#launch week

Of course it's not a commercial success by any means. But it's achieved every single one of my personal goals, and provided me what I need to make Episode 2. Here are some of the milestones reached in this first week that I'm particularly excited about...

The Reception

$100+ in revenue on itch.io, from the very first prototype to now! Some people supported the project back when the first WebGL prototype went live. Donations from that + sales & tips from Episode 1's release have now surpassed $100 in total.

40+ sales on Steam! Even after Valve's 30% cut, this is more than enough to cover the cost of listing Episode 2. The rest (along with itch.io proceeds) will be put towards paying live musicians for the Episode 2 soundtrack.

1K+ outstanding wishlists on Steam! That's over 1,000 people who are currently showing a tentative interest in the project. Part of this is thanks to reaching...

10+ reviews on Steam—all positive so far! We saw a huge boost in visibility the next day, so these reviews all helped a LOT, and their contents have been so kind and supportive.

YouTuber Nafaniq uploaded a playthrough of the first part of Episode 1! This was not requested coverage. In their video they directly compliment the unique art direction & soundscape.

In fact, the reception has been so positive that I want to share a few snippets of public reviews [cropped for brevity, but not edited]:

[I love that one, because "dense" is the word I use to describe my own work. It's short... but there is SO MUCH there.]

[I love that one, because werewolves.]

Almost everyone has specifically cited the music as being really impactful, most especially The Piano Piece (ft. ENDYSIS who—by the way—is developing some masterwork VNs of their own that you should go check out). I'm really glad that the music being at the heart of this game has come through for people so effectively.

(There is a reason the profits from Episode 1 are going towards a "pay musicians" budget. They are the heart of this.)

But it's not just on Steam that people have reached out to me with kind thoughts! I've really appreciated hearing from people on all platforms about how they've connected with it.

It doesn't have to be in public. If you've told me how you felt about the game, thank you, I will hold those words close to my heart FOREVER.

The Long-Term Plan

There are 4 more episodes to this story. Finishing it will be a long process that I am fully committed to. I'd like to give a few more details about what's immediately next for the project, and what to expect in terms of communication & timeline.

1. Wrapping Up Episode 1

I intend to release the Episode 1 full OST + a final update/patch addressing certain feedback in Q1 2026. Currently, the following bugs are known:

Pitch of interactive piano is incorrect (I am so sorry.)

1 seed is not properly implemented

Whether certain bugs will be patched depends on their impact to the player experience and the difficulty of fixing them. Please let me know if you encounter any issues not mentioned here!

2. Applying to Grad School (again)

This isn't directly about the game, but since the game is my passion project, my life choices directly influence it.

I believe the most personally-and-artistically fulfilling option on the table for my financial stability right now is pursuing a PhD. This is why I don't expect to release Episode 1's updates until 2026—I will be focusing on these applications for the next month, and after that, evaluating my prospects.

This should ultimately benefit Amadeus, as well. Amadeus was originally created when I was in grad school for my Master's. Being surrounded by weird pretentious nerds is enriching and artistically motivating for me. (...do you see why Amadeus is like that now?)

3. Working on Episode 2

I have an ideal calendar for the release of Episode 2 (and beyond), but of course it depends on how applications go, and how I manage my time. Should I get accepted into a program, I will spend as much time as I can in early 2026 getting a head start on Episode 2's development.

This head start involves:

Taking the code I've built and consulting with a developer-by-trade friend to work them into more generic, future-proof systems

Sitting down and transforming my Episode 2 "broad strokes" outline into a concrete outline

Re-building my project management spaces to focus on Episode 2's needs, now that Episode 1 is done

....and getting to work!

Thankfully, I now know a lot about Unity/C#, I've already built the functionality I need to make the game, I've made a lot of assets that can be reused, and I know exactly where the story is going. A LOT of work remains to make it actually happen, but unlike Episode 1, I am not starting from scratch. That's huge!

My plan is to reign back the updates to ~every-6-weeks or so, just enough to keep you in the loop on how progress is coming along. The next such update should be in January.