The Salt Keep

Devlog

• Upcoming Game: South of the March
  November 17, 2023 by Small Gray Games

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  Now announcing the next major Small Gray Games project: South of the March is an RPG featuring a hybrid of JRPG-style turn-based combat and semi-open world visual novel exploration. It's set in the sa... Continue reading

  
• Upcoming Projects & Future Plans
  May 05, 2023 by Small Gray Games

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  Thanks once more to everybody who has spent some time with The Salt Keep! The feedback I've received has been overwhelmingly positive, and there really isn't much to do at this point other than keep t... Continue reading

  
• The Salt Keep v1.0.9 Released!
  March 07, 2023 by Small Gray Games

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  The Salt Keep version 1.0.9 has been released and is now available here (on Mac/PC), on Android , and on iOS . This update makes a few small changes: Adds better button labeling for screen readers . T... Continue reading

  
• Postmortem: Two Weeks After Release
  February 24, 2023 by Small Gray Games

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  It's been two weeks now since I released The Salt Keep, so this feels like as good a time as any to give a bit of an update on the release, what I've learned from it so far, and what I'm still hoping... Continue reading

  
• The Salt Keep: Full Version Released!
  February 10, 2023 by Small Gray Games

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  The full version of the Salt Keep is out now! You can purchase it: On PC or Mac here on itch.io On Android On iOS The Salt Keep is a character-focused text adventure and RPG (think interactive fiction... Continue reading

  
• Feature Design: Save Import & Export
  February 03, 2023 by Small Gray Games

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  A key feature of The Salt Keep that allows players to continue their saved games even after switching platforms (from the demo to the full version, most likely) is the save export and import. First I'... Continue reading

  
• Quick Look: Character Intros
  January 30, 2023 by Small Gray Games

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  These are the main characters you'll (probably) spend the most time with while playing The Salt Keep. Exploration is central to the game, so there's no guarantee you'll even discover all of these char... Continue reading

  
• Feature Design: Achievements
  January 27, 2023 by Small Gray Games

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  One of the last features I implemented for The Salt Keep was the achievements. It's one I went back and forth on for a long time, because something about it feels almost out of place for a game so foc... Continue reading

  
• New Demo & Release Date
  January 16, 2023 by Small Gray Games

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  RELEASE DATE ANNOUNCED I’m ready to announce that the full version of The Salt Keep is almost here! Add it to your collections, follow my page, and mark your calendars, because it will be on sale: F... Continue reading

  
• Progress Update: Beta Underway & Press Kit
  December 17, 2022 by Small Gray Games

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  Beta testing for The Salt Keep is currently underway! The beta has been going for about a week now and will run until sometime in early-mid January, with a full release coming shortly after. I'm holdi... Continue reading

  
• Feature Design: Play Stats
  December 08, 2022 by Small Gray Games

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  A small new feature coming in the full version of The Salt Keep is the statistics popover. It's pretty straight-forward: a popover available in the settings menu where you can see various stats keepin... Continue reading

  
• Progress Update: Editing Complete & Beta Prep
  November 28, 2022 by Small Gray Games

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  I've finished another major phase of development: editing. I'll still do quite a bit more before the official release and during final testing, but I spent a few focused play-throughs cleaning up what... Continue reading

  
• Feature Design: Sad Sack Mode & Hotshot Mode
  September 12, 2022 by Small Gray Games

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  #feature

  I’m currently working on a feature I’ve been planning to implement since the start of development, initially just because I thought it would be funny: Sad Sack Mode . The feature is a special sett... Continue reading

  
• Progress Update: Full Draft Completed
  September 07, 2022 by Small Gray Games

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  I've finished a full draft of the game! Everything from the prologue to the end, including all of the different epilogues depending on player choices, is complete and functional for a current total of... Continue reading

  
• Progress Update: Epilogues & Editing
  July 26, 2022 by Small Gray Games

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  I hope you like reading words, because I've been writing a lot of them. My last progress update was when I hit the 200k word mark , and that felt like a big milestone, but now I'm looking at 257k. The... Continue reading

  
• Communicating Genre in Text Games
  June 28, 2022 by Small Gray Games

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  Every time I talk to somebody about The Salt Keep, I find myself a little uncertain as to how to describe it. It’s not so much that it’s hard to explain – I think it’s conceptually pretty stra... Continue reading

  
• Devlogs, Paywalls, and Unknowable Marketing
  June 13, 2022 by Small Gray Games

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  I've been working on this game for a long time, on and off since somewhere around 2018, then ramping up in 2021. I didn't talk about it publicly until I posted this demo, but once I did that, maintain... Continue reading

  
• Hitting the 200k Words Mark
  June 07, 2022 by Small Gray Games

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  Hey everybody, This is just a progress update to let you know that I've hit the 200,000 words mark on this project! The pace is still going strong, and while I'm thinking it'll end up a bit longer tha... Continue reading
• Why I Prefer Fixed Characters: Fallout & Cyberpunk 2077 vs. Geralt of Rivia
  May 09, 2022 by Small Gray Games

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  This post was originally published for free on my Patreon. Please consider subscribing if you enjoy it! Also, heads up if you’re worried about spoilers for Fallout 3, Fallout 4, Cyberpunk 2077, or T... Continue reading
• Adding Save Import & Export (Demo v0.1.3)
  April 24, 2022 by Small Gray Games

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  Version 0.1.3 of the demo is uploaded! This one is pretty small, but should make things easier down the line: A handful of small style fixes and behind-the-scenes cleanup New import and export save fi... Continue reading
• Demo Version 0.1.2 Uploaded
  April 18, 2022 by Small Gray Games

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  I just uploaded version 0.1.2 of the demo on all available platforms. It's a small update with some typo fixes, but mostly to fix a specific bug: Change the surgeon's bag from a consumable to a regula... Continue reading
• Adding a browser-based demo
  April 14, 2022 by Small Gray Games

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  Hey everybody, I just added a browser-based version of the demo, so you can now play it on the page here. Until I have an Android and iOS versions in place, this should make it accessible on mobile as... Continue reading