Monochrome Heights is out and available on Steam! In fact, it has been since October 7, 2025. I’m writing this devlog a little over three weeks after the release of the game. I decided to write this final reflection after the game’s release so I could process not just the excitement and anticipation around the release date, but include some thoughts about the game post launch. I’m glad I did, because this post might have been very different had I written it before the game came out.
It has been some time since I’ve written a devlog for the game. It’s actually been a year and half. I decided that I needed to just finish the darn thing, and that any activity, even if helpful for processing or marketing, could take a back seat. Perhaps that wasn’t the smartest choice, but it felt necessary, and either way it’s what I did.
Since the last devlog, I updated the demo significantly, participated in Steam Next Fest with the game, and brought the game to a 1.0 release earlier this month. So quite a bit I could cover! However, at this point, the main thing is the game is done and out in the world.
How did it do, and how am I feeling? Well, the game didn’t sell terribly well. To be honest, that wasn’t surprising given what I learned along the way and given the general level of interest and Steam wishlist numbers I was able to gather prior to release. But even some of my low expectations were not met. And that was hard. I don’t know that I should have expected anything different, but even so, I felt down about it and had a difficult time processing the results after the game’s release.
The sales and reception of the game, combined with some other stressors in my life, contributed to me breaking out in hives and getting sick with a cold. I had been riding the adrenaline of anticipation and burning the candle at both ends in the weeks leading up to release, and I crashed and burned, emotionally and physically.
Whenever I brought up some of the tough feelings and mixed emotions about the results of the game release, people would insist that I should be proud of what I accomplished and attempt to encourage me. But I knew I needed to work through my feelings, and process them. Perhaps modern American culture isn’t comfortable sitting with negative emotions, or the confusion and gray area that can come when a big project comes to a close, but that’s a separate post for another time.
Now, though, I’m feeling better, and I’m able to recognize the real accomplishment of finishing and releasing a game. I’m also able to acknowledge and learn from the mistakes I’ve made and the many lessons I’ve learned, not just in making the game, but in marketing and releasing it. I’m continuing to patch known issues, and considering a small 2.0 update to close out the game and have it be a finished project that I can truly feel proud of, regardless of sales or reception.
Perhaps most importantly, I’m feeling motivated to make more games. I have no shortage of ideas, and I’m starting to explore them through design documents and prototyping. I have a commercial game project I’m working on with my son, and alongside that, plan to work on something smaller that I can finish more quickly than Monochrome Heights.
The journey from idea to completion for Monochrome Heights has been over three and a half years. As this chapter of my life comes to a close, I am so thankful for all the support I received along the way, from communities like the Switch Headz, the Boss Rush Network, The Narrative Department, and all of my collaborators, friends, and family. I truly would not have been able to make this game without those folks helping, cheering me on, offering feedback, and so much more. I’m looking forward to sharing more in the future about how my indie gamedev venture continues!
Featured Image: One Frog Games
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