immersion.

Observing my friends play and talking to them afterwards has led to a wide array of changes:

• Added voice acting for the player character by the talented [u]Dela[/u] now helps guide the player.

  [/*]

• I've finally improved controls in the inventory, which was already a point of criticism last year.

  [/*]

• More interactable items as well as sound and visual effects drive the plot forward and increase immersion.

  [/*]

• Enhanced accessibility options help make the game more enjoyable for players who tend to be affected by motion sickness (which, it turns out, are quite a few of my friends).

  [/*]

Image 2: The time I've spent on this unassuming inventory is starting to get ridiculous, but I hope the changes will help you.

This being said, I still find that there's somethingmissing in the current vertical slice before it can bereleased as a demo. My to-do list with things I'd like to get done by 2ndOctober counts an unrealistic45 tasks, and that doesn't includethe still-openfundamental decision on if and how to add combat or chase sequences to the game. Most notably,I justdon't findthe experience scary enough yet (though you'll be the judge of that). For a horror game, that's obviously where the rubber hits the road.

Full disclosure:Before I started work on Dark Lessons, I didn't have a strongbackground in horror. I've had a lot of catching up to do. Whereas games ofall other genres are measured by how "fun" they are, horror works differently. Or at least: The term"fun" can mean something very different in horror. Some things that would be decidedly unfun in other games, such as willfully frustrating gameplay or subverting expectations,might be just the right thing in a particular horror game. It's fascinating to explorewhere the joy in being scared is coming from, why a certain amount of creep may be just enough and how much might be too much.

Image 3: Playing Arkham Horror with friends for inspiration. Our dinnertable is barely big enough.

In order to get a feel for this and develop my own taste, I had to start immersing myself in horror media: playing other horror games (not without my wife sitting next to me holding my hand, admittedly), meeting with friends to play the Arkham Horror LCG, watching the occasional horror movieandreading horror literature from Lovecraft to King or theoretical essays about classics like Silent Hill or Resident Evil or [u]Frictional Games's excellent developer's blog[/u] . The decision to lean toward Cosmic horror in Dark Lessons came from the realization that I find this subgenremost intriguing myself.

Right now, the changes I'm making to Dark Lessons based on this input are all over the place, from improved controls to added scares. I hope that eventually I'll be able to write about them in a structured way that may also help other game devs.For the time being, there remaina lot of moments when I'm nervous and uncertain that I can meet my own and players' expectations. At the same time, working on this game has felt super fulfilling in itself. So, if all else fails, at leastthe journey will have been its own reward.

You Can Still Save Your Spot for the Beta

If you'd like to be among the first to play Dark Lessons, you can still save your spot for the Beta by signing up for my newsletter ! You will receive a Steam key and instructions on October 2nd and will have a week to play my game for free and help me improve it.

Hi,

Just a quick one to let everyone know of this year's Games Forged in Germany event, which Dark Lessons is honored to be featured in.

It's a great opportunity to see the amazing games crafted by fellow indie devs from my home country and perhaps snatch one or two at a good discount.

To the Event!

Hi,

I'm excited to announce that the public Beta for my psychological horror game Dark Lessons will run from 2nd to 9th October 2025!

This abridged version of my game will include all the content of the demo that I plan to release after implementing your feedback. Youll get a free Steam key thatll allow you to safely download and install Dark Lessons.Note thatI will be taking the Beta keys away after 9th October, but you'll have another chance to play the polished freedemo later on.

Save your spot by subscribing to my newsletter below, and youll be among the first to play Dark Lessons!As Beta nears, Ill keep you up to date on my development progress. Expect to hear from me about once a month.

Sign up for my newsletter!

Hi there,

It's been a while since my last update on Dark Lessons, my psychological horror game where your teacher is up to no good.

If you've been wondering whether work on Dark Lessons is still going on, first of all: Great, you thought about my game! Thank you!

But also: Yes, I've been working on the game quite steadily, actually it's just that much of my progress hasn't felt worthy of being shown around yet to me.


As an example, I spent some time in January on the save game mechanism. Essential functionality, but also not much to write home about. In February and March, I added custom animations for my villain Agatha to replace the ready-made downloaded ones that I had originally used for my placeholder character model. I also upgraded the game to run on a newer version of the Godot game engine and did a lot of optimizations to reduce load times, going through all the file sizes and types of files used in my game ... but as I am writing this, I can already sense you drifting away and falling asleep reading it ...

Wake up, please!

Let me tell you about something more interesting, namely the moment I entered Content Hell. This is the phase of development where all the basic systems are in the game but I still need to churn out lots and lots of content before the game is done.

Besides content for puzzles, there's content for lore, such as this newspaper you'll find in Agatha's living room. One of the challenges in the months ahead will be enriching the game's world with many more of such items.

A Match Made in Hell: Arthur and Agatha

Hi there!

As I've been trudging through content hell (more on that in the next update), I noticed that I never posted my last newsletter here on Steam. So, here's part 1 of what I've been up to in the last couple months before I'll drop more current news in a few weeks.

Having spent most of the time since summer creating 3D models and learning animation, it has felt really good returning to more gameplay-related activities recently. This included mostly busywork like bug fixing, but at least some changes are also nice to look at.

One example is the addition of real classical paintings to the game world. Previously, I'd relied on placeholder art from an asset pack that I've wanted to replace ever since I've been using more detailed character models. It turns out that many museums offer public-domain access to thousands of classical art pieces online . Thus, with a little research, I was able to turn Agatha's home into a bit of an art gallery in its own right.


I'm really happy with how these images help me set the scene and offer a glimpse into Agatha's character. The only downside is that I'll now probably need to add more detailed materials to the image frames as well.


Besides classical art, there's one very special picture made by my concept artist Hitsugitoshi. This wedding painting hides a secret, but I don't want to reveal too much just yet ...


Alas, if only they could've been this happy forever!

When Players Get Stuck (Like, Literally)

Updated Horror Game Awards Show Trailer

Hi horror fans,

In my last update, I talked a lot about Agatha. She's the evil teacher whose house you need to escape from in my psychological horror game Dark Lessons.

What I didn't tell you is that you won't be alone with her. Agatha used to have a husband, and he's in the house as well or rather, whatever is left of him is. I won't reveal why he's there, why he's dead (... maybe?) or what he's up to just yet, but I at least wanted to share with you this amazing concept art of him that my 2D artist Hitsugitoshi has come up with.


Him and Agatha, I think they make a lovely couple!

By the way, there's even a fourth person in the house (you, the player, being the third), but that's a topic for another newsletter.

As for myself, I spent most of the past month taking Blender animation courses so that I could properly bring my 3D models to life. Unfortunately, this means that I haven't got any new in-game footage for you, though I promise you that something really cool is cooking right now.

I'm also fairly certain that this will conclude my months-long saga of taking Blender courses, at least for this project, and I've now got the 3D basics needed to hit the ground running.

Meanwhile, please take this simple practice animation of a wobbly blob I did as part of the course and bear with me.


At least my artists (yes, plural!) haven't been lazy at all this month. Besides the drawings for Agatha's husband, I got composer Megollyen to create an original track for me, and capsule artist Guilherme Holz revamped my Steam capsule to give it a much more professional look!



[h1]GOT A QUESTION?
I'LL ANSWER![/h1]

[i]"Which games inspired you to make Dark Lessons?"
"Will I be able to play it on my ultra wide screen?"
"When can I play the demo?"[/i]

If questions like these have been keeping you up at night, you might be relieved to know that I've posted some FAQ on my Steam Community Hub page . So head over there and check out my most commonly asked questions!

In case you've got a question that hasn't been answered there yet, feel free to post it or send me an email!

THIS LADY HAS COST ME MONTHS

How It Started vs How It's Going

I'm super excited to announce that my friends at Skaar Game Productions have released Envelope, their PS1-style, open-world horror game.

Step into the shoes of an unfortunate soul who finds himself getting pushed to do something beyond anything he could possibly imagine.

I've been following Envelope's development closely, and it slaps. Go check it out!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2717480/Envelope/

Hi!

Im beyond excited to share the newest gameplay trailer for my horror
game Dark Lessons! It showcases the overhauled environment and improved graphics I've been working on for the last few months, and it also gives you a first impression of the new inventory system. You can follow this link to view the trailer on YouTube:


In addition, I also updated the screenshots on Dark Lesson's Steam page to more accurately represent the current state of development. Everything looks so much more atmospheric than just a few months ago.

Here are three examples:

Interactible objects are now highlighted when you look at them.

Light shafts and volumetric fog add to the atmosphere.

The inventory still needs more design work, but I'm really proud that I've got a 3D inventory in my game after all.

It takes a village to make a solo devs game

Dark Lessons is part of the Games Baked in Germany Event

Hi!

It's been a while since I got you up to date on Dark Lessons here on Steam. Last month, I described how I had spent February learning 3D modelling so that I could improve the look of the game. After another month, I'm finally done overhauling the area that you'll explore in the demo, so I thought I'd share some before-and-after screenshots with you. Note that the lighting will be appropriately darker in the actual game, but all images are in-engine.


In many areas, I added detail while maintaining the overall layout of the room. I modified or added models and balanced the color palette, but another big improvement is the use of materials with normal maps for floor, walls and ceiling to create the illusion of depth and texture. If you look at the tiles and wallpaper in the image below, you'll see what a huge difference they make.


Another example of similar changes is the teacher's study. Here, however, you can see that some surfaces, like the cork board and leather chair, might still benefit from more realistic materials.


In the case of the master bathroom, I completely changed the room's layout. To be fair, though, there's now another bathroom that features the tub from the old one ...


The angle of the image below makes me wonder whether I should make a fixed-camera style horror game one day. I've already got code for working mirrors in the prototype, by the way, but I still need to make them less performance-intensive and also ... add a model for the player character, so you don't stare into empty air when looking into the mirror.


Finally, I added those rooms that were still missing in my prototype, such as the pantry below. If you look closely, you might notice a slight double vision (aberration) effect, as is used in Phasmophobia.


How do you like the changes? Feel free to let me know what you're thinking!

While the rooms for the demo are mostly finished, there's still a lot of work ahead. I'm currently (re-)implementing and improving gameplay mechanics from the prototype, but I also need to continue work on puzzles and want to update the character design from the ready-made assets I've been using so far ... and then there's all the busy work of adding customizable settings. I get dizzy just thinking about it!

Meanwhile, if you haven't done so yet, wishlisting Dark Lessons is the best way you can support me! And if you've already wishlisted: Thank you so much for your support!

One month ago, I launched the Steam page for my horror game Dark Lessons, where you have to escape from your murderous teacher's home. After the marketing activities surrounding the launch, I was eager to continue working on the game.

I thought that I was almost done with the ground floor of my evil teacher's house. Below, you can see a bird's-eye view of the prototype in Godot, the game's engine. Besides this floor, the house also features the attic and a secret area that you'll unlock in the third act.

I was off to adding more content and hit a brick wall.

Until this point, I'd used premade assets straight in the game engine. This worked for prototyping, but it also caused issues: I had to hide spots where models didn't fit together or where textures got stretched or squashed. In the image above, you can see elements overflowing, because my options to customize them directly in the engine are very limited. I also needed to add a few complex animations and had no idea how to create them.

That's why I decided to spend February learning 3D modelling in Blender. This has slowed me down a bit, but it was definitely worth it. Besides getting ready to add custom animations and modifying character models, I can now create a clean version of the house.

Blender allows me to place elements more precisely, add extra detail and get closer to my vision of what I want Dark Lessons to be.

While the general room layout will be the same as in the prototype, the rooms will be more spacious, too. Below is an image of the current kitchen in the prototype (top) versus the new version in Blender (bottom). Even though the new rooms are still work in progress, there are clear improvements visible already.

I can't wait to show you more progress in the next update! Would you like me to present some visual effects that I'm planning to implement, or should I instead tell you more about why your favorite teacher has trapped you in her home?

If you don't want to miss any updates like these, you can sign up for my monthly newsletter . By doing so, you also save a spot for Beta testing!

Hi horror fans!

Im Robert, the indie game designer behind Tall Tide Games. Im so excited that Dark Lessons is finally live on Steam. I really hope you enjoy the announce trailer as well as the first screenshots.

For Dark Lessons, this is just the beginning. Im still in the early stages of development, so Ill be posting frequent updates in the following months. Youll see how the games look and feel improve, and Ill also be sharing more details about the backstory and what youll be doing in Dark Lessons. Along the way, Im always happy to receive your feedback and suggestions.

If you havent watched the announce trailer yet, go check it out immediately, or your teacher will come and find you!