NHF goes gold! Release date and more...
Monday, 3 November 2025
In mid-August, for the first time since starting working on this game, I had no more todo items on my MVP list for Negotiations Have Failed. So the game is ready to publish on Steam, with the demo being accessible directly on Steam during the upcoming Steam Next Fest.
Major work items focused on through the Spring and Summer
Since my last update in March, where I reported that I had to finish writing and implementing the remaining poems in the game, I had the remaining items to work through:
Fixing a softlock that occurred in a rare battle circumstance that I had overlooked in my code. (It was a one-line fix...)
Mixing and implementing the last few songs that were composed back in Winter 24-25
Revamping the game's final story and end credits sequence
Implementing a few secrets (my favorite thing to conceive and implement)
Computer controlled second player option for Local Multiplayer
Adjustments to the balancing dynamics of some sound effects.
This area of the menu includes the last major feature implemented to the game, the CPU 2nd player. Now when I look at this screen, I'll always think of this as what I saw when I finished a major accomplishment that took quite some time and rewarding effort.
Another piece of trivia for the game: I'm a big believer in people playing games together for connection and bonding through shared experiences, so my preference is for people to play multiplayer with one another, in person. If you look at the two player controls, I configured it so that two friends can share one keyboard and have enough room for their hands to be near one another---without touching. (People should be close, but not that close sometimes.)
What's next in preparation for release
Marketing, marketing, marketing... and publishing! I have a lot of the skeleton of where my game's promotional materials will live online besides on Steam, but now I have to work through a little bit of the content production and publishing. In parallel, I have to finalize some of the uploading of the demo and full game build on Steam, as it took a lot of research to prepare for these aspects since this is the first game I'm adding to Steam.
I'll challenge myself to share more thoughts on the game here in the coming weeks, but I usually feel anxious committing significant time to these posts because my mind usually screams at me: "Why aren't you working on the game itself?" But with the game done, my mind has changed its self-scolding message to: "Why aren't you finishing your websites, press kit, and other promotional stuff that you need to do?"
And while I’m on the subject of getting the word out: if you’re a streamer or content creator who’d like to check out Negotiations Have Failed ahead of release, I’d love to hear from you. Watching people experience the game and hearing your thoughts is incredibly valuable to me, so please feel free to reach out if you’re interested in trying it and sharing feedback.
Contact me at goofysocksgames on X if interested.