- June and July Progress - 5 August 2026
Lots of progress these past month and I'm starting to work on actually promoting the game. As part of that Hearth & Holmes is going to be a part of Telltale’s “Choices Matter Festival” on Steam.Telltale has a great legacy of making and featuring wonderful, story-driven games and I'm delighted to be a part of it. They'll be posting updates about the festival on their Instagram & TikTok. It starts August 10th. I'm going to drop a new trailer with more material from the game and very fun voice acting when the festival starts.In the meantime, here's other stuff that happened:JUNEWrote and implemented 'The Cold 2'.Fiddled a bunch with how new options are presented. It's better now.Wrote and implemented 'The Cold 3'. This involved finding sound effects for Watson playing the violin badly.Wrote and implemented The Cold in nighttime conversations.Wrote and implemented 'The First Problem'.Contra…
- April and May Progress - 2 June 2026
A sample of the cat dialog--Narration: What should I say to the cat?@addChoice "Reassure her." Narration: I tell the little cat that thought he has had a harrowing experience, she is safe now. @addChoice "Admire her." Narration: I tell the little cat that she is still a very pretty lady, even though she is covered in soot. Her inner dignity shines through.@addChoice "Just make friendly, nonsense noises." Narration: I relate the many little absurdities that we humans inevitably feel compelled to communicate to cats. It tell her repeatedly how small she is.@stopHolmes is 500% jealous of how much attention Watson is giving the cat, but he's being mature about it.---- APRILChanged 'The Poisoned Parson' to 'The Longbourn Poisoning' and wrote/implemented a bunch more of it.Finished 'The Longbourn Poisoning'. Goodness these cases are getting long. I'm glad there's only one left. Well. One and…
- March Progress - 13 April 2026
Working on the late game Sherlock Holmes/Pride and Prejudice crossover.It's going well. I'm maybe gonna murder Mister Collins. I don't think anyone will mind.-March ProgressFixed annoying little issue in post action.Brainstormed and outlined 'The Poisoned Parson.'Wrote a ton of 'The Poisoned Parson.'Implemented some of 'The Poisoned Parson.'Fixed error where ACT was decompressing on multi-skill actions.Made using Mrs. Hudson a free action.Outlined 'Theoretical Murder.'Planned the confrontation scene.Fixed issue with text on buttons breaking containment.
- February Progress - 11 March 2026
Godfrey Norton has been kidnapped by the Phantom of the Opera. Irene Norton very much wants to rescue him, but also there is an extremely exciting secret passage.-February ProgressMade case text adjust to the size of its container.Shrunk UI and added more contrast to make text easier to read.Fixed alerts so that UI adjustments don't make them look weird.Found another error with stat updates interfering with each other and figured out that it's not going to be a problem in normal play because normal play doesn't involve the weird ass stuff I do in stress testing. Still. Now I know to watch for it.Fixed gray-flash loading error. It was silly.Finished writing and implementing Phantom case.Playtested Phantom case and implemented a number of improvements.Made it so that if you go to the title immediately after Holmes dies he isn't there and the music doesn't play.Cut @pauseForInput into two…
- January Progress - 2 February 2026
Extremely important visual -- this is the cat that Watson can try to wheedle Mrs. Hudson into letting the house adopt.She does not have a name because Watson will have the capacity to name her in game.Also, for the Mrs. Hudson sequence where there's a Pride & Prejudice crossover I have decided to kill off Mister Collins. I don't think anyone will object.-January ProgressAdjusted temporary clues so that every action you take triggers their countdown. More URGENCY.Implemented @pauseForInput, which groups and simplifies a few commands.Commissioned cat that Watson can try to wheedle Mrs Hudson into letting them keepWorked on Phantom of Drury Lane case. it's big. Oh my god it's big.Why did I do this.Organized a bunch of CC0 backgrounds and my records so I can credit the museums that let me use them properly.Changed outline for Mrs. Hudson's case so that it involves Mary Bennet more directly.…
- December Progress - 5 January 2026
Godfrey Norton is pictured above. A very good and loving husband who will, at some point, be kidnapped by the Phantom of the Opera.The Phantom of the Opera is a complete creep. My god. His novel. He's just...wow.Anyway, Sherlock Holmes puts a stop to that in the spooky October episode.December ProgressMade all scenes organically fade to black.Now that I'm working with the bleeding edge version of naninovel I keep encountering errors that are actually due to naninovel, not me. The dev is very responsive and fixes them. It takes a bit of time, but it's nice to be useful.Identified naninovel error where decimal values were rounding strangely.Identified naninovel error where code updates of variables sporadically didn't work.Folded downtime travel into socializing with Holmes and adjusted travel options to be more organic and relevant.Wrote & implemented Irene playing a funny trick on Holme…
- November Progress - 12 December 2025
Above screenshot is of Irene being mischievous in drag.November AccomplishmentsUpdated to the most recent version of Naninovel and Unity. This was, as always, an Endeavor.Fixed upgrade script error, input no longer working, Save-Load UI, learning screen, and printing case textThis was all worth it because now the game no longer sporadically freezes while debugging. Life is vastly improved.Made hiding stat display panel on click actually work.Sorted out time passing scene transition so that it's smooth and autosaving works.Made skipping deactivate on scene change.Fixed error with back panel disappearing if you load the case from dialog in the caseMade conditional and downtime buttons work again.Made extreme mood consequences trigger more aggressively.Wrote & implemented first lunch with Irene.Finished update debugging.Locked case screen text into being medium
- October Progress - 1 November 2025
October AccomplishmentsIrene has SO MUCH to say about love. Now there's a separate tree for if she doesn't think you're sleeping together, but is concerned that you're co-dependent.Updated Steam page with GIFs and punchier text.Redid nighttime conversations so that all possible conversations are visible from the start. Also made them better.Made it so that Holmes always interrupts your nightmare, even if he's annoyed with you.Added Holmes' relationship to Watson to the status screen so that you can always see it.Fixed some contrast issues and redid Books screen again to fix different screen resolutions/have Holmes' current mood.Wrote and implemented talking to Holmes about love. \Wrote and implemented talking to Holmes about love. \Made it possible for Holmes to look to the side. No power is beyond me.Wrote and implemented Chemistry scene. \Wrote and implemented Chemistry scene. \Update…
- September Progress & Love - 8 October 2025
September AccomplishmentsWrote and implemented Hudson Sprains Foot.Researched and thought a lot about translation issues.Wrote and implemented Project: Clean Baker StreetWrote and implemented Project: Do LaundryWrote and implemented resolution to Hudson chores and fixed her prefab's pivot.Wrote and implemented Irene on love.Wrote and implemented October default.Irene had more to say about love, so I had to write that.Got less done than usual because I had freelancing and got sick.Have reached the optional-romance part of the story where Holmes and Watson can be in love.Holmes, usually profoundly perceptive and a master of deduction, has a big blind spot about feelings.Watson is freaking out about this conversation considerably more than I expected, which I suppose makes sense since I've been writing stuff in fantasy settings where bisexuality is the norm and this is Victorian England wh…
- August Progress & Theoretical Burglaries - 2 September 2025
Pictured above is Mary Bennet, sketched in a few outfit variations. She is going to be Mrs. Hudson's love interest and I'm very pleased with the vibes description I composed for Occudo, the artist who's drawing her:Mary Bennet - An elderly spinster from an affluent family, Mary Bennet is dedicated to intellectualism and Christian values and has a deep and abiding love of beauty, particularly music. She's more than mildly autistic and is one of those devout people who actually reads and tries to think about the Bible and gets really annoyed when people interpret it incorrectly/lazily/for their own convenience. She's also not the best at expressing herself so she's spent much of her life ineffectually moralizing at people.She's also spent much of her life being frustrated and angry. She wants to make beautiful music, but lacks some indefinable artistic skill and can only achieve technical…
- Wishlists, Hearth & Holmes Dates, and July Progress - 29 July 2025
We've reached 2800 wishlists for Hearth & Holmes on steam, which is a number of things: 1. Exciting! 2. Over a third of the way to my goal of 7000 wishlists. 3. Considerably ahead of schedule. I haven't been actively advertising the game because I want it to be in a more finished state before I start that process in earnest. Video games take such a long time to make and looking forward to something that will happen in two years can be difficult. But given how many people are now paying attention (hello and thank you) I think I should start setting expectations. Hearth & Holmes is going to cover the first year of Holmes and Watson's life together. It will happen over the course of twelve in-game months, with about three scenes and an elaborate, puzzling case each month. What scenes you get and how they go will be variable based on choices. Playtime will vary based on reading speed, but b…
- May & June Progress - 14 July 2025
Pictured above is Irene Adler being annoyed that you decided to publish the story 'A Scandal in Bohemia' without asking her. Below are the things that got done in the last two months.May Progress Linked up rewards and unlocks with events and cases, solidifying outline Wrote discussions about Sherlock's family, Holmes and Watson using christian names, cocaine, and Holmes' health. Wrote discussions about healthy coping strategies such as exercise, playing the violin, and talking to people. Wrote options for gossiping about all of the other characters. That was a freaking lot of writing. Fixed button visibility error. Designed animated text intro to case and time passing. Redid how glows work to have fine control over them, which solve them triggering on loading the game. Reloaded build to try to fix chronic issue with the Unity editor crashing. It did not. My life is misery and lamentatio…
- April Progress - 15 May 2025
Fixed error with learning bar going up from 0. Again. Maybe it will stick this time. Many many minor fixes. Made Holmes' appearance change when his mood changes in the Learning screen. Added audio for health, relationship, stat changes, and time passing. Some needs improvement. Made health, mood, and emotional stats glow on change. Made buttons in the tutorial glow on appearing. Fixed error where internal items in UIs were appearing/disappearing too gradually on load. Updated alerts: improved box appearance, made stat it's changing glow, and if stat isn't visible, display stat bar for it so the player knows the new value Fixed error where alert's status bar kept updating from wrong number. Made alerts vanish when you reach choices so that they don't interfere. Updated buttons and button containers to be more compact, visually consistent, and tied choice buttons to dialog printer. Added…
- March Progress - 13 April 2025
Fixed error where Irene didn't bounce while speaking. Implemented Game Over from losing relationship with Watson. Tried to make it as sad and upsetting as possible. Mocked up rough alert for Time Passing. Need to make it pretty eventually. Added in weekly logic to check if characters have more plot available. Made books the method by which Holmes learns new skills and added two new ones. Replaced downtime tutorial with a forced shopping trip to make sure the player knows how to learn skills. Redid Durham case to remove tutorial aspects, fix up cutscenes, and allow Holmes to befriend the student body. Added Holmes' new poses to Durham and Austria scenes. Redid Austria case to be more streamlined, have new formatting, and let Watson consider refusing to perform pretend arson. Made a bunch of new street backgrounds based on public domain art. Added Hudson expressions and fixed up Laundry s…
- February Progress - 14 March 2025
Things I got done in the month of February. Improved custom choice buttons. Worked on pawnshop and gift-scenes. You can now buy Holmes a Magnifying Glass, a Deerstalker Cap, and an Inverness Capes. Commissioned Holmes in a Dressing Gown, Mrs. Hudson Post Kidnapping, and Irene Norton Post Kidnapping. Updated Mrs. Hudson pose. Implemented visiting St. James' Park and the Bond Street Picture Galleries. Encapsulated changing stats and skill into controlling methods. Wrote and implemented Obsessed consequence. Wrote and implemented Reckless consequence. Wrote and implemented Listless consequence. Wrote and implemented Capricious consequence. Wrote and implemented Callous consequence.
- January Progress - 6 February 2025
Development of Hearth & Holmes may slow down for a while because I'm living through an attempted coup of my government, it's affecting my mental health, and I'm looking for things to do about it. I will still get at least some work done every month, because I do still think a gentle, potentially gay story about the value of interpersonal relationships and the importance of taking care of people is worth telling. Added barking sound effects to Hound case. Made and sent sample case to UI/UX analyst. Redid the Hudson mood tutorial. Tested and released new version of the demo. Designed Watson's downtime mechanics. Updated Relationship/Skills screens. Designed choice buttons specifically for downtime. Wrote and implemented downtime introduction. Implemented Socializing downtime options. Made sympathy mysterious. Wrote and implemented sequence where Watson writes 'A Study in Scarlet.' Wrote a…
- December Update - 8 January 2025
Commissioned UI/UX quality analysis of existing game. Finished "The District Messenger" case, adding a few more conversations and making it considerably gayer. Implemented surgery tools nightmare. Wrote and implemented wound nightmare and Holmes interrupting it. Made framework for nighttime conversations. Switched from Naninovel 1.19 to Naninovel 1.20 (I'm tired of changing versions, it's so fiddly.) Reviewed first part of UI/UX analysis and folded it into development schedule. Wrote and implemented June Dust event. Restructured how I organize scripts. When the game is loaded mid-case, text is now retained and buttons remember whether you can interact with them. Wrote and implemented Watson Deduces event. Got feedback from a group of other developers and folded it into development schedule. Added Hudson model. Rewrote Energy and Mood tutorial. Changed Approach stat to Focus. Picked out…
- November Progress - 4 December 2024
Things I accomplished in the month of November: Wrote and implemented case: 'The District Messenger' Wrote and implemented introduction to the case: 'The District Messenger' Gave Holmes the ability to point and steeple his fingers. Fixed error making Holmes deduce the same things multiple times. Commissioned Mrs. Hudson Compiled and presented status of the game to the incubator sponsoring me. Updated Steam screenshots. Remade and re-released the demo. Coped emotionally with various world events.
- September & October Progress - 4 November 2024
I took a couple of months off of developing Hearth & Holmes to finish a fan game for Baldur's Gate 3. It's called A Dream of Silence. It did pretty well in the Interactive Fiction Competition, despite being a very weird entry. If you like Baldur's Gate and specifically elven vampires from Baldur's Gate, give it a try. If you like consulting detectives from London, I'm going to release another sample of gameplay to people on my discord and mailing list in the coming month. I'm looking for feedback on it and I'd love your thoughts. Here's an update of all the stuff I've gotten done since returning to work on Hearth & Holmes: ---- SEPTEMBER Updated Naninovel backend and fixed all of the resulting bugs. Redesigned a number of UIs. Added custom buttons more appropriate to the Vibe. Added particle effects to title screen. Changes various color schemes. Fixed error where relationships screen w…
- April Update - 15 April 2024
This month was making sure I could effectively balance making steady progress on H&H with other fun/professional projects I'm doing. The answer is pretty much yes, but I need to be careful to be kind with myself and respect my own limits for productivity. Here's what got done: Updated capsule images on steam. Created Moriarty layered character. Implemented the Case: Affair at Durham Implemented Scene: Moriarty Arrives Wrote and implemented Mud Nightmare Implemented Credits area. Made empty healthbar display on death with the express purpose of upsetting Watson. Implemented Leg Nightmare (only text) Added mood-based nuance to Watson downtime interactions with Holmes. Holmes will now respond differently to things based on whether he's feeling obsessed, capricious, listless or something else. Pretty new capsule image--
