I will be participating in one of LudoNarraCon’s Fireside Chats from May 9-13. I’m speaking with Tony Howard-Arias, co-developer of Slay the Princess, about the pleasures and pitfalls of game development. Come see us as well as many other speakers during the event!
The 25% sale of Perfect Tides continues until 4/30. You can grab a copy here.
Ah, what is it about the holidays? You can get Perfect Tides for 25% on Steam off through April 30th.
I recently spoke with Nathalie at KRITIQAL about the Perfect Tides games, my thinking in the developing the first title, possibilities for the sequel, and some other cool stuff we both enjoy. It was an honor to be played and discussed so thoroughly by this publication and its community. You can listen to the interview here.
It’s been quiet since the release of the Perfect Tides: Station to Station demo. At least, from the outside! In here in Devworld things are progressing at full clip. Read on for a few of the latest updates.
I have finished writing, staging, coding and creating rough artwork for every scene of the story, which amounts to an entire “ugly” game. That means it’s not only possible for me to play the game all the way to the end, but also (somewhat) possible for another player to do so, which means the editorial process – and the serious coding of every mechanism and branching outcome – can begin. This is an enormous milestone, the kind that makes the whole thing feel like it’s accelerating rapidly.
There remains, of course, much to do. Artwork and assets galore. Minigames. The aforementioned editorial and coding work. And that’s before the mightiest round of playtesting yet. It makes my head spin just writing it all out. If it wasn’t already apparent, this game will not be finished in 2024.
BUT, by the end of this year, it may very well be testable. The farthest this game has ever been tested is to the end of Act 1. By December, I predict we will be testing the whole enchilada. Everyone who’s gotten their hands on PT2 has been impressed with how far along it is, and I hope this assurance will be satisfying for anyone who’s anxious to play. I continue to be very pleased with the work of this tiny team, the shape the game has taken, and the reactions by players thus far.
Please get comfy. Before you know it, this game will be in your hands and hearts. I know it’s going to be special.
On the events front, I’m thrilled to say I’ll be appearing at Adventure Game Fan Fair in Tacoma, WA on July 26-28, where I will be demo’ing PT:STS and discussing the game in person. This is a dream event for me as a lifelong fan of Sierra point n’ click adventures, and I’m so humbled that the organizers have included me in their roster. If you are in the area, I would love to see you there.
Finally, here’s a round-up of some interviews and features on Perfect Tides since the release of the PT:STS Demo:
And for those who are finding it hard to wait, I’d like to point you to lots of great streams of the ST:STS demo, many of which are available as VODs on Twitch. And of course, you can play the demo yourself here!
Have a great spring — much more to come soon!
Today is the day. A demo for Perfect Tides: Station to Station is now available on Steam. Please enjoy!
It’s an incredible thrill to be offering this first look at this game, which could not exist without the artists who’ve helped to craft it. Please join me in celebrating the work of the core team Soren Hughes (Background Design) and Daniel Kobylarz (Music), as well as the artists who have contributed graphic assets: Garrett Hobson, Carly Monardo, and Tony Wilson.
This build has also benefitted from dozens of hours of testing and feedback, thanks to a generous and dedicated pool of playtesters. You will find their names at the end of the demo, when you’ve experienced their efforts for yourself.
While you’re downloading, consider wishlisting the game! It keeps you abreast of game updates, feeds the Steam algo, and is a big help toward getting the word out about these games.
Enough messing around. I have a demo, and you are a person who might like it. We’re adults here. The Station to Station demo releases NEXT TUESDAY, February 13th, at 10:00am EST.
Don’t want to miss it? Wishlist the game on Steam to get an announcement in your inbox when it goes live. You can also subscribe to the mailing list for this and other games/comic updates from me.
See you Tuesday!
Here are all my hourly comics from February 1st, 2024.
I’ve been drawing these every year for a while, and posting them on social media. Hourly Comic Day is an impossible sort of exercise: frantically collecting moments of the day in visual form, without making the entire day about that work. But I’ve found it worthwhile for the document they provide.
Lotta life in these panels. It would be nice to dig up the old ones and archive them. A good use for a creaky old website, when all else disappears.
Greetings from the other side of MAGFest! As it turns out, this has been quite the milestone for Perfect Tides: Station to Station. The demo played beautifully, with dozens of people racking up multiple days of gameplay. The feedback was tremendous and players were engaging deeply with the game.
It means we are very close to an online demo. If all goes well, a playable build should be available by February. This version will include 1 full day (of 16) in the game’s story, with about 30-60 minutes of gameplay.
To ensure you don’t miss the announcement, here are some ways to stay in touch:
That’s all for now – see you when there’s more news! If you were one of the people who demo’d the game at MAGFest, you have my utmost gratitude for your time and thoughts.
This week I will be showcasing the first-ever playable demo of Perfect Tides: Station to Station, along with a demo of the original Perfect Tides at Magfest in National Harbor, MD. Come try it out if you’re in the area. I would love to get your feedback on the game so far.
In case you missed it, I recently posted an update to Kickstarter about PT:STS, which includes a few of the game’s latest milestones as well as more info on the upcoming demo release.
If you’ve been waiting to get a holiday deal on my point n’ click adventure game Perfect Tides, now is a great time. Grab it at a 25% discount now and bring home some teenage emotional carnage for the holidays.
