special art I've drawn to celebrate release

Hello!!! I think today calls for several exclamation marks, because... Well, because it's release day: Mask Around is available now!

• on Steam with a 10% special release discount
• from itch.io for a standalone version (executable Windows build).
• The game will also be available later this month on android. You can preregister now on the Google Play Store to get a notification when it's available! There will also be a .apk available on the itch page.

If you do get the game on Steam, it would help me tremendously if you left a review. Early reviews are by far the biggest boost a freshly released Steam game can get. But since you're one of the good souls browsing itch.io... Bless your heart.

My work on Mask Around isn't done yet: I still need to release the android version, and I will offer support for bug fixes or game improvements if necessary. I will also keep doing efforts to promote the game during the following weeks. I definitely have ideas for new content as well, but It's a bit too soon to think about that...

Throwing Numbers At You

There can be a lot of numbers in Mask Around. Now, they're invading the devlog!

I think it's a bit early to do a full post-mortem of the project, but I still wanted to take a step back in this devlog. Let's start with numbers!

• 609 github commits
• first commit was on Monday, 29th July 2023
• That was 465 days ago, or 1 year, 3 months and 17 days
• Worked on the nights/weekend up until July, then basically full time
• 619 Steam wishlists
• 239 demo downloads

On Giving Credits

In the past, I've used the term "solo dev" to present myself in the context of video game creation. Today, I'm not really comfortable using the term anymore. Here, I want to give you a brief overview of who really made Mask Around. Before I do that, I want to bring up my parents, and my socioeconomic context. I was born in an upper-middle class family, both my parents were teachers, and they gave me the education needed to strive in school, which gave me the time and tools to learn how to make games in the first place. I want to thank them here, and acknowledge the privilege and luck it represents. I wish everybody could create like I had the chance to, and there's still a lot of work to be made towards that goal.

existing in a context

Now, about Mask Around specifically. Many people helped me. I need to start with my old friends (they're not old, but our friendship is): PeKaNo and meliméa, who composed the music for the game. They listened to my intentions and feedback, and put a part of themselves in the universe I had envisioned. I want to thank them here, as they had a lot of impact on the feel of the game.

Localization was another aspect of the game where I got help from two other important people. I knew Mask Up, as a free android game, had some players from Turkey and Russia, so both of these languages were interesting to support. My friend Heretic Burger, who had already translated Mask Up in Turkish, accepted to do it again for Mask Around, and my also very good friend sdjibe accepted to handle Russian localization. This took hours of work, since Mask Around has more than 1000 words. I'm really grateful for their work, and want to thank them here. I also need to mention two members of my discord server who proofread and added notes to the translations: Brogolem35 for Turkish and Kringe Master for Russian (discord has been recently banned from both Russia and Turkiye, so I hope this devlog gets to them eventually). All these efforts should allow more people to enjoy the game.

Then, there's everyone who supported me during the development by testing the game and giving me feedback. Among the more active testers and advisors were my friends Paul, ShovelBear and pandametal. They definitely guided me well on some decisions, and the game wouldn't be the same without their input and encouragement.
I want to finish this round of thanks with my sisters, who helped me setting up my booth at Sorbonne Play Festival and for their lasting support. There's also a lot of other people, including all the testers, that I couldn't list all here: you can check the in-game credits for the full list. Thank you, everyone!!

On Embracing Collectiveness

debug screenshot from All That Glitters, a narrative fishing sim I've been working on with a team

I want to get back to the "solo dev" concept, as I believe its criticism deserves a bit more depth. At the risk of doing cheap leftist politics, I'll say that the solo dev narrative is especially appealing in the context of the rising liberalism around us: every individual must prove itself and prove its value. We're being individualized in many aspects of our lives: everything is becoming an open free market in which everyone needs to compete, under the false pretense of fairness. I believe it has many negative consequences: rising loneliness, communities dissolving, failure to address systemic issues or even social policies being reduced (like the french unemployment benefits, which allowed me to create Mask Around as well as many other games, that is tuned down every couple of years by the government).

I believe the only way out of this is collective, rather than a solo buzz. Which is why I want to be part of more collective projects in the future. My first step in this direction is teaming up with some friend to create a game together. We're actually in the finishing phase of All That Glitters, a french narrative fishing game that you can wishlist right now on Steam.

On Finding The Meaning Of Life

Photo I took a few years ago, that I used in my "random objects I've put in my game" video series

I've actually been thinking about this a lot recently, and I think I overthinked so hard that I found the meaning of life. They are actually two: artistic creation and having a valued role in a community. Mask Around provided the first one for me for many months. I held onto this sense very tight. I knew that this project gave me purpose, albeit temporarily. I've talked with many peers and friends my age, that feel a bit lost in life, that do not find a lot of meaning in their jobs or in their life. I don't know what next year will be made of for now... But whatever happens, I will try to make creation a fair place in my life.

But enough thinking about the future and the past. Tonight, I'll celebrate with my friends who helped me make this game.

Thank you for reading, thank you for supporting,

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and see you around

                Rouli