Hello there, folks.

It’s been a whole year since I decided to share .defrag v1.0 here with you all. I just wanted to reflect on how much has changed and been accomplished since then. Long exposition post ahead, so be warned.

When I first started developing the game, it was totally unplanned. I had plenty of unfinished material and ideas I wanted to develop, but for many different reasons I had held myself back. I thought I didn’t have what it takes to create what I thought was a "decent" experience back then, until I simply told myself that enough was enough.

I remember it being a very stressful time for me. I had a lot going on back then and I remember not really having an outlet for all this bottled up stress. Creativity has always been a double-edged sword for me. I was clearly out of steam and there could have been countless healthier ways to cope with it. Instead, I chose to throw myself into the grinder once more and create something. Anything, really. When you’re this rock bottom, either one of the two things happen, which is a) you stop caring about anything, or b) you quit what you love doing the most indefinitely, possibly forever.

In just 10 days of non-stop development, I had created the bulk of what was the very first version of .defrag. The result was a playable experience that I’d never thought I would publicly release. I was pretty much done with it. I thought that was it, you know? I didn’t really care whether it met certain quality standards or not, or even if the gameplay wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea. I primarily made the game as an act of liberation. I had a lot of inner thoughts I wanted to process somehow and a lot of turmoil I didn’t really know how to express, if not through the medium of interactive storytelling.

I released a few updates soon after, mostly as a way to address some overlooked bugs. Version 1.1 came out, I made a gameplay trailer. My job was done.

After a while, something magical happened.

I started getting some feedback from both friends and Gamejolt users. Despite how primitive the project was at the time, reception came as overall positive. Some people really liked the setting and writing, and I got the first suggestions on how the game could be improved. Then, some users were quick to record their gameplay session and their experience on .defrag. How was that possible? Aside from a strict circle of contacts whom I personally asked to playtest the game, I didn’t really ask anything from anyone. It was completely spontaneous.

Then, .defrag got featured in a number of places, starting from Gamejolt, then RMN, or rpgmaker.net. It was probably the biggest surprise, for me. I seriously did not expect such a heartfelt support for the project. Coming from a rather cynical background, the idea of maturing the experience into a proper game started making its way up.

I usually don’t share my personal interpretations of my own works because comments coming from authors often end up being the only "canon" reading key, as opposed to letting everyone treasure their own experience with the artwork. Developing .defrag for me has been an act of cleansing. Nearly every character and aesthetic element in the game is a symbol of what I originally thought was detrimental to my creative process. Every ounce of negativity I experienced back then coalesced into an amorphous, mysterious and incredibly destructive force I conveniently dubbed "noise".

Getting rid of it was the goal I set myself since the start. In a sense, I have been the main character of my own adventure in game development. I could have just called it a day and let all this mystery permeate the game world indefinitely, or perpetually leave the story on a cliffhanger with no resolution in sight.

I only realized later that the game was far from done. Too many loose ends, too much wasted potential. I decided to give this project a second chance. Instead of merely expanding it, I began thinking of ways to improve the story and the core gameplay.

Fast-forward to the present day, I’m currently in the process of writing what the future content is going to be about. As I explained in the previous post, there are quite a number of things I would like to introduce. I feel quite determined to keep improving this project and give to it and myself the "happy ending" we both deserve.

From a rite of cleansing, it slowly became a rite of passage for me as a game developer and individual, as I came to appreciate the beauty of unplanned, unscripted, almost entirely improvised endeavors. It was a kind of freedom that felt refreshing to me, after years of coping with self-produced mental roadblocks.

I would like to thank everyone who has indirectly saved this game from underdevelopment purgatory. If it weren’t for you, I would probably still think .defrag v1.1 was everything I could have offered and I would still have plenty of "noise" lurking in my head.

So, let’s make a toast to the future and ultimately, thanks for sticking around. ./

Hey folks! I have decided to release a preview build of the (likely) final and full version of .defrag, which is 1.3.0.

The game is functionally there, and I’m trying my best to keep my promises. Since it’ll still take me a while to implement the last few things, I thought of giving you the chance to test the new, still in-development version.

Main changes:

- New title screen!
- Revamped running mechanic. It now works automatically upon acquiring the Speed Hax item. Running is disabled during cutscenes and smaller areas.
- New third of the game available. More quests, characters, dialogue, happenings, shenanigans, etc.
- Two extra endings. Conditions for triggering all endings have been altered according to the new content.
- Slightly altered Garden layout map.
- Bonus areas :3

What to expect from the full release:

- Extra graphics for the Garden, Junkyard, and Plant areas.
- Some items artwork (possibly).
- A couple of extra music tracks.
- General polishing duty here and there.

So, that’s pretty much it. Let me know your thoughts and as always, have fun!

Hey folks, how’s it going?

I hope you had some nice holidays! I’m back working on this game and I would just like to anticipate some of the most substantial changes that will likely occur in the next version. Scroll down if you can’t wait!
Also please, keep in mind that due to the WIP nature of the game, things prognosticated below might still change.

New stuff

- A new third of the game is in the works. It takes off from Bill’s quest, now revamped and expanded, and without giving away too much, it’s gonna introduce some new characters and a wealth of extra dialogue and content.
- Extra lines for all NPCs in the world will also be added after doing certain events, so be sure to check everyone in the next version!
- Some new areas will be available around the world, as well as some extra artwork.

Bug fixes / Edits

- There has been a really nasty game-breaking bug in v1.2.1 that allows the playable character to break through map teleports and override collisions while running. This will be tentatively fixed in the next version by changing the running mechanic: it will no longer be triggered by pressing the Shift key, but it will automatically occur upon acquiring the Speed Hax item. Running will be disabled in smaller areas and around teleports in order to not break the game flow and immersion.
- The Speed Hax item will also be available earlier in the game as a reward for finishing a certain quest. This has been considered in order to make navigation in the first half of the game less repetitive and frustrating, also partly thanks to your feedback.
- The two endings will be triggered differently according to the new content. I’m still debating whether there should be a third ending, or a variation of the former two, we’ll see.
- Minor fixes here and there, general polishing duty.

So that is pretty much the bulk of what has been flying off my head. I hope I hyped you just enough, and I’ll see you in the next update! I would also like to thank Tomnille, who has recently made a let’s play series on .defrag, and Nothy, Geo, and Zack The Great for playtesting, moral support, and eventing advice, and of course all of you who have helped setting the 10K views milestone. You guys are awesome. <3

Hey there, good people!

Version 1.2.0 is finally here and here’s a list of all the changes:

- (FIXED) Made the disclaimer panels go away by pressing any key instead of being timed-out
- (FIXED) Small typo fixes here and there
- (FIXED) Couldn’t open the menu after a certain event
- (FIXED) Replaced title screen image. Version number and author appear clearer now.
- (FIXED) General spawn and collision fixes around the world
- (NEW) New dialogues from the noise tiles found in the Aether
- (NEW) Introduced a new Hub NPC
- (NEW) Item that doubles movement speed (available only after witnessing a certain event)
- (NEW) Additional lines in some Plant houses

KNOWN ISSUE: Sometimes you won’t be able to immediately teleport to other areas while pressing the Shift key to run. It’s an engine bug, nothing I can really do about it, sorry. If it does happen, just step away from the tile and return to it.

And that’s about it for now! Feel free to report any bugs, and hey, it’d be awesome if more people give it a try and do some let’s play videos :)

Stay tuned!

Shout-out to the following people for helping me during the testing phase: joykiller1212, Geo, NightsAmore, Nothy

Hello folks, it’s been a while! How are you all doing?

Version 1.1.0 is being currently tested and in the mean time, I’ve been thinking about a lot of stuff. As usual.

Now, it’ll probably be the last version for this game, as I’m shifting my focus to other projects and I’d really just like to call it a day. However, I have been seriously considering the option of submitting .defrag on Greenlight.

I would ideally like the game to be put on Steam for free as a symbolic start and kind reminder to myself that I do have a lot of ideas I’d like to develop and publish. Why for free you ask? Because it’s a short love-it-or-hate-it experimental thingy born out of practice and as a kind of self-challenge that says what it wants to say and gets done with it. It’s also a gold opportunity for me to quickly lay the foundations of a community, which is something I hold in high regard and it is definitely something I would like to see in a near future.

So, all in all, things would seem to align well with the notion of wanting to establish a more serious endeavor and invest into my capabilities, not only as a designer but as an individual. Cause why the hell not? I’m being completely honest with you, I am absolutely thrilled to write a new page in my book of life for something I have always wanted to do, and after several years of pondering and planning and liters of sweat and blood poured onto various ideas, I’m finally deciding to make it a reality.

I almost feel like the country boy who’s giddy to start a new life in the big city, except I’ve always been in this huge global metropolis that is the internet, but truth being told, it has been increasingly harder to accomplish my own goals and have my works recognized in some way, whether it’s music, soundtracks, games, something.

Anyways, I think it’s time to cut it short. I’m hopeful about the future, as well as being constantly focused on the now and what can be done right in this very moment we’re all living in.

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned. ;)