Roadmap Update: From Steam Launch to Future Projects

 It’s been roughly seven months since the last update, andwith the upcoming release of Cook or Be Cooked on Steam, I think it’snecessary to update everyone and also put my thoughts in order.

Cook or Be Cooked

Cook or be Cooked Key Art

The project wrapped up production around January of thisyear and is ready for release. Although I was planning for an earlier launch, Iwanted to give the game the chance it deserved and see if it could get a strongrelease. I’ve presented the game at Athenscon convention last year and thepeople who played it really loved the story and the artwork, which motivated meto apply to Gamescom through the Hellenic Film & Audiovisual Center.

The game was selected in the top 10 from the Center, givingme the opportunity to attend the biggest convention in the world once more.This time I focused on finding a publisher as well as participating in theSteam event, hoping to gain several hundred or even thousands of wishlists,which could boost the game’s visibility. As you might know, you usually needaround 7,000 wishlists before release, otherwise the Steam algorithm won’t pickit up.

Greek Video Games Booth at Gamescom (Business Area)

On publishers: I talked to a handful, and two wereinterested in the game. The first thing I did after returning from Gamescom wasto immediately send a working build as well as a pitch deck. It’s been threeweeks since then with no replies, which is a clear indication they’re notinterested. My plan was that if I could get enough funding, I’d expand the gameto 6–8 hours of gameplay. Since I don’t have the funds, the game will releaseas is—which, in my opinion, is in a good state, and the story is self-containedfor this type of game, so no harm is done.

Unfortunately, the Steam event didn’t go well this year. Igot only 200 wishlists, and from the other developers I spoke with (around twodozen), the results weren’t good for them either. The game currently sits ataround 400 wishlists, which indicates it’s heading for a weak release and won’trecoup the money I invested. That’s acceptable, since I wanted to familiarizemyself with Godot engine more than anything.

The game is scheduled for an October launch on Steam, but itis already be available on Itch. I’d also like to thank a couple of people whosupported the game more generously than expected, it truly means a lot. Thoseof you who supported the game’s release, if you’d like a Steam copy, pleasereach out ,and I’ll send you one. I honestly appreciate your contributions andhope you’ve had a fun time playing the game.

Parallel Pulse
Parallel Pulse's Protagonist: Laios

I made very little progress this year on my main game. Ifelt downcast and rushed to finish it but Cook or Be Cooked taught methat I should take my time. This game should be released when it’s ready, notonly because I love the artwork and story, but because I need to focus onlearning the engine better.

The reason I’ve managed to release a dozen games so far isbecause I did most of the programming myself, and the same should be true here.The most costly part of Parallel Pulse would be the programming part,and the budget would have been enormous. If I hadn’t gone through the processof releasing Cook or be Cooked, I might have poured money into it only torealize I didn’t have the funds to finish.

On the bright side, a big publisher is interested in ParallelPulse, but I’ll need to create a proper vertical slice for them toevaluate. I also submitted it to the EU Commission this year and scored 72 outof 100. While I passed the threshold, the enormous number of applications meantI didn’t get funded.

Still, things aren’t all gloomy. I now have a much clearersense of what needs to be done to complete this game. I love the story, andeven more so, I love the beautiful artwork the artists created. That said, Istill lack the programming experience needed to build the combat system and thedialogue UI, so for the time being I’ll focus on learning the engine more. Fromtime to time, I post updates on Bluesky, so feel free to follow my progressthere.

All things considered, development on Parallel Pulsewill resume at the beginning of next year.

Project Rogue Shifters (Codename)
AI generated Aat with the protagonist of the game
I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned this project here, but thehistory behind it is interesting. It’s an old project I started about threeyears ago. The initial characters for Parallel Pulse were firstdeveloped for Rogue Shifters, though the story and setting were entirelydifferent—it’s basically a yaoi visual novel. At the time I was burnt out anddecided to shelve the project, which was the right call since Parallel Pulseis the priority when it comes to allocating funds. I tried to find a publisherfor Rogue Shifters during Gamescom but had no luck.

I considered shelving it again, since I had little faith itwould recoup its costs, let alone become a success. The only thing I really hadwas the story and script, which are basically finished. So, I had two options:kill the project once more, or use it as a training exercise to learn theengine better.

I’ve decided to use it as a training opportunity to learnGodot and the Dialogic plugin better. Although I’ve used the plugin before andreleased two games with it, I wasn’t the main programmer, so my contributionswere limited. This means I still don’t know how to create a save system orcomplete the full UI. Like with Ren’Py visual novels I made in the past, I’llgradually build my skill set here too.

I’m not someone who learns well by studying blindly, I’mproject-driven, and I think most people are. To improve, I need to work on newsmall projects, finish them, and polish them. In the past, that was eithertime-consuming or expensive, since I had to join game jams (which meant alsohandling project management, not my current focus) or pay for assets to makenon-profitable games. At the current state I’m in, I don’t have the money ortime for that. The alternative is to use AI-generated art, which allows me tofocus on programming and writing.

I know some of you might not agree with this approach, but Iplan to use technology to improve myself so I can eventually commission properartwork for my main game. Rogue Shifters was dead anyway, but now it canserve as a stepping stone for Parallel Pulse. The script is around 50K words,and the dialogue UI I need to implement is nearly identical to ParallelPulse, making it the perfect training opportunity.

Project Edenfall

This isn’t a full project yet, and I don’t know where it’sgoing, but I’ve been delving into Unreal Engine on and off. For those whoremember, I first tried developing Parallel Pulse in Unreal, but itwasn’t the right fit, which is why I switched to Godot.

Even if I don’t know where Edenfall will end up, theimportant thing is that we can iterate fast and learn the engine along the way.Similar to Rogue Shifters, we’re trying to establish a pipeline togenerate materials and 3d AI assets where needed, so we can focus on the partsthat matter most to us. What’s great about this endeavor is that my partner isan artist, so when we have a blocker he can easy resolve things.

Final Thoughts

This summarizes the current state of my roadmap. Honestly, Iwas close to quitting game development for my personal indie project because ofthe pipeline problem: either join and manage game jams or pay for smallerprojects just to practice. Some might disagree, but incorporating an AIpipeline into my smaller projects is what motivates me to keep going andimprove as a game developer. Thanks everyone for reading and supporting me.