The Merry Fairy News

[p]Dear friend,[/p][p][/p][p]It is with great joy that I announce this: The Merry Fairy participates in the Back to School Steam Celebration event, which will take place starting today, August 25th, and until September 1st, 2025. This week, the game features a 10% discount, effective as of today at 7 pm CET. [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]I had been hoping to prepare a rich update for this wonderful occasion, but I realised one thing: since July 9th, when I had the great joy of celebrating the Grand Opening of The Merry Fairy, I had not really allowed my heart to slow down. This is no good way for a Fairy to nurture her magic! [/p][p]Last week, I left all the unfinished new things to rest, and I had a little bit of an adventure. For the first time this year, my Caretaker and I left Fairyland, and we went to a wondrous, magical place called Dalhalla to watch The Last Ritual performed by one of my favorite artists, Heilung. Here is a very short clip that I captured with my old phone, for a glimpse of this magical experience: [/p][p][/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p]Witnessing this ritual felt like stepping into a mythical past where all creatures treasured their deep connection and were well aware of the powerful magic that encompasses us all. During this ritual, time lost all its meaning, and my heart danced, sang, wept, and grieved, and I felt very, very alive. The music, the dancing, the entire performance embraced all of me, and I listened not just with my ears, I saw not just with my eyes - this was a ritual that swept through all of me. [/p][p]When The Last Ritual was over, I felt an overwhelming wish to run back home, to Fairyland. The heartbeat evoked by the Heilung drums is something familiar to me, though far more gentle. It's what I sometimes can hear, faintly, when I am close to my tree friends. The howls are my howls when I walk in the forest, only my audience is composed of deer and squirrels, and on occasion, a curious fox. What Heilung evoked for me through music is the way the untamed forest feels to me, untouched by machines, perhaps a little scary to a heart unaccustomed to wilderness, and yet warm and welcoming like an elder whose wisdom bears the mark of ancient times. [/p][p]The Last Ritual felt like a fitting end to a chapter of my life, a deep breath taken as I embrace and let go of old fears, thoughts, and burdens that I no longer need to carry. It is something I was meant to go through, so that I can make room in my heart for something new. [/p][p][/p][p]As I got home, I felt ready to tackle something I spent most of my life believing it would never happen: getting my driver's license. Until recently, the story I allowed myself to believe was that I am and will forever be unable to drive a car. Furthermore, one big internal conflict that I had to resolve was my love for this beautiful planet of ours and the terrible harm we inflict upon it in so many ways, including the excessive use of cars. But knowledge never harms, and it is simply unwise and unfair of me to put all the burden of driving on the Caretaker, considering that Fairyland is so remote. And so I have been practice driving with the Caretaker for a while now, and he feels I am ready for my exams. I have scheduled my theory exam rather soon. Getting my driver's license is my main focus now, and I am so proud and excited about this! Wish me luck![/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]The second thing in need of space in my heart is the courage to open up about my great dream. My dream is to preserve the forest, to let it be untamed and wild, and to celebrate a way of life that adjusts to her kind generosity, without the need to shape, control, and forcefully remove that which is old and wise. Sadly, the way we look at and treat the forest today makes no sense to me. Whole patches of forest are clear-cut for timber, and even when they are not, tended forests are regularly trimmed so that some trees can grow thick and tall, which makes the most profitable timber. But I fall in love with trees every day, and my heart is so often broken when I see them cut down. [/p][p]It is such a perilous adventure for a tree to come to life - the forest feeds so many, and from hundreds of seeds that fall to the ground, only a handful get to grow roots and become beautiful young trees. It is those trees that are first removed when preparing a forest for clear-cutting, as well as slightly older trees that are seen as useless, in the way, and are rather great for firewood. [/p][p]But when you watch a forest for long stretches of time, you understand her generosity. Trees are living creatures that communicate with each other, care for each other, and care for everything and everyone that lives around them. It's enough to look up to see just how much care they have for one another - the phenomenon called crown shyness or canopy disengagement looks like an elegant puzzle where crowns grow around and are complementary to each other, gracefully allowing space so that all can thrive. Every year, some trees bow to the power of the wind, offering themselves for their family and friends as well as for any use of timber. Every year, the Caretaker and I explore the forest, enjoying the wilderness that is left and taking only what the forest offers. [/p][p]The forest needs more friends, a lot more friends - and my dream is to do everything in my power to enable that. Any motivation for success that I have for The Merry Fairy connects to that. My dream is to create the Fae Forest Foundation, an organization that can act as a legal guardian of the local forest, and that can allow research and care for the forest in alternative, non-invasive ways. With the help of my talented Caretaker, who holds a law degree, I want to create a way for everyone to become a guardian of a tree or a patch of forest, and create many ways in which forest owners and forest lovers can collaborate to preserve it. Above all, and well aware of my selfish local focus, I want to make sure that I never have to stumble upon cleared or clear-cut areas of this beautiful forest that surrounds me. When that happens - and it happened in extensive areas just now :( - I feel like taking a walk on a cruel and senseless battlefield. [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]I seldom talk about my dreams and motivations because there is a part of me that feels this may not be the proper place to show one's heart. In commercial terms, The Merry Fairy is a tiny, independent, and not particularly profitable project. I have no well-calculated plan, no strategy for financial success, and no other desire than to be as honest and as creative as I can. I forged something that can grow, and that can nurture my creativity and my artfully expressed hopes of a gentle life, where one can let oneself be enchanted by the magic of just being. The Merry Fairy is still a tiny little seed, reaching boldly for the stars, with a beautiful forest to look at as a role model. [/p][p]I am currently quietly preparing a new feature for the game, the first since launch. It's unpolished for now, and I have not yet managed to capture the essence of what I want with it, but I hope it will become a worthy compass for one's heart. [/p][p]Thank you for reading![/p][p][/p][p]PS: Thanks to the incredible support of Dames 4 Games, The Merry Fairy gets to be at PAX West! If you are in Seattle and plan to visit, you can play The Merry Fairy in the Summit Building in room 440. I would be very happy for any pictures of my game at PAX, if you are visiting ❤️[/p][p][/p][p] [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p]

[p]Dear friend,[/p][p][/p][p]I perceive the world as magical. Every tree that I see speaks to me; every animal shows me wisdom and kindness; every time the wind caresses my cheek, I feel cared for and alive. I truly feel my wings fluttering, and more often than not, I can conjure amazing things, like The Merry Fairy.[/p][p]For most of my life, I convinced myself that feeling this magic is simply a maladaptive result of a too vivid imagination. And yet, what most people I knew called a "normal life" never really worked for me. For four decades, unable to get much joy from a rather decent existence, I reached a point where I had to make a drastic change. I decided to leave absolutely everything behind, and I chose magic.[/p][p]The moment I did that, everything changed. The Caretaker came into my life and took me home, to Fairyland. I gently learned to believe myself. I allowed myself to play and to create. I stopped looking outside of me for validation, and rediscovered my own enchanted compass, the one that always called me deep into the forest and away from "the normal modern life". [/p][p]This change also washed away almost every relationship I had built before. Have you ever imagined if all your family and friends would one day disappeared? I lived through that, and while this has been perhaps the most painful part of this adventure of mine, I understood the fundamental, tremendous importance of being liked and loved for who you truly are.[/p][p]This is why, when I built The Merry Fairy, I secretly enchanted it with a friendship spell. I conjured this spell with profound authenticity and I called upon kindred spirits to come into my life. The tiny community that formed around my little cottage feels cozy and kind. I had also hoped that The Merry Fairy would become a focal point for magical creativity, a place where artists can safely and joyfully showcase their beautiful art at my cottage. I welcome all art, but for some reason my heart feels most drawn to a certain kind of fairy music.[/p][p]The first minstrel to be drawn to my cottage was the fairy Miriavyn. In search for magic, dreams and glow, her harp enchanted me and opened the door to her magical world, mysterious and fair, where rivers of inspiration flow. Miriavyn plays an enchanted harp to conjure her own inner music to life. Her beautiful tunes, calming and magical, draw inspiration from Celtic, Nordic and Japanese folk music and medieval melodies. When I first heard her beautiful music in my cottage, it felt so incredibly right.[/p][p]Today, it is with great joy that I introduce you to the second sound enchantress to cast her beautiful music into my enchanted cottage: forRest Mind ꊛ Ambience by Theia. This music has accompanied me for many moonlit night as I added more of myself in The Merry Fairy, until one day I dared to reach out to Theia and joyfully find a magical soul responding me back right away!💖 [/p][p]A collection of eight soothing ambient lullabies, the new Fairyland radio channel forRest Mind ꊛ Ambience introduces you into the kind and whimsical world of gentle forest creatures, enjoying their peaceful life in their own little nooks in the forest, by their little fireplaces, reading tiny books or having cute whimsical picnics with strawberries and oat milk:[/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p]Please enjoy the new Fairyland radio channel, forRest Mind ꊛ Ambience, and consider following and befriending this wonderful magical soul on YouTube![/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p]

[p]Dear friend,[/p][p][/p][p]The modern world is often overwhelming for a fairy like me. I enjoy simple adventures, small pleasures and calm ordinary moments. My everyday life is quite solitary, which is something I treasure a lot. One of my favourite activities is to take slow and mindful walks around Fairyland and spend as much time as I need to observe everything that lives here. I am curious about the turning of the seasons. I adore looking at flowers, but sometimes I find myself even more fascinated by leaves. With this beautiful summer coming to an end, I find myself captivated more than usual by the changes my tree friends are about to experience. I want to witness every moment of transformation, when leaves turn from vivid green to yellow, and red, and hazel, and orange and sometimes even shades of blue. Autumn always takes me by surprise, though, no matter how vigilant I try to be. [/p][p][/p][p]I gathered a few very green leaves in my last walk, and captured their beauty with as much precision as my fairy hands are able to. Those are leaves that greet me often - the lady's mantle that posed as a model grows confidently right outside the door, in between the cracks of the small stairs by the entrance. The birch leaf belongs to Kindness, one of the tree birch tree friends right by the small sauna the Caretaker built. Kindness, together with Wisdom and Friendship, are the trees whose comfort and counsel I seek most often. I hope you will enjoy this collection of my favourite leaves.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Kindness, Wisdom and Friendship also whispered to me fresh new Soul Candies. You may discover them in the Soul Candy jar, which is, of course, enchanted, so I can add as many Soul Candies as I want! I am no great fan of numbers, but if you are curious to know, the Soul Candy jar currently hosts 86 candies. [/p][p]Between August 7 and August 11, The Merry Fairy participates in the Debut Festival, a Steam fest kindly organised and hosted by GameDev.ist. This event is dedicated exclusively to debut titles, and The Merry Fairy is the first video game I made and published fully by myself. My dream is to update and support The Merry Fairy indefinitely, so I have no plans to make other games. However - who knows? [/p][p][/p][p]I love the idea of this festival and I encourage you, wonderful magical soul, to go check it out! I believe launching your first video game is a very brave thing to do so I am sure that everyone who will participate at this festival deserves all the visits, encouragement and support they can get![/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p]

[p]Dear friend,[/p][p][/p][p]I believe that the entire world is magical and that every place can become as abundant and as enchanted as my Fairyland, with a little love and kindness. Sadly, most places are not like that today. Some places witness a history of extreme sadness, hunger and atrocities. My heart becomes very heavy when I think about this. The past week in particular has brought a lot of rain and thunder in my heart. It is very little that I can do, and I really wish I could do a lot more - but a little is always better than nothing. And I hope this inspires you to do what you can, as well. [/p][p]Build 57 brings new quotes in my Magical Book of Wisdom, Hope and Insight. The new quotes are from Epicurus, an ancient Greek philosopher who has inspired me for a very long time. Epicurus really valued living a simple and calm life, free from pain and fear. He thought that the best way to pursue this kind of life is to surround yourself with friends, and build a community together. Epicurus established a school of thought which he named The Garden, where, together with his friends, he built a simple and fulfilling life. One of the best short presentations about Epicurus and his philosophy is this one from The School Of Life:[/p][p][/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p]Build 57 also brings a few bug fixes, including a solution to the mysterious disappearance of the latest decorations when gathered and used in the journal. Thank you to all the lovely magical souls who have reported bugs - your help is very much appreciated![/p][p][/p][p]I am very glad to say that several bugs have been fixed, including the windchime that sometimes would not stop playing, as well as restrictions to ease up and improve the functionality to add free text paragraphs. [/p][p]I have also added more content for the Demo, in the form of a new double page in the Guestbook:[/p][p][/p][p]Do you feel that my enchanted cottage is a good place to rest a little and become inspired? If you do, please help me spread the word about it so that more magical souls can find some solace here. Your help is essential because The Merry Fairy is a labour of love that takes all of my time and energy. I have great dreams and hopes and plans to add enchanted tools, and spells, and rituals, and lots and lots of beautiful hope disguised as decorations. This leaves me little time to make sure that more magical souls know about my cottage, and in truth, spreading the word about The Merry Fairy is a terribly ill suited job for a fairy like me (as it is well known that fairies are notoriously shy and introverted). [/p][p]It helps me tremendously to receive reviews right here on Steam for The Merry Fairy as well as The Merry Fairy Demo. I also become very happy when I find external creations about my little cottage, such as YouTube videos, Tik Toks, reviews and all kinds of content. [/p][p][/p][p]Thank you so much for reading this and taking the time to consider helping me to spread the word about The Merry Fairy![/p][p][/p][p][/p]

[p]Dear friend,[/p][p][/p][p]The latest update for my cottage is ready now, and it is called "build 56". Several fixes come with this update, most notably: [/p]

• [p]the decorations that you gather in the journal should no longer disappear[/p]
• [p]the sound controls in Settings is now working[/p]
• [p]the last achievement is now correctly granted[/p]

[p]The cottage now also welcomes Butterflies! They are very gentle and sometimes may keep you a little bit of company. They prefer sunny, warm days! [/p][p]There is also a fresh new decoration spread in the last book on the shelf, called The Scrapbooking Emporium. I added a floral themed collection and tried a slightly different way to present new decorations. [/p][p]With this occasion, I would like to say an extra special Thank you to the magical souls who are sharing beautiful and inspiring screenshots on The Merry Fairy Community Hub. YennyCat in particular has built two very useful design guides that can elegantly elevate any journal spread design:[/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p]I love to hear what improvements and decorations you are hoping for in the next update! [/p][p][/p]