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[Dewfreak83]

So some big changes this past week... and nothing to do with the game itself, but I've just had a baby boy! The first week was pretty rocky, but I'm starting to get back into the swing of things today. 



I wanted to get more into the blogging and tumblr scene - seeing it as such an active and wonderful community. So I decided to start a indie game business blog, focusing on covering things less covered but still very important:

• Legal
• Finances
• Planning
• Architecture
• Marketing
• Time Management

All the feedback has been really positive so far. So if you think any of those topics interest you, you can check it out here! I'd love to know if the format and content is useful.

Other than that, I've been focusing my time on polishing the card game and trying to incorporate all the feedback from the beta test. So far, I'm really happy with the direction things are heading. One big suggestion was the chance to replay the card game... which after so many games I "get" now. It can be really tough since you are not only at the mercy of the dice, but also the cards you are dealt. This also gave me a chance to introduce "talking" and "breathing" features for the gypsy.

[Dewfreak83]

Things have been super busy, but I'm dropping by to share that I'm accepting sign-ups for Beta #2! If you are into Tabletop RPGs, Interactive Fiction, Card Games, or just reading fantasy novels - I would love to hear what you think of my unique take on the genre!

You can sign-up here!

[Dewfreak83]

Things have certainly been busy. The little one is keeping sure to that...

The second beta has gone extremely well. I had to switch out my analytics service last minute which introduced a nasty bug, but all-in-all the game continues to be received quite well.

How serious should I take a comment like "contender for a hit"? Only time will tell at release!

I'm nearing two years working on the game now. Full-time. With zero income. That's taken its toll, so I'm starting full-time employment next week and will be moonlighting the game development at night and on the weekends. I'm pushing to launch for the Too Many Games convention coming up at end of June... and as such I've started spending the money!

The money is going to things like promotional art work, trailers, game intro artwork, and banner artwork. While I greatly enjoy doing the art, I simply can't do it as fast or well as the professionals! Starting to contract out will hopefully help me to balance out working full-time and helping to scale out more as well.

Let me know what you think of the first four promotional images! They are suppose to resonate to certain groups of people:

[Dewfreak83]

Well.... let's just say things got busy! In the time since I last updated this devlog our family expanded a second time! That being said, I had to focus on the day job and family a bit more. As the youngest turns 2 within a week, I finally feel above water and can start diving back into my passion!

I did launch Heroes Guard: The Journal on iOS and Android. And overwhelmingly I made it onto the top charts on both platforms!




Underwhelmingly, it didn't really mean much financially hence the focus on the day job. But... the game that was delivered never quite hit the marks I wanted to design and content wise. I wanted to release for fear of sitting on it forever - which could have been a real possibility based on my involvement the last few years!

The game has been pulled down off the app store for lack of (security) updates. Over the years I have contracted out to several artists and writers to produce content, I just never made it a priority to integrate it into the game. And now I'm very excited to dust off the cobwebs, sharpen the swords, and re-string the bows for another adventure (relaunch) in 2021!