It was brought to my attention that the Steam achievements haven't been working on Apple Macs. I have now updated the build to fix this, but please let me know if anything (unintentionally) weird starts happening on any of the supported platforms. There is a big update coming soon too... more on that later! Tom

Broadcast during the AdventureX 2024 Steam sale.

Broadcast during the AdventureX 2024 Steam sale.

Broadcast during the AdventureX 2024 Steam sale.

Broadcast during the AdventureX 2024 Steam sale.

Broadcast during the AdventureX 2024 Steam sale.

Broadcast during the AdventureX 2024 Steam sale.

Heir of the Dog on Kickstarter

Double box reward

Check out the Kickstarter here

Wishlist Heir of the Dog on Steam:

Roll up, roll up

Watch our Kickstarter video

Check it out on Steam

Heir of the Dog Kickstarter pre-launch page live!

Follow on Kickstarter

What about rewards?

Hey everyone, incredible news!! Those wonderful chaps at Debug Magazine have announced the shortlists for their "Most Anticipated" and "ICYMI (in case you missed it)" categories in their new Indie Game Awards. Heir of the Dog has been shortlisted for their "Most Anticipated" award, and Lucy Dreaming has been shortlisted for "ICYMI", which are both decided by public vote. Voting only takes a couple of seconds, so please please take the time to support my games and vote for them both here.

Cast your vote

The "Back" button wasn't displaying on the library computer in the last update (still not 100% sure why), but the latest update should fix this.

A couple of little cosmetic and text-related fixes in this latest build. We have tested this new build with old savegames and it appears to be working properly, but if anyone experiences any issues, there's a Beta containing the previous stable build available. Tom

Want a behind-the-scenes glimpse of how I create the artwork for my games? I'll be going live on Twitch today at 12.30pm (UK time) to continue my series of art and dev streams for documenting the progress of my new game, Heir of the Dog, (available to wishlist now). https://store.steampowered.com/app/2431920/Heir_of_the_Dog/ Please come and join me for a chat, some pixel-artwork and a jolly nice cup of tea!

Follow me on Twitch.

Since releasing Lucy Dreaming last year, we've seen incredible support and love for our very first commercial game. We reached 100 reviews really quickly, but we need more, and here's why...

Did you know...

What can you do?

After a staggering 50,000 downloads of Hair of the Dog (our game jam submission built in just 12 days), we are delighted to announce that a full length Cummerbund Bandersnatch adventure is in the making. Inspired by Robert Louis Stevensons classic Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Heir of the Dog takes you on a riotous romp through the dark streets and back alleys of Victorian London, where youll discover talking lice, cannibalism, a secret society and rather a lot of dogs. https://store.steampowered.com/app/2431920/Heir_of_the_Dog/ If you loved Lucy Dreaming's sardonic British humour and twisting narrative, you can look forward to the same brand of sarcasm, horrendous puns and nob jokes as you explore the dark underbelly of Victorian London in Heir of the Dog! [previewyoutube=9PZYdtgHi90;full][/previewyoutube]

If you have followed my journey into game development over the past few years, you'll probably be aware of Hair of the Dog, a short adventure game I created for AdvXJam back in 2020. It was created in twelve days, so was a little rough around the edges, but pipped Lucy Dreaming to the post as the first game I ever released on Steam. In that respect it was a great test-run, paving the way for Lucy two years later. Hair of the Dog has enjoyed over 25,000 downloads on various platforms since it was released, and I have received hundreds of messages and reviews from people all over the world requesting a full length version.

Well, here it is!

Demo coming soon!

Since releasing Lucy Dreaming back in October 2023, people have fallen in love with its retro soundtrack produced in both AdLib Sound Blaster and Roland MT32 styles. https://store.steampowered.com/app/2462140/Lucy_Dreaming_Soundtrack/ We are now delighted to announce that we have made the full soundtrack available to download as DLC on Steam! [previewyoutube=dMxT3IdwbCM;full][/previewyoutube]Listen to some samples

Here's what you get

• 26 original tracks from Lucy Dreaming
• 2 bonus tracks never used in the final game
• Both Roland MT32 and AdLib sound card styles for each track
• High quality FLAC and MP3 formats

The genius behind the music

This patch fixes a little bug affecting the inventory's hover states after a new engine update last week.

No fooling

We have seen incredible support and love for Lucy Dreaming since it released back in October, reaching 100 reviews really quickly, but we need more, and here's why... Did you know that thew vast majority of a Steam game's players come via suggestions made by Steam within their own platform? Steam's algorithm uses the number of reviews to dictate how often (and prominently) each game will be shown to new potential players as they browse and play. The first algorithm milestone is 10 reviews. This is basically Steam's way of making sure that a game isn't a complete crash-fest. Next is the 50-review milestone. This is where a game can earn its Very Positive rating, depending on the positivity of the reviews. BUT... the next milestone is a whopping 500 reviews! This would give us an Overwhelmingly Positive rating and a top spot in Steam's algorithm. We're already over 20% of the way there, but every single review counts and improves our chances of being displayed to more potential point & click fans. So, if you have enjoyed playing Lucy Dreaming, please spare a few seconds to write a short review and help us to reach that magic 500 reviews ! It really will have an enormous impact, and enable us to create more games in the future. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1532710/Lucy_Dreaming/ Thank you, and I really hope you've enjoyed playing the game. Tom x

The gift of adventure

One of the character's audio wasn't working in the new update, so that has now been fixed. I have also reverted the Linux version back to a previous build as it was brought to my attention that it was crashing elsewhere which may be connected to the audio changes too. That needs more investigation! Tom

Along with a couple of little tweaks to the game, the main reason for this update is to try and fix an issue which was causing the game to randomly crash (usually while streaming publicly...which is doubly annoying). A bit of background info The codec for the .ogg vorbis format I was using occasionally seemed to trigger crashes on some platforms, and I'm wondering if it's this that has caused the occasional crashing that some of us have seen on Windows 10 systems too. I have now replaced all of the .ogg files with .opus files which has not only reduced the overall size of the game, it may actually fix the crashing too! I have tested it at my end and didn't notice any issues with it running or loading previously saved games, but if anyone spots the game doing anything weird from an audio point of view, please do let me know. Sorry this update is a bit heavier than the usual tweaks, but a large portion of the game's weight has been replaced with the new audio files. Fingers crossed! Tom

Every single vote counts!

It doesn't stop there!

What? You've not actually played Lucy Dreaming yet?

The following have (hopefully) been fixed now

• Occasionally some objects were not accessible from left hand side of (musical) scene.
• It was possible to exit the scene after playing Goosey Wallop if you hammered the mouse really fast.
• A change to the game credits.

The un-ticked text in Lucy's diary is now higher contrast to help with accessibility. I have also fixed an animation bug and tweaked the way system on one of the scenes. Tom

We have seen incredible support and love for Lucy Dreaming, but one of the unfortunate side effects of running a Kickstarter campaign, and offering a Steam code as a reward is that none of the reviews from our backers actually count towards game's our public rating. This means that, although we already have 85 very positive reviews, only half of these are contributing towards our game's performance on Steam (which dictates how often it is show to other players on the platform). If you have enjoyed playing Lucy Dreaming, please spare a few seconds to write a short review and help us to reach that magic 50 reviews as quickly as possible! It really will have an enormous impact, and enable us to create more games in the future. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1532710/Lucy_Dreaming/ Thank you, and I really hope you've enjoyed playing the game. Tom x

I don't want to add any spoilers, but I've added a line of dialogue and a tweak to a specific action to hopefully make it a bit clearer.

A few updates ago I changed something which broke the internal game counter which displays the playing-time on top of savegame thumbnails. This has now been reinstated, but will only be a true representation of the playing-time for new games started after this update. Sorry about that!

The last patch broke it, hopefully this one should fix it again. This is why I shouldn't be allowed nice things! Tom.

Because, why not?

I have added a couple of additional lines of dialogue and tweaked a couple of graphics to hopefully make some of the puzzles less ambiguous.

Fixed: German savegame descriptions were not displaying on slots 7-12.

Some fixes

• Small typos
• Steam achievement fix for one of the badges - if you earned a badge but didn't earn the Steam achievement to go along with it, you can load up a savegame with the badge and Steam will reward you accordingly (alternatively, you can just earn it again if you prefer) :)
• Fixes to some clickable hotspots (one which caused a DMW dead end!)
• A patch to prevent the unintentional "Spiderman" easter egg which allowed Lucy to climb some walls.

• Mac - On some Macs with Apple Silicon, the mouse can get a bit stuck in one corner of the screen. We are working on a fix for this.
• Linux - Audio can distort or judder on some systems, try disabling surround sound if this occurs.
• Windows - The game rarely, but occasionally crashes with no log or report. We believe this is caused by graphics drivers on some machines. If it happens, you chould be able to continue from when you entered the last scene with the autosave.

After the game is completed, it was my intention to have it conduct a fresh "restart" so a new game could be played right away without any issues... I'm not entirely sure why I thought this was necessary, it just seemed like the right thing to do. Unfortunately this appears to generate an error on MacOS and causes a crash, so I have removed this action from the game. If (for some reason) players do want to start a new game right away after completing, simply close the game and restart it manually. Tom

What? You mean the game wasn't perfect when I launched? Nope. Apparently there's still room for improvement, so I've uploaded a modest patch with a few little tweaks: [olist]

Lucy Dreaming is a retro British point & click adventure packed with nightmares, mystery, jam and weasels. Here are some things to look forward to...

A traditional-feeling game with tonnes of modern features.

• Over 11,000 lines of fully-voiced and lip-synced dialogue.
• A hotspot finder: Hold down the space bar or press the ? at the bottom to reveal the important objects in each scene.
• Double-click any exit to leave that scene immediately.
• Collect in-game badges and Steam achievements.
• A range of keyboard hot keys to select commands, skip text/cutscenes, access your map and change audio/display settings.
• Multiple music styles: Press "M" or access the audio menu during the game to toggle between AdLib Sound Blaster and Roland MT32 music styles.
• 12 savegame slots.
• German subtitles and UI.
• Gamepad support
• All game design, writing, artwork and development was the work of a single indie dev!

Even Monkey Island's creator has it on his wishlist!

A generous 15% launch discount!

Add it to your wishlist now and don't miss out!

As you will have gathered from the title of this update, we are releasing Lucy Dreaming on 18th October 2022. It annoys me slightly that this is later than I originally planned (I hate being late!) but we wanted to give adventure game fans a whole month to play Return to Monkey Island and also allow a bit of time for new players to discover the genre. It also has the added benefit of providing me with a few extra weeks to deal with any lingering issues and improvements. Now go, spread the word, tell anyone wholl listen and lets build up a few more wishlists before launch day! https://store.steampowered.com/app/1532710/Lucy_Dreaming/

Honestly, weve been sitting on this news for almost 18 months now! Before we even launched our Kickstarter campaign last year, we approached Dominic Armato (a.k.a. Guybrush Threepwood) and asked him if hed be interested in lending his vocal talents to our new point & click adventure game Lucy Dreaming. Dom is a brilliant chap. Clever, funny, professional and thoroughly lovely to boot. Although the paperwork involved has beenvoluminousits an absolute delight to be able to officially announce his involvement. [previewyoutube=gYFUyhNUpaU;full][/previewyoutube] People tell me they dont understand why I havent worked on other games over the past decade. The truth is, nobody asked! I was thrilled that Tom and Emma were able to make it happen. And a quirky love letter to graphic adventures like Lucy Dreaming felt like just the right opportunity to jump back in. Dominic Armato
Dom recording lines for Lucy Dreaming from his closet in Arizona. Obviously, this predates the Return to Monkey Island announcements, and even Dom wasnt aware of it on the horizon when we started working together, so when the news broke we immediately shot him an email to both congratulate him on his reprised role as the most beloved character in our genre, and to double-check that his new trajectory towards further stardom hadnt put a monkey wrench in the works for us. Dom reassured us that he was definitely still on board, and we now have everything in the can ready for our fast-approaching release later this year. It was a dream come true when Dom agreed to get involved in the game. We wrote a character just for him, inspired by his career as a dining critic. Its been amazing to work with someone who is so much a part of adventure game history and my own childhood. Tom Hardwidge Lucy Dreaming is due for release later this year! https://store.steampowered.com/app/1532710/Lucy_Dreaming/

Lucy Dreaming is planned for release in Summer 2022!

What to expect

Discover the origins and story behind the game

Played the demo yet?

Don't forget to add Lucy Dreaming to your wishlist!

Lucy Dreaming is planned for release in Summer 2022!

What to expect

Discover hidden secrets at Steam Next Fest

Played it already?

Follow the progress of Lucy Dreaming's development.

• Website: lucy-dreaming.com
• Twitter: @tallstorygames
• Instagram: @tallstorygames
• YouTube: @tallstorygames
• Discord
• Twitch
• Facebook: @tallstorygames

Lucy Dreaming is planned for release in Summer 2022!

What to expect

Discover hidden secrets at Steam Next Fest

Played it already?

Follow the progress of Lucy Dreaming's development.

• Website: lucy-dreaming.com
• Twitter: @tallstorygames
• Instagram: @tallstorygames
• YouTube: @tallstorygames
• Discord
• Twitch
• Facebook: @tallstorygames

Lucy Dreaming is planned for release in Summer 2022!

What to expect

Discover the origins and story behind the game

Played the demo yet?

Don't forget to add Lucy Dreaming to your wishlist!

Lucy Dreaming in planned for release in Summer 2022!

What to expect

Discover hidden secrets at Steam Next Fest

Follow the progress of Lucy Dreaming's development.

• Website: lucy-dreaming.com
• Twitter: @tallstorygames
• Instagram: @tallstorygames
• YouTube: @tallstorygames
• Discord
• Twitch
• Facebook: @tallstorygames

We have gathered three indie adventure game devs to play and chat through a sneak peek of the Lucy Dreaming demo, and we are joined by adventure game content creator and YouTuber Cryptic Hybrid to provide a short introduction to the game without too many spoilers! This broadcast is part of the Big Adventure Event, which we are delighted to be a part of along with some other incredible adventure game titles. [url=https://store.steampowered.com/sale/thebigadventureevent]
Special thanks to Klara (A Trail of Ooze) and Kate (Behind the Beyond) for joining us for this broadcast, their demos are also available as part of this event, so make sure you check those out too! Tom

This competition has been running since Easter 2021, and will be closing at the end of September 2021. Find the Easter egg It is well-hidden in the demo, but there are subtle clues that could point you in the right direction. Once you find it youll be given instructions on how to enter the competition which could land you a starring role in the full game as an interactive NPC (non-player character). Not only that, in addition to appearing in the game as a pixel-art character, you will also receive a FREE copy of the full game when it is released, and your name will appear in the credits. Its a draw One person will be picked at random from all of the valid entries using a number generated from random.org. The draw will take place and the winner will be announced before the full game is released this date is subject to change, but the date for final entries is 30th September 2021. If you have any questions about the competition, please contact us via email, Discord or Twitter. For full details and terms, please visit: https://lucy-dreaming.com/egg/

Only a few days left!

the rewards

We have just released a version of the Lucy Dreaming demo with an interface and subtitles localised for German, Spanish, Italian and Russian speakers!

Thank you!

Feedback

Saved games

We're still on Kickstarter!

We're so overwhelmed and delighted that the adventure game community has turned out to support our game on Kickstarter over the past 10 days!
We funded in just one week and are on our way to reaching our first stretch goal - Voice overs! Watch our short video below to see why the next stretch goal is so important to us, and Lucy! [previewyoutube=U_udQSklMCQ;full][/previewyoutube] Go and check out our Kickstarter page and if you like what you see, back the game to help us make Lucy Dreaming the best it can be! steamhappy Tom

After many months of preparations, we have finally pushed the big, green button on our Kickstarter campaign to fund the full 8-10 hour version of Lucy Dreaming.
As well as helping us to fund our first fully-fledged game, there are loads of digital and physical rewards for you to choose from - plus exclusive opportunities to be immortalised in the pixel-art world of a point & click adventure.
So head on over to our Kickstarter page and help make this dream a reality! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hardwidge/lucy-dreaming-a-pixel-art-point-and-click-comedy-adventure Tom x

Have you ever wanted to be a character in an adventure game?

Now's your chance!

So what are you waiting for? Go and find that egg!

We can announce that our first fully-fledged adventure game, Lucy Dreaming, is now available as a demo with a Kickstarter campaign launching in May. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1542220 This pixel art adventure is laden with irreverent and sardonic British humour inspired by Blackadder and Monty Python, and is bought to life with a wildly entertaining voice cast led by our own studio founder Emma. A love letter to classic LucasArts point & click adventures, the game is unashamedly traditional but with all the modern bells and whistles of other games in the genre.

Game features:

• Discover a wide variety of detailed dreams and real-world locations from a neon-lit comedy club with an unusual clientele to a post-apocalyptic boulangerie.
• Encounter a cast of characters from Lucys maniacal brother to a giant duck with a bread problem.
• Explore rich environments with an abundance of witty retorts to almost everything you can point your cursor at.
• Reveal hidden Easter eggs and pop culture references.
• Enjoy the distinctive and beautifully realised voice acting (English)
• Travel instantly between scenes with a double-click.
• Having trouble? Just hit the space bar to get a sneaky peek of each scenes hotspots.