The First Tree
Mac 64-bit fix
Merch Now Available!
I'm happy to announce that a variety of The First Tree shirts and posters are now available to buy! I teamed up with Printful and a couple of artists for these beautiful designs, and I'm excited to share them with you! My new dream is to see a random stranger wearing one of these on the street one day, so don't let me down! ;)
Here's a link to the store. Thanks for the support everyone, it means a lot!
World Environment Day + Charity!
The First Tree has been invited to a special sale event on Steam to celebrate World Environment Day! So for the next four days, my game is 60% off and 15% of the net profits will be donated to nature and environment conservation. I already have a charity organization picked out, but for legal reasons I can't share the name yet. Rest assured it's a good one!
If you want any future updates, charity or otherwise, follow me on Twitter! Thanks everyone for all the support, it means the world to me (and hey, buying the game now will help the world in the process!).
The First Tree physical release for PS4, now available
For any console collectible friends out there, thought you'd want to know this: Limited Run Games just released a very limited edition physical release of The First Tree for PlayStation 4! It's available now (and another release will be today at 6 p.m. EST). They will probably sell out fast since it's such a small print.
Hey, where's the Nintendo Switch physical release?
Limited Run Games wanted to try PS4 first and see if there's enough demand. So cross your fingers this sale does really well, and then we might be seeing a Switch version later.
Thank you for your support during all this time! I recently quit my day job to make games full-time which is kinda scary but kinda amazing, and it's thanks to my early supporters like yourself. Keep being awesome.
Official soundtrack now available on iTunes, Spotify
The soundtrack doesn't include the two ending songs, but you can download them below separately via Bandcamp! A big thanks to Josh for letting his incredible music be licensed for The First Tree. It seems like yesterday that I would blast his song "Transformation" in my car as I went to work each morning, dreaming up the story of a lost fox and a lost son. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
iTunes link
Spotify link
Lowercase Noises - The First Glimmer of Wind
Message to Bears - You Are a Memory
Big, new update! The definitive version of The First Tree now available!
Today is the day! The update I’ve been working on for almost a year is done, and along with it comes the definitive release of The First Tree on Steam, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PS4! All versions of the game are the same, which means Steam users get a long list of updates. Here are the most important ones:
- The biggest complaint has been the jumping physics, and that’s been totally redone. The double jump works more like other games. It’s more forgiving and less frustrating.
- Subtitle system have moved from choosing in-game to choosing via the Steam client. Right-click on the game in Steam, click Properties, and choose the Languages tab.
- Developer Commentary mode (that’s me!) is available, you can enable it in the options. Funny and interesting stories abound on how I made the game.
- Five new achievements, including a “Completionist” challenge which may result in a cool secret being revealed.
- Tons of new secret items added to the environment for you to come across.
- Controller vibration added.
- You can re-center the camera while using a gamepad by pressing in the right stick button.
- New UI indicators/graphics
- Countless bug fixes and optimizations
There’s probably other stuff I’m forgetting but that’s the gist of it. Big thanks to DO Games for helping me with the porting duties and optimizations. If you’re interested in trying out the game on consoles, check out the official website and click the links there! Thanks guy for all the support the past year, it’s meant the world to me.
- DW
The First Tree comes to consoles Nov 30th
I can't believe I'm saying this, but it's almost here. On November 30th, you'll be able to once again take your journey to The First Tree on Nintendo Switch, PS4, and Xbox One.
What does that mean for my faithful Steam players who have been here since the beginning? Well, if you have the game already, all of the new content and optimizations will be available for free on the same day as the console launch!
Also, something important you guys should know... in a week or two, I'll be increasing the price from $7.99 to $9.99. That means the game will NOT be discounted during the Autumn sale, but for Winter sale I will probably do the biggest discount yet (I'm thinking 50% off). So you can get the game now and save a couple dollars before the huge re-launch, or wait til Christmas. :)
This has definitely been the hardest thing I've ever done professionally: self-publishing a game on three consoles while working full-time and taking care of two little kids. I've always been a big PC gamer since I was 5, but when The First Tree's better-than-anticipated launch opened these doors to consoles, I knew it was something I had to attempt. Now it's done (thank you DO Games).
I can't wait for you to experience all the new content and polish. See you guys on the 30th.
- DW
Mr. Wehle Goes to Washington
Not only do I get to exhibit with other amazing game developers, this is actually like a homecoming for me since I lived in Northern Virginia most of my life. I've been going to DC and the Smithsonian for a long time, so it's kind of a dream come true to show something there. Like I said, crazy!
Anyway, I'm working on a ton of stuff for a giant update coming this fall. This is to coincide with the console launch which should be in the fall too (nothing confirmed yet). I'm spending a lot of time and money on this revamp, so I've decided to raise the price to $10 when the big update launches. I'm telling you this because now is the time to get the game for the cheapest price during the Steam Summer Sale, at least for a while. Thought you guys should know the plan. :)
Thanks for the support! This Steam Sale revenue will pay for the console ports, so I appreciate anyone sharing the game. Until next time, take care everyone.
Console progress
Good news! The First Tree is working on Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and PS4! They're not quite playable all the way through, and the frame rate is atrocious (15 FPS on Switch, yikes!), but we're working hard to optimize and add new content. Which brings me to my new point, I want to do a big update for the console releases and Steam, so please let me know in the comments what you would like to see the most! I'm thinking of adding things like dev commentary mode, new items, new secrets, and improving the controls.
It's amazing in this day and age that one guy can develop and publish to all 3 major consoles (of course, can't forget Matt from Do Games who is a genius engineer and is helping port the game). About 5 years ago you would've needed a team of dozens to even consider that. If any of you have questions about being a solo dev, let me know. I'll have release announcements soon hopefully, so stay tuned!
The First Tree is coming to consoles!
I’m super excited to announce that you’ll soon be able to take your journey to The First Tree on Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and PS4! I don’t have a solid launch date yet, but I’m setting my sights on a late 2018 release (with a simultaneous launch on all three consoles hopefully). This wouldn’t be possible without the assistance of DO Games, who also helped with porting Pinstripe and The Adventure Pals. Thanks everyone for the support, and please let me know in the comments if there’s anything you’d love to see in the new console releases. Take care!