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Congrats on the release...

but where is the demo? I was going to try it, but the link only seems to have a EULA pdf and no demo.

Hey Cassiesbg!

There is currently no playable demo of the game, since the length of the game is about 30 mins to an hour.
If you're referring to the "Download Demo" button on the game's AGS page, I couldn't find a way to disable it or change it to just "Store Link" or something similar.

[50% off]

Hey everyone! A couple of short news about the game. As some of you may have noticed, the game was updated to version 1.0.1.1 a while ago.
The main features of this release are as follows:

New cover artwork by the very talented Ivan Ulyanov! You may have seen his work in another recent AGS title, Wadjet Eye's Unavowed (which I highly, deeply recommend!)
The title screen artwork has been changed to display this new piece, replacing the murder scene close-up, which is now featured during the background dialogue before the menu is displayed.

The game has also been updated to a more recent AGS engine release. A welcome addition is the ability to toggle "Render Sprites at Screen Resolution." Here are some screenshots for comparison:
Render Sprites at Screen Resolution - Off

Spoiler

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Render Sprites at Screen Resolution - On

Spoiler

[close]

Last but not least, the game is on sale as part of itch.io's Halloween Sale! 50% off until November 1st, 14:00 CET. If you're tired of jump scares and cosmic horror, grab a nice, short and relaxing murder mystery!

The game is absolutely fantastic! The second point-and-click title this year that I've been looking forward to, that has subsequently gone above and beyond my expectations.
I think I'm on either the second to last or the last case. I've been reluctant to boot it back up lately, the characters and setting really grew on me and I don't want it to be over.

Finished.

Maybe I'm biased because the game was announced in 2011 but I was expecting something meatier. It took me about 20 minutes to complete. I was only hindered by some pixel hunting in the first scene.

The gameplay consists of  a search for clues and a few dialog choices. No inventory. The last puzzle could have been interesting but Gabriel half-solved it for me. I would have preferred to do it by myself with the clues noted somewhere.

To finish on a more positive note, the presentation is great and the music is good. The story's OK. It's just over way too soon.

I hope to see more games from RiotEsper in the future.

Thanks for playing the game and thanks so much for the feedback!
It's been in and out of development for many years, yeah. If it weren't for the fact that I tried out a new method for remaking the background art, chances are the game wouldn't have been finished and out there.

You make some very good points and I'll keep all of it in mind for my future projects. The next project hasn't been decided on yet, but I really do want to give detective Francis at least another game. One with more and better puzzles.

Looks VERY cool!

Can't wait to get a bit of time to play this!!!

Thanks a lot for the comments! It means a lot.

I must remember how slow it can be on the AGS forums when I post my in progress game up! I'm commenting because this game looks like it deserves some attention! Good use of lighting, lovely graphics, and congratulations on releasing your game!

Thanks a lot for the comment, ManicMatt! Much appreciated.

Very nicely done game...I completed it in about 30 minutes or so.  I had to play the ending again, just to see if I could get a different outcome...

I loved the graphicsâ€"very nice.  I almost always download anything with these kind of high-end pixelated graphics, and the storyline was good too.  All in all, a neat little game.  I didn't realize you'd been working on it for so longâ€"-good job finishing it!

Hope there will be more to come someday from you...


Sarah 

Thanks so much for checking out the game, Sarah! Really happy to hear that you enjoyed it.
Having finally finished MBTK has made me want to get started on another adventure game, but we'll have to wait and see what's next. So many ideas, too little time!

[Game (soundtrack included!) available now on itch.io. Click the image above!Cover artwork by Ivan Ulyanov.]

Game (soundtrack included!) available now on itch.io. Click the image above!
Cover artwork by Ivan Ulyanov.

STORY
It is May 3rd, 1941.
Just as the sun peeks over the horizon on that cold spring morning, a harrowing report comes in to the sheriff's department. The mayor has been murdered in his home.

Solve the murder/Clear your father's name. Two wills struggle on separate paths towards the same goal, to find out what really happened. Who killed mayor James Scott?

Play as detective Francis Dale and as the murder suspect's son Gabriel Heinrich in this short point and click adventure game. Featuring rich, detailed pixel artwork and animation and an old-school inspired soundtrack, with a few modern design conveniences. (No incessant saving-dying-loading!)

RELEASE TRAILER
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLMP7vMtlMQ

SCREENSHOTS




Finally releasing a game (not counting a MAGS entry I posted with my old account many, many years ago) feels really strange. In a good way!
It's been a long journey to get here, with many smaller school projects and cancelled fan-games along the way, since back in my pre-teen years.

Huge thanks to everyone who's stopping by. I couldn't have mustered the energy to pick this project back up again if not for all the cool AGS projects that are already out there in the wild. Keep making amazing/intriguing/hilarious games, everyone!

[My Burden to Keep is now available on itch.io! Get the game + soundtrack for $3.90!]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLMP7vMtlMQ
My Burden to Keep is now available on itch.io! Get the game + soundtrack for $3.90!
Itch.io link - Click Me!

I think the fact that I've finally released a game is starting to sink in. Kind of. I'm assuming the first post-release-panic will come when someone reports a game breaking bug that I somehow managed to miss.
Hope that everyone who decides to give the game a try will enjoy it! Many thanks to everyone who stopped by, just a view in the thread means a lot to me.

If it's possible, any moderator is free to move this to completed games.

Hey everyone!

Everything's looking good with the game, no serious issues that'll set back the release date. Fingers crossed!
I've been fixing little things here and there with the dialogue and one of the backgrounds. I thought I'd share a time lapse video that gives a rough idea on how I made the new backgrounds.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sfcNQnX9C8
Most of the bg art has been remade this way, based on the old 3D renders. I was always quite fond of the original renders and how clean and crisp they turned out at the fairly low resolution. But along with the character sprites, they always gave a bit of a dollhouse like effect. Since I'd been working a lot on pixel art asset packs and had been improving my workflow over the last few years, I decided to remake all the bg art for My Burden to Keep late last spring. I think the end result fits the game a bit better.

For reference, here's the old church render:

This game looks interesting. quite the moody atmosphere.

The photograph between the pixelated images looks a bit out of place though.

Thank you!
Are you referring to the close-up with the hand? That's originally a 3D-render, but painted over to look more pixellated.

Sorry about bumping the thread so soon, but I have good news! The gameplay trailer is live now!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChDA6V1P5i8
Along with the trailer, the release date has been announced: June 1st 2018.
As mentioned before, the game will be available for $3.90 on itch.io. A soundtrack download is included, in case you find the game's music catchy.

Looking great! Nice use of lighting. Are those shelfs in the foreground? Took a little while to work it out. Keep up the good work!

Thank you, Matt! The remade background art was inspired a lot by Mark Ferrari's GDC talk on "8-bit and 8-bitish Art". Really great video, if you've got about an hour and a half to spare.
A couple of them are! I agree that it's a bit hard to tell there, it looks better in motion though.

This looks great! Look forward to playing it.

I like the look of this one and hope the game play sinks me into the game

Thank you both for the comments! It never stops being exciting to know that people are looking forward to your game.

I like the 'Simon the sorcerer" graphics aesthetic. It looks very promising!! Can I ask you, why you chose the form of an interactive story and not a classic point and click adventure with puzzles? Thnx!!

Thank you! The "interactive short story" subtitle was the result of the game being mostly heavy in dialogue and cutscenes. There are three interactive scenes that more resemble classic point-and-click adventure gameplay, so the game still has some of that. I wanted to be honest about the fact that it's a short game, focused on story mostly.

[It is May 3rd, 1941.]

Now available on itch.io:
Click here!

It is May 3rd, 1941.
Just as the sun peeks over the horizon on that cold spring morning, a harrowing report comes in to the sheriff's department. The mayor has been murdered in his home.

Solve the murder/Clear your father's name. Two wills struggle on separate paths towards the same goal, to find out what really happened. Who killed mayor James Scott?

Play as detective Francis Dale and as the murder suspect's son Gabriel Heinrich in this short point and click adventure game.  Featuring rich, detailed pixel artwork and animation and an old-school inspired soundtrack, with a few modern design conveniences. (No incessant saving-dying-loading!)

Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLMP7vMtlMQ

Screenshots:




My Burden to Keep is slated for a June 1st launch for this year (2018) out now! Forum veterans might recognize the game from an ancient thread in this very board. Since it was quite a while ago, I decided to give the game a fresh thread and even registered a fresh account. Fresh starts all around! I hope the mods don't mind.
The background artwork has since received a major overhaul and more dialogue and special case animations have been added, along with a full soundtrack. More or less the only thing remaining before launch is some testing to ensure that no serious bugs are still lurking in the code.

My Burden to Keep will be launching first on itch.io, for $3.90. It's not just a short story-game in name, the game will take around 40-60 minutes to complete. Perfectly bite-sized for a lunch break or maybe a break from developing your own adventure game title?

Thanks for stopping by!