Hey everyone! Aside from working on the story, I'm also steadily improving the way Artificial Selection looks. The latest endeavor is switching the escape rooms from pixel art to 3D renders:
They use exactly the same models as their foundation, except that the 3D models can actually do the room's lighting and reflective surfaces justice!
I hope you're looking forward to this upcoming change! Aside from that, improved gamepad controls are also in the works. Even if the Demo won't be extended anymore, quality of life improvements like that will always be made available to everyone. Thank you for your support!

[ 2025-02-18 18:27:39 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey everyone! I just published the final demo content update, containing the ending to Effera's route and everything leading up to it! This makes the Demo almost its own entire game and way longer than any Demo should reasonably be, but I don't care! I hope you enjoy the ride!
Unfortunately, that means all future routes will be locked behind the Beta until the game is closer to completion and ready for an official Early Access release. Please keep in mind that given how slow of a writer I am, this is going to take a while, but I will try my best to make the long wait worth it! (As always, any support on Ko-fi is truly appreciated, as it makes it slightly less necessary for me to work my regular job and lets me focus more on game development which in turn will make the game come out faster!) I really hope you enjoyed what you got to experience so far, and are looking forward to the rest as there truly is a lot, lot more to come!
Sincerely, thank you to everyone for supporting Artificial Selection so far, whether financially, sharing your theories, reporting bugs, or by telling a friend about it! Every little thing truly makes a difference and makes working on this project so much more fulfilling! My next steps for 2025 are finishing the ongoing Loye route, and of course, starting a new one! I'll be hosting a poll in my Discord server when that decision comes around, so make sure to join us if you want to help shape the game! With all that sappiness out of the way, see you in the next one, and happy new year!

[ 2024-12-31 11:26:14 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey everyone! Sorry for the delay I was having uploading problems but the latest Demo update is finally here! This time, the story continues after the arcade escape room.

Upcoming End of the Demo

As the title of this announcement says, the Demo content updates will unfortunately soon be coming to an end. Namely: The next update will be the last one! (Save for bug fixes and QoL improvements.) Ending it on Effera's route has been my intention ever since I started this format. I hope her finale will serve as a satisfying cutoff point, while still leaving you excited for the full game (or joining the Beta). I'm aware that anyone who made it that far is likely already invested in the world of Artificial Selection, and I feel bad about leaving you hanging like that, but after 10+ hours of free content, even I had to pull the breaks at some point. I hope you can understand this decision.

Other news

Last but not least: As of this update, Kydan got a second pose, and his original one has also been redrawn. On top of that, there may or may not be new stuff waiting for you in the Bonus Shop...
Thank you for your support and understanding. See you in the next (and final) one!

[ 2024-12-06 15:14:42 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey everyone! This update introduces the new arcade escape room, which is both the biggest and the most popular one (so far)!

Thank you for your support, and I hope you enjoy! As always, check out our Discord server for more in-depth news and puzzle help, in case you need it!

[ 2024-11-03 14:34:21 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey everyone! I just published an update that fixes a few things and introduces a brand new title screen:
As always, thanks for reporting any issues that come up, and I hope you continue to enjoy Artificial Selection!

[ 2024-10-09 10:58:39 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey everyone! Aside from the long-awaited continuation of the story (which I won't spoil here), this update adds 2 notable quality of life improvements:

• Added the ability to zoom out the flowchart.
• Choice prompts now also appear on save files.

I hope you enjoy, and see you again next month!

[ 2024-09-30 22:21:30 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey everyone! It's time for another AS update! Since I was busy with moving to a new place last month, I unfortunately couldn't get a story update done. Instead I spent the available time working on community-suggested illustrations (on my Ko-fi) to enhance existing parts of the game!
I hope you enjoy, and see you again next month!

[ 2024-09-01 18:30:03 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey everyone! This month's update lets you access a brand new floor, along with another massive milestone in Effera's route: The first romance scenes! If you've done a good job collecting affection points, you'll get to see some exclusive CGs for Saeva or Maesol.
Thank you so much for your support, and I hope you'll enjoy!

[ 2024-08-02 15:30:04 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey everyone! The Demo got another juicy update this month! Namely, the Effera route is turning it up a notch with more Maesol content. So, quite fitting for the month of June, I've coincidentally focused on Team Pride all around!
Thank you so much for your support, and I hope you'll enjoy!

[ 2024-07-01 23:01:25 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey everyone! The demo has been updated with some new content as well as a completely revamped UI!
I hope you enjoy the new alternate branch to discover!
Aside from that, I'm also excited to announce another game jam project is coming to Steam on June 3rd. In it, you can experience an alternate version of Artificial Selection with Foris as the main character: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2924880/Artificial_Fashionista/ Thank you for your support, and see you again next month!

[ 2024-06-01 20:15:17 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey everyone, I've admittedly been neglecting to post updates here on Steam, but that changes today! First of all...

...From now on, the Demo will be extended every month!

What this means is that the demo will join the monthly release hype and always be 6 months behind the latest content. The new monthly patch notes will be a celebration everyone can look forward to! I hope this strikes a good balance between letting all of you finally see how the story continues, and still honoring those who support/ed me on a monthly basis. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns! (Small disclaimer: The "free updates every month schedule" schedule will not be followed forever (unless I miraculously gain so many supporters where this somehow becomes a sustainable business model). As of now, the full game is still planned to be a one-time purchase. Thank you for your understanding!)

With that out of the way, here's what's new:

Demo Content

• 10k new words!
• The continuation after the criminal record reveal!
• A new character!
• A new escape room!
• 1 new CG!

Patch Notes

• 15k new words. (115,000+ in total)*
• A new alternate sprite for Ashor!
• Every character now has something to say about every escape room item.
• 11 new backgrounds!
• A track previously only available from buying the soundtrack finally appears in-game!* (by Zaxcess)
• Two updated music tracks.* (by Zaxcess)
• Added the "Page View" feature to the flowchart for improved keyboard/gamepad controls.*
• Added a minor explanation to the flowchart.*
• The title screen now changes based on which floor you were last on.
• Added additional lighting to all sprites.
• The talk icon now only wiggles when there are new hints for you to read.
• Added a counter to the affection gauge in the profile menu.
• Accounted for additional unique conditions in the break room.*
• Added sound effects to item combination.
• Stabilized saving the game during escape rooms.
• Fixed the conditions of various puzzle hints.
• Made the minimap more elegant by removing the border.
• Changed the dimensions of the minimap.
• Made transitions nicer.
• Applied the "old pixel art" setting to one flowchart node.*
• Minor dialogue changes.
• Fixed typos.

*Beta only
More generally, Artificial Selection has finally reached a total of 100k+ words! I'm extremely proud of this milestone, and want to give heartfelt thanks to all my supporters on Ko-fi. Working towards a new update on a monthly basis has given me such a huge surge of motivation, leading me to be more productive than I've ever been in the past 4 years of AS' development. (Granted, being done with uni also helped a lot.) Thank you for your thoughts, theories, and of course, bug reports!

[ 2023-08-07 15:52:21 CET ] [ Original post ]

The beta testing has been a huge success, so the parts of the demo that were previously cut have now been polished and re-added, for a total of 2-3 hours of gameplay for everyone! From now on, you can freely choose between two demo modes:

• Quick (A basic introduction which can easily be played in one sitting. Contains 1 escape room and takes around 30 minutes.)
• Full (The first 2-3 hours of the game, just like they will be in the full game. Has 2 escape rooms, the debate mechanics, and introduces all the characters.)

I hope you enjoy all the new content, and thanks for your support!
Once you've finished the demo and are curious for even more, you might want to check out the beta version. So far, it contains the resolution to the demo's cliffhanger, the first proper ending, a convenient (unlockable) flowchart, and much more!

[ 2023-02-18 13:55:34 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey everyone, just wanted to let you know that a big update to the demo is coming in the next few weeks!
The demo will be extended (or, more accurately, restored) to its original length, spanning all the way up to the second escape room. The feedback from the beta testers helped a tremendous amount, and the corresponding parts should now be polished enough for a wider audience. After the update, the demo will have:

• 2 Escape rooms (1 NEW)
• 35k+ Words (30k NEW)
• All 14 contestants (10 NEW)
• Debate gameplay (NEW)
• Free time gameplay (NEW)
• Affection system (NEW)

Thanks for your support, and I hope you look forward to it! In case you want to access the extended demo content right now, along with at least 3 more hours of content, 1 more escape room, and the first proper ending - you might want to consider becoming a beta tester! Not only do you get to see parts of the game before everyone else, but you get to make suggestions and directly influence the development of the game. You can become a beta tester by supporting me on Ko-fi. There's only a handful of testers right now, making your impact even greater!
That's all for now. See you in a few weeks!

[ 2023-01-29 17:59:47 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey everyone! In preparation of the early access release later this year, I made a few changes to the demo:

• Edited script: Much of the dialogue has been changed or entirely rewritten to add more depth to the plot and characters.
• Updated graphics: All characters except for Saeva have new faces, and there's a new UI, title screen, and logo.
• Parallax effect: The mouse cursor moves the camera around, making characters pop out from the background.
• So many settings: The game can be customized just how you want it.
• And more!

However, there has also been a "downgrade", in a sense:

• The demo is significantly shorter now (~30 minutes)

This was done to make the demo easier to maintain. The longer the demo is, the more likely it is that I'll go back and change something - but now, I'm pretty certain what you see in the demo is how it'll be in the final game. Since the early access launch is still a few months away, I've worked out a compromise for those who are curious about the new screenshots: Insider supporters on Ko-fi or BMAC can play a Beta Version containing the first 3 hours of the game, and tons of new content!
I'll keep working hard to make the early access release happen. Thank you for your continued support and patience!

[ 2022-09-07 17:17:34 CET ] [ Original post ]

A few changes were made to the demo, bringing it up to date with how the final game will look. In terms of content, there isn't anything new, so if you already played the previous version, you don't have to check this one out. But if you haven't, then now is a better time than ever to give it a shot!
List of changes:

• tweaked the UI (hot pink accent, glowing borders, text box redesign)
• added option to change text box opacity
• changed the main menu layout (bye, Saeva!)
• changed the game menu layout
• at last, a functional custom cursor
• added new sound effects
• optimized image loading; skipping should be much smoother now
• integrated Discord Rich Presence

I hope you'll enjoy these subtle improvements, and thank you for your support!

[ 2021-02-12 16:53:34 CET ] [ Original post ]