Hi. Am I starting to write these articles a bit too often now? It's been a month now since I dropped the previous update on how shit's going back on track after 3 months of a "hiatus". If so - I sincerely apologize for that. No, seriously, I really do. But still, I do gotta address some stuff that's been going on, so, let's begin with what's clearly sticking out right now. [hr][/hr]

It's more than just a "misadventure". Welcome to Injury Plateau.

Stramedia's got a change in subtitles! Something I've been meaning to do in quite a decent while, and while I do not know of your opinion on it, I am just glad that I went through with that change. I already feel you wonder why change "my_MISADVENTURE" subtitle to "Injury Plateau", and there's two solid explanations to it:

• It didn't quite roll off the tongue anymore, or at least in my personal opinion. That besides the point of a question whenever an underscore character is supposed to be read or not.
• People browse with screen readers enabled, and the software might be struggling to read stylized texts, which is something that normally do not wanna encounter. (At some point, I curiously looked up my own game in one place, the title didn't really match how it's officially written out and after beefing with the mods on that place, I realized that the guideline set for game titles and their 'stylized' variant exists for that sole purpose, and I felt bad and stupid for it, and basically this is my formal apology to that game database place, so, yeah... that got kind of embarrassing, but it's an L on my side I'll proudly carry badged on my backpack for everyone to see.)

If you're also wondering if the title change also relates to any potential plot changes - I am happy to say that "No, the game will basically remain the same. It's still Stramedia. Just carrying a different subtitle." Just thought I'd get this out, as I know there is at least a few folks following the game's development on Steam, Game Jolt and whatever before the title change happened, so these fellas would know what the hell happened to their (somewhat) anticipated game (still stuck in development purgatory, as I like to call it). [hr][/hr]

Kickstarter Demo in Production

So! Stramedia's Kickstarter demo is in production now! How sweet, eh? I can't exactly tell how soon and when THAT and it's campaign are launching, but I at least can confirm that it's absolutely in development for Windows and Linux - and a dedicated Steam Deck version, as I plan for the demo to return to Steam as well. Granted, there's currently two versions of the same game getting downloaded onto the Steam Deck (both the base desktop and Steam Deck Edition versions) which is why it would prompt you to choose which version of the game to launch - plus, the game takes up twice as much download space on the Steam Deck due to the same thing, and I feel like I should be taking care of that before ever releasing anything, yet I get the feeling that only a few people would give a fart about that. [strike](I mean, some games are literally guilty of doing the exact same thing on purpose on WINDOWS for a variety of things, so I don't think it should be that surprising I might be doing that on Linux - even if it was not entirely done on purpose, but oh god that just sounds so funny... somebody remind me to add a note to the recommended system requirements for Linux+SteamOS warning that the Steam Deck would require players twice as much storage space to install that bitch if I don't end up resolving the problem hahahahah)[/strike]
Anyway, so at least the demo is gonna be somewhat different from what you may have experienced waaaay back in October 2020 or so - it's been that long since the previous public demo, I forget when it was. Oh no. Instead of focusing entirely on the game's narrative, I am just gonna present how the general gameplay itself would be, now that I am no longer restricted to the limits of one of the game's previous game engines. All I can say that it might be somewhat stressful/frustrating. So, you might wanna get ready for that. [hr][/hr]

Seriously? A Patreon & Boosty???

I know, you might be rolling your eyes at this section's headline and question what's the point of me opening up a Patreon (and recovering my Boosty profile) if this game's deadset on launching a Kickstarter campaign at some point. While you are valid for wondering that, the difference between the Kickstarter and both Patreon and Boosty is that the latter platforms are oriented to my varying creative endeavors (surprise! I do more than just game development shit for a hobby! perhaps will be doing that 24/7 cos I am gonna be laid off from the restoration train station in a week and a half as it turned out I took a position from somebody who's been on maternity leave! :D), and the Kickstarter campaign is solely gonna be just to crowdfund the game if people would prefer that I don't wait around for both Patreon and Boosty funders to do that over a much longer time period. Having those open, as well as launching the Kickstarter campaign, will not affect how I am gonna be updating you all on how the game's development going. Though, I will be showing off more in-depth look at how things are going on those platforms (and maybe will even cross the spoiler territory for the folks who'd back the theoretical Kickstarter campaign), leaving Indie DB, Steam and whatnot as places to notify you all about MAJOR things in the game's development. If you wish to stay up to date on whenever the Kickstarter campaign gets anywhere near launching or whatever, I decided to compile a link tree containing all the social links for you to peep into: https://linktr.ee/stramediagame. Regarding whenever you should be supporting me on either Patreon or Boosty, regardless of whenever the Kickstarter campaign happens or how it goes in the end, you can read a master post covering whatever questions by clicking on this underlined text. Oh yeah, and due to those areas containing mixed content (especially Patreon), and mainly because I'd prefer a functioning adult capable of making proper financial decisions actually doing it, you must be 18+ years old to subscribe on either platforms. [hr][/hr]

TL;DR Conclusion

So, long story short, the game's Kickstarter demo is in production now, and while I cannot mention when that nor the campaign itself are coming out, I can confirm I am working on it for Windows and Linux systems, WITH native Steam Deck support in mind. I also changed the subtitle to "Injury Plateau" cos it just reads nicer to both humans and whatever screen reader software the vision impaired denizens of the internet. Oh yeah, and Patreon and Boosty are a thing, if you're interested in supporting me doing more than just game development stuff, all the Kickstarter plans aside. ...Welp. I've said what I had to say, and I am gonna be going back in my hiding hole to continue doing what I was doing. Bye!