2024 was a year of transitions, as I wrapped up several big projects and settled into my new home.
FINISHING UP PROJECTS
There were a lot of files to review for Strange Nightmares to make sure everything was good for release. I received early samples of the game and the merch for review as well, and signed a bunch of stuff for the Kickstarter backers. The manufacturing phase took longer than expected so shipping got pushed to January, but its been great to finally see the products reaching fans and how happy they are. Check out the How to Play video I made for Strange Nightmares: [previewyoutube=b5DYHXnIwE0;full][/previewyoutube] If you missed out, heres the store page for Strange Nightmares stuff:
I also finished the narrative and final art piece for Strange Boxes, which was a lot of fun to work on. I hope everyone who got the boxes enjoyed their time with them!
Another big project that came to an end in 2024 was the Sally Face art book. The files were finalized earlier in the year and the book launched in October. If you havent gotten your hands on it yet, it came out awesome! Titan did a great job with it. You can grab a copy on Titans site and its also on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Walmart, Target, etc.
In previous years, I had been working on a pitch for a Sally Face animated series. We got as far as signing on with two big studios and pitching to the major networks. Unfortunately, despite a lot of interest from the networks, the timing just didnt work out. But the high amount of interest left me hopeful. In fact, Ive been working on a movie pitch that I think is shaping up to be something great. So fingers crossed we have better luck with that avenue!
THE HOUSE OF HAMELIN
With my other team, Wither Studios, weve been continuing work on The House of Hamelin a deckbuilding roguelike game where youre searching for your missing cat in the twisted halls of an ever changing house thats filled with horrible creatures. This game has been a ton of fun to work on and is shaping up awesomely.
We demoed early builds of the game at the Phoenix Theater in Pittsburgh, at TORG in Columbus, at the Bit Bridge Halloween Showcase in Pittsburgh, and at Cleveland Gaming Classic where we also won an award for Best Art Design.
Were aiming for an Early Access release sometime this year. No exact date yet but well announce when were ready. In the meantime, wishlists are extremely helpful to securing a successful launch. So any wishlists are greatly appreciated! https://store.steampowered.com/app/3233300/The_House_of_Hamelin/
PERSONAL STUFF
As a personal update, Ive been exploring alternate options besides surgery for the herniated discs in my neck but I havent found a good solution yet. Ive also been having some other mysterious health issues that Ive been getting a lot of tests on, but with no luck. Im hopeful that things will improve, its just been a bit of a mental weight on me this past year. Ive also had a lot of various household projects, with the new house. It seems like theres always something to fix or work on, but that was to be expected. At least its usually rewarding work (I even replaced a full sink on my own and it works and everything!). It may have taken me until my late 30s to be able to afford my first home, but Im proud of it and feel fortunate to have this nice spot to settle down in. Speaking of feeling fortunate, I was able to do the annual Halloween Road Trip with my good friends again and it was such a great time. We hit 6 haunted houses and 2 escape rooms in 3 days. Im already looking forward to next Halloween!
A NOTE ABOUT SF2
I was able to get more done on Sally Face 2 in 2024. Though, progress has been slow with all of my other projects. So its going to be a little while still and I thank you all for your patience and understanding. I dont like to give release estimates until I have a time frame Im more confident with. If we look at the first game, it took about 8 years of development (2015-2019 for the episodes, 2020-2022 for console ports) and besides writing the script for SF2 while working on other projects, development didnt really start until 2024. That said, Im still planning to hire a couple people to help speed things up significantly. I know Ive mentioned this before but I was too quick in bringing it up and wasnt ready as soon as I thought Id be. But Ill definitely be putting the call out this year sometime. So if youre interested, get those portfolios ready! Just please wait until I make the announcement for job openings before emailing me.
SO MUCH MERCH
If youre itching for more Sally Face merch, here are some neat new things: [url=https://youtooz.com/products/sally-face-plush-9-inch]YouTooz pre-order (today is the last day!)
[url=https://www.spencersonline.com/product/sally-face-slippers/276080.uts]Sal Slippers
[url=https://www.spencersonline.com/product/sally-face-lounge-pants/266261.uts]Sally Face Pajama Pants
[url=https://www.spencersonline.com/product/sally-face-checkered-crew-socks-/267256.uts]SF Socks
BONUS LORE
Back when we were doing the Kickstarter for Strange Nightmares (in 2023!), I released a few little Sally Face bonus lore bits. I came across these again recently and I thought it'd be nice to share them again for those who haven't seen them!
THANK YOU
Thank you all for continuing to support the world of Sally Face as it expands beyond what I could have ever imagined it would. Its been a tough road, full of ups and downs, and at times, has felt very overwhelming. Yet, the fans have made this journey feel worth it. Keep fighting the darkness Steve
[ 2025-02-18 16:24:51 CET ] [ Original post ]
CLICK HERE TO ENTER
To celebrate the 8th anniversary of Sally Face: Episode One, Strange Neighbors, I'm giving away a huge bundle of Sally Face stuff to one lucky winner! In order to enter the giveaway, you must complete the survey by following the link above.
Thanks for 8 great years! During that time, I released 5 episodes on PC, ported the game to consoles, added localization, created an art book (coming soon!), developed a Sally Face board game with Maestro Media (also coming soon!), connected with a lot of great merch partners, and much more.
The future of Sally Face is bright, with exciting things on the horizon
[ 2024-08-16 14:02:10 CET ] [ Original post ]
Sally Face: Strange Nightmares is now on Kickstarter
Sally Face goes co-op in this tabletop adventure game! Back the Kickstarter early to get exclusive merch and join in on the 30 day party we have planned. It's gonna be a lot of fun!
For Pittsburgh area fans!
We're hosting a game night at Bold Escape Rooms on March 9th. Come hang and play games with us. You'll get a change to try out Strange Nightmares and also play some escape rooms. Tickets are limited! Click here for tickets and info.
[ 2023-02-28 16:00:39 CET ] [ Original post ]
StrangeNightmares.com Don't miss these awesome FREE exclusives for early birds! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12PYJuB-vuo Steve and Maestro Media
[ 2023-01-26 19:09:37 CET ] [ Original post ]
I usually do a retrospective post each year but this year I decided to do something a little different. Instead of recapping 2022 alone, I recapped the full development cycle of Sally Face, from 2015-2022. I also included some other notable projects and things I've worked on in that time. Hope everyone has a nice holiday! [previewyoutube=JZPOx2jMLxE;full][/previewyoutube]
[ 2022-12-21 18:00:21 CET ] [ Original post ]
Sally Face: Strange Nightmares is a new Sally Face board game, in production with Maestro Media and myself. It's an adventure game where you play through different stories, solve mysteries by rolling dice, fend off cops and cultists, and try to prevent corruption from taking over the Addison Apartments. [previewyoutube=e5S0-HE1l0c;full][/previewyoutube] Check out strangenightmares.com for more details and sign up for the newsletter, so you don't miss any big announcements. Signing up will also get you bonus Gizmo cards and standee! Maestro will be demoing the game for the first time this weakened (Dec 2-4) at PAX Unplugged. I will also be there, so make sure to come say hi! Steve
[ 2022-11-29 21:06:04 CET ] [ Original post ]
You can now play Sally Face in Spanish and French!
Full patch details for 1.5.42
- French localization added - Spanish localization added - PlayStation support - Xbox support - Fixed minor achievement related bugs - UI updates - Font updates - Various minor bug fixes - Various minor adjustments
[ 2022-07-19 12:58:03 CET ] [ Original post ]
[previewyoutube=WlGA_bwP_YQ;full][/previewyoutube] A showcase of some of the wonderful art I have received from Sally Face fans. If you'd like to send me something, the address is: PO BOX 14713 Pittsburgh, PA 15234 Follow me @PortableMoose on social media.
[ 2021-07-08 22:02:21 CET ] [ Original post ]
Check out the new Sally Face Developer Q&A where I answer some of the top fan questions! [previewyoutube=69RPi9P9_hw;leftthumb][/previewyoutube]
[ 2021-04-08 16:43:32 CET ] [ Original post ]
version 1.5.31 - Fixed bug that sometimes allowed Larry to open the guitar menu in episode four - Added button to initial auto save menu, for clarity - Added failsafe for ISP ch2 sometimes not unlocking (reload treehouse scene to trigger) - Added failsafe for Sal sometimes not using his walk animation after replaying the game (triggers at the start of an episode) - Various small fixes and adjustments If you run into any issues, let me know!
[ 2021-02-03 19:22:09 CET ] [ Original post ]
Check out the Story Trailer for Sally Face!
[previewyoutube=12JWIJA0Qag;full][/previewyoutube]
[ 2021-01-22 18:51:09 CET ] [ Original post ]
With the new update, version 1.5.29, comes a lot of adjustments and improvements. - Performance optimizations - Audio optimizations - Several visual hints added throughout - Made guitar timers easier - General bug fixes - Changed how completion percentages work - Updated Unity version - Loading/Save icon added - Minor UI updates - A lot of various small adjustments - Nintendo Switch functionality As always, if you run into any issues, please let me know! Steve
[ 2021-01-11 18:42:41 CET ] [ Original post ]
The German translation is now available for Episode Five! Additionally, I will soon be looking for volunteers to help with translating the full game into Simplified Chinese and French. Possibly also Polish and Japanese. As a solo dev, it's a lot to manage more translations though I hope that with the help of fans, we can get more languages available. I am also working with someone on the Spanish translation, which should be available around summer time. If you would be interested in helping with the translations, please shoot me an email at contact@portablemoose.com with your qualifications. Please only Simplified Chinese, French, Polish or Japanese for the time being. Thank you all for your support!
[ 2020-01-26 23:41:43 CET ] [ Original post ]
Read the Sally Face Postmortem to learn about the development journey of the game as well as what comes next for Sally Face.
stevegabry.wordpress.com/2019/12/17/sally-face-postmortem/
Steve
[ 2019-12-17 19:00:44 CET ] [ Original post ]
Hey everyone, Thanks for letting me know about these issues. I work very hard to keep the game as bug free as possible. Below are the most recent fixes. version 1.5.06 - Fixed Addison achievement not working in Episode Two - Fixed Ash sometimes not attacking* - Fixed game sometimes starting in Chinese - Fixed Deadstone blast sometimes persisting in new scene - Fixed issue with pausing overtop of 3d menus - Fixed rare issue with the first hexagon puzzle - Minor adjustments * This is a theoretical fix, since I wasn't able to reproduce that particular issue. If anyone still experiences it, please let me know.
[ 2019-12-14 22:44:45 CET ] [ Original post ]
Today's Deal: Save 50% on Sally Face!*
Look for the deals each day on the front page of Steam. Or follow us on twitter or Facebook for instant notifications wherever you are!
*Offer ends Sunday at 10AM Pacific Time
[ 2019-12-13 18:06:00 CET ] [ Original post ]
Episode Five: Memories and Dreams is now available in the Sally Face Season Pass!
The dark mystery comes to an end in the final episode of Sally Face. Developing this game has been a long and sometimes very difficult journey. The amount of love I've gotten from fans has been amazing and I'm forever grateful for all of the amazing people who have grown to love Sally Face and who have supported my work. I hope that you will all enjoy the final episode. Love, Steve PS! BandMerch is running a sale on official Sally Face merch! Here's a little message from them: Hey Sally Face fans, use code EPISODE5 at checkout for 20% off your orders on the Sally Face store through 12/31.
[ 2019-12-13 05:12:50 CET ] [ Original post ]
[url=http://store.steampowered.com/app/541570/Sally_Face/]Nominate Sally Face for the Labor of Love Steam Award!
December 3rd is the Deadline. I've spent almost 5 years pouring my blood, sweat and tears into this project and it would mean a lot to me to be nominated by the fans. Thank you all for your love and support, I appreciate it more than you know. Steve
[ 2019-12-02 21:25:28 CET ] [ Original post ]
Watch the Official Trailer for Sally Face, Episode Five!
THE FINAL EPISODE! [previewyoutube=ECQ_9_Ah4FQ;full][/previewyoutube] *Episode Five will be included in the Season Pass DLC.
[ 2019-10-25 14:20:34 CET ] [ Original post ]
Italian Translation Now Available for Episode Four!
Just update to the latest version.
* Other languages: At this moment, I'm not adding any further languages. However, it is something I will be interested in doing later on, closer to the completion of Episode Five.
[ 2018-12-16 18:08:11 CET ] [ Original post ]
Portuguese (BR) Translation Now Available for Episode Four!
Just updated to the latest version.
* Italian translation is still in the works and I'll post an announcement as soon as it is ready!
* Other languages: At this moment, I'm not adding any further languages. However, it is something I will be interested in doing later on, closer to the completion of Episode Five.
[ 2018-12-15 18:18:55 CET ] [ Original post ]
German Translation Now Available for Episode Four!
Just updated to the latest version.
* Italian and Brazilian Portuguese are still in the works and I'll post an announcement as soon as they are ready!
[ 2018-12-03 23:12:57 CET ] [ Original post ]
Sally Face, Episode Four: The Trial is Now Available!
- Episode Four is included in the Season Pass DLC.
- Russian and Traditional Chinese translations are now available.
- German, Brazilian Portuguese and Italian translations for Episode Four are currently being worked on.
[ 2018-11-30 04:04:28 CET ] [ Original post ]
Episode Four comes out tomorrow!
In celebration of the next episode, I've set up a new merch store with Threadless. They're also running a special right now for free shipping, on orders over $45 (until December 12th). I hope everyone is excited for Episode Four! My goal is to launch around midnight EST, for those interested in staying up with me! Love, Steve
[ 2018-11-29 15:04:08 CET ] [ Original post ]
Sally Face, Episode Four: The Trial will be available 11.30.18!
Thanks for the continued love and support! <3 Steve
[ 2018-11-17 03:43:11 CET ] [ Original post ]
The Italian Translation is now available for Episode Three!
Sorry for the delay, for those who were waiting for the Italian translation. I lost one of my volunteers, so it took a bit longer than expected. A big thanks to Elena Previ for tackling the Episode Three translation on her own! [url=https://steamcommunity.com/app/541570/discussions/0/1696045708645326363/]Episode Four - Development
I created a Pinned Thread on Steam, that has Episode Four development details and that I'll be updating as I continue production. Love, Steve
[ 2018-04-26 21:10:21 CET ] [ Original post ]
Hey friends!
I'll be headed off to PAX East this week, in Boston, with Wither Studios (my other indie dev team). I've been helping them build a horror game over the past two years, called IMMURE. We'll be showing the demo at PAX East. I'll also have some Sally Face stuff with me!
If you're going to PAX be sure to stop by Booth 10013 to say hi!
Follow me on twitter to see what I'm up to.
I also wanted to share this news because I'll be pretty tied up for the next week or two. So if you're trying to contact me, please keep that in mind and thanks in advanced for your patience.
If you're interested to know a little more about my history with Wither Studios, I talk about that in my blog post The Complicated History of Sally Face.
In other news, I also finally set up a Newsletter for Sally Face! Head over to my website and in the About section you'll find the sign up. Subscribe so that you won't miss any important Sally Face announcements.
<3 Steve
[ 2018-04-01 19:42:13 CET ] [ Original post ]
Hey friends!
I'll be headed off to PAX East this week, in Boston, with Wither Studios (my other indie dev team). I've been helping them build a horror game over the past two years, called IMMURE. We'll be showing the demo at PAX East. I'll also have some Sally Face stuff with me!
If you're going to PAX be sure to stop by Booth 10013 to say hi!
Follow me on twitter to see what I'm up to.
I also wanted to share this news because I'll be pretty tied up for the next week or two. So if you're trying to contact me, please keep that in mind and thanks in advanced for your patience.
If you're interested to know a little more about my history with Wither Studios, I talk about that in my blog post The Complicated History of Sally Face.
In other news, I also finally set up a Newsletter for Sally Face! Head over to my website and in the About section you'll find the sign up. Subscribe so that you won't miss any important Sally Face announcements.
<3 Steve
[ 2018-04-01 19:42:13 CET ] [ Original post ]
The Portuguese (BR) translation is now available for Episode Three: The Bologna Incident!
* Italian translation is coming soon!
* To those asking for additional translations: I hear you and thank you for your interest! For now, I'm only working with current language support for all episodes. As a one man team, I need to be careful with how much I take on at once. When episode five is finished, I'll be happy to look into further localization options.
[ 2018-03-16 19:02:41 CET ] [ Original post ]
The Portuguese (BR) translation is now available for Episode Three: The Bologna Incident!
* Italian translation is coming soon!
* To those asking for additional translations: I hear you and thank you for your interest! For now, I'm only working with current language support for all episodes. As a one man team, I need to be careful with how much I take on at once. When episode five is finished, I'll be happy to look into further localization options.
[ 2018-03-16 19:02:41 CET ] [ Original post ]
The German Translation is now available for Episode Three: The Bologna Incident!
Additional Translations are coming soon:
* Brazilian Portuguese
* Italian
[ 2018-02-16 01:41:21 CET ] [ Original post ]
The German Translation is now available for Episode Three: The Bologna Incident!
Additional Translations are coming soon:
* Brazilian Portuguese
* Italian
[ 2018-02-16 01:41:21 CET ] [ Original post ]
- Fixed issue where Larry's conversation would sometimes not progress - Fixed issue where Clumpy achievement wasn't triggering* I also made it so that if you had already beaten the game and didn't get the achievement, all you need to do is enter Larry's apartment and it should auto grant you the achievement (this way you don't need to beat the game again).
[ 2018-02-11 21:13:10 CET ] [ Original post ]
Continue the Dark Adventures of Sally Face in Episode Three!
Sally Face and his friends begin an investigation at school that becomes much more than they expected. Episode Three Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJi-9FuZ7AE Current Language Support: - English - Russian - Traditional Chinese Language Support Coming Soon: - Italian - German - Brazilian Portuguese
[ 2018-02-10 04:44:30 CET ] [ Original post ]
A Dark Mystery is Unfolding... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJi-9FuZ7AE Sally Face, Episode Three: The Bologna Incident will be out on February 10th!
[ 2018-02-02 20:18:30 CET ] [ Original post ]
A Dark Mystery is Unfolding...
Episode Three: The Bologna Incident will be available on February 10th!
[ 2018-01-25 00:19:34 CET ] [ Original post ]
Hey, everyone! I hope you're all enjoying the holiday season. I wanted to give you a quick update on the progress of episode 3.
Recently, the title was revealed: The Bologna Incident! Along with a small peek into some of the scenes from the new episode (above image). Development is going very well and my hope is to be able to start testing and working on translations next month, then release sometime in February or March. That's my rough estimate for now but I'll keep you updated as I get closer!
_ _ _
Additionally, if you could take a second to vote for Sally Face on Indie DB for "Indie Game of the Year" I would appreciate that very much!
_ _ _
All The Best,
Steve
@PortableMoose
[ 2017-12-07 15:38:08 CET ] [ Original post ]
Version 1.2.21
The Portuguese (BR) translation is now available with Episode 2! (previously only available with ep 1). Episode one also had some translation updates and fixes.
- Additional, minor adjustments and bug fixes are included in this version as well
For those curious about Episode Three, development is going along well! I'm roughly 50% of the way through production. I'll have more news as I get closer to finishing the episode.
Thank you all for the continued support!
- Steve
@PortableMoose
[ 2017-10-20 21:12:00 CET ] [ Original post ]
Hi, everyone! A quick note on reporting issues. If you are having any troubles, take a look at the Troubleshooting Thread for suggested actions. Please follow those steps before reporting an issue as this may save both of us time. If you're still having an issue, you can write on the discussion directly or email me at portablemoose@gmail.com but please don't report anywhere else. If you post issues in other places I may not see them and I want to make sure we can resolve any potential problems. Additionally, I've started an FAQ Thread to help find answers to frequently asked questions. Feel free to ask more questions on that discussion as well. Just keep in mind that I won't answer anything involving spoilers. Thank you for your continued support of Sally Face! - Steve @PortableMoose
[ 2017-08-11 17:41:59 CET ] [ Original post ]
Continue the dark mystery of Sally Face with Episode Two: The Wretched! Included in the Seasons Pass!
Language Support on Launch:
- English
- Russian
- German
- Traditional Chinese
Language Support Coming Soon:
- Italian
Languages TBD:
- Portuguese (looking for new help with this)
Follow me on Twitter to get the latest updates!
[ 2017-07-07 04:30:56 CET ] [ Original post ]
A Dark Mystery is Unfolding... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6xzbAUSM-Y
[ 2017-06-29 20:10:13 CET ] [ Original post ]
I hope you are all excited to play the next episode of Sally Face! It will be coming out on July 7th!
[ 2017-06-15 00:27:30 CET ] [ Original post ]
The latest version of Sally Face, released today, supports three new languages!
- German
- Italian
- Traditional Chinese
[ 2017-01-25 18:17:43 CET ] [ Original post ]
🎮 Full Controller Support
- Sally Face Linux [346.5 M]
- Sally Face - Season Pass [Linux] [777.12 M]
- Sally Face - Season Pass
Join the boy with blue pigtails, a prosthetic face and a mysterious past. Guide him on weird adventures through high school and beyond; dealing with the many oddities and hardships in his life.
In the first episode, Strange Neighbors, Sally Face and his father move into a new apartment filled with odd tenants and an unfortunate crime scene. This episode will set the stage for an even greater mystery.
Gameplay
In this story-driven adventure game, players will interact with Sal's world and his nightmares. The main path typically requires casual effort. However, there are hidden surprises to be found and bonus mysteries that may invoke a bit of head-scratching for those players up to the challenge.
The game is broken up into Episodes. Each episode is fairly short (typically under an hour) to essentially parallel a dark cartoon series that would air on TV.
- OS: Ubuntu 14.04.5 LTS
- Processor: 2GHzMemory: 4 GB RAMStorage: 600 MB available space
- Memory: 4 GB RAMStorage: 600 MB available space
- Storage: 600 MB available space