MoonLight Dev Corp - Post Release Report

Hello there!

First, let's talk about the release itself.

On the technical side, everything went pretty smoothly, aside from two minor bugs. Still, it reminded me just how valuable beta testers can be. For the final release, I'll definitely be reaching out to the community to find a few volunteers willing to help test the game.

As for the content, I've received very little feedback on this latest chapter. I'd like to think that's because everyone enjoyed it enough not to have any major complaints, but it's hard to tell!

Please don't hesitate to leave a comment and let me know what you liked and what you didn't. As an indie developer, it's incredibly difficult to figure these things out on my own!

Financially speaking, things haven't been nearly as good. I won't sugarcoat it: sales have been really disappointing. I have a feeling it might just be the current climate, but I can only hope things pick up again. Otherwise, it's going to become increasingly difficult for me to keep things going.

Now, let's talk about the future!

As you probably already know, the next chapter will be the final chapter of Glowing Stones: Heroes' Awakening.

We're approaching the end of our heroes' "awakening." The team is more or less assembled, and the current storyline involving Humanity is nearing its conclusion (or at least this particular conclusion... ;) ).

I've always envisioned the Glowing Stones story as three "movies": three stories that can each stand on their own, but ultimately form part of a much bigger picture.

And just like the first movie in a proper trilogy, this first game will have its own climax and its own resolution.

I might end things on a little cliffhanger, but I want to be clear about one thing: the game won't just end abruptly and leave you feeling like the story was never finished.

Every character (at least the main ones) will get their own conclusion, with a variation or two depending on the choices you've made throughout the story.

There will also be bad endings. And no, Destiny won't be showing up to save our hero this time. You'll understand why.

But this final chapter, and the final release itself, also mean a few other things.

1. I'll be introducing a new feature: "Behind the Scenes."

With the game approaching completion, I'll be going back through the entire story to add commentary on some of its most memorable scenes.

I'll explain certain creative decisions, share development anecdotes, show concept art, and reveal things you'll never actually see in the game (like Aurora's original character model, which is honestly nightmare fuel!).

I'll also talk about some of the little details and things I've implemented throughout this first game that you might not even have noticed.

This is something that's particularly close to my heart, because I've always loved this kind of behind-the-scenes content myself.

2. There's going to be a lot of marketing work to do, mainly for Steam and GOG.

I know some people feel that I should focus entirely on developing the game instead.

But I've made the decision to dedicate myself full-time to Glowing Stones, which means my only sources of income are Patreon (which brings in just $200-$300 a month, depending on whether there's been a release that month) and sales on Steam and GOG (both of which are absolutely flooded with AI-generated games these days...).

And that income has to cover my personal bills, the costs of developing the game (assets, music, translations, etc.), and supporting my family.

So marketing isn't just something I need to do to make the game successful. It's something I need to do to make a living, and ultimately, to keep the game alive.

Believe me, I'd much rather spend that time actually developing the game, but unfortunately, that's the reality of being a full-time indie developer.

3. The game's structure will be more or less locked down after the final release.

That means I also need to implement a save export/import system, allowing players to carry their choices from the first game into the second.

The goal is to make sure that when you continue the story in the sequel, the decisions you made throughout Heroes' Awakening will carry over with you.

4. Additional translations will need to be implemented.

I'm mainly thinking of Brazilian Portuguese, which has been requested quite a few times, and Russian, provided I can find a translator I can trust.

There may also be other languages, depending on requests from the community between now and the final release.

So... quite a lot of work ahead!

And all of that is on top of actually developing the final chapter itself!

To make things even more interesting, I'm planning a pretty spectacular finale, which means I'll have to learn how to create some special effects I don't even know how to pull off yet.

What about Patreon?

In a few months, once we're getting closer to the release of the final chapter, I'll be making some changes to the Patreon tiers.

Don't worry, none of these changes will affect existing patrons!

The main idea is to prevent people from subscribing at the $3 tier, downloading the game, and immediately unsubscribing, effectively getting the entire game for just $3.

But we'll get into all that when the time comes!

And development has already started!

In fact, I've already started working on the new chapter, mainly focusing on the Behind the Scenes feature for now.

I've also created a new animation for Chapter 3!

It's something I originally wanted to do back when I was developing that chapter, but at the time, I simply didn't have the technical knowledge or skills to pull it off.

Well, now I do!

And you can actually see the almost final frame of that animation in the image accompanying this post!

Looking ahead

Despite all the challenges, I'm optimistic.

I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel, and I honestly can't wait for you all to experience the conclusion of this first story!

Thank you all for your continued support.