endys

[endys]

A painting hangs upon a castle wall, its canvas so deeply stained its sitter's features are impossible to make out.

You gain no sense of recognition when you look at it.

But you feel as if you should.

[endys]

A painting hangs upon a castle wall, its canvas so deeply stained its sitter's features are impossible to make out.

You gain no sense of recognition when you look at it.

But you feel as if you should.

[endys]

The denizens of the castle you find yourself in are long gone, but traces of their memory linger.

Meet the cast of The Last Winter Knight for yourself in the new demo...

Steam | itch.io

[endys]

Hi friends!

My patreon page is now live! If you've ever wanted extra sneak peeks and bonus content behind what I'm making, as well as to support me directly, I'd truly appreciate it if you gave it a look!

There will be plenty of WIPs and previews, along with things that have never seen the light of day before: short stories, artwork, game scripts that were never fully formed, and so on.

You can find it here!

(Psst, I've already posted a few things like a bonus scene from Trail of Stars for all tiers, as well as a soundtrack preview for Winter Knight!)

Thank you for all your support, and as always, take care!

[endys]

Hi friends!

My patreon page is now live! If you've ever wanted extra sneak peeks and bonus content behind what I'm making, as well as to support me directly, I'd truly appreciate it if you gave it a look!

There will be plenty of WIPs and previews, along with things that have never seen the light of day before: short stories, artwork, game scripts that were never fully formed, and so on.

You can find it here!

(Psst, I've already posted a few things like a bonus scene from Trail of Stars for all tiers, as well as a soundtrack preview for Winter Knight!)

Thank you for all your support, and as always, take care!

[endys]

Results from calling about the refusal to process payments for adult work on itch.io and Steam:

My script in each case hit the points of 'I'm a cardholder calling about the recent refusal of this company to process payments for works deemed adult, particularly in regards to the Steam and itch.io games marketplaces. This has been in response to protests made by a small religious group in Australia. Frankly, I don't find it [company]'s place to dictate how I spend my money, and I'm very concerned that this is in response to protests from a religious group that should have no legal power over me. If this continues I will be seeking an alternate way to make payments and will no longer be a customer of your brand.'

Visa

heard me out, thanked me for the feedback

asked me to email my feedback to 'askvisa@visa.com' so they can track it

advised to not include any identifying details such as card numbers etc in the email

Mastercard

the phone tree did not have a complaints section so I navigated the options as 'current cardholder' -> 'a question about benefits'

happily took my feedback after confirming my customer details (full name and contact number)

let me know that they had already received significant feedback about this issue and it had been 'escalated' and registered my feedback to add to the pile

I was concerned about feeling awkward about calling a company and basically being like 'yo I'm mad you won't let me buy porn' in terms of I don't think a poor customer service rep should have to deal with that, so I was planning on sprinkling in 'and LGBT content is frequently mislabelled as adult' in my script but I Forgor and it was fine. Each call was <1:30 and minimally painful. If you needed a sign to call, call today! Or, well, maybe email Visa.

Mastercard (US): 1-800-627-8372

Mastercard (Int.): +1-636-722-7111

Visa (US + Can): 1 800 847 2911

Visa (AUS): 1 800 125 440

PayPal: +44-0203-901-7000

Alternative Mastercard numbers:

Mastercard (Aus): 1800-120-113

Mastercard (US): 1-800-307-7309

Mastercard (UK): 0800-96-4767

[endys]

๋࣭⭑ Devlog #50 | 7.29.25 ๋࣭⭑

u know its hot girl summer bc we have been COOKINGGG IKTR

THE PEAK OF HOT GIRL SUMMER IS HERE AND WE HAVE BEEN DOING THINGS

We did a lot of things this month but before I get into ANY of that, we have to make sure we wish one last happy birthday to Fenir before July officially ends!

extra fenir celebration credits to @/egginthepit and @/1mandywandie1

Now.... let's get into the Exciting News

Gotta be honest, not a lot of writing progress this month chief LFAJSLDIFJ. Mainly because I've been focusing so much on the Early Access beta (which was worth it and which I will get to in the next couple of sections). I anticipate this next month now that EA progress is slightly slowing down, I'll be able to get back into some writing and get Kuna'a and Etza's routes Locked In !

I DID finally write out all the codex entries needed for the game. While there weren't a lot of lore specific entries I needed to write, there were a lot of easter egg ones heh. Something I love doing is adding easter eggs as visual novel shoutouts, since it gives me the chance to drop little hints to other visual novels I'm a fan of. Some are more explicit, like I'll list the VN title, and some are a little bit sneakier. I try to have fun with them, especially if I'm close to the developer.

Here's an example, heh. SURPRISE BABE @ravenstargames

Art...... I'll be honest. I missed art, but these past two months I've been in the art mines for so long that I've started going crazy FOLJSLDIJ.

Exhibit A is the fact that I made an extra CG for Fenir because I somehow counted wrong and so spent an ungodly amount of time making him a new CG that I DIDN'T EVEN HAVE TO MAKE.... It was worth it though, I'm really happy with the new CG. To compensate, I am releasing this CG that will no longer be in the game into the wild.

cutie patootie

In general, this past month was dedicated to revising CGs that I wasn't as happy with and making all the CGs look consistent across the game, from colors to contrasts, etc. And I'm Really Happy with all of the new and improved CGs!

I've also been adding sprite expressions to our lovely LIs to make the game feel a bit more lively and dynamic, and I'm pretty satisfied with the results ^^ Honestly, I can struggle with sprite expressions. One of the cons of drawing all of the assets yourself is you are limited by your own experience and I'm still not quite the artist I'd like to be. That said, I think I've finagled a good enough combo of sprite expressions for our cast so that they feel more expressive <3

and if you dont believe me, believe one of the beta testers

Aside from art and polishing everything off for the EA release, I also did A LOT of coding this month. Now that all the assets, from the script, to the art, have been completed, it means I can finally code EVERYTHING in!!!

While coding the actual script didn't take too long, since we had a foundation from past beta route releases, there were a lot of features and small things that I have been wanting to add to the game as Little Enhancers for the EA release, which included the Updated Gallery

gotta show the kuna'a one since his is empty LAFJSDIFJ

For the Central Gang, they will show all 9 CGs here. Since Kuna'a currently only has one, only one shows up. But because I make my CGs slightly bigger than the game's default dimensions, I have always wanted a gallery where you can open up the CGs and kinda zoom in and move around and stuff on the image. And I FINALLY got it coded!!! Now with all CGs, when you click on them and open them up, you can zoom in and out to your heart's content to look at little details or zoom out to see the full image ^^

Now that all the Central routes are Officially coded in with the final personality choices and normal choices, I also put in the final affection checks to get the good or bad endings for the LIs. You'll be able to track these in the Affection Screen

I'm playing on God Mode because I'm literally Crescence so they all love me LFJASDI

Example screenshot of what affection can look like and how the description can change based on its level! There are lots of ways to increase affection with LIs, whether it's an affection related choice or personality choice, so rather than having to make specific choices, you can play around and as long as you have enough affection by the Ending Branch, you can get your desired ending <3

Finally, in what might have taken the most time, I also finished revamping the Communicator!

sneaky peeky

It's looking a lot more like a phone right? HEHE. *smacks the side of the communicator function* This baby holds so many Crescence tears LFIAJSDILFJL.

In this New and Improved Communicator, you can have simultaneous conversations with different LIs, and on the side, you can see a preview of your conversations. The character's name will also light up when you have a new message from them! Also now when you respond, it'll be through a choice menu, very similar to how many other messenger-sim games are (e.g., Bloomic, ADWD, Killer Chat)! It feels a lot more immersive and I'm really happy with how it all looks and feels now ^^ I hope you all like it!!!

And all of that coding leads us to the MOST exciting development this past month, which is that we FINALLY entered beta testing for EA!!!!!

It's been Extremely Crazy to have finally reached a point where you can play the game in its almost final form. While there are two routes that will be added later, there are so many features, functions, and assets that have finally come together in a way that's close to my vision for the game and it's just CRAZY BRO.

beta fanart credit to @/egginthepit and FEEDBACK

If you'd still like to play the beta, it'll be up for a while longer! Remember to sign up for the Hydra tier if you'd like access <3 The feedback so far has been amazing, and much appreciated since some of the beta testers have already spotted small bugs.

FINALLY. The last thing we've been working on this month is VA lines. I've always considered VA to be one of the Final milestones in game development, so the fact we have already entered that stage (and gotten some lines back!) is so exciting! I can't wait to get these into the game since that really will feel like the Final Asset <3

Not really market research, but I did want to take a moment to touch on the NSFW changes that have been affecting itch and Steam. If you haven't seen the news about the censorship changes and their ties to payment processors, I highly encourage you to look into it and take action against these policies. These (1 | 2) are some statements by fellow devs that capture my own sentiments about the situation.

Please consider ways you personally can help the situation, whether it's boosting devs that have been impacted, sharing the news, calling payment processors, etc.

That's all for this month <3 I hope to bring some exciting news in our next devlog!

[endys]

Plan of Action and Complaint Template Regarding Adult Content Being Delisted from Itchio

Alright so as y’all may or may not know, credit card companies and other payment facilitators have put pressure on digital storefronts such as Steam and Itch.io to remove “adult content” recently largely due to lobbying by fringe radical organizations. It would be bad enough if it just affected actual porn, but you know to these people “porn” means “anything that even mentions a homosexual.” Several of my team’s projects including mini-expansions to Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy “The Fanservice Files” and “The XXX-Files,” as well as team artist @chaospyromancy’s personal side project “A Squad of Drow” have been delisted from itch.io as of last night though they are still available by direct link or from our main account page and you can still pay us for them for now but there is no telling how long they'll actually stay up. Many others have had their projects completely delisted or outright removed, and are having payments withheld from them. If you don't want to see us and other creators pushed under by this crap, you need to do something about it.

People affected by this far outnumber the people who lobbied to make it happen. These organizations are very vocal but also relatively small and very fringe, and since it is a policy decision that was created by complaints it may be able to be destroyed by complaints.

Here are the phone numbers of these companies and an email address I was able to find. We need to blow their phones off the wall and fill their inboxes with customer complaints.

Mastercard (US): 1-800-627-8372 Mastercard (Int.): +1-636-722-7111 Visa (US + Can): 1 800 847 2911 Visa (AUS): 1 800 125 440 PayPal(UK): +44-0203-901-7000

Paypal (US) 1 888 221 1161

For investor relations:

914-249-4565 (Mastercard) 650 432 7644 (visa)

Visa Email Address: askvisa@visa.com

Mastercard Contact Form: https://b2b.mastercard.com/contact-us/

Saying stuff like “sex work is real work” and “this affects black trans women,” while true, is not the kind of thing that is going to tug at the heartstrings of lib-conservative CEOs and board members and their PR teams. They’re mercenary. You need to tell them how this is going to hurt their wallets and make their customers very unhappy.

If feasible, you need to get your moms and dads on this too, and get them to get their friends on it, etc.

40-60-year old middle class white people high credit scores and stuff will have more sway with these corporations than any young adult trans person.

My team has put together a template for your phone calls and emails. Take the template and delete the [bracketed parts] that don’t apply to you.

“My name is [_____], and I’m contacting you about your recent decision to alter your user policies regarding adult content and thereby putting pressure on digital storefronts like itch.io and Steam to hide and remove adult content. By doing so, you're cutting off a significant revenue stream, [and as someone with financial investment in your company, this has me extremely concerned]

[I both buy and sell that blocked content, so this is directly interfering in my finances, and I will seek compensation.]

Products I paid for are no longer available to me, [and people are buying my products without the money going to me because of your interference with the payment processing.]

If you don’t want to lose customers and face potential legal trouble, these policies which pressure itch.io, Steam, and other digital storefronts need to be reversed.

You have changed these policies because of Collective Shout, a radical group from Australia that sent only a mere 1000 calls to destroy a significant revenue stream on your part and to interfere with my finances. This decision literally affects millions of people and millions of dollars, and so I expect a prompt response on reversing these policy changes and removing the pressure on itch.io and Steam to ban adult content on their sites. [As a cardholder, I worry that these new policies are responding to a vocal minority of customers, and I’m left doubting the reliability, versatility, and integrity of your services. I use these services to securely and conveniently make the transactions I see fit, and it’s disappointing to see legitimate, legal transactions be excluded.]

[I am furious that an American company would bend so easily to a lobbying group from a foreign country.]”

There is also a petition you can sign here.

[endys]

I ran out of things to post, have this

[endys]

Lost soul, adrift and alone...

The Last Winter Knight's NEW DEMO is finally out! After months of working and reworking virtually every aspect (art, story, code and sound) I'm so excited to share this preview of the brand new version of the game with you all. ;v;

The Last Winter Knight is a Gothic point-and-click visual novel with:

An abandoned castle to explore

A haunting piano-based soundtrack

Lovingly drawn artwork

Mysteries to unravel

A sombre tale of love, loss and betrayal

A sweet suit of armour to haunt

A ghostly knight (you)

Steam | itch.io

[endys]

reblob because I'm silly and forgot to tag @draculestigame - give em a follow if you like!

Hello, spooky friends! 👻

Have you had time to try the brand new demo for Winter Knight?

Perhaps you've been thinking: "One Gothic tale just isn't enough for me. Where can I possibly find another one? Another spooky story, another decrepit castle, another restless ghost..." 👻

Do I have good news for you!

Draculesti is just such a tale. This Gothic-horror-romance lets you play as lawyer Roger M. Renfield in a re-imagining of Bram Stoker's Dracula. It has a wonderfully written story, an intriguing cast and stunning art direction. If you're anything like me, you might be drawn immediately to the dashing ghost that serves as one of Renfield's primary love interests.

Oh look, it seems like said ghost is getting along well with Nameless Knight! Er, hopefully? (He's returning that helmet, right...?) 🌹

You can play the demo for Draculesti here. The team (@draculestigame) has also just launched a kickstarter to add extra content and voice acting to the game, so please do support them and grab some rewards if you like what you see!

Draculesti Demo | Kickstarter |

[endys]

Hello, spooky friends! 👻

Have you had time to try the brand new demo for Winter Knight?

Perhaps you've been thinking: "One Gothic tale just isn't enough for me. Where can I possibly find another one? Another spooky story, another decrepit castle, another restless ghost..." 👻

Do I have good news for you!

Draculesti is just such a tale. This Gothic-horror-romance lets you play as lawyer Roger M. Renfield in a re-imagining of Bram Stoker's Dracula. It has a wonderfully written story, an intriguing cast and stunning art direction. If you're anything like me, you might be drawn immediately to the dashing ghost that serves as one of Renfield's primary love interests.

Oh look, it seems like said ghost is getting along well with Nameless Knight! Er, hopefully? (He's returning that helmet, right...?) 🌹

You can play the demo for Draculesti here. The team (@draculestigame) has also just launched a kickstarter to add extra content and voice acting to the game, so please do support them and grab some rewards if you like what you see!

Draculesti Demo | Kickstarter |

[endys]

A noble lord brings two squires along on a hunt.

One is a gentle boy who should not exist.

The other is a girl who dreams of plunging a dagger into her master’s heart.

I got the chance to work with an amazing team of artists and musicians over the last few weeks, and I'm so excited to share what we've created: A brand new storybook-inspired visual novel called Trail of Stars!

Trail of Stars is a short, bittersweet fairy tale about friendship and first love.

It features:

<3k words

Two endings

One knightly kiss on the hand

Childhood friends to lovers

An emotional original score

Fairy tale visuals laid out like a storybook

Three gorgeous fully rendered CGs

🌟 Play it on itch.io 🌟

Art credits:

Character & cover art: Pauline Reinacher

Background art: Sparrowling

CG illustrations: Akua

[endys]

The denizens of the castle you find yourself in are long gone, but traces of their memory linger.

Meet the cast of The Last Winter Knight for yourself in the new demo...

Steam | itch.io

[endys]

Lost soul, adrift and alone...

The Last Winter Knight's NEW DEMO is finally out! After months of working and reworking virtually every aspect (art, story, code and sound) I'm so excited to share this preview of the brand new version of the game with you all. ;v;

The Last Winter Knight is a Gothic point-and-click visual novel with:

An abandoned castle to explore

A haunting piano-based soundtrack

Lovingly drawn artwork

Mysteries to unravel

A sombre tale of love, loss and betrayal

A sweet suit of armour to haunt

A ghostly knight (you)

Steam | itch.io

[endys]

Lost soul, adrift and alone...

The Last Winter Knight's NEW DEMO is finally out! After months of working and reworking virtually every aspect (art, story, code and sound) I'm so excited to share this preview of the brand new version of the game with you all. ;v;

The Last Winter Knight is a Gothic point-and-click visual novel with:

An abandoned castle to explore

A haunting piano-based soundtrack

Lovingly drawn artwork

Mysteries to unravel

A sombre tale of love, loss and betrayal

A sweet suit of armour to haunt

A ghostly knight (you)

Steam | itch.io

[endys]

Haunt a suit of armour. Find your memories.

The Last Winter Knight's demo releases in ONE WEEK!

You wake up as a ghost, with no memory of who you were or how you died. The only clue to your past is the empty suit of armour you now possess.

As you explore an abandoned castle and piece together your memories, you’ll uncover your tale: A tale of broken promises, regret, and bonds that last beyond death.

But your story doesn’t have to die with you...

Wishlist the game on Steam!