Oof. Okay. So. I have some explaining to do.

Yes, we're still working on TSWK. In fact, we have the bare minimum we need to launch it.

The problem, and what took us so long to get to this point, is that our character artist dipped out on us as soon as we started CGs. We had plans for more sprites, tons of CGs, and a crap-ton of other stuff, but she just kind of... Vanished. She'd given us problems in the past with poor communication and 0 updates, but we'd invested so much into her art that we were very hesitant to replace her. It wasn't until I realized that it had been 6 months since I heard from her last that I realized that I had to bite the bullet and replace every. Single. Piece. Of. Art. It was heartbreaking, and it was a lot of work to get done.

Thankfully, Shoko came in and basically single-handedly saved the project. She busted her rear to get as much art done as possible in just a few months, and we have so much to thank her for. As a result, we've completely overhauled the demo to include all of her updated character sprites. We've also fixed typos that slipped through the cracks, added a few more sprite animations, and updated the OST a bit.

Now that we're here, we're hoping to launch our Kickstarter very soon. I'm waiting on an email from a publisher that I'm hoping will help with marketing and providing a platform to launch on, but that's it. Once I get that email, regardless of their response, I'm making the Kickstarter page live.

I know what you're thinking. "What the heck. You have a Patreon already!" And, yes, we do. The thing with that is not everyone can afford to, or wants to, pledge monthly. Kickstarter is our way of giving followers an option to help support development without being roped into recurring payments.

"You said you have everything you need! Why do you need a Kickstarter?"

The Kickstarter isn't to fund the entire game. When I say we have the bare minimum, I mean the bare. minimum. Only major characters have sprites, we're reusing some art for different locations, and we could definitely use a few more pieces for the OST. The Kickstarter is specifically for helping crowdfund that extra bit to really take The Secrets We Keep to the next level. Voice acting, extra CGs, more sprite variations, mobile launches, the works. I just cannot, in good conscience, continue to funnel any more of my own money into this project. I've spent thousands on its production out of pocket, and I'm tired of living paycheck to paycheck because of it.

Now that the demo is updated, I'm obviously not going to ask that y'all play through it again. It's the same story with the same choices. The difference is just the art, and some grammar fixes. I've provided screenshots so y'all can see the difference :)