The multi-ending adventure book style RPG, The Use of Life, has completed its Early Access period and is now officially released!
With this full release update, all endings and achievements have been implemented, allowing players to enjoy the complete experience.
After updating to the official release, story-related achievements will automatically be granted accordingly based on the endings you have already completed.
However, achievements related to extra challenges will require players to meet the conditions after the update, so we encourage players interested in fully 100% clearing the game to actively play and explore.
Over the three and a half years of Early Access Development, we refined and updated the game with the support and feedback from all of you.
This allowed us to create a game that delivers challenging choices, tense combat, and satisfying moments of accomplishments.
We are deeply grateful to all the players who supported and stayed with us along the way.
Message from the developer, Daraneko Games:
Finally...finally, we are able to fully release the game.
It's been three and a half years since we initially released the game on Early Access, five years since the demo, and even longer if you count from when development first began.
This is the first game released under our studio name, Daraneko Games, but I didn't expect it to take this long.
My original plan as an indie developer, was to take some time to create small games, and develop a fan base, then release a full fledged game when I felt ready.
Even now, I still believe that approach is better when considering how to make a living as an indie game developer.
And more releases generally mean more fans and revenue.
...But still...it look longer than expected.
From a business standpoint, this wasn't ideal, however, from a creative standpoint, I think the extra time was worth it.
I've always wanted to create games that people will remember and talk about 10 or 20 years from now but, spending this much time shaping The Use of Life, has given me the confidence to believe that it could become that kind of game.
At the very least, I can say I aimed to create a "perfect 100 point game" for myself and having achieved that will positively influence my career as a creator.
While this game may not appeal to everyone, I'll be happy if it deeply resonates with some players.
.
.
.
......but that being said
There's also the reality of the fact that if the game doesn't sell well, creating the next project will be quite difficult.
What I'm about to say might be a little embarrassing but...
This game heavily depends on word of mouth advertising.
Here's the honest truth, we weren't able to do extensive event appearances or PR before release due to our limited budget. Therefore, The Use of Life will need word of mouth to continue to find its audience.
If you enjoyed the game, we'd be incredibly grateful if you could leave a Steam review or share your thoughts on social media, with friends, family or even colleagues.
Like the butterfly effect, even a single positive recommendation could change the game's future.
At the moment, I'm exhausted but relieved to finally fully release this long overdue game. In December, we'll focus on balancing adjustments and bug fixes based on all of your feedback.
And then next year, we could hopefully look at porting the game to PlayStation and Nintendo Switch.
And of course, while working on this project, I've been planning future games that I hope to bring to fruition in the future so...
I hope I can reconnect and share more of my experiences with all of you in the next title as well!