- Moonlit Dreams! A new game! - 13 May 2026
Hello YARG-heads! I am told that this post will only reach my "most engaged fans", whatever that means, so if you're reading this, you're a real one. That's not just me saying it, that's Steam's own words, baby.Anyway, let's get straight to it: I'm working on a new game! Moonlit Dreams is a block pushing game with overlapping levels, inside a dreamscape you'll never want to leave. In it, you:Push blocks, open doors, traverse mazes, and then do it again across and between three layers of psyche.Explore an odd dreamscape that's strangely familiar yet mysterious.Meet many similarly odd characters who are kind of you in a way, or I guess they're really different facets of yourself, or maybe it's just random neurons flashing inside your brain, who can say?To be quite frank with you, this game is like the polar opposite of YARG. YARG is a precision platformer, this is a puzzle game. YARG has…
- YARG is now more affordable! - 13 January 2025
Hello, everyone! Hope you've all had an amazing New Year's! I'm here with a quick update to let all y'all know that YARG is now $3.99 (formerly $5.99)! That's like a 33% discount, except permanent! There isn't any particular reason for why I've decided now is the right time to do this. I've always put YARG up for Steam's seasonal sales, which dropped the price regardless, so I figured I might as well go all the way! Also, looking at games of similar genre and scope, I feel like $3.99 is more appropiate for the sort of game YARG is. Don't forget, this was my first substantial game project, so I'm still learning a lot of this stuff! A massive thank you to everyone who's supported me on this whole journey! I've written about it at length elsewhere, but I cannot overstate the impact that this project had (and still has) on me and my work. I'm glad I could put this lil' platformer out there…
- Steam Awards? Sounds kinda epic... - 21 November 2023
Hiya, gang! I got an e-mail from Steam informing me of this year's upcoming (as of writing) Steam Awards, suggesting I make a quick post to let y'all know about it! So this is that! YARG came out last year, meaning it's eligible for the Labor of Love award! And lemme tell ya, after all this time, with all the updates and the recently released free prologue? ...I wouldn't have done all that if I hated the game, I tell ya that much. Now, I'm not crazy, I am well-aware that this tiny indie game is but a drop in the ocean of 2D pixel art platformers. But I have a proposition to make that, I believe, no other game of this genre can compete with... ...wouldn't it be really funny if YARG got an award? Like, c'mon now. You know it would be hilarious. And just to sweeten the deal a lil' bit, you'll notice that this whole shebang is taking place during the Autumn Sale. 20% off for what's probably…
- YARG: Prologue is OUT! - 16 September 2023
Wahey! It's YARG's one-year anniversary! To celebrate, I have taken the old YARG demo (from the 2022 Steam Next Fest), revamped it, gave it a facelift, re-recorded a few voicelines here and there, and turned it into the official YARG: Prologue!! If you weren't here back then, be prepared for a FREE stand-alone experience with 7 levels from the full game, new characters, a new story, and perhaps even a cheeky bit of lore™! Also, depending on when you're reading this, the full game may or may not be on its highest discount yet, at a whole 20% off! If you enjoy the prologue, why not see where the rest of the story goes? :) I've also written a little bit about my thoughts on this whole journey, which you can find as a thread on Twitter. But I am very happy with how the game's been evolving, and I am so excited for the future. Thank you to everyone who's been here, even if you only found out…
- YARG's first year anniversary! - 9 September 2023
Hello everyone! YARG's going to be one year old in a week!! Crazy how time flies, huh? I've prepared a very special surprise for the anniversary! But until then, check out this lil' teaser video! Can't wait to see y'all then! - Santum
- YARG: Update v1.1.1 - 10 May 2023
Well hello there! I've got a new update for all of y'all! This one's labelled as if it were a minor update, but it actually contains a bunch of fixes, improvements, and an entirely new feature: Discord Rich Presence! I decided not to go with "v1.2" for this one though, because... ...well, let's just say that I still have more plans for the future of YARG :) Anyway, let's get into the patchnotes! v1.1.1 changes: Added: Discord Rich Presence! Let all your friends know you were stuck for 15 minutes in that one level where all the lasers are aiming at you!You can enable and disable this in the Options menu. If you already had a save file from an earlier version, it defaults to being disabled. Otherwise, it defaults to being enabled.Every level in the game now has a name! These are still subject to change, but I’m good with how they currently are.You can now skip the every cutscene except th…
- YARG: Update v1.1 - 18 January 2023
Hello hello hello! Hope everyone's had an excellent New Year! I've been working on an update to the level editor for a few months (practically since launch lol), and the first half of that is finally ready to share! So, I'm proud to announce the first content update for YARG: the Level Editor Facelift Update!!! The level editor has always been my least favourite bit of the game. It was functional, and I used it to make every level in the game, but there were a few weird oddities and seemingly impossible to solve bugs with it. Also, it didn't work too well on controllers. This update remedies all that! The UI has been simplified and generally made a lot clearer. There are now sound effects and music. And controller support has been rebuilt from the ground up. Overall, I think this is a lot more fit for a proper finished game! I'm very happy with this current iteration of the level editor…
- YARG: Update v1.0.2c - 28 October 2022
Hey everyone! If you've seen the last patchnote, you know that the game has suffered from a huge problem since the beginning: on some people's computers, the game would refuse to load cutscenes properly (often just playing the audio but not showing the video). I thought I fixed it last time, but as it turns out the bug was still lurking underneath the surface, ready to anti-climactically ruin the ending for another player... Today, I say no more! I have reworked the cutscene system entirely, re-rendered every video, and checked and double-checked everything to no end (although to be fair, cutscenes always worked fine on my PC. That's why this bug is so dastardly)... Today's the day this bug will meet its RUIN!!!! ...ahem. I got a bit carried away there, sorry. Point is, I think I fixed the cutscene bug for real now. Here's the patchnotes! v1.0.2c changes: Fixed: Replaced Clickteam's own…
- YARG: Update 1.0.2b - 7 October 2022
Hello hello hello! How's everyone doing? This is a very small update, so small that it doesn't even get its own number. It involves the game's cutscene system. For some reason, the game will be able to load some cutscenes perfectly fine, and fail to load others. I came across this issue several times during development, and I could've sworn I fixed it, but apparently it could still happen! I suspect the problem has something to do with the file format of the cutscenes (something about codecs...). This update changes them from AVI to WMV, which I'm hoping will fix the issue. Let me know if it does! v1.0.2b changes: Fixed(?): Switched all cutscenes from AVI to WMV in the hopes they'll load properly now. Changed: Locked cutscenes to 30 FPS to prevent stuttering. As always, if you come across any bugs, feel free to @ me on Twitter or send me an email! Thanks! - Santum
- YARG: Update 1.0.2 - 19 September 2022
Hello everyone! I've got another bugfixing build for y'all! At the moment I'm chipping away at what's gonna become the game's first major update, and squashing all the bugs I find along the way. I intend on making a proper update schedule so that I don't release these bugfix updates so quick one after the other, but this is all very new to me... Anyway! Here's the changelog! v1.0.2 changes: Fixed: Game no longer softlocks when the Rage Mode failure cutscene file is deleted. Potential bug during Rage Mode, in which more than one death might've been counted sometimes. The invincibility toggle no longer gets 'stuck' in Assist Mode. Changed: Tweaked analogue stick sensibility to make accidental jumps on controller less likely. As always, if you come across any bugs, feel free to @ me on Twitter or send me an email! Thanks! - Santum
- YARG: Update 1.0.1 - 17 September 2022
Hello hello hello! As expected, the release build had some things that needed tweaking. Thankfully it wasn't anything game-breaking, so all in all, I'd call that a success! v1.0.1 changes: Added: Restored ability to skip the splash screen by pressing P (present in pre-release builds). Fixed: Level counter now doesn't show up in intro levels. When a floppy disk is picked up, it now properly rotates around the player (it was previously off-centre). Known bugs: Too easy to accidentally jump on controller. In Assist Mode, sometimes the invincibility toggle gets 'stuck'. If you come across any bugs, feel free to @ me on Twitter or send me an email! And as usual, thank you for reading and I hope you'll enjoy! - Santum
- YARG IS OUT NOW!!! - 16 September 2022
YARG is now available for purchase!!!!!!! I've been working on it on and off since 2019, and I genuinely am at a loss for words. I don't know how to express the feeling of having completed a project this big. ...but nothing is ever truly complete, is it? I am already toying with ideas for free content updates, which will come out at some point in the future. And obviously, I'll be squashing any bugs that pop up (I actually caught a few just 2 days ago... game development is a wild ride). For now though, I think I've earned a little rest. To everyone who wishlisted, to my friends and family, to you reading this... I can't wait for what comes next.
- YARG comes out in 16 hours!!! - 15 September 2022
Hey everyone! Quick post here to remind y'all that YARG is coming out tomorrow, September 16th, at 9am PDT*! Due to, frankly, poor timing on my part, I won't be at my computer when the game comes out... I'll be able to publish it through my phone but yeah, not ideal. So, I'm making this post so I can set up a (pre-recorded) broadcast! I dunno if there's a better way of doing it but it is what it is lol See y'all tomorrow! AAAAAAAA!!! *The broadcast is starting way earlier, as you can tell. Again, poor timing.
- RELEASE DATE! - 24 August 2022
I am extremely happy to announce that YARG is coming out (drumroll) on September 16th! To celebrate, I made a new trailer! Check it out! As always, thank you to everyone, from those who played the demo, to those who wishlisted the game, to those who are only hearing of the game for the first time right now. I am still in disbelief over the fact that I managed to make an entire videogame, from start to finish, and it's finally going to go out for people to play. Thank you.
- YARG is done! - 7 August 2022
Well hello everyone! Long time to talk, eh? I've been busy with a bunch of stuff, most of it personal (studying and whatnot), and some of it actually relevant to you guys (developing the Freakin Game). That first part took up most of my time, so after the demo I could only manage to spend a little bit of time on the game. But it all added up, and I am happy to announce that YARG has finished development, and a release date is coming very soon. (I actually finished it a few weeks ago but shh) The game has over 30 levels, two endings, four animated (to the best of my ability) cutscenes, a level editor and the ability to play other people's custom levels, 85 voice-acted lines of dialogue, and so many fun little secrets I can't wait for people to discover. Needless to say, I am absolutely ecstatic and I cannot wait for all of y'all to get your hands on this game! This is my first long-term…
- YARG Demo: Update 1.0.1 - 22 February 2022
Hey gamers! I've been told about some bugs in the demo (that is to say, two bugs), so I've gone ahead and fixed them! ...kind of. You see, one of these bugs was very weird and I couldn't replicate it. So if you come across it, let me know and I'll give it another look! 1.0.1 Changes: After unlocking Rage Mode, trying to activate it just... didn't work. It'd turn on, but the Play button would stop working. (fixed) Despite the fact that the cutscene code is the same for every cutscene, on some people's computers the ending scene wouldn't play (but the sound would), while the intro cutscene would work fine. (fixed? let me know if the last cutscene doesn't work for you) That's it! Feel free to @ me on Twitter if you find some other bugs, and I'll get to fixing them ASAP! Happy Twosday (22/2/22)! EDIT: I went back to add something else. This isn't a bug fix, more of a general improvement typ…
- YARG: On Air! 2: The Return of YARG - 21 February 2022
Hello hello hello! As I'm writing this, I just finished the livestream, and just realised that I actually goofed and streamed for half an hour instead of 1 hour like I originally wanted to. Guess I looked at the clock wrong! But that doesn't matter, because I had a lot of fun playin' my game and talkin'! So much so, that I actually want to do it again! YARG: On Air! 2 The Return of YARG 24th of February (that's this Thursday!), same time as today. ...this time, I'll use a timer :) P.S.: I don't think I'm gonna restream it like I wanted to originally. Instead, I put it up on YouTube, so you can check it out whenever! EDIT: Just got done streaming! Here's the VOD! Streamed a bit less than an hour, but this time on purpose B)
- YARG: On Air! - 17 January 2022
Well hello there, gamers! Y'all are collectively looking quite handsome today, did you know that? Anyway, I'm here to let you guys know that you are all cordially invited to a livestream happening on the 21st of February! It'll be a lot of fun, you'll see. What's the occasion, you ask? Well, it's just a little something called the Steam Next Fest! And YARG will be there, with a whole entire demo!!! PAQ (Possibly Asked Questions): What's the demo gonna have, content-wise? It'll have 7 levels from the full game, showing a variety of obstacle types. Plus, a whole new story featuring new characters! Wait, why is there a new story? I wouldn't be able to fit all of the lore™ into the demo, and only putting some parts of it in would've just been unsatisfying for you and for me. Instead (not to spoil too much) there's a bit of a prequel situation going on in here! Will none of the characters fr…
- YARG's OST (Oh! Super T-epic!) - 24 October 2021
Hey gamers! YARG didn't have a soundtrack for the longest time. I don't know how to do music (believe me, I tried) and I wasn't really able to reach out to any musicians. So, the game only had SFX and voice lines in terms of audio. Thankfully, my brother happens to be pretty gosh darn good at making music, and he was kind enough to donate some of his time to making some bangers for the game. The music in YARG is adaptive; as more gameplay elements (lasers, drones, saws, ██████ and the like...) appear in the levels, the music slowly gets built upon. Here's a little preview! There's more stems n such, but I'm keeping those as surprises :) I wanted the song to be more on the chill side, because I felt that having a super intense song would just be too much when combined with the intensity of the gameplay. What do you think? If you want to hear more sick-ass music, and don't mind a bit of S…
- The power of level editors - 6 September 2021
YARG comes with a level editor. This is actually the same editor I'm using to make all the levels in the game, so anything that you see in the game, you can do in the editor. That said, it went through a complete redesign lately to make it look less... prototype-y? I still have to do a bit more work on it but it's already at a point I'm pretty happy with. Before: After: This is my first time making a level editor, so there were some particularly annoying bugs (such as one where the game refused to load level files correctly) which I've thankfully fixed already. Still, as soon as the game comes out, I'll be keeping an eye out and squashing any other bugs that might pop up. Without a level editor, I'm not sure I would've gotten this far in the game's development (TL;DR: The engine I'm using for this game treats every level as its own separate mini-game with its own separate code which wou…
