ERASURE — Devlog #001: From an Idea to a Playable Mystery

A retrospective on development since July 2026
Development retrospective · July–October 2026

Some games begin with a studio, a budget and a carefully planned announcement calendar. Mine began with a story I wanted to bring to life.

I'm the solo developer behind ERASURE, an in-development mystery visual novel built with Ren'Py. At 9:33 a.m., Liana Voss receives a message from an unknown sender. It's the kind of interruption that makes an ordinary morning feel anything but ordinary.

I haven't been publishing regular updates since development began. Instead, I've been writing, experimenting, building scenes, debugging scripts, testing what works and changing what doesn't. So this first devlog is a look back at the progress—not an attempt to pretend the journal was here from the beginning.

The beginning: July 2026

The earliest project commit I can confirm is dated July 13, 2026, when I established the Ren'Py project under its earlier working identity, Cold Day in Hell. The creative concept may have started before that, but July 13 is the first documented Git milestone.

By later that month, I was already adding interface artwork, image resources, project documentation and early design concepts. The project was taking shape not only as a story but as an experience players could explore.

The game and its identity evolved along the way. Some early concepts, visual directions and names changed as I got a better sense of the experience I wanted to make. That creative evolution led to the title ERASURE.

From writing to interactive storytelling

August brought important implementation milestones. I added Chapter 1 puzzles and story assets, introduced a prologue, connected Chapter 1 to Chapter 2, and worked on cinematic transitions, character assets and audio.

That taught me quickly that a scene can work beautifully on the page and still need a different approach on screen. A dialogue line has a rhythm. So does the moment a character appears, changes expression, or falls silent. Player interaction adds another layer entirely.

One of my ongoing goals is to make those pieces feel like they belong together.

Making Liana and Jonas feel alive

A lot of development has involved Liana Voss and Jonas Kade: revising expressions, refining poses, adjusting character scale and staging moments when both appear in the same scene.

These choices may sound small, but they make a difference. An alarmed reaction shouldn't look skeptical. A tense conversation should feel like the characters are reacting to each other, not simply exchanging lines beside two unrelated portraits.

I've learned to ask myself a question over and over: Does this moment feel right?

If it doesn't, I revise it.

September: finding Erasure's identity

As development continued, I settled on the Erasure identity and refined how the story's opening message is presented. I also kept working through character staging, Ren'Py errors, presentation settings and audio decisions.

Some of the most useful lessons have come from experiments that I decided not to keep. Testing an effect successfully doesn't automatically mean it makes the game better. Every choice needs to serve the mood, the characters and the story.

Where AI fits into the process

I use AI-assisted tools in parts of the creative and technical workflow, and I want to be transparent about that.

But this isn't a process of typing a prompt and accepting whatever comes back. I direct the story, choose the visual direction, evaluate and revise character artwork, make decisions about staging, implement scenes in Ren'Py, troubleshoot errors and test how the game actually plays.

The tools help me create; the responsibility for the creative direction and final decisions remains mine.

October: documenting the work and preparing to share it

More recently, I've been reviewing the opening experience, thinking about player feedback and considering how to introduce Erasure to people who enjoy story-driven mysteries.

I also realized I needed to preserve something beyond code commits and artwork: the reasons behind my decisions. Why did I revise a character's expression? Why did a scene need different framing? Why was an effect abandoned? What did a bug teach me?

That's why this journal is starting now. It's both an invitation to follow the project and a record of how it grows.

What's next

I'm continuing to refine the opening chapters, character presentation, interactive elements and technical stability. When the experience is ready, I want to invite more feedback and share a carefully selected look behind the scenes—without spoiling the mystery.

I haven't announced a release date, and this isn't a claim that the game is finished. It's a milestone in a solo development journey that's already taught me how much art, code, testing and persistence go into bringing a story to life.

ERASURE
One message. A mystery waiting to unfold.

— ERASURE Development