July 2023 Newsletter

Development is back in full swing after last months hardware blunders.

I have so many smaller bit-size updates this month, so let's just jump straight into them!



[h2]Steam Next Fest - October 2023[/h2]

It's still a few months away, but I've officially signed on for the game to be featured in Steam's October Next Fest which will be held between the 9th to the 16th!

Over the next few weeks I'll be formulating a schedule of fun developer and community activities such as live streams and Q&As!

Look out for separate Steam news posts about this in the future!





[h2]Demo Update[/h2]

Earlier this month I provided another patch to the demo! This includes a bunch of new things from the full game that I've been able to roll back into the demo.

Highlights include some new helpful UIs, environmental and map updates, and a bunch of bugfixes! You can read the full details here or by clicking on the GIF below.

Now is a better time than any to jump in and see what the game is all about!





[h2]New Trailer[/h2]

This month I put together a new trailer for the game, the last time I created one was nearly a year ago, and there's been so much work done since then. I've tried to cram in as many interesting and relevant gameplay footage as possible, to give you a general insight as to what you can do without spoiling too much!

The trailer is now live on the Steam page, or you can view it on YouTube right here!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]



[h2]Developer Insight - How I write and create quests![/h2]

For those of you who follow me on Twitter (and now Threads)!, you may have already seen that I posted a 25 minute video explaining how I develop quests for the game.

This ultimately comes down to the fact that I have been developing a "companion tool" to the game that allows me to write quests, dialog and books away from Unreal Engine, and import it as a separate process.

I created this video presentation as I was inspired by Josh Sawyer's similar presentation about the tools used at Obsidian Entertainment. If you're interested in how games are made then I highly suggest you watch both his and my video!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]



[h2]Playtesting with Guildford's ACM University[/h2]

Guildford has a thriving game developer culture - being the home of studios such as Hello Games, Supermassive and many more.

Being a local developer to the Guildford area myself, I was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to visit the ACM university and talk about my game dev experience and provide a playtesting session for the students currently studying there. Unfortunately I hadn't take a photo during my visit, so this picture of Guildford will have to do!



It was nice to "pay it forward" in a way by providing my insights of my career to upcoming talent, and a surreal experience to watch in real-time young people playing my game and providing feedback on the spot!

Let this also be a reminder that YOU TOO can playtest the game, by either downloading the demo or signing up to become a beta tester. This is especially appreciated as I lead up to the Steam Next Fest in October this year!



[h2]Check out these Threads[/h2]

Just a small social media update to say that I'm now representing the game (and myself) over on Threads!

This is Meta's new social platform built on top of Instagram, and I've honestly found it to be a bit of fresh air compared to Twitter.

If you're on that platform then do feel free to give me a follow!





That's it for the July edition of my developer newsletter! I hope you enjoyed, and please feel free to get involved in all the demo and playtesting opportunities!

- DjMonkey

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If you’d like to join the community and discuss the content of this post, please visit the Discord or make a comment on social media!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1782420/Tales_from_The_Dancing_Moon/