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Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone recently gave us a small update on the progress of Haunted Chocolatier. He said that his next project is taking longer than expected due to the fact that it’s a bigger game than Stardew Valley and because he’s a perfectionist. He also explained why there are no screenshots alongside this update—or in-depth explanations of any systems—in terms that any cosy game player will understand.
“Please excuse me, but I don’t like to share too many screenshots, or even talk about the systems in too much detail, while the game is in development,” Barone wrote in his blog post. “Partly, it feels like I’m serving a half-baked bread. I would rather serve a fully baked bread.”
This is hardly a surprising decision given that as far as we know Haunted Chocolatier isn’t close to being finished. There’s also plenty that could change between now and its release, so explaining systems and supplying fans with too many screenshots runs the risk of getting people excited about things that just won’t end up in the final game. “If I reveal them early, I risk disappointing players if the final product does not match their expectation,” Barone said. Inaccurate screenshots truly are the goopy bread of indie game development.
There’s an increasing trend of games drip-feeding players morsels before release, whether through demos or countless blog posts. And while demos and community engagement certainly have their place and have proven successful for games such as Cult of the Lamb or YapYap, it’s certainly not the only way to release a game.
This is especially the case since Barone doesn’t have to worry much about creating hype. “I’m in a position where I don’t need to market the game,” before its release, said Barone, humbly refraining from mentioning Stardew Valley’s 35 million plus sales. He’s sticking to his “preferred approach,” which seems to be slowly but surely bringing Haunted Chocolatier up to temp.
