Alchemist

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• Announcements·26 Aug 2026Official

  Devlog #33 | Plot progression, saves, new quests

  Hi everyone. There was no devlog for a long time this time, and there is a simple reason for that. I had a lot going on in real life. A home renovation, mostly - because of it, today is the first time in a month that I could sit down and work properly on devlog. And there was a lot of work on the game itself. So, let's begin. After I finished the vertical slice and the demo, I started working on the main content of the game. Right now one quest is fully done, and the second one is almost finished. I also started building the main map, and the side maps. For now the side map is the cave. And in that cave there is a new character. You can save him, or you can leave him. That is the first quest. I rewrote the save system. It is modern and correct now. Saves are stored in JSON. They are very fast, both to save and to load, and they take up less space than before. For now I decided to make one big location instead of many small ones. And I want every character to live, even the ones that are not on the screen. It is done for a more believable world - and it really works that way. The game lives without the player. I think that is very cool. I also added gamepad support, and a control settings screen where you can rebind the keys. And I reworked the researches and the book a little - mostly the interface and the way it feels to use. And I made a lot of developer tools: cheats, small helpers for my own work, and things like that. So far I am on schedule, so everything is fine. I think half a year is enough to fill the game with content. Maybe without the polish - I will see about that later. I may have to move the dates if some big game comes out around the same time. That is all for now. Thank you for watching, and see you in the next devlog. Like, dislike, leave a comment, and do not forget to follow me on all the social networks.
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• Announcements·16 Jul 2026Official

  Devlog #32 | Quests, NPC Schedule, Plot begin

  So, this time there was no devlog for a month because I was resting after crunching for the demo. I just wasn't recording devlogs - the work was still happening, and it's back to its usual pace now.Here's what's been done so far:New quests - or rather, their update. They were working a bit incorrectly before, but now they work as intended, with correct saves.I started working on the first two story locations. Still just sketches for now, but there are already the first NPCs in place, and they have improved behavior.NPC behavior was also improved. Now they have a proper schedule - for example, on Sunday an NPC goes to church, and on Monday, to the garden. But if it starts raining, they head back home and play dice with the kids. That last part isn't implemented yet, it's just an example.I reworked a lot under the hood, and finally added proper documentation to the code repository itself - what to do, what to fix, what to finish, what to add. It's all in there now.I added a cutscene entity, since some things need to happen on a script - like, the elder arrives, leaves, the player lies down, someone approaches them.I started writing the story - or rather, implementing it. The player arrives in the village, everyone's wary of him, and the first NPC who spots him runs to the elder so he can sort things out. NPCs also have avoidance behavior - right now it's just keeping a certain distance from the player, but later it'll be something more logical, like going into a house, or kids running to their parents.And what's important - the NPC actually has to run all the way to the elder, otherwise the information doesn't get passed on. So this is how the system works: information isn't passed through some trigger, it's literally passed from NPC to NPC through conversation. I really like how that turned out.The old man sorts everything out, but then comes back and asks a few more questions. Anyway, the story's being written, it's all fine with him - I don't want to retell the who...
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• Announcements·15 Jun 2026Official

  SteamNextFest | Devlog #31 | Demo is available

  A new devlog is live!In this one I cover two big things: the Alchemist demo is officially out, and the game now has an in-game compendium - a built-in book that explains aspects, spells, potions, and the alchemy systems right as you play, so you're never left guessing.Watch the full devlog here: And if you haven't yet, the demo is live right now during Steam Next Fest - give it a try, and a wishlist helps a solo developer more than you'd think.Thanks for following along!
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• Community & Events·15 Jun 2026Official

  Steam Next Fest is live - and the Alchemist demo is live too!

  Steam Next Fest is here, running from June 15 to June 22! It's one of the biggest weeks of the year on Steam - thousands of free demos to try, developer livestreams to watch, and the perfect chance to fill your wishlist before the Summer Sale.The Alchemist demo is live and ready to play - polished, stable, and waiting for you.Dive into the fest, enjoy hunting for hidden gems, and I hope you find some great games this week - and I'd love it if you gave Alchemist a try too. If it clicks with you, a wishlist means the world to a solo developer.Have a fantastic Next Fest, and happy hunting!
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• Announcements·9 Jun 2026Official

  The Demo Is OUT NOW!

  The demo is available right NOW! It's essentially almost a vertical slice of the game - a few mechanics are missing, but you can't put everything out at once... Still, the overall flow and roughly how much of it is there should be clear. I'm really looking forward to your feedback, and if you feel like it, you can write about it in the Steam community or on one of my social media pages. The demo is short but meaningful and concentrated (just like the game itself will be), so it won't take up much of your time! Enjoy the game!
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