March 2023 Newsletter

This month has been a bit of a slow burn compared to last month. With the main quest blocked out and done (ish), I am spending all my time iterating on all the important side quests that will support the flow of the game. I feel my role as a developer has shifted over to writer as now it really is just getting the story content into the game!

In social media news - I'm fortunate to have increased my visibility in the last month, as one of my tweets performed a lot better than my usual posts. I went from having about 400 followers to over 500! It may not seem like much to some people, but every little bit helps, and for anyone who is new here - welcome!


[h2]BETA Update![/h2]

Before jumping into the main content of this newsletter, I want to mention that I've updated the BETA build! This includes the primary content for the 2nd act of the game, and from now on I'll wrapping up the third and final act.

It's easier then ever to sign up to the BETA - just follow this link and you'll be in line to receive your key!

[h3]📝 Beta Sign Up Page! 📝[/h3]


[h2]Developer Let's Play![/h2]

As I'm iterating on the side quests at the moment, I thought I'd do something a bit different for this month's newsletter.

I've recorded a 30 minute video of one of these quests, stepping through it in-game to give you an idea of the sort of things you will be able to do. It's a quest not found in the demo (and still spoiler free!), so it will be new to everyone!

The quest is called "Setting The Stage" - where you'll be helping the local bard gather resources to construct a stage at The Dancing Moon Inn for them to play their music on.

Bear in mind I've taken some "developer liberties" and accelerating some of the moments in the game, otherwise the quest would have taken a bit longer than what I've shown. This is mostly related to crafting and NPC schedules.

The gameplay begins at about 01:58, and I've timestamped further key moments in the video description on YouTube.

Please enjoy and let me know what you think!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]



[h2]Seasonal Snippets[/h2]

I think one of the reasons why one of my tweets performed well is because I focused on showing some of the winter snow effects I've done for the game. I hope I can speak for many people that I associate winter and snow with cosiness and festivity, and as some of us have been experiencing snow around the world over the last few months - I think it resonated with people!

To celebrate the seasons, check out more of these screenshots I've gathered within the game. These are examples of all the different seasons, and I hope you find them even more cosy and inviting!













[h2]News & Press-Kit[/h2]

Stepping out of my comfort zone for this section. Recently I spotted a tweet by the Indie Games Developer Magazine, who were inviting developers to partake in an interview to be featured on their website. On a whim I replied and said I'd be interested, and was then asked for a Press-Kit.

Now I know Press-Kits are quite standard and required for this sort of thing, but after all this time I never actually sat down to create one!

So after a couple of hours of pulling together all the resources I've generated for this game - I can now reveal the official Tales from the Dancing Moon Press-Kit!

If you have any media enquiries please refer to the Press-Kit, and use the contact details at the bottom of the page to get in touch. I am more than happy to do interviews, Q&As and other media related things for you!





That's all for this months newsletter, I hope you enjoyed. I definitely feel like the game is coming together now!

Have a good one!

- 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/