itch.io

Thank you so much for reading, and I'm glad it reached you as well. If you're interested in more stuff from me, I do have a visual novel that is a much more light and fun allegory of my own life told as a picaresque medieval fantasy furry comedy / romance! It includes a lot of the same soul-searching, but more spread out throughout the narrative.

https://maximjdev.itch.io/the-hayseed-knight

Thank you so much!

I'm so glad you enjoyed Djao so much!! She's my fave too <3 

Thank you so much for playing the full game and for the review! If you fancy adding that too to the older steam one, that'd be extra awesome but no worries if not!

This game was absolutely delightful from start to end. I have to admit that I was terrified for a moment when I walked into the back of the store for the first time and the music changed, so I quickly checked there wouldn't be any scary stuff, haha.

Exploring everything and trying to solve the puzzles was such a treat. Even though I had to check puzzle guides because I couldn't figure out how to progress (or the fact fences can be climbed, full on yellow paint edge discourse moment) it never hindered once that feeling of excitement about discovering the place, it just added to it.

Thank you so much for making this game. I'll always treasure the hours I've spent with it.

Thank you so much, I hope you have fun!

Maybe in the future! Right now, I'm only releasing on PC

I'm glad to hear so! I'm just starting recording the voice acting for Chapter 5 today, so hopefully it'll be finished by September!

Thank you! Hope you enjoy it!

I wasn't going to reply to this originally, you're entitled to your opinion.

However it's been a month, it's still the newest comment, I've just finished writing a new chapter, and I'm honestly curious what does "overdesigned" mean, or how can any of this seem "amateurly voiced" to you with a full cast of professional voice actors that has gained multiple accolades in game events, started my voice director career 6 years ago, and received quotes such as "one of the best performances I've ever heard in an indie game" from voice actors of the degree of Sean Chiplock himself.

I don't know what point may have upset you so much about the game to prompt a review as viscerally negative as this, and I'm really sorry it made you feel like you wasted your time playing through it. If you want to share any further thoughts as constructive criticism (such as is the case with you not feeling the tone! That's 100% understandable), I'd love to read them.

If not, I hope you have a wonderful day all the same!

Hey there, thanks for asking! It's available in Steam as well, but in Steam the update covers the whole game so far instead of just the demo!

Hey there! I want to eventually bring a full version to multiple storefronts as well as port to consoles, but right now developing the game itself on my own takes way too much time to also keep track of keys across different platforms.

Hey there! No, the project is very much still in progress.

I'm a disabled solo dev, and this is my passion project when I'm not working at my day job, so development between chapters and updates takes a very long time.

Because this is an episodic release, only the free demo is hosted on itch dot io at the moment to avoid having to figure out keys and versions across multiple marketplaces, but you can purchase the fullest version so far on Steam, which covers about 10 hours of gameplay so far, if what you're asking is if the story continues past this point.

The best way to follow development along is on my twitter account @SandraMJdev , or on patreon which I use as a devlog.

Hope that answered that, and that you have a wonderful day!

Thank you for your patience in talking to me, regardless. I still don't really know how to move forward with any of this, but I'm thankful that you helped me gain some insight into how this comes across months after it happened. I'll be seeking advice from game industry seniors on what their thoughts are on how to proceed.

I hope that you have a wonderful day and a wonderful rest of your week

How am I supposed to achieve that? I don't have any PR team or Community Manager beyond myself as I'm making this game on my own. Replying to every single accusation of bad faith over these last few months takes hours of my own time that I could have spent in developing the game further - in which way is agreeing with the people who insist I did this with bad intent showing ethics on my part?

It sounds like you feel very strongly about both of these causes - we're very much on the same side, there. I can understand the frustration that could come seeing free games in a charity drive, especially one so important, and thinking they add nothing of value. What makes you think that I haven't done anything for the charity, however?

I decided to add my work early on, when the call for games was first released long before it became the huge success it ended up being, because I wanted to increase the amount of voices in the cause and make a statement: I, and anything I create on my own consequently, stand behind Palestine's freedom.

To that end, I made sure to see if demos were allowed in as it's all I have to offer on itch - all I had to offer since 2017 until last December, when I had to make the full game paid in order to afford my own medical bills.

It's been part of the bundle since, even though there's been nothing to gain from keeping it in up other than the constant stream of people who would assume it was done in bad faith. Do you think it would have made any difference to my online presence if I had asked the itch.io staff to remove it after that, other than make my life easier?

I've been on top of developments these last two years, doing everything in my hand to uplift Black Lives Matters and the Palestinian cause. I have bought these bundles as well hoping to be a grain of sand in a mountain and make some change, like everyone else. That's why I added years of my own work to the bundle, to stand strong by my resolution on this matter.

I want your honest, opinion - how would any of us removing our contributions, free or otherwise, improve the bundle for you?

Thank you for wanting to help! And no worries, it happens to all of us :)

I haven't touched Linux in my life and I don't do more on my end than upload the build as ren'py gives it to me when I finish a market build (which contains files for Windows, Mac and Linux). As a Windows user I haven't heard of a .tar file in my life, the opening instructions were written for me several years ago by someone who wanted to help as there were no Linux instructions before them.

If the instructions they wrote seem overdone and you'd like to help future users, it'd be great if you could take the time to write a newer step by step guide. I'm just not sure why it'd make you so uncomfortable when there is such a thing as oblivious parents that need to be taught out there. Not everyone is equally computer-savvy :/

Hey Ovion! Thank you for taking the time to kindly explain your thoughts in detail.

As I've pointed out in another comment, this is where The Hayseed Knight started, was exclusive to for 3 years as I worked on every version, and was meant to always be offered in its entirety as a free game. That was the plan until my health started deteriorating fast last year, and I could no longer afford to keep making a free game due to both the economical costs of paying a full team of voice actors and the physical cost of developing the game.

I decided then to make a switch to steam in order to make sure the game could cost its own development so that I could continue making it in the future.

I'm currently not handling versions across two marketplaces because I'm a one person team working full time in other projects just to be able to afford my medical expenses. This IS meant to continue being its main page eventually as the description reads in the very first line of the disclaimer, however:

Just to reiterate, the itch version is a demo! The full game won't be available here for a while

In the meantime, people get over 2 hours of free, high quality content, much like any other free content out there in the Palestine Aid bundle, which I joined simply to support the cause started by devs I trusted, before it blew up and the gesture ended massively out of context.

This devlog was meant to address something different, however: even if this all wasn't the case, people have access to several thousands of games, assets and handbooks for 5$, in support of an urgent humanitarian cause. They're getting a good quality product they don't *have* to go through, same as you chose not to. I don't understand how anyone can zoom in on one project that failed to offer enough in their eyes and claim they're being swindled, somehow, instead of simply moving on.

Hope that cleared that, and that you have a wonderful day

Hey there! I do intend to bring THK's full version to itch one day as it says on the description since THK started out on itch, but for now I'm keeping it on steam exclusively. Very much a "we'll cross that bridge when we get to it" thing since I have to juggle a lot of marketing, assets and versions across marketplaces otherwise

I mean, if you're going to take the time to insult me at least be specific over what, sheesh.

That's right— there are several free games and demos included in the 2000+ items bundle, such as this one!
Demos were specifically allowed and THK is still in development, so I decided to add the demo to the bundle as a gesture to show support to the cause other than my own donation.

None of us are benefiting from the aid money we are raising through the bundle in any way either, so rest assured that your purchase is 100% going to the UNRWA.

There's a total planned of 4 chapters and an epilogue! The full version on Steam includes up to chapter 3 so far, which is a total of 10 hours of content already! Future releases will be free for those who buy the game 

https://sandramj.itch.io/the-hayseed-knight

Muchísimas gracias! Me alegro mucho de que te haya gustado, la siguiente versión y capítulo deberían estar para antes de noviembre si todo va bien!

Thank you so much! That feature sure helped a lot, haha. The next version + chapter 3 shouldn't take long!

There's no plans for an android version in the foreseeable future, I've got my hands full developing the game right now.

Thank you very much! I'm working hard so the next chapter arrives as soon as possible!

If everything goes well, it should be out in late June/July :) For now, you can get access to a chapter 3 preview for 5$ or more on patreon!

https://www.patreon.com/posts/chapter-3-teaser-31577916

I'm glad you liked it!

As for the battle system, it's not that I don't know what I wanted it to look like, it's just that I don't have enough resources to make it. At this point, the hype for it has been way bigger than anything I could deliver, so I'll probably scrap it altogether.

It's specifically SFW. Just checked and it didn't show up there for me.

I'm glad to hear so!

Merci beaucoup! I'm really glad to hear you liked it so much!

The translator for the French version is Benjamin Beziat https://twitter.com/SireRed and he writes his own books and game reviews too if you want to check out his work!

There is romance, but this is not a dating sim.

Ader's sprite update happened exactly last year, haha.

I have a bit too much on my hands now to think about ports, but maybe later down the road :)

It's a common bug since the gallery code I found and used wasn't very complete, haven't found a way to fix it permanently yet, but rolling back generally fixes it :(

I'll be switching to a different thing once Chapter 3 rolls out, sorry for the inconvenience!

Sadly due to how Ren'py works, that takes a really, really long time: I have to edit the line, regenerate its code in a spreadsheet, find the voice file and rename it with this code so the program knows where it has to be attached and recheck it plays properly. Same process to change it in translations as well.

There's only about 4-5 little mistakes like those in the whole game so far, so it'll have to wait for now. I'd rather spend my time more productively :<

Ahaha, perfect, as she should!

Thank you for spotting it!! I must have typoed something in the hyperlink that takes you directly to the encyclopaedia there!

Good day, everyone!

My name is Sandra Molina, and I'm a Spanish 2D Artist and Voice Director! I've worked as a colorist as well for the better part of a decade, working for American companies such as Blizzard and DC comics, and yet I have never set foot on the USA because there is no way I could afford the journey... less so the tickets to GDC.

Every year when GDC comes around, I have to watch all my friends talk about how great it is and how many cool people they've met. Many devs have told me over and over that if your game isn't in the indie booth at GDC you just can't make it, and that's a bit of a downer even if I know it's not true. My project hardly fits in per se with the style of most gaming conventions, however, so it always hits a bit too close to home.

So, since we're celebrating those of us who have to stay at home and watch the cool stuff happen from afar, I thought I'd pitch in and show off a little this year as well!

I've been working on my game The Hayseed Knight all on my own for two years now! It's a fully voice acted comedy Visual Novel about the misadventures of a deer that wants to become a knight! ...Even though he's a peasant. And poor. And lacking anything resembling a plan. But that's hardly going to stop him!

So hey, it'd mean the world to me if you checked it out!

Best luck with your own projects, and hope we have the chance to hang out in some convention that's definitely not GDC!

Thank you! I'll make sure to pass the compliments to his VA!