Early this morning (12:04 AM PDT to be exact), I released my first official game to steam.
BARK has been a labor of love and passion for the last 8 months and it is INSANE to see my creation be released for the world to see. Since BARK is in its early stages and new players are exploring the game, I will be patching the game as often as I can.
I will be live streaming development over the coming weeks as I patch the game, add and adjust content, and participate in coming events. If you are interested in the development side, please join me at Planet Vano on Twitch on Monday, September 19. The times and future stream dates have not yet been set, but I will do my best to update everyone as I continue.
If you run into any bugs, compatibility issues, or anything else you feel needs addressing, please reply this this announcement, start a discussion, or let me know during one of my development live streams! I will be searching for and doing my best to address all response as BARK progresses.
Specifically, later today I will release a "Day 1 Patch" that will fix a variety of issues. I have already addressed a total of 10 bugs / adjustments. I am continuing to look for more throughout the day. If you have already found bugs or issues, please let me know in the comments of this announcement as soon as possible!
Thank you all for your incredible support, and I am very excited to finally be able to share my creation with the world!
MID AUGUST UPDATES
As the end of August approaches, it is clear that I will have to delay the release of BARK one more time. Because I am working on this project by myself for 10-14 hours every day, I struggled through about 2 weeks of pure burnout and demotivation to complete the project. Of course, this being said, I am back on track and development is continuing as it was before.
This period of burnout was not completely unproductive though, in fact a lot of cleanup and polish has been done. The game's core mechanics function much better and smoother; A few frame rate issues have been adjusted to fit a more wide variety of devices; Some lighting issues have been worked out; And a select group of sound effects have been reworked to enhance the scariness of the experience. Overall, the experience has been enhanced and polished a LOT.
So when should I expect BARK to be released? Although I am forcing myself to not rush this project nor set unrealistic goals for myself, I aiming for BARK to be released by the end of September. The specific date is not set because it can vary due to Steam's review process, but expect BARK to be fully complete and released by the end of September!
Some personal motivation issues have caused for another delay
Several in-game features and designs have been cleaned and polished
Release date expectancy has been changed to Late September
The Announcement Trailer for BARK is here!
EARLY JULY UPDATES
A continuation of unexpected setbacks and challenges have pushed release back to approximately the end of July or Early August.
As is stands currently, BARK is nearing completion of the main campaign. Although it had initially been planned to release in early June, conceptual and gameplay related changes, polish, and other crucial development processes led to the inevitable setback of release. This setback, however, was only able to result in the majority of the main campaign's completion. In other words, there is still a lot of work left before the game is ready to release.
Just because more content is being added to the game though, does not mean the game will differ from what is being showcased. The current features and screenshots provided on the game's page(s) are an accurate representation of the final product, and only minimal changes are likely to be seen moving forward.
So why is the release of BARK being pushed back again? The main campaign of the game is in its final stages. With exclusion of these final steps, it is polished and ready for release. This being said, all extras have yet to be created. The inclusion of extra gameplay outside of the main campaign was a recent addition to the development checklist, but will result in a more fulfilling and rewarding experience overall.
Features and screenshots are confirmed to officially reflect the final product
Extra gameplay features outside of the main campaign have been confirmed
Release date expectancy has been changed to Late July - Early August
EARLY JUNE UPDATES
After some interesting challenges, it looks like BARK is on track to release in mid July!
This will be my first official game release to Steam, so please bare with me as I finish development and adapt to changes I am forced to make along the way. The game was originally planned to release near the end of July, however Steam's summer sale will be underway at that time. I have decided that it is best to release once the sale has concluded to allow for Steam's typical boost in viewership of new releases.
This being said, development plans and gameplay features have not changed (besides some adjustments to the game's visuals) meaning BARK is well on its way to completion. You may have noticed the change in graphical style from pixelated to stylized. This, I believe anyway, aids to the game better fitting in a "modern" design, which was the original intent.
BARK still has a lot of development left to go, and I will be working non-stop to get it ready for release by mid July. Expect more updates over the coming weeks as development concludes and I cannot wait to see all of the terror and dog treats finally meet your screens!
Screenshots have been updated to reflect the new graphical style of the game
