"One Hard Day of Coding"

Someone recently asked me if my game was finished. I answered with "Almost. One hard day of coding left." 

Turns out "One Hard Day of Coding" actually means "Three & A Half Days of Hard Coding".

My Taxidermic Dreamland, Hiraeth, is now ready for a Version 1.0 Release. 

When I started this foolhardy whim (reference these long ago Tweets:

Why is this taking so long.

HIRAETH by T. Pet & Ammy @LumpsPlays #indiegame #indiedev #inktober2017 #inktober #horrorgame #gamedev pic.twitter.com/ZndpFQeUid

I just spent three hours in agony torment and despair trying to save my game. Don't delete your index, people. #hiraeth #indiedev #gamedev pic.twitter.com/cn3VlgtPo9

Yes, hello, I'm still making a videogame. #hiraeth #indiegame #indiedev #gamedev #videogames #horror pic.twitter.com/V6Z3dBtBBa

Designing this battle was completely horrible. #indiegame #indiedev #hiraeth #indiehorror #horrorgame #gamedev pic.twitter.com/2VKuX2n37F

Hoping to finish 1/3 by Halloweener. #hiraeth #indiegame #indiedev #horror #horrorgame #gaming #gamedev #RPGMakerMV pic.twitter.com/peD01ZTL1w

Strange Progress. #Hiraeth #indiedev #indiegame #horrorgame #gaming #RPGMakerMV pic.twitter.com/B0tjh1GQVx

Early versions. #hiraeth #indiegame #indiedev #whatapaininmyass #videogames #gaming #rpgmaker pic.twitter.com/kdPSDHpMBu

& Literally the day I decided I would do this at all:

T. Petrichor makes a videogame. #hiraeth #videogames #gaming #indiegame #indiehorror pic.twitter.com/na2tNsOOCt

Um I'm going to make a videogame? Because why not. Coming to a computer-des near you. pic.twitter.com/P8mJJxtjoB)

... the A of T&A games told me I was being too ambitious. He advised against it. He asked me if I even knew how to code (sure didn't!). He said I should make something quick. Easy. Between 20 & 30 minutes long. One or two rooms.

Obviously, I ignored him (Hiraeth clocks in at almost 3 hours, & there are over 100 maps). Then I made him do all the pixel art, photo editing, animations & sound editing.  Did he know how to do pixel art? Sure didn't. I made him anyway. And look at how good it is!!

This game wouldn't have been possible without him! Even recently, during my furlough from work, it was he who told me to get off Animal Crossing and finish this gott damn game. 

I'm so glad I ignored him and yes, I'm even glad I was furloughed (though I definitely am not glad about the Pandemic) because Hiraeth wouldn't exist like it does today if those things hadn't happened. We are both very excited for it to be out in the World & to have you, the players, experience it! Hiraeth has been in the shadows for far too long. 

One of my favorite things about this game is the music -- Hiraeth wouldn't  be complete without it, and my Darling, AJ, (Akwius) gave me a few of his wonderful songs & solidified the vibe of my game. I wish I could have used "Prom Kiss" for the whole thing but that would have been just plain ridiculous. Please check him out! https://twitter.com/akwius 💜

As a disclaimer, know that THIS IS OUR FIRST GAME! Please, if there are any mistakes, glitches, bugs or errors, let us know so we can fix it!!

& Lastly ... When I started making Hiraeth, my sweet child Betsy was still alive. She was the best Persian Cat in the entire world, and her memory lives on in this game -- technically, she stars in it. 

Please enjoy HIRAETH!