#1 At Last - Third Time Really Is the Charm!

Finally! The results are out: Geiger won #1 in Creativity, Presentation, and Overall MayWolf 2025 Ranking!

A massive thank you to everyone who played the game, shared their thoughts, and supported me throughout this journey. That certainly went way better than I anticipated.

May was absolute chaos for me. Work stress, family matters, money stuff — all the usual joy of adulting. There were plenty of times I wanted to fold. But hey, I was too stubborn to stick around. The project was only halfway done (again), but somehow, it came together into something that a lot of you enjoy. It’s not a perfect game. Not even close. It’s incomplete, has a polarizing genre shift, and probably made a few people go “???”. Kinda weird for a game jam winner, right? But you all decided the results, and I genuinely couldn’t be more thankful for that.

Looking back, this has been anything but a short journey. It all started during MayWolf 2023. Like many aspiring writers, I just wanted to tell a story. The only problem? I had zero clue what I was doing.

Sure, I wrote sometimes, but mostly scientific articles. I could draw, but mostly for infographic posters. I could code, but it’s in MATLAB. So… yeah. Starting from scratch was the only option. And that’s how I began this toxic love-hate relationship with the Ren’Py girl. After a solid month of constant frustration, crying in syntax, and Googling every five minutes, I somehow magicked my way into finishing my very first visual novel: Moonlit Field.

But the dread didn’t disappear after I hit the submit button. In fact, something even scarier loomed right after: people actually playing it. I was anxious. Overwhelmed. Every time someone pointed out a typo on stream or commented about a bug, I wanted to disappear into the air and never return.

Time passed, and it honestly wasn’t as bad as I feared??? In fact, it was… kinda great? I learned a lot. About writing. About Ren’Py. About pacing and structure. About layered image (gosh I used to hate it), and how to make a tail wag! All from the discussions, the comments, the feedback, the encouragement. It was a really good experience. I actually liked it.

Next thing I knew, more game jams came, and I kept joining. One after another, I did my best to improve, with one goal in mind: make something better than the last. I mostly worked solo, juggling writing, coding, and art all at once. Not just to test myself, but also… well, because I’m terrible at communicating (I’m just an awkward doggo, okay? ><)

It’s all exhausting. It’s demanding. I had no idea why I kept myself drowning in that self-inflicted pain, but then I realized what truly kept me going: your words. Every comment, every bit of feedback, every “whoa”, every “I enjoyed this”, every “how did you do that?” message — it made all the struggle worth it. The stress fades a little more each time I read something, be it the kind and thoughtful comment or the harsh but true ones. I’m so so grateful that, even though the furry VN space is niche, it’s full of encouraging and supportive people. Whether it’s a short remark or a full-blown essay, it means a lot to me. In fact, I think it means a lot to every developer.

Moonlit Field, One More Light, and now Geiger. Third time really is the charm, huh?

I’ve learned so much about VN development over the years. About how to tell a story, how to juggle way too many hats at once. I’ve set the bar higher for myself with each project… and at this point, I think I might need to retire from solo-dev life lol.

But seriously, for everyone who’s supported me in any way: thank you. Thank you. THANK YOU. I couldn’t ask for more.

Though if I can be just a little selfish… please keep leaving your mark. Your thoughts, your feedback, even just a single line. Whether it’s positive or the hard truth, it helps more than you know. Not just for me, but for other creators too.

And to all the aspiring devs out there: just do it. Really. Things will go wrong. But eventually, they’ll start going right, even if only a little. No pain, no gain. It’s never gonna be an instant journey, so you might as well start today instead of waiting for “tomorrow.”

You’ve got this!

Ah, well, I think I’ve rambled too much now. Expect some updates sometime next month about the next chapter of Geiger. But for the time being, that’s all I’ve got.

See ya around!