The game has reached closed beta testing! I'm currently finishing up the final voiceover, bug fixes, improving the interface based on feedback, and so on. So, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the release should be this summer! :-)

1. Balance the distribution of stories across game levels so that they make sense. You know, so there's no "door-knocking day," no "train day" (metro, commuter train, compartment—we've got it all!), no "internet-coming-out-of-the-wilderness day," and so on.

2. Each level requires writing

   • news — with hints and simply for the atmosphere

   • entries in the game guide — also with hints and for lore

   • dialogues with the director and other characters (there aren't many, but there will be some!), along with news and a wiki that advances the overall plot

3. Revise the texts of the very first stories — perhaps I drifted in style and format while writing the new ones, and they need to be brought into line with a standard

4. Write code to determine which ending the player has reached

5. Create rough ending slideshows (text, images, voice, music)

6. Minor UI improvements (2-3 small improvements + attempt to implement a dark theme)

7. Additional music — my brother is still writing on it, but finding references for the remaining melodies wouldn't hurt

8. Testing and editing — I'm giving the compiled version to friends and family to play, fiction bugs, and editing texts Based on feedback, I might add new questions to the story, etc.

9. Support the achievement system in the code, create my own achievements (this can be done in parallel with testing)

10. Re-voiceovers of my audio recordings by other people (I'll keep some of them with me, but only small ones)

11. Re-draw the intro and outro slideshows by a real artist (and maybe even replace the key art, we'll see...)

12. Translate everything into English

13. Perhaps I'll add an analytics service to collect statistics on which endings in which stories are most popular...

...and here it is, the release! Simple, right? 😂

And then there will be more improvements after the release, like gamepad support or a Mac build. But that's a whole other story...