Hey, everyone!

It’s that time again - another DED update for y’all. This one is smaller than last month’s, but we’re still trucking along nicely.


After opting in and out of Steam’s Next Fest more than once in the past couple of years - we’ve decided to opt-in and stay in to this year’s - kicking off in June 2024.

This means that a demo will be available in the middle of April, followed by a full release some time after Next Fest.

Next Fest allows for some potentially good visibility for indie games, but it also serves for me personally as an accountability tool with strict deadlines. I look forward to being able to present more new content as we push towards the summer months.


You may have noticed that the Steam Page has had a good visual facelift, and is more focused on getting across a deeper understanding of the game is and how it plays. But it’s not just copy - new screenshots are here, too! This took some time, as I had to update all images and copy in multiple places across the interwebs - some experiences a little more clunky than others.

A new trailer is very much on the way and is probably about 70% complete. I like the original trailer, but it’s too old compared to how the game looks now, so keep a look out for that. You can of course follow me for updates.


I needed the pharmacy to do other things, so now it’s just a store with a pharmacy component. Now you can do all of your shopping in one place like those big box stores... You can walk to this one, though!


Our Discord server[discord.gg] is a sleepy one, but you can join it if you wanna be reminded of more updates like this, or to just hang out and chat.

You can also follow us on Bluesky[bsky.app] and X (formerly known as Twitter).

-codapill 💚

What’s up, everybody!

Here’s the first update of the year on Dog Eat Dog: Scam to Survive. I’m happy to say it’s been a productive month - let me outline where we’re at…!

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There have been a few worthwhile changes on the backend: First, the ‘Penalties and Payouts’ system that fires after the player succeeds in a scam is now a far more efficient event. All the math happens in one place, and the code is easier to read as a result. Hooray.

Following that, all cut-scenes have been rebuilt using the new comic builder function that was added to the project towards the end of last year. This script makes spinning up one of four different types of cut-scenes really easy. I no longer have to meticulously position pictures, render text boxes as pictures, or animate each individual object. This is already saving me so much time with new scenes.

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A bunch of older backgrounds and scenes have been re-designed to fit more within the theme of Act 1. I’ve also kept to a strict colour limit going forward. There’s no specific palette - all imagery still stands on its own, but now there’s more cohesion in the fidelity of each photograph. The limitations here work - I think it’s a big improvement.

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Players can now choose how much they wish to steal from a caller. This makes the levels a bit more complex, but it’s not as bad as I thought it would be. There used to be set amounts the player could scam for, but now you can input whatever you like. Be awful and take it all? Always choose zero? Up to you.

There's a library in the game, and you can now read all of the books. For the longest time, I’d limited it to 1, but nah, go nuts - you'll be able to read ‘em all. The gameplay benefit to reading books and engaging in the world gives you knowledge about VONA (the city) that can be useful in scams. Or, sometimes it’s just a random book about the effects of sleep deprivation, and how a fantastic night’s sleep is desirable only so that you can be a productive human for somebody else the next day, and not for the simple value of rest...

Anyway.

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Sounds, baby! I play guitar, so I added some of my riffs to the game. That’s been cool. New sound effects, too! I picked up a BOSS ME-90 a few months ago and that thing is wild for getting quirky tones. In no way does any of this trample over the awesome OST that I still can’t wait for everyone to hear.

The RPG Maker Festival on Steam is coming up on February 15th, and DED is gonna be there for a third time, chilling out with the ‘Coming Soon’ tag once again like a child that keeps failing the same year at school and re-sitting. Heck, it’s all good, I like that such a thing exists to celebrate games made in RM - why not?

Finally, let’s address AI for a moment. AI art sucks, and none of our games will ever use it. Anything that generates artwork using other people’s styles - specifically when the artist isn’t being compensated fairly - is just theft. For as long as we live under a brutally unfair system where money does all the talking: pay your damn artists.

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There’s now a bone badge on the monitor, cos like… Dogs. Ya know.

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Our Discord server[discord.gg] is a sleepy one, but you can join it if you wanna be reminded of more updates like this, or to just hang out and chat.

You can also follow us on Bluesky[bsky.app] and X (formerly known as Twitter).

-codapill 💚