Category: Behind the Barn

What are Midnight snack games?

Ever found yourself craving a gaming adventure that’s like a midnight snack—fulfilling and quick, but without the commitment of a five-course meal? Well, that’s precisely what we’re cooking up!

While we’re still diligently chipping away at the epic saga that is Knights Only (seriously, it’s a behemoth), we’ve decided to indulge our creative cravings with some bite-sized, yet equally awesome games. Think of these as the tapas of the gaming world—small, satisfying, but packed with flavor.

So, get ready for a whole buffet of games and content coming your way from your trusty stableboys! These projects are like the sorbet between courses—not distractions, just short, sweet breaks to keep our creative engines revving without burning out.

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Potter About took root on Steam

Our green-thumb masterpiece has taken root with its very own Steam page. Yes, it’s real – and absolutely blooming exciting! It is currently listed as “Coming soon”, and we mean it when we say “soon”.

This game is quite different from Knights Only. It’s a simple, short-but-sweet platformer where you potter about (see what we did there?) as a plant pot, exploring a cozy house.

The idea sprouted in Ivan and Tia’s minds, and they dove straight into cultivating it – Tia hand drawing this beautiful game, and Ivan covering the animation and development.

Now, teaming up with Stableboy entertainment, the project’s growth has been accelerated! With more hands on deck comes more diverse perspectives and expert opinions.

We’re all thrilled to nurture this wonderful game
and help it bloom into the gem it truly is.

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What is the team doing?

We welcomed a new member this month! Her name is Klara Eva Kukovičič, and she will take care of the Business and Funding side of things.

She’s been busy going to talks, courses, and tender applications while we, the unpaid dream team, are rooting for her success! (’cause we’re nice like that 😜)

Rok, our big cheese, is in full-on prep mode for AdventureX – the UK convention for story-driven gaming. He’ll be networking and sneakily pitching  Knights Only to anyone who’ll lend an ear. Say hi, if you run into him there!

Miha, our game guru, is crafting the next Knights Only playtest with ninja precision. We’re aiming for puzzles that walk the fine line – not a cakewalk, but definitely not mission impossible.

He also took demos for both Knights Only & Potter About to Amulet d20 – a local gaming haven. 15+ folks jumped into the games, and offered precious feedback.

Marko is in his creative cave, sketching top-secret characters and places (Shh, it’s classified!). It seems that drawing and 3D modeling was not enough for him, as he has taken up rigging too – a sponge for knowledge this one.

Tia is over the moon seeing ‘Potter About’ bask in the limelight at last. It’s tough to hide something you’ve poured heart and soul into!

She attended the Wild Galway Game Initiative in Ireland, and flaunted the game to eager ears. 🌱 She even crafted a wee plant pot buddy to tag along!

David and Ivan are fine-tuning ‘Potter About’ for the big release – working on the code while Rok and Miha improve the game design. Juggling code upgrades and game completion, this tag team’s got their plates piled high. They do say working with pals hardly feels like work, and these two seem to be in perfect sync!

What have I been up to? Well… my days are filled with posting on social media and planing our marketing tactics for the future. Just trying to spread the word to the right people. Oh, and we have a TikTok account now!

Monthly Roundup and 1000x Thanks

That’s the monthly wrap, keeping you in the Stableboy loop. We are expanding and upping our game! Your incredible support keeps us on cloud nine. Thank you for being awesome.

Shoot us a message anytime for a chat, thoughts, or questions – even if you’re just bored. We thrive on your input!

Big thanks, and see you next month on Friday, December 1st.

Wishing you all the best,

The Stableboy Team

It’s finally here! Potter About has sprouted on Steam!

Listed as “Coming soon” (and we do mean SOON), this cozy, meditative plantformer is now live and ready for wishlists.

In this short-but-sweet adventure, you’ll take on the role of a well-worn plant pot wielding peculiar plant powers—perfect for a mental break or a midnight snack. 😉

Check the Steam page to see the trailer – we’re sure it’ll leaf you wanting more!

Your unwavering support and interest keep us going, and we can’t thank you enough. We’re just a message away if you have suggestions, comments, or questions. Don’t hesitate to reach out; we love hearing from you!

Thank you, and we’ll catch up with you next week on Friday, November 3rd.

Wishing you all the best,

The Stableboy Team

Say goodbye to  “Bertie the Stableboy”

Rest assured, Bertie isn’t going anywhere; we simply wanted to find a name that is memorable and encapsulates the heart of our game.

And now, drumroll, please! The new name of the game, hidden in plain sight from the very beginning, is revealed.

We believe this title perfectly encapsulates our game’s essence, even for those who are new to it. What does it signify? Knights, a medieval backdrop, and the trials of unjust exclusion! What do you guys think?

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We wanted you to be the first to know

Over the past month, our team has been hard at work, expanding and exploring new horizons. With the addition of fresh talent to our crew, we’re excited to be able to launch a game they developed independently, under the Stableboy banner. “Potter About” is set to launch on Steam very soon!

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What else is new?

While you’re diving into this email, our founder and Game Director, Rok Sanda, is out there representing us at the Gaming Industry Conference in Poznań, Poland. You can stay up-to-date with his shenanigans by following him on Twitter (@dazbog835). If you happen to cross paths with him, be sure to say hi – it’ll make his day!

You may or may not have noticed that the newsletter has a fresh look and feel. Rok, our fantastic writer, has passed the torch, and now it’s my turn to take the reins.

Another addition to our team is the talented illustrator and designer Tia, that is responsible for the stunning visuals in Potter About. Be sure to follow her on Instagram (@grrreenrat) to see more of her captivating artworks!

Marko is the creative genius behind Knights Only’s captivating concepts. He’s been pouring his heart into crafting new characters for our fantasy universe, taking them from mere sketches to breathtaking 3D models.

On the other hand, Ivan, our resident animator extraordinaire, has been masterfully breathing life into these 3D models. He expertly rigs and animates them in Unity – sometimes he makes them dance, and it really cracks me up! If I’m lucky, I catch these on camera and post them on Instagram. Give us a follow if you’d like to join in on the fun!

David, our lead developer, is now working on both games. He’s been busy optimizing the code for ‘Potter About’ and ensuring that the dialogues in ‘Knights Only’ run smoothly. We’re pretty sure he has a secret potion for balancing it all successfully, but he won’t share!

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Monthly Roundup and Heartfelt Thanks

That’s the scoop for this month, bringing you up to speed on all things Stableboy. With our growing team, we’re not only doing more but doing it better too! Your unwavering support and interest keep us going, and we can’t thank you enough.

Remember, we’re just a message away if you have suggestions, comments, or questions. Don’t hesitate to reach out; we love hearing from you!

Thank you, and we’ll catch up with you next month on Friday, November 3rd.

Wishing you all the best,

The Stableboy Team

Hello Fellow Adventurers!

Another month rolls by and so much stuff to say. Let’s jump right in:

• 🎮 Epicenter 22: We had a booth at Epicenter22 and lots of people had a chance to try out the Bertie Demo (the March build with some minor tweaks). It was really great to see you all there, especially our Spanish-Slovenian fans! ¡Hola! You guys will probably love Don Coyote!
• 🚀 Steam page: Our game is now live on Steam! You can check out our Steam page here and add our game to your wishlist. You can also follow us on Steam to get notified of any updates or announcements. We appreciate your interest and support!

• 🤫 Name change: We are changing the name of our game! We finally found it … and it’s none of the ones we mentioned in the survey last month. It’s different, but it works perfectly with the theme of the game and the story we’ll be telling. It even hints at the ending in a way (hey, spoiler warning Rok!). But I’m not telling you what the title is yet. I will let you mourn the loss of the divisive Bertie the Stableboy. Some of you really loved that title, while others not so much. For now that’s still the title of the game, because we have all this amazing art by Marko. Until we have art to go with the new title, I’m not telling you the new name!

• 🤔 Unique feature: The name change added a new feature to the game. I can’t tell you about it yet, I’m just teasing. It’s something that’s rarely seen in adventure games, and it’s going to add a lot of flavor to our puzzle design, … well, alright. Here’s a puzzle for you. Figure it out: What falls but doesn’t break, and what breaks but doesn’t fall? This is what we’re adding, or something very similar. If you figure out the puzzle, reply to this e-mail with your answer.
• 🏃‍♂️ Cauldron Build: We have started the fourth sprint of the Cauldron Build, which is turning out to be a really big build. It’ll be a demo with more than 10 locations and more than 5 different characters from the game. It will also feature a very complex system of puzzles and dialogues, and the first version of the soundtrack, and even voice acting. So it’ll take a while. It’s what we call a vertical slice. It will be our attempt at making a slice of the game look as much as the final product as possible.
• 🛠️ Banner Build: We are also updating the Bertie demo, which we have renamed the Banner Build, to fit the naming convention. It’s the demo some of you played in March or at Epicenter22. We’re building new puzzles and sprucing up the dialogue. Once we have Banner 4.0 ready, we’ll be sharing it with playtesters.

• 🏰 Vacation time: Some of us took time off last month to recharge our batteries and get some inspiration for our game. Ivan even visited Scotland and he said he has some amazing photos to share with us. I guess we won’t have trouble building the castle of Celestia! There’s also Duncan Douglas, a character from the game that comes from the Highlands of Botania, which is similar to Scotland in some ways. But more on that some other time…
• 📧 Adventure Trip: I’m creating a series of e-mails that will be unveiling some things about the game, its characters, the land you’ll be exploring, etc. Some of you already signed-up at Epicenter 22, and the others will be added to the list automagically as this e-mail is sent out. You’ll be learning things like what is Bertie’s last name and why it’s different from his mother’s, or what land Don Coyote comes from… It will also be a choose your own adventure, so it will be fun, trust me.

That’s all for this month, folks. I hope you enjoyed this newsletter and are as excited as I am for our game.  Share this newsletter with anyone who might want to follow the development of our game. This is where they can subscribe.

The Adventure Continues!

Rok

You can wishlist our game on Steam!

We are thrilled to announce that the ‘Coming Soon’ page for our game is now on Steam! This is an important milestone for us and a great next step towards promoting our game. We’re far from publishing in, but at least people can now add it to their wishlists and follow our progress as we get closer to the release date.

Please spread the word and share the link with your friends and family. The more people who wishlist our game, the more visibility we will get on the platform. Here is the link: Bertie the Stableboy (or click the button).

Visit us at Epicenter 22

If you are in Maribor, Slovenia this weekend (26. – 27. 8. 2023), you can visit us at Epicenter 22, the longest active gaming and e-sports event in Slovenia. The main attraction there are various competitive games, but we’ll be at the EXPO area. You’ll be able to try out our demo and meet us in person.

On Sunday at 14.00 our game will even be featured on the main stage. I’ll be talking about our gamedev process with the host of the event.

Pst… There are still a couple of free tickets left.

Just go to this link and add this coupon code: stableboy22

They have to be single tickets, because of their system, but feel free to do it twice if the coupon still works.

The adventure continues!

Rok

Hello Fellow Adventurers!

I hope this newsletter finds you well and dry, because it’s been raining like there’s no tomorrow lately in Slovenia. But don’t let the moody weather dampen your spirits, because I have some bright and sunny news to share with you about our game. Let’s jump right in!

• 😎 Animated Bertie: Our beloved stableboy protagonist is now fully animated and ready to embark on his adventure. No longer just a T-figure, Bertie can now walk and run, although his favorite position remains to be bored with anyone and anything. Check out Animated Bertie!

• 💾 Demo Progress: We’ve been hard at work making fixes from the Bertie build (completed in March) to showcase and/or give out as a demo. We’ve taken into account all the valuable feedback received during our demo phase and plan to feature it at an upcoming gameshow! Stay tuned for an exciting sneak peek.
• 📝 The Name of the Game: We want a game title that captures the
  essence and spirit of our adventure. Your opinion matters, so we’ve
  prepared a short survey of different titles ideas. Take a moment to fill it out and let us know what you think. It shouldn’t take you longer than 2 minutes.

🏗️ Year Two Puzzle Progress: The first puzzles for Year 2 have been
completed! Although they’re not in-game yet, you can check out the drawing board versions. As you can see from the pictures below, we have a long way to go, but it’s worth the wait! Obviously the words of the puzzle are hidden, because otherwise it wouldn’t be much of a puzzle, right? 😉

– 🙋‍♂️ Join the Playtesting Party: We are actively looking for playtesters to try out our puzzles, game designs, and general drafts. You’ve been and remain to be invaluable in providing your feedback, so if you’re interested or know someone who’d love to join, share this poster or send them this
link: https://stableboy.net/playtesting

🎮 Building Steam: Our game’s page on Steam is almost ready for the world!
One person already has the game in his library (lucky me). While you can’t
install it yet, you’ll soon be able to add it to your wishlist. I’ll notify
you when the page goes live!

That’s all for this month, folks. I hope you enjoyed this newsletter and are as excited as I am for our game.  Share this newsletter with anyone who might want to follow the development of our game. This is where they can subscribe.

The Adventure Continues!

All the best,

Rok Sanda
Game Director, Founder, Writer
Stableboy Entertainment
stableboy.net

Hello Fellow Adventurers!

The summer is usually a time for relaxation, but the team at Stableboy Entertainment doesn’t know how to rest 😎 A couple of highlights from last month:

📢 New team members: Welcome to Hana who’s going to be working on the marketing and PR side of things. We also got some help with the 3D process — Andi to the rescue, helping out with some of the gruntwork. Still looking for these fields though: management, writing, funding, so share this link to anyone interested: stableboy.net/join-us

⛳ Goals: We had a big planning session two weeks ago. We made the scope of the game tighter and worked out the first draft of our roadmap, so we finally have defined short, medium, and long term goals. First up is the Steam page, and after that visiting Gamescom.

🧪 Playtesting: It started as sage advice: “the best video game studios playtest religiously”. We took advice to heart, and started playtesting. The first one just finished. It was a paper playtest where testers had to move a cardboard Bertie around three different environments. We got to experience how players interact with the dialogue and the puzzles, but the best part was Duncan’s poetry, beautifully voiced by our Miha Šoba. Well done! We decided to make playtesting a regular thing, because we learned a lot from the process.

🎎 New characters: Marko, our Lead Artist, is hard at work bringing those two-dimensional sketches into the third dimension. His latest one, Don Coyote, is fantastic. Look at those two together! Doesn’t it make you want to play the game already?

Favorite quote from playtesting
“Can I put glue on the cat? Is that possible?”

It wasn’t possible during the playtest, but it just might be possible by the time the game is released!

More to come in the following months! Share this newsletter with anyone who might want to follow the development of our game. This is where they can subscribe.

The Adventure Continues!

All the best,

Rok Sanda

Game Director, Founder, Writer

Stableboy Entertainment

stableboy.net

Stableboy Entertainment

Hello Fellow Adventurers!

Welcome to the first edition of Behind the Barn, a monthly newsletter, where I’ll be giving you a sneak peak behind the development of Bertie the Stableboy. If you’re receiving this email, it means you’re either connected to the project in some way, or I think you might be interested in what we’re doing.

Of course, you’re free to unsubscribe at any time, but I hope you’ll stick around and enjoy the journey with us. No hard feelings about unsubscribing, really, since I just added you to the newsletter without asking you, to jumpstart this newsletter. Whoopsie!

So, lets walk around the back of the barn and look at what we’ve been up to…

🚀 Progress: We finished the first MVP in March and we’re now working on the second prototype.

👩‍💻 Learnings: We learned a lot from the demo we did in the previous sprint and we’re implementing those improvements in this one.

🎮 Challenge: We’re creating a demo from the middle of the game (basically a couple of scenes from the middle). We’re intentionally working on the part of the game, where things get most complex, so that we learn as much as we can.

👥 Team: We’re a highly motivated team, but we’re looking for an extra programmer to join us. Only those that work for coffee and cookies at this point though, but any contacts are more than welcome!

🎨 Creativity: We’re having fun developing new stuff for the prototype, such as new dialogues, characters, locations and more. It’s really exciting being part of something like this, honestly. As a huge gaming geek, this is like a dream come true.

So, yeah, we’re making great progress and we’re very excited about the potential for the game we’re making. More on that next month probably…

The Adventure Continues!

All the best,

Rok Sanda

Game Director, Founder, Writer

Stableboy Entertainment

stableboy.net