DEVIL'S LIMINAL News

[p]It's a short month, so the focus has been entirely on content with very little time for bug fixing. I included some known issues in this log to keep track. Please don't hesitate to let me know about any issues you find![/p][p]This update features: A party that goes sour! Someone goes missing![/p][p][/p][h3]Early Access v0.9 Changelog[/h3]

• [p]Added in-game days August 17th to August 22th. This includes a pass on story branches, conditions, writing, backgrounds, music, and voice adlibs.[/p]
• [p]Made the dyslexia-friendly font slightly smaller to reduce instances of text overflow.[/p]
• [p]Added more backgrounds: 2 building exteriors, 1 interior, 8 interior variations[/p]
• [p]Added more sprites: 8 sprite variations[/p]

[h3]Known issues[/h3]

• [p]When using non-default fonts, there may be some overflow text. Please report any instances that you find so I can fix them. There are plans to debug this more thoroughly before release.[/p]
• [p]When using auto-play, text messages are quickly skipped over. This will be investigated soon.[/p]
• [p]Because of the change to the big ghost events no longer looping under some conditions, there is some discrepancy between events and what characters talk about after. These will be cleaned up soon.[/p]

[p]We are getting CLOSE to the ending! I expect it'll take another 2-3 months to finish the writing, and then another 2-3 to get final edits, art, music, and voice acting.[/p][p]This update features: Jade's house! A terrible day for Bec! An uneventful medical appointment! Lovely trips down memory lane![/p][h3]Early Access v0.8 Changelog[/h3]

• [p]Added in-game days August 11th to August 16th. This includes a pass on story branches, conditions, writing, backgrounds, music, and voice adlibs.[/p]
• [p]Changed how the big dream events on June 28th and July 23rd work. Got rid of the loop so the player will always complete it on their first attempt, with variable outcome. Players seemed to pick at random after the first attempt, so I think this will narratively work better.[/p]
• [p]Added a new content warning.[/p]
• [p]Moved the medical appointed to Thursday the 13th.[/p]
• [p]New backgrounds: 3 new locations, 2 variants, 2 placeholder.[/p]
• [p]New sprites: 2 variants, 1 animated event.[/p]
• [p]Fixed a bug on the demon's sprite.[/p]
• [p]In the last island memory, updated to specify what Margarida did and where she was.[/p]

[p]Happy holidays! This update is a relatively short one, but does include quite a bit of plot. We see the final island memory, and have some intense moments with Bec and Clara.[/p][h3]Early Access v0.7 Changelog[/h3]

• [p]Added in-game days August 9th to August 10th.[/p]
  • [p]This includes a pass on story branches, conditions, writing, backgrounds, music, and voice adlibs.[/p]
• [p]On July 4th, added a new opportunity to start dating a character. Jade asks who the player is interested in.[/p]
• [p]Bec's mom has a name now, Ms. Kim! Since she frequently comes up on Bec's route, she is now "Ms. Kim".[/p]
• [p]On June 10th, added a new conversation with Clara.[/p]
• [p]Fixed a potential crash on July 5th.[/p]
• [p]Updated the sprites for Alejandra, Karina, Francisca, Margarida, and Siebel.[/p]
• [p]Added 2 new sprites.[/p]
• [p]Added 4 new backgrounds[/p]
• [p]New sound preference to change the volume or mute the "clicking" UI sound effect.[/p]
• [p]Fixed CG Gallery display when using non-default font options.[/p]
• [p]On June 11th, provided more information on what the player would do if they do not hang out with Bec.[/p]
• [p]Fixed particles.[/p]

[p]In the next few days I intend to update the demo as well, so that it contains the new early game scenes, preferences, and content warnings.[/p]

[p]It's been a big year for DEVIL'S LIMINAL, as well as for me personally! So, I wanted to share a retrospective about how 2025 has been.[/p][p]But first, if you haven't already: Please consider leaving a review! Reviews and wishlists tangibly help boost games! This is my first indie game, so every little bit makes an impact.[/p][p]And the tldr: Made a lot of progress in 2025, on track to finish the game in 2026, self-promotion is hard, but people like the game so far! Please consider leaving a review.[/p][h3]Some Background[/h3][p]I first started brainstorming the game in 2018/2019, and during lockdown in 2020 finally had the time and energy to start working on it. At the end of 2022 I had the demo ready to share and a rough draft of the entire game: friends playtested, wife and I made a ton of art, and I commissioned music. Soon after, voice acting was added.[/p][p]In 2023/2024, with return to office, increasing work responsibilities, and changing jobs, I didn't have the time or energy to seriously commit to the game. Finally, in October 2024 I pushed to increase the length of the demo as a challenge to myself to make sure the project didn't wither away.[/p][p]At the end of 2024 I had surgery that rendered me couch locked, playing a lot of Infinity Nikki, with a lot of time to think. My day job was in a game studio, but the most fun I had in a long while was finishing up the October 2024 update. I started to dread the idea of recovering and returning to work, and not being able to update my game again for another 1-2 years.[/p][p]In March 2025 I left my job and created my own studio: Studio Interlude. My goal since grad school was to eventually have my own studio, and I felt I was finally in a position to make this a reality.[/p][p]In June I released the game in Early Access! Maybe it wasn't the smartest marketing decision ever made, but I have made MUCH more progress on the game this way. I'm something of a high-functioning procrastinator, so having a monthly deadline for updates is crucial for me.[/p][p]Generally, I've been struggling with getting in the mindset for promoting my game. I just feel incredibly goofy talking about any in-progress work or myself. So, a big goal for 2026 is figuring that out and, of course, finishing the game.[/p][h3]Progress[/h3][p]Since the game is organized into days, here's an overview of what "days" have been finished (well, mostly finished).[/p][p]Full Game (???) (for reference): June 7th to September 1st[/p][p]Update history:[/p]

• [p]First Demo (December 2022) (still available, with updates): June 7th to June 20th[/p]
• [p]Extended Demo (October 2024) (no longer available): June 7th to July 4th[/p]
• [p]Early Access June 2025: June 7th to July 18th[/p]
• [p]EA July update: June 7th to July 23rd[/p]
• [p]EA August update: June 7th to July 27th[/p]
• [p]EA September update: June 7th to August 1st[/p]
• [p]EA October update: June 7th to August 4th[/p]
• [p]EA November update: June 7th to August 8th[/p]

[p]Progress has slowed down now that the game is in August due to being a much rougher outline, but I'm still really happy with how far I've gotten this year! I'm quite proud and terrified that I ended up writing over 150k words and making 10+ hours of gameplay. A few people have played the entire thing in pretty short order; I'm not sure what that does to a person.[/p][h3]Getting the Word Out[/h3][p]I wanted to share what sort of promotional progress I've made.[/p][p]Steam Festivals[/p]

• [p]Hungry Ghost Festival[/p]
• [p]Debut Festival[/p]
• [p]Fall in Love Festival[/p]
• [p]Choose Wisely Festival[/p]

[p]IRL Events[/p]

• [p]The Queerness and Games Conference - Arcade[/p]

[p]Interviews and Articles[/p]

• [p]Otome - Devil’s Liminal: When Love Haunts You Back[/p]
• [p]Interactive Fictions - Pride Month Feature #4: Devil's Liminal[/p]
• [p]Yuri Kissaten - Lesbian Games Galore in the Summer 2025 Yuri Kissaten Espresso Showcase[/p]

[p]Streamers[/p][p]Here is a breakdown of how many streamers played the game, and how they found out about it:[/p]

• [p]2 reached out to stream via Bluesky[/p]
• [p]9 reached out to stream via Partnier[/p]
• [p]4 streamers I reached out to for Hungry Ghost Festival[/p]
• [p]8 streamers I reached out to for Fall in Love Festival[/p]
• [p]4 streamers I reached out to for Choose Wisely Festival[/p]

[p]27 streamers total (at least that I was able to catch)![/p][h3]Thank You for Your Support!![/h3][p]Seriously, at the end of the day (year) I want to thank everyone who's supported me along the way. Very few things are truly made solo, and it's taken help from artists, photographers, musicians, voice actors, helpful programmers in forums, font designers, Wikipedia, books, and especially my very patient friends and family to make this game. I honestly find it shocking that strangers on the internet have spent time and money on my game, and shared such kind words about it. While in the thick of working on something, it's impossible to know if you're making anything that would resonate with someone else, so I'm glad it has.[/p][p]Looking forward to next year, and finishing this thing! Thanks, all![/p]

[p]I'm a day late, but I needed a bit more time to play through the update. A lot of variations in this batch! There were a few outstanding bugs I still need to address, that will be mentioned at the end of the changelog.[/p][p]This update includes some of my favorite scenes, so I hope you enjoy them too![/p][h3]Early Access v0.6 Changelog[/h3]

• [p]Added in-game days August 5th to August 8th.[/p]
  • [p]This includes a pass on story branches, conditions, writing, backgrounds, music, and voice adlibs.[/p]
• [p]Added a new content warning.[/p]
• [p]4 new backgrounds.[/p]
• [p]Updated Bec's sitting sprite to look less stiff.[/p]
• [p]Updated Clara's pajama sprite to have bonnet and hair down variations.[/p]
  • [p]Hair down version implemented on July 11, 23, 25, and 26.[/p]
• [p]Text Preferences updates.[/p]
  • [p]In most places, text will resize itself to fit the displayable area.[/p]
  • [p]Now displays what the text box will look like during CG events.[/p]
  • [p]Slider to pick the opacity of the CG event text box.[/p]
• [p]Bug fixes:[/p]
  • [p]Fixed arrows on the "Skipping" UI.[/p]
  • [p]August 4: Bec/Clara correctly mentions if you talked about the dream or not.[/p]
  • [p]June 29: Fixed a condition in a conversation with Clara about Margo's soul.[/p]
  • [p]July 29: Clara's bedroom is now upstairs in her childhood home.[/p]

[h3]Known Issues[/h3]

• [p]Need a separate option to turn off UI clicking sounds.[/p]
  • [p]Currently their volume is controlled on the general Sound Effects slider.[/p]
• [p]Need polish and expressions on new character sprites that appear in the islands memories.[/p]
• [p]Some of the font options can break the formatting of the CG Gallery.[/p]
• [p]Particle effects in some of the dreams no longer work with the newest Ren'Py update.[/p]
• [p]Need to update Bec's mom character information to include her name.[/p]