- Devlog #33 | Plot progression, saves, new quests - 26 August 2026
Hi everyone. There was no devlog for a long time this time, and there is a simple reason for that. I had a lot going on in real life. A home renovation, mostly - because of it, today is the first time in a month that I could sit down and work properly on devlog. And there was a lot of work on the game itself. So, let's begin. After I finished the vertical slice and the demo, I started working on the main content of the game. Right now one quest is fully done, and the second one is almost finished. I also started building the main map, and the side maps. For now the side map is the cave. And in that cave there is a new character. You can save him, or you can leave him. That is the first quest. I rewrote the save system. It is modern and correct now. Saves are stored in JSON. They are very fast, both to save and to load, and they take up less space than before. For now I decided to make o…
- Devlog #32 | Quests, NPC Schedule, Plot begin - 16 July 2026
So, this time there was no devlog for a month because I was resting after crunching for the demo. I just wasn't recording devlogs - the work was still happening, and it's back to its usual pace now.Here's what's been done so far:New quests - or rather, their update. They were working a bit incorrectly before, but now they work as intended, with correct saves.I started working on the first two story locations. Still just sketches for now, but there are already the first NPCs in place, and they have improved behavior.NPC behavior was also improved. Now they have a proper schedule - for example, on Sunday an NPC goes to church, and on Monday, to the garden. But if it starts raining, they head back home and play dice with the kids. That last part isn't implemented yet, it's just an example.I reworked a lot under the hood, and finally added proper documentation to the code repository itself…
- SteamNextFest | Devlog #31 | Demo is available - 15 June 2026
A new devlog is live!In this one I cover two big things: the Alchemist demo is officially out, and the game now has an in-game compendium - a built-in book that explains aspects, spells, potions, and the alchemy systems right as you play, so you're never left guessing.Watch the full devlog here: And if you haven't yet, the demo is live right now during Steam Next Fest - give it a try, and a wishlist helps a solo developer more than you'd think.Thanks for following along!
- Steam Next Fest is live - and the Alchemist demo is live too! - 15 June 2026
Steam Next Fest is here, running from June 15 to June 22! It's one of the biggest weeks of the year on Steam - thousands of free demos to try, developer livestreams to watch, and the perfect chance to fill your wishlist before the Summer Sale.The Alchemist demo is live and ready to play - polished, stable, and waiting for you.Dive into the fest, enjoy hunting for hidden gems, and I hope you find some great games this week - and I'd love it if you gave Alchemist a try too. If it clicks with you, a wishlist means the world to a solo developer.Have a fantastic Next Fest, and happy hunting!
- The Demo Is OUT NOW! - 9 June 2026
The demo is available right NOW! It's essentially almost a vertical slice of the game - a few mechanics are missing, but you can't put everything out at once... Still, the overall flow and roughly how much of it is there should be clear. I'm really looking forward to your feedback, and if you feel like it, you can write about it in the Steam community or on one of my social media pages. The demo is short but meaningful and concentrated (just like the game itself will be), so it won't take up much of your time! Enjoy the game!
- Devlog #30 | Compendium, steam summerfest, ui updates - 29 April 2026
Hey everyone!In this one, another friend of mine playtested the game, and he finished it even faster. Mostly because instead of spending all his time criticizing every little thing, he actually played the game.He wasn't really testing it - he was just playing through it. Unfortunately I didn't record it, but yeah, he cleared it faster, and found almost all the same issues the first friend did. So we decided to definitely rework the first puzzle, and fixed a bunch of bugs - things like textures not loading, NPCs acting dumb, you know the usual.I also made it so time doesn't pass while the player is in a tutorial, talking to someone, or in any event where time just shouldn't be moving. For now this applies to dialogues and the tutorial specificallyThen I did some more visual work - updated the fonts, and added proper dialogue formatting. Now it shows the NPC's portrait, their name, and th…
- Devlog #29 | Instagram, new collisions, tests from friend - 27 April 2026
I’ve registered an Instagram account too - so now, alongside TikTok and YouTube, I’ll be posting shorts there as well. There was a bit of a pause recently... but I’ve decided to start posting consistently again across all platforms. I optimized tile interactions: now area-of-effect skills transform tiles across their entire radius... instead of just a single point like before. I also reworked the underlying logic - previously, collisions had to be placed only on the top layer, but now they can be applied anywhere. Dodge behavior has been improved too: NPCs no longer dodge beyond the player’s vision range… and they won’t dodge outside the navigation mesh anymore. I created the first puzzle - it’s located roughly a quarter... maybe a third of the way through the level. The idea is to infuse trees with energy from the character... and it has to be unique energy. Otherwise, the tree won’t a…
- Devlog #28 | New spell, new events, new spells lightning - 23 April 2026
This time, I've added a new skill. It was originally designed for the wolf... and for a whole pack of wolves - which I'll talk about in a bit. The skill itself is pretty straightforward... it's a melee ability. You can see how it works on screen. Right now it's level one, so it's fairly modest... but of course, it'll be upgradeable later on. I also reworked the skill highlighting. Now it looks more natural... and closer to what I originally had in mind. I've added the first event as well. It's inspired by the old Little Red Riding Hood tale - there are many interpretations of it, so I decided to create my own. The quest has several endings: you can let the wolf eat only the girl... and leave the main character alone, or instead - he can eat only the main character, or you can fight the wolf right away. After defeating him, Red Riding Hood appears as an NPC - you can question her, and sh…
- Devlog #27: Save load, demo level visual - 17 April 2026
I improved the save and load system as well. Now it runs through a separate thread, which means that even if the scene becomes quite heavy, freezes will be minimal, and loading times should be much smoother.I also reworked the collision system. I made a design mistake earlier - collision was applied to the whole character, or sometimes half of it. But since this is a 2.5D world, collision should really be based on the feet. Someone pointed that out to me, and I rewrote this part. Damage, however, is still calculated based on the full character. This also made navigation much easier to set up for NPCs.I updated the demo level as well - specifically its visuals. It's now significantly richer and more visually appealing.That's it for now. Leave a like, subscribe, check out all the links below the video - and see you in the next devlogs.
- Devlog #26: New assets, map layer, general visual - 13 April 2026
This time, I added the ability to hit your own allies - and actually removed the whole concept of "friend vs enemy" altogether. Now everyone sees everyone, even if an enemy is considered a friend by another enemy, or friends are friends with each other. It simplified the code significantly, and made the system much clearer overall.I also added a trigger zone for certain actions. For the demo, this will be used for an additional activity - entering the player's house. While inside, you can do whatever you want: trigger dialogues, change the state of the world, and so on.I bought new sprites with much higher detail. They include character sprites and a large set of animations. Some of them are already implemented, while others are waiting for their turn. I think this will greatly improve immersion and make the world feel more alive.I also changed how character HP is represented. Now, inst…
- Devlog #25 | Demo, npc behavior, new house - 1 April 2026
Hey everyone.Over the past two weeks, I've fully integrated the dialogue and quest systems, and also tied character behavior into all of it.Now everything works properly. I can assign any behavior I want to an NPC at any moment, so you could say the integration is almost complete.I also created a new house - the player's house - where, in the demo, the player will be able to research and transfigure one or two potions.I've also started adding some decoration to the level. As usual, everything you see there will be transformable through skills.Additionally, I optimized my own workflow with files - I simply sorted them by modification date. Now all the necessary files stay at the top, which makes it much easier to select them for moving or any other operations.I also added character shadows that depend on the current in-game time.At the same time, I've been thinking through and designing…
- Devlog #24 | Demo creation begin, time, light, project stat and dialogs - 18 March 2026
This time, I worked on the house system, added interior lighting, and even implemented peeking through the windows :) I also introduced a time system, making lighting depend on the time of day, shared some project stats (Steam, Kickstarter), and talked a bit about what I'll be working on next.Unfortunately, this is a devlog and I'm not localizing it, so the description below will be for non-English speakers.I've decided to make a demo for the project. I especially want to have it ready by summer - for the festival. I've already come up with the story, outlined the mechanics that will be included, and started gradually implementing everything that's still missing.I began with the house.Now it better matches the intended time period, and it has been completely reworked. Because the house appears small on the world map, I had to implement teleportation to a separate interior space so the i…
- Devlog #23 | New feature, visuals, localization, features connect and other - 27 February 2026
In this devlog, I showcase a major update to the Alchemist core loop.The cauldron visuals have been improved with new lighting, colors, and background assets. I've added a secondary control panel for managing transfigurations, switching aspects, undoing steps, and accessing recipes. The cauldron is now filled directly by casting skills into it, and aspect switching is handled through Alkahest.Two distinct cauldron mechanics are now implemented: - A complex pipe-based system where aspects must be routed correctly before finalizing - or the cauldron explodes. - A simplified boiling system with oil-based separation, temperature management, and time pressure.Transfigurations now require real items, which are automatically consumed and transformed upon success. A lightweight automated inventory system has been added to track progression without micromanagement.I also rewrote the event system…
- Current feature state /// Transfiguration system 2026.02.21 - 21 February 2026
In this video, I'm showcasing the current finalized version of the Transfiguration mechanic. This video focuses primarily on the visual update and a few additional Transfigurations.For more detailed information, check out the devlog
- Devlog #22 /// Cauldron updates, almost complete this thing - 20 February 2026
I'm talking about the Transfiguration mechanic - it's basically finished and about 80% complete. There may still be small refinements, but the majority of it is already done. I've finally completed the lion's share of the Transfiguration mechanic. As before, you still need to fill all aspect pipes with the correct aspects - but now there's additional functionality to support this process.Specifically:You can change the direction of any existing pipe.New pipes have been added that convert any incoming aspect into the one specified within them (in the video example, this is Air).I've also added the ability to step back one move if something goes wrong, as well as a full reset option to clear all steps and start from scratch.Enjoy watching! And don't forget to add it to your Wishlist!After watching this video press like and subscribe, just for fun :) #alchemist #gamedev #steam #gaming #god…
- Devlog #21 /// NPC & Player Avoidance, Res Support, Steam Page & Transfiguration - 13 February 2026
In this devlog I talk about: adding collision avoidance for NPCs, optimization for large resolutions, the Steam page finally going live, localization details and wishlist info - and finally, the last core mechanic of the game: Transfiguration!
