Aureus

Hi there! It’s summer sale on Steam and “Tales From Windy Meadow” is currently 20% off!

My “break” is over! I’m back into the full-dev mode and it feels great. <3 I’m working on the dialogues for the first tavern. There’s a lot of things to talk about and to do here, and guess what. You don’t even Have to come here, and if you’re aggressive toward the innkeeper, you’ll just get thrown out. Choose your Attitudes wisely!

Whenever you encounter new NPCs in Roadwarden, you can select one of the 5 attitudes to impact the first impression you're going to make. Attitudes affect the tone of the conversation, what the NPCs think about you and what dialogue choices will be available to you in the future. A group of bandits surrounds you. Some of them hold swords, others have loaded crossbows. Do you try to ease the tension by being friendly? Do you try to intimidate them? Do you act vulnerably, hoping they spare you? Do you like what attitudes can you currently choose from? Do you think there should be any more?

The new version of the demo is now available, and not only it has multiple minor and major fixes, but also some bits of additional content. Unless a large bug will be found, I currently assume that the version 0.3 won’t updated in the nearby future. And it should be able to fairly portray the gist of what I want Roadwarden to be. If you haven’t played the demo before, this is the version that I would recommend. However, if you’ve already play it through, you may be interested in checking out the following changelog. A deeper look will be available on Monday, in the new devlog. The Mac version is now available. Though it’s not tested very well. If you find any issues, please let me know. The achievements don’t kill you anymore. I’m surprised (and relieved) that only one person have encountered this problem. From now on, clicking on the received achievement won’t crash the game. You can switch the font to a pixel one. Whenever you want, you can switch between a pixel-artish font (which looks nice) and the regular font (which is easier to read). The regular font is still used by default. Now you can actually beat the game! (and unlock the worst endings) A new icon on the map allows you to complete the game, even in the very first morning. The “ending” section doesn’t have illustrations yet, but is altered by the goal that you’ve chosen for your character. Added new travel descriptions. If you’re in the Southern Crossroads and move either to the dolmen or the tavern for the first time, you’ll see examples of the new travel descriptions. This tool will also make random encounters much easier to implement. Added a couple of options to the dolmen. Parsers in the dolmen respond now to more commands. Also, a small bug involving the secret was fixed. Rolling back works better with various menus (like map and sleeping). Using a mouse or keyboard to “roll back” when a map or other complex menu are displayed sometimes created issues. From now on, it will only close the displayed menus, without instantly jumping back. Pointing at your HP is now more elegant. It won’t cover the main narration and is generally more responsive. Fixed some typos and rephrased a couple of things. Among the major changes - the inventory descriptions are now significantly more polished and the “choices” are more consistent. And here is the latest devlog, portraying the problems with labeling the game through traditional genres.

A new feature added - having an option to end the game! : P Since Roadwarden is going to have a very unusual story structure and is, in some way, an open world game, I expect that not everyone is going to complete it in 100%. So, you’re going to be able to finish the game whenever you want - even in the middle of the tutorial. And if you want, you can always read a summary of your journey (which will get more and more detailed as your playthrough goes on) to let you know how much of a “good” ending you’ve earned up to this point And yes - these endings are going to be heavily personalized. The one you see in the video, for example, belongs to a PC whose main goal is the wish to help people. Other characters have a bit different endings. The entire “ending” section is still in an early WIP. It’s going to have additional graphics and maybe even an interface looking more like the game’s prologue, but for now it’s fine as it is. : ) -------------------------- By the way... Have you seen the game’s first devlog? -------------------------- I was planning to focus on writing the new scenes for Roadwarden, but I decided to change my approach. Since the demo of the game received quite a bit of attention and a lot of helpful feedback (which includes one game-crashing bug), here are the plans for the nearby future: Monday, May 25th - new devlog focused on the “genre” of the game (why is it an RPG / Visual Novel / text adventure hybrid : P). Friday, May 31st - the new demo of the game (with few fixes and some additional features). Saturday, June 1st - a video presenting the entire “tutorial” section of the game. For those who’d like to just see a couple of bits without sinking into the entire thing. Monday, June 3rd - a regular devlog explaining the new features from the demo and some other changes. After that point, the demo will no longer be updated unless a game-breaking bug will be spotted.

Hello, hello! It was a busy week and I think I should start writing devlogs about the game’s development, highlighting new features and the general progress. I’d like to share the first post like this starting next week. : ) The coolest part of this week, however, was working on the new picture for the game. Do you remember my castle-tavern? I wanted to draw its interiors. The first attempt, which displays the exteriors as well, was a failure. It doesn’t allow to show that many details and limits the scope of furniture while also ruining the proportions, even if I’d add buttons allowing to hide and show specific floors. But the new one feels great to me. For me, it feels cozy. It feels like I can’t help but imagine all the stories that started (or ended) here. What do you think? Do you like it?

I love it when a game slowly moves from place holders to the actual graphics. Here you can see the first part of the game’s map - the large “objects” are icons allowing you to select the area you want to visit. Heavily inspired by Baldur’s Gate. ; ) If you think it can still look better, I’ll be happy to see your feedback!

I'm glad it looks interesting to you! : D I'll avoid RNG world generation and focus on making a single playthrough (even though it'll involve many decisions and branching) as fun as I can. I generally think that refreshing the game through world randomization is something that should be left for the games that are focused on gameplay or player's own imagination which fills the canvas by itself, and I'm more interested in storytelling and worldbuilding. I myself usually play various games only once, and I think it's OK to have games that are not meant to be played for 80+ hours. : P I won't dive into romance. Rather friendships, since they interest me much more... And taking sides. Manipulation. Calculating your approach to various NPCs and role-playing through these decisions. I want to think about dialogues as a part of the core fun, not just a plot delivery tool. Having dialogues lasting for 5, 10, 15 minutes are something to expect. : ) I had in mind forming parties, but right now I think I should not add it as a minor feature, but rather make it a core of another game.

Roadwarden is an interactive fiction in which you explore and change a hostile, grim realm. Everyone knows to stay away from the wilderness. Most people would never risk a lonely journey. Roadwardens not only accept this struggle, they embrace it. They deliver messages, assist merchants, burn human corpses and, if possible, get rid of beasts and highwaymen. They live on the road, die young or retire early. It’s a dangerous job, but a respectable one. And it pays well. Main Features: Explore and change the world. Travel through a detailed fantasy setting filled with secrets, challenges and uniquely harsh lore. Have immersive conversations. To gain support of dozens of NPCs, you need to earn their trust during complex dialogues and sidequests. Create your own character through role-playing and decisions. Shape your background, abilities, beliefs and personality. Unveil the local mysteries. Investigate, use your wit and make connections to understand the true nature of this realm. Overcome your weaknesses. The wilderness is full of dangers and you can trust nobody. Find your path to success against all odds. You can find more information as well as the free demo on the game's website! So, what do you think? Have you got any idea how can we call this game's genre? : P

Hello again! It's ScreenshotSaturday, and a bit of a special day for me. Tales From Windy Meadow is now on sale (15% off!), and we're happy to share with you some quotes from the reviews that are focused on my Visual Novel. Cutting out and putting together these quotes was quite heartwarming. We were met with an extraordinary kindness and a lot of encouraging opinions. We're happy to see such a positive perception of our work. Of course, we also participated in an interview a couple of days ago, and now it's time for us to look forward. Moral Anxiety Studio is going to become a more of a one-person initiative, and if everything will go according to plan, my next game will be officially announced very soon. Thank you and if you have any questions or would like to discuss your adventures in Windy Meadow with me, feel free to do so! And have a great weekend!

A fantasy website Exilian made an interview with me! We talk in it about Tales From Windy Meadow, more specifically, topics like: writing about characters that struggle with mental and physical disadvantages, the world in which the game is set, the development struggles (a small postmortem?), the significance of selecting pixel art as an art-style for the game.

Greetings! Our latest update is now live - English version is now updated, German and Polish introduced. Also, the game is now available on GameJolt. You can read all the patch notes here!

We're still translating Tales From Windy Meadow, but a large update is coming next week: * a big patch for the core, English version (with about 30 minor fixes); * German version of the game; * Polish version of the game; * the game should be available in one more store. Since our Visual Novel is praised for its soundtrack, we're also going to create a nice video with at least some of the best music from the game. Not all of them, since all the tracks combined would last for more than 3 hours... You can expect the video at the beginning of February.Oh, and also - we are planning to add Chinese version of the game to our list, though it's still a long way ahead of us. ; ) Thank you for your support!

When a character I've created starts dissing my game...

I mentioned before that we're working on some translations of Tales From Windy Meadow - and so far, it's going pretty great! It's also an opportunity to fix minor typos or tiny bugs, so once the Polish and German versions will be ready, I’m going to update the English version as well and push it one step closer towards perfection. : D By the way, in German version Windy Meadow was translated into Windige Wiesen. Pretty cool. ^^ Also, there's a good chance that our Visual Novel will be translated into Indonesian (or - an Indonesian version of Malay) and Ukrainian... Though it doesn't look like our main font is going to fit it well. And if you'd like to support our game but you've already bought it, it would be a great help if you could share your review on Steam or Itch.io. Let us and other people know how did you like it! And if you need some nice, relaxing background music, maybe my old lofi mix would help? : ) Have a great weekend!

Marcel Weyers, a very kind writer from Germany, took a closer look at Tales From Windy Meadow and since he found our story to be worth spreading, he decided to help us by translating it into German! In result, I started working on all the useful tools that could make this translation come true. And since we’re doing it, it will also help us create other language versions, so we already made the first steps into creating the Polish version of the game. ^^ So yeah, I'm already after the game’s release, but I'm not resting yet! : D Are there any other languages supported by Tales From Windy Meadow that you would like to see?

I updated the first post of this thread, but also wanted to share here my latest post from my Facebook page. Thank you all for your support. <3

Tales From Windy Meadow is now available on Steam. I wanted to create an interactive story that explores the anxieties of choosing one’s path and living in a small community. It turned out just as I wanted it to be, but better. It’s set in my beloved fantasy setting that I’ve been working on for 10 years. It tells a slice-of-life story, not an action-adventure one. It’s a Visual Novel, but it’s not about romance nor sex. I love the music, I love how the graphics evolved since the early concept arts. I love how the dialogues improved over the years. It’s a niche game and I understand if many of you won’t find it interesting, but I also know for some people it’s a unique, intimate experience. And I’m happy I made it. Thank you for sharing this moment with me. ^^

It's the last ScreenshotSaturday before Tales From Windy Meadow's release... So we've made a new trailer! Only five more days... Thank you for all the support you shared with us in the comments and emotes. <3

It’s happening! 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘆 𝗠𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗼𝘄 turned out great! We’re still changing some minor details, but even now we’re proud of the Visual Novel we developed. Uploading it on Steam and adding the achievements was (almost) painless and we’ll do our best to make sure that 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝘁𝗵 𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿! Our journey is almost over. Thank you for supporting our project for last couple of months.

A small update - I decided to disable the demo that I shared here some time ago because it does not reflect the current state of the game. Many graphics were updated, interface changed significantly and an important bug was removed. Dialogue was also majorly improved during the editing process. I will be sure to upload the new version of the demo during the full release (I currently aim at December 20th!). However, if some of you would like to play the demo in the nearby future, I can modify my plans and upload it by itself.

I can hardly believe it, but today I'm working on the game's epilogue. I'm waiting for one more image and rewriting the endgame credits. Tomorrow I'm sending the game for some testing, and if we decide the quality is satisfying, we'll try to try to release Tales From Windy Meadow before Christmas. Yesterday, Oray Studios sent me some fantastic graphics that I'm editing right now. This game is so much more than I originally aimed for and it truly makes me proud. For this ScreenshotSaturday I prepared two "old vs new" backgrounds. Some differences are obvious, some won't ever be noticed by anyone... Yet you won't believe how much time it took me to apply all the changes I wanted. And I think it was worth it. Have a fantastic day!

Whenever I feel like I need to take a break from developing Tales From Windy Meadow, I try to add to the backgrounds some animated critters. : P

It was a difficult week, but quite efficient as far as working on Tales From Windy Meadow goes. We are now working on the epilogue, but also fixing older graphics that don't match the level of the rest of the game, adding new sound effects and, of course, fixing the dialogues. In some parts our designer rewrites pretty much 60%-80% of the original script. Yikes. At least the music is fantastic and needs no work whatsoever. ^^

Well hello there! Our developer had a bit of time to spare and we are trying something new. From now on, many of the character sprites will have irides that reflect their character portraits. Details still may change, but it's a fun way to make some characters look more unique during the scenes which introduce multiple characters at once. And since it's a feature that should have been added four months ago or so, making it work required modifying something like 1400 PNG files. This is what our dev gets for making late-development changes. Bad planning at its finest.