My Deerest Friends,
You asked, we answered. We collected some of your frequently asked questions from Discord, Steam, Reddit, and beyond…and here are our answers organized by theme:
Game Information
What will the price be at launch?
19,99€ / $19,99 / £17,99 More details on pricing coming soon!
Will it be discounted at release?
Yes, 10% off during the first week!
Will there be language support?
Deer & Boy has no dialogue or text at all, so you can enjoy the story no matter what your native language is! 😊
Will the demo stay up after launch?
Yes!
Is the game suitable for children?
Yes! Deer & Boy has no dialogue or text, and it's designed to be enjoyed by all ages. Younger players can absolutely play it, though there are a few tense and emotional moments along the way. A parent and a child will likely experience the story quite differently, and both are equally valid. 🦌
Gameplay & Mechanics
Can you pet the deer?
Yes! Press Start to see all controls. 🦌
Can I rebind the controls?
Yes! You can rebind controls in the options menu.
What inspired the letterbox format?
We wanted to mimic the look and feel of an animated movie. It's something we also loved in games that inspired us, like Somerville.
Will the deer's behavior be improved? It sometimes falls behind or gets stuck.
Unless the deer gets stuck due to a bug (which we always want to fix!), its behavior is actually intentional. The deer is a wild animal with its own personality: it wanders, checks its surroundings, and can even make mistakes. That's part of what makes it feel alive.
Will there be more graphics and audio options at launch?
For graphic options, we're working on adding V-sync for launch, or shortly after. No other options are planned for now.
Technical
Will v-sync be added? Screen tearing is breaking the immersion.
Yes! V-sync should be available on PC at launch or shortly after.
Will Steam Deck performance be improved beyond 40fps?
We will do our best to improve optimization, but performance will most likely stay around 40fps on Steam Deck.
Will ultrawide 21:9 be supported?
Yes, it is supported.
Will forced full-screen be changed?
Not planned for now.
Will shader compilation be added for smoother performance?
Not planned for now.
What specs will I need to run the game?
The full system requirements are available on the Steam store page.
What engine does Deer & Boy run on?
Unity.
Story & World
Why is the boy running away? What is he escaping from?
This is one of the central questions of the story, and answering it would spoil the experience. You'll have to find out for yourself starting June 23! 🤫
How big does the deer get?
It goes through several stages of life, growing from a fragile fawn into a majestic deer. Definitely bigger than the boy. 🦌
How many chapters and worlds are in the full game?
There are 13 chapters in total, 11 of which are fully playable. Each is set in a distinct zone with its own environment, location, and visual identity: the forest, the mountain, and many more.
Will it have a happy ending?
No spoilers before launch. 🤫 You can wait 4 more days, can’t you? 😉
Team & Development
How big is the team at Lifeline Games?
Lifeline Games is a small indie studio founded by Jayson Houdet. Our team size has varied throughout production: the core team is around 4 people, but during full development we grew to about 20. We are incredibly grateful for the support of our partners and our publisher, Dear Villagers.
How long has the game been in development?
First revealed at Summer Games Fest 2024. It first became an idea in 2021 and then we actively started working on the project in 2022. Finally we found our publisher at the end of 2022 and revealed it in 2024.
Why did you choose to make a dialogue-free game as your first project?
Because silence was never a constraint, it was always the point. You can read our full answer here: DEV DIARY #2
What was the most challenging part of development: mechanics, animations, or level design?
Honestly, all of it, but in interesting ways. A few things stood out:
Making sure there's no real break between gameplay and cinematics, apart from a few moments where we break it on purpose for the story.
Making the deer as interesting as possible at every age, so you can read different sides of its personality simply through animation.
Carrying the player through a range of emotions across the story without ever making it too overwhelming.
The goal was to connect the story to the level design, and to gradually increase the difficulty without ever repeating the same thing twice.
We hope that answers some of the frequently asked questions just before the launch! If you have any more, leave them in the comments!
Now all there's left to do is to countdown to launch soon! 🎉
Wishlist if you haven't already to get notified when it's out!
(And there is a DEMO for you to enjoy this weekend before launch)