Happy Mystery Monday!
We have a lot of exciting news today, so let’s get right into it!
April 4th was a very special day this year, for 4 different reasons:
1. The Game of Fourtune Sale (44% off)
How far will you go to get your deepest wish granted? In The Game of Fourtune, help guide Clyde & Devon through this cruel game of life and death. Only one participant will get their wish granted. Four rounds and four deaths each round, are you ready to see if fortune is on your side?
The Game of Fourtune is all about the number four. It’s an interesting take on the “death game” subgenre, and I like to describe it as “a cross between Danganronpa and Mario Party.” If that doesn’t get you excited to play it, I don’t know what will!
…Maybe a massive sale will do the trick?
The game was released on April 4th last year, so as part of its anniversary sale, the game is discounted 44% off until April 11th!
With well over 44 hours of story, puzzles, and branching paths, this is a game you won’t want to pass up!
Now, if only there was a website where you could find even more new and exciting mystery games just like that one—
2. New Mystery Gamedev Website
At long last, our official website was given a much-needed update!
I’ve been working on it behind the scenes for the past couple of months, so that’s why some of these newsletters had been so short. Hopefully it was worth it!
The site is still very much a work in progress, so a lot of intended features are still “coming soon”. But I hope you enjoy what I’m able to share with you so far:
A database of nearly 200 mystery games
Search by keyword, release date, new demos, upcoming, and random
Highlighted games made by developers in our community
A collection of game-making tools and resources
A way to get direct help with making your mystery game
A really cool new look and feel!
Currently, the games shown are all games from Steam, but we will pull games from other storefronts in the future. I am currently adding every game by hand, so I know we’re missing quite a lot, but they will all get added in due time.
The next major update to the site is planned to go live at the end of the game jam.
The planned features will include:
Account registration
Add games to your list
Games from the itch store
Search by developers
Search by tags
Submit a game
My schedule is still very busy, so if I can implement the above features by next month I will be satisfied. I will also start pumping out those YouTube videos, and maybe I’ll enter my own game into the Mystery Game Jam!
Which leads me to my next point…
3. Mystery Game Jam 2024
The Mystery Game Jam has gotten off to an incredible start!
We’ve had over 160 people sign up, and our Discord server gained over 50 members (25% growth) in one week! I really didn’t do much to promote the jam, so this tells me there really is a strong demand for making (and playing) mystery games!
The event began on April 4th and will continue until May 5th. With a time limit just over a full month, it should give everyone plenty of time to make their mystery games!
We will be hosting live Q&A calls every Saturday (for the duration of the jam) in the Discord server. These calls each last up to 2 hours long, and are set up so that you can ask me about any problems you are facing while working on your game.
We hosted our first call a couple days ago, and it went really well! I had the chance to talk with three different teams, and I answered all of their questions without issue.
In response to some feedback, the future calls will take place at a slightly earlier time, 10:00 AM US Central Time. This should be a better time for some of you.
Also, if you would like my help but cannot make it to the calls, or would like our conversation to be held in private, you can book a time with me through the new website. You can also book me for other mystery game projects outside of the jam. I truly enjoy getting to know everyone, and I would love to dedicate my time to helping each of you achieve your goals!
4. Kinjo’s Birthday
And of course, April 4th is my birthday, so it’s always a special day for me!
This year specifically was my 30th birthday, which I suppose is generally a pretty big milestone in a person’s life. It’s one of those times where you sit and think about the past decade as well as the next one.
Sure, I made some big mistakes in my 20’s, but I think that’s the point. Try things out, learn from your mistakes, and grow into a better person. Overall I think I’m doing pretty good going into this new phase of life, and I’m looking forward to the future.
Mystery Gamedev is the culmination of everything I have ever done, ever. I can’t think of anything that represents who I am better than this group. I’ve built many projects in my life — some worked out better than others — but this one easily beats them all. This past week has really proven it.
Thank you all for your support so far. We are clearly building something truly special, and I can’t wait to see what comes next!
Thanks for reading!
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