The Merry Fairy News

Dear friend,

It is Halloween soon, one of my most favourite holiday because I get to carve pumpkins and freely show my wings 𓆩♡𓆪. I wish this would have been build update no. 13 but... I am able to do the next best thing, which is build update no. 31! Here is what is in it:

• A request for you to allow my Unity Analytics to track a bit of your behaviour. You can absolutely decline it, but even if you accept it you can rest assured that your information remains safe and will be seen by your eyes alone. I will never be able to see, nor ever want to see your journal entries, unless you are extra proud of them and would like to share screenshots on the community hub. What would help me to know is how long you spend at my cottage, how often you visit, how many journal pages you fill and especially how many stickers you use! This is because I want to make sure you will have the tools to organize and easily find everything you gather later. By keeping a close eye on the aggregated behaviour of all of you magical creatures, I can get a little bit of a silent guiding from you, to make your stay at The Merry Fairy as comfortable as possible.
  
• The Guestbook now has pages that flip, yay!
  
• The stickers can now be rotated much, much much more finely, which is something I've been meaning to add for So Long!
  

This is it! I leave you with a picture of one of my tree friends, a very old oak whose beauty greets my misty mornings:



Yours,
Fairy

Dear friend,

Autumn stole my heart and my focus with its incredible beauty and generosity.



But I stole a few moments back from her to myself, and I gift these moments to you. I made an update for you, filled with love, abundance and cozy vibes.



The Merry Fairy Demo is now updated to version 30 and it contains (from what I can remember, for fairies have little time for mundane tasks such as taking notes or keeping accurate lists) the following:

• A much needed fix for when the mouse cursor disappears, especially when you add freeform text
  
• A brand new Guestbook page, filled with cozy decorations to celebrate autumn*
  
• Additional and much needed sizes for when using Windowed mode (accessible from the Main Menu Settings)
  
• An improved lighting mood for rainy and stormy weather: I dimmed the main lights, so that you can light the candles and turn the lantern on, if you wish!
  
• New sound effects, especially for when you write down your thoughts - I find them so satisfying!
  

I am pretty sure there's more, but the best way to find out is to simply visit my enchanted cottage. Meanwhile...

[h2]The Merry Fairy Tik Tok account[/h2]
I must admit, my friend, that I have been very suspicious about posting on social media. But autumn convinced me to give it a try. So now I have a Tik Tok account where I can show you my magical forest and all that inspires The Merry Fairy. I speak very little about the game itself and very much about magic and fairies and trees and life.



I am horrendously bad at it, so please expect text in annoying places, lack of covers and muffled speech because I forget how to hold my phone. I suppose I can only get better! How wonderful it is to learn something new! I am having a lot of fun! I would love your company on Tik Tok!

This is it, for now! There may be more demo updates coming soon, but while you wait, my friend, I hope you go outside and enjoy this beautiful autumn, if you can ❤️

Yours,
Fairy

Dear friend,

I am so excited to let you know that I have an update for you! The new version of The Merry Fairy Demo is now 29 and it includes the following:

• Subtitles for the introductory video! This is something that makes me extra happy to present, as it is something I have never done before. But now I learned and this made me very happy! I hope the font and the colour choices allow you to read the subtitles comfortably.
  
• A little bit of volume control! This is far from perfect and only available in the main Settings that you can access from outside the cottage, but you can now lower the overall volume for The Merry Fairy
  
• A brand new mushroom! I experimented with many ways to enchant the mouse cursor, including many leaves and even a lilac branch (lilac is my most favourite flower!). But in the end, the mushroom won!
  
• A much requested tour! When you first come to The Merry Fairy, the Caretaker will now welcome you immediately and offer a tour (or tutorial). You can also ask for a tour of The Merry Fairy via the bell that is on your desk.
  
• A better way to talk to Fairy's whimsical friends! Previously, it was very easy to exit the current dialogue by clicking anywhere outside the dialogue window, such as clicking on the character portraits. This will no longer happen. You can still exit by clicking anywhere outside the dialogue area, but this area is bigger now and it includes the character portrait.
  
• Updated dialogues - this is probably something I will continue to change and tweak until the end of times. Please give me feedback about the visits you are getting from my whimsical friends and what you think about their chatter! It is the only way I'll manage to edit them less!
  
• Dev menu accessible using the F5 key now! This is more important than it sounds, I think, since F12 is the default Steam key for screenshots.
  
• Some lightning improvements but there is still some flickering left.
  
• Tiny new sounds that feel a little better for when someone knocks on your window
  

There is also an unwanted behaviour in version 29. In theory, the Caretaker will welcome you at the start of the visit and then come back half an hour later to check up on you. But for now, he wants to visit you right away. I think he is simply too excited about your visit!

I hope you will enjoy this update and please continue to give me feedback!

I would also very much love to see what you create in your journals, if you would like to share your screenshots in The Merry Fairy community hub! And if you have wishes for any specific decorations, I would love to know ❤

Yours,

Fairy

Dear friend,


This week I noticed the first signs of autumn. I usually have an inner resistance to admit the end of summer, but the past few days have been chillier and splashes of red and yellow started to pop on the forest floor. To my surprise, I found my heart happy at the thought! I long for the symphony of autumn colors, for wearing cozy woolen sweaters and boots and for observing a change that, in the past, I have mistaken for some sort of loss. It is not a loss though, nor a sad end. It is a transformation. Life is in a constant process of transformation.

I hope for an inspired and productive autumn and frankly, I could not have gotten a better start. This is thanks to you, who played The Merry Fairy Demo, who gave me extraordinary encouraging and helpful feedback, and you who wishlisted my game.

[previewyoutube]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ht1QLIIx6aM[/previewyoutube]

I underestimated the toll it takes to show a project as personal and intimate as The Merry Fairy to the world. I am so grateful for the gentleness I experienced and for the fact that it seems I got my idea across. I dearly wish for The Merry Fairy to give only oxytocin and serotonin to you and to me, as I further create it! Please keep your feedback coming, knowing that I am listening to you with care and joy.

[h2]The Merry Fairy Demo updates[/h2]
Listening and watching you play, I realized some of the blinders I unwillingly inherited as a creator. I welcomed you to The Merry Fairy as if we were old, old friends, assuming that you know where everything is and how everything works in my tiny, cozy home. But we are new friends and I have been an absent-minded host. Well, I am fixing this now, and preparing a demo update that I hope to release sometime next week. Here is what I hope it will contain:

• Subtitles for the intro video
  
• Improvements for the mouse cursor, which sometimes disappears after using the freeform text entry in the journal
  
• Maybe even a cute cursor skin!
  
• A volume slider for the music
  
• A small tutorial designed as a mandatory Caretaker visit, so he can welcome you properly to Fairyland and explain how everything works and what to expect
  
• The tutorial will be skippable, but that line for dialogues will be available via the bell
  
• The development menu will stay but be changed to some other key than F12, which I forgot is the default key for screenshots
  
• A lighting improvement so that there is less flickering when the short candle by the stained glass window is lit
  
• A gentler way to exit the dialogues - right now, if you click anywhere outside the dialogue window, you exit it and lose the current conversation. I do believe dialogues, in general, need an improved design, but as a quick fix for now, I will make it so if you click on the character, you will not exit the dialogue - you will exit only if you click somewhere way outside the dialogue or the X button
  

Please do not take this list as a promise! I want to release an update next week no matter what. I will of course provide a clear and reliable list of changes then.

[h2]The future of The Merry Fairy[/h2]
My shyness stood in the way of me being clear with my plans. I did launch The Merry Fairy Demo in a bit of a rush, due the Wholesome Games Steam Celebration event, and I did not really think much beyond that. But now that I have started to get your feedback, I know what I wish to do!

I have no intention to deactivate the Demo. I will keep it live and available for you at the very least until I really polish the features available in it. However, I do have a big worry. I know how important and personal a journal can be. If you continue to use the enchanted journal I prepared for you, please know that your work may be lost as I continue to update The Merry Fairy. I will be very careful with this and let you know when an update might endanger your saves, but this is not a very reliable solution.

The Merry Fairy Demo will get improvements and a bit more content, but no new features or characters. For the entire project, I plan to have more things to do and there are seven of my whimsical friends who really want to meet you. I will progressively reveal my plans here and on my social media, so I hope you will enjoy to tag along and keep me company. Here is where you can find me:

• On The Merry Fairy Steam community hub: I keep an eye daily for new comments and discussions
  
• On Discord: I have a small and very peaceful server here
• On YouTube: I made a YouTube channel for The Merry Fairy and update it occasionally
  
• On Tik Tok: I also made a Tik Tok account for The Merry Fairy, but for some reason, of all social media, Tik Tok really triggers y social anxiety. However, I do very much intend to get out of my comfort zone and post there, especially since more than a few people mentioned that my voice sounds like Björk!!!
  

I also have a very small Twitter presence but I am not sure I will keep it - I do not enjoy that platform.

I hope to release The Merry Fairy next summer. I hesitate to make this information too public since I know all too well how such plans can fail, but I do aim for that which is why I am very careful about keeping The Merry Fairy contained. However, your entire stay at The Merry Fairy is planned for one summer month, which means 30 days, and can continue indefinitely as long as you don't get too lonely.

Once again, thank you, my friend!

Yours,

Laura aka Fairy

Dear friend,


The Merry Fairy Demo is finally ready to play on Steam! Come spend a little time at my beautiful cottage and enjoy the Fairyland vibe. Here is what you can expect:

• A beautiful scrapbook journal ready for your thoughts and creativity
  
• Various decorations that you can gather from all kinds of places, such as the Guestbook (but there are hidden decorations, too!)
  
• Two of Fairy's whimsical friends, Jack the Caretaker and Lekkote the Wishtree, ready to visit you every half an hour and talk about magic and matters of the heart
  
• A few letters from Fairy
  
• A friendly weather that follows your wishes
  
• Candles, a soothing windchime and a tiny companion
  

I have been fussing the entire night before opening the doors for your visit. I might have left a thing or two extra, for your visit, and perhaps not everything is fully built and polished. I do welcome every thought and wish you have, as I do desire to make your stay as comfortable as possible.

I launched The Merry Fairy Demo with the occasion of the Wholesome Games Steam Celebration fest. Depending on the kind of feedback I will receive from you, I may have to close The Merry Fairy Demo on occasion. So please try out the enchanted scrapbook journal well aware that you might lose your beautiful entries and creations.


Enjoy The Merry Fairy!

Yours,
Fairy