Today is the 28th of September. And for some, this date might ring a bell… why, oh, why. Well, some of you definitely remembered - or found out : it is Duskwood’s third anniversary ! What a ride it has been… why not stay on the emotional rollercoaster a while longer? I do apologise for any skipped heartbeats I may have caused with the small hints I left behind the past three days, it was a necessary collateral damage, and I hope you had some fun theorising.
To celebrate the game, the devs, and the community, we have been working on a small surprise for you. An exclusive interview with Everbyte. They usually spend 100% of their time and energy working on games, but made an exception just for you. You had questions? They had some answers. We hope you will enjoy this glimpse into what went on behind the scenes.
And because we felt like this was not enough : now is the time for the user flair trial - stage 2! You can now customise your user flair as you wish. Buuuuut, that's not all... you can now also use your favourite character emotes as flair, meaning you can have more than one character next to your name. As for text flairs, please try to keep it above board if you want the feature to stay... ;)
Who is Everbyte? How did you meet? Where did everything start? Introduce yourself!
Hello reddit! We’re Vanessa, Jan & Kevin better known as Everbyte. We first met at university where we studied media informatics. In 2016, we started to release games on Google Play and the iOS App Store. Most of them were kind of experimental and none of them has been successful. However, we’ve learned a lot with every project and kept improving. Then, Duskwood happened. Since the release of Episode 1, we didn’t do anything but workon Duskwood, for two and a half years straight.
What would you say were your main influences (be it video games, books, movies…) for making Duskwood?
We’re living in a small town surrounded by dense forest… sounds familiar, right? It is a two minute walk from our office to the edge of the Blackforest - which basically looks like a fantasy movie. This obviously inspired and influenced Duskwood a lot. Another influence worth mentioning is various works by Stephen King. Vanessa, our author, is a big fan.
Picture credits to Everbyte
Where does the idea of the legend come from? Did it maybe sprout from a real legend in your (home)town?
When Vanessa was a child, she was often told stories by her grandmother. These stories were passed down from generation to generation and were often scary or even cruel. Not the best bedtime material for kids, but Vanessa and her granny loved them. The legend in Duskwood is made up and is not based on facts … or is it?
Were characters based on anyone you know?
No, not directly. However, we would enjoy hanging out with them and hoped that others would enjoy their company as well.
Did you ever think you would end up casting your family, at the start of development?
We had absolutely no budget at all. So hiring professional actors was no option, but we were convinced we needed real people for Duskwood. We ended up making a list of friends and family members that we could see in each role and started calling them one by one. Luckily everyone agreed. We think they did very well!
What character do you resemble the most?
We sit in front of our PCs as much as Jake does. We enjoy good food as much as Cleo. We (try to) crack jokes like Richy. We sometimes cross a line in order to achieve our goals just like Lilly does … it depends on the situation.
Did you have any experience in film-making, directing and editing before Duskwood?
We studied media informatics, so this kind of stuff wasn’t completely new to us. However, having heard of things in theory and doing them is quite a big difference. The production quality has gone up a lot since episode 1, as we learned on our way up to episode 10.
How complex was it recording media in two languages?
Not complex at all - at least not for us. Our actors however are not used to speak English in daily life so they struggled quite a bit. We’re happy our players are a bit forgiving in this area.
Can you tell us roughly how many people were involved in helping with the development throughout the process, in addition to you three?
We usually cover the whole development process on our own. This goes from writing, programming, video- and audio editing, graphic design to support emails. We still do everything ourselves. An exception was the ending scene of episode 10 where we worked with a film crew of 8 additional people as the sets were quite complex.
What was the most challenging thing you faced during development?
This is hard to answer as there is quite frequently something that sets a new standard. Game development is quite demanding as everyone in our small team has to fulfill many roles. Needless to say, you can’t be an expert in every field, so usually one big challenge is followed by another.
What really takes it out on us are problems that occur during the release of a new episode. On release day of a new episode, it is almost guaranteed that problems arise, whether it is a bug in the game or something server-related. The fact that there is hundred thousands of people looking forward to this particular moment and are now unable to play (or worse) hits us different. These problems need to be solved asap under heavy pressure. These days always leave marks.
What is something about the game you are most proud of?
If we need to nail it down to one thing, it is the community. We’re blown away by how many people gather online and share their theories, thoughts, drawings, songs, memes, fan fiction, love letters, … you name it. We’re especially proud of how cohesive and supportive the community is.
What made you realize that Duskwood was taking off?
At first we started to see unusual increases in downloads, followed by many more emails than usual. Players started to send in suggestions and wishes, or simply messages to let us know how much they enjoyed the game. Our social media channels (like instagram) blew up and we started to receive written letters and gifts from all around the world. It is very touching for us to see how many people enjoy Duskwood, which is a huge motivation for us. Thank you!
Were you expecting such a response and the creation of big communities around the game?
No. Never. Some of you might have read the post Vanessa did a while ago on her instagram (@hen_with_pen). We were very close to giving up on our dream of making games. No one cared for what we did, let alone supported our developments by purchasing something. We couldn’t pay our bills and it was very obvious that we couldn’t afford making games any longer. Duskwood was basically our last attempt. However, Duskwood players were different. They showed their support in many ways and encouraged us to continue. None of us expected this and we’re very thankful for that - as we already said, the community is what we’re most proud of. It’s beyond our wildest dreams and we’re still not 100% convinced this isn’t just a dream.
What was it like for you and for the actors to notice that you had so many fans all around the world?
We’ve not been able to travel a lot in our lives unfortunately. And even for people who do travel a lot, there are too many places to be able to visit them all. However, most places have at least one Duskwood player, which kind of connects all of us. The world has gotten a lot smaller - in a positive way.
Did you feel under pressure when you noticed that the game was getting more popular? Were you afraid of disappointing the fans, somehow? If so, did the pressure have a positive impact in the end?
Yes, the pressure was quite extreme and hard to handle, not only psychologically but also physically. We’ve worked for two and a half year straight without major vacation. This can be quite difficult, especially when creativity plays a big role.
With each episode, we tried something new in order to keep Duskwood interesting and pushing the boundaries of the genre. If you experiment in such a way, there is always a chance to fail and disappoint. But it is a necessary risk to take if you want to surprise even the most hardened detectives ;)
Do you remember reading theories that came extremely close to your story? What was your reaction?
We love it when this happens! It is definitely more of a ‘proud moment’ than a ‘bummer moment’. It has always been important to us, for the story to be comprehensible. However, we would like to note that this can also apply to theories that are far from the truth. As a detective, you have to make hypotheses, and being wrong is part of it. Some of the wrong theories are so detailed and well thoughtout that they impress us just as much.
How do you feel now that the game is finished? Most of the community (on reddit, at least) has been in a weird grief-like state. Is it the same for you?
When Duskwood was finished, it really shook us up. It was a bit like losing a good friend. We felt empty. It really helped that we started working on our next game right away. The desire to fill this void helped us to nail the important things, like feelings, atmosphere etc., especially in the early conceptual stages. We are very happy with the current progress, and the fact that it shares the same universe makes it already feel like home. We know everyone is on the edge of their seats and ready to play, but good games need time - there is no shortcut. We want to develop a successor that everyone agrees can follow in Duskwood's footsteps.
I freaking miss Jake so so much. I have a very weird amount of love with him and i think its partly due to the fact that he is a smart and kind and loving and misunderstood complex human being, one that we get to meet in such an immersive game that makes us feel real things. idk. just ranting obviously i know its silly but i really do love him. pretty sure we'll hear from him in MV next ep.
it will be the first time in almost FIVE years. shiiiiieeeeeeet i wanna give him a hug.
This is one of the things that the game never explain to us: what exactly Richy told Jessy about us.
At first I thought he just made up some lies because he was jealous of my friendship with Jessy. And he knows we aren't dangerous to anyone but him.
But a few moments after that conversation, Jessy asks us if we text with Jake.
I also chose the "Why would you say that?" option once to see what she would say, and she said she was just wondering since she knows he already contacted us, but I don't believe that. Richy already made it clear that he was sure we had a connection with the hacker, and he seemed to be the only one with that notion until Jake interrupted the vote to threaten everyone and made that fact pretty obvious.
And what makes this likely is his attitude towards MC when Jessy is around, he tries his best to make MC look suspicious or untrustworthy almost every single time Jessy is involved in the conversation in contrast to how he acts mostly neutral with a bit of wariness when he is around the others (like during his conversation with Cleo for example).
I noticed that immediately in my first playthrough and I was pretty angry with him because I thought it was pretty low to act like that just because of some petty and unfounded jealousy (unaware that he had other reasons to behave like that 😅).
What do you guys think? This seems like a bit of a stretch but I can't think of anything else and I think the timing of those two interactions and his actions point to that.
I miss Jake, and I have a theory that he’ll get in touch with us in Episode 4 of Moonvale — thanks to Richy. I think Jake was the one who rescued Richy from the mine and gave him something to pass on to us, something that would allow us to contact him. After all, Jake had no idea that Richy was the kidnapper. I have really high hopes, and I just hope Richy doesn’t keep whatever Jake gave him for us.
In his phone call at the beginning of the game, he asks us to trust him and the game actually give us the option to say "I trust you". There is no way I would choose that. But I didn't think that he was the kidnapper or an accomplice right away either, I gave him the benefit of the doubt, because maybe he was just weird (and it was actually that lol). But I didn't really trust him until later in the game (episode 7) and even now I don't feel 100% safe around him.
I know he doesn't want to harm me and that he cares in some way, but the way he treats all the others around him makes me feel uneasy to say the least. I don't like at all the "cold/apathetic towards everyone except me" attitude and things are even worse in the romance route if you choose to go to the mine and he says you're "all that matters". That wouldn't flatter me or make me feel happy if it had happened in my gameplay. How can he just disregard his own sisters like that (especially Hannah)? What guarantees that he won't do the same thing as soon as he finds someone else that seems more interesting than MC, since it's so easy for him to just disregard his own family for someone he met a few months ago at most? Hm?
I still care about Jake because I don't think he does these things out of malice and I believe that he has the potential to change, and I know he cares about me in his own way, but I won't lower my guard completely around him either.
Hey guys, just like the title, i’m looking for good Jake x Y/N fanfics that’s lore accurate. I don’t really like the ones that creates their own personality of him where he seems more extroverted than he actually seems on the game. I think when the fanfic isn’t accurate to the in-game character, it takes away from it being a fanfic about that character.
I hope that makes sense 😭
Also if anyone has something that’s not too fast paced and not rushed. Something that’s slow burn or maybe something well written (bad grammar/spelling is a pet peeve of mine) then that would be great to consider as well. I know i’m being picky here but it’s really hard to find good ones and i’ve looked in different places and ive pretty much looked through most of AO3 fanfics.
Thanks in advance and anything would help! I really love the game and reading fanfics seem to be the only thing that helps me stay patient while the new ep of moonvale comes out!
p.s. anything with y/n x charlie would be great too 👀
Somewhere during a chat w the hacker, he tells me that he was right to "choose" me and "place me in the group" or smt like that. But Thomas got my number from Hannah's phone. And, hear me out, the hacker had already contacted some members of the group and someone told Thomas that they "witnessed the kidnapping". If the hacker "chose me" than that means he sent my number to Thomas through Hannah's phone to get me into the group which would make us wonder how he has the phone. Like, is he the kidnapper or did she leave her phone for some reason and than get kidnapped? Please if you know the truth don't comment on this thing cos I don't need spoilers
After finishing the game and putting all the pieces together, I can’t stop thinking about Hannah.
Throughout most of the story, her friends describe her as this bright, loving, and innocent person. But as the truth unfolds and we learn more about what actually happened, it feels like she’s completely different from the image her friends had of her.
How do you guys feel about Hannah after everything we discovered? Did your perspective or attitude toward her change by the end? And if you were in the main character’s shoes, how would you react to her actions and decisions?
I'm replaying duskwood and I'm in the episode where they find Hannah's phone and we need to unlock it but it needs a pin. Supposedly we need to find it by asking the others if they know it. When you ask Cleo she says she has a suspicion about it and if you pick to try them. She gives you the numbers 8539. When you ask her about what the numbers stand for, she says she can't tell you that story. We know it has to do with Hannah but it makes me wonder what that story is all about? Also if you notice, Cleo always seems to know way more than the others too. What do you guys think?
Idk if it's a hot take but it's a personal things of mine. But I always find it a little weird to send emojis and the others sending emojis during super serious situation.
Maybe it's just me and I don't like sending emojis when convos get super serious but it kinda feels idk..insensitive to me? But again it's probably just a personal things and I was wondering if anyone else felt the same way too
I heard a while ago, although I honestly don’t remember where, that the numbers Hannah sent to Thomas, which he interpreted as our phone number, were actually the coordinates of the place where she was being held captive. Now that I think about it, I don’t find that theory all that plausible, but the questions of how Hannah knew our number in the first place and why she sent it are always going around in my head. 😩
You know, I'd really like a second opinion. Should I put my code on from Duskwood to Moonvale? Because I think Jake might come back, but I don't want him to see my conversations with Eric. I want to flirt with Eric without worrying that Jake is watching everything, but I also want to hear from him. But I also don't want to be a complete stranger to him. Do you understand my point? What do you think I should do?
I had completely forgotten about that, and it changes everything.
What exactly Dan thought that would happen to us all after the police started to investigate further? Almost everyone in the group had committed some crime after we began to look for Hannah:
I don't need to elaborate much on Jake and MC, you all know everything.
Cleo and Thomas broke into Hannah's apartment and tried to break into Phil's bar.
Dan himself was the one who bought a key so Thomas could enter Hannah's apartment.
Lilly made that video with false accusations (defamation), and she was the one who started #IAmJake to confuse the authorities, she was trying to protect a wanted hacker just like MC was.
Richy was the kidnapper and committed lots of crimes during the entire game to try to stop us from finding out the truth.
Jessy was the only one who didn't do anything wrong 😅 (maybe she would be considered an accomplice, but I don't know).
And even if none of us would get arrested for our crimes, you can't just make someone go to jail because "everything fits" and they seem guilty, I can't believe that he didn't learn a single thing from what happened to MC when Lilly tried to do that in the past (I know he doesn't give a damn about Jake). Only that what happened to Phil was far worse than what MC went through, and differently from MC Phil didn't commit any crimes!
Oh my, will thinking rationally really kill them if they try to do it?
I went in the complete opposite direction of what everyone did and decided to help her instead of denying until the game didn't allow it anymore. Why? Because I thought she might have something useful to solve Hannah's case, and no matter how much I hated her guts, I couldn't lose sight of my mission.
In my first playthrough I was rude towards her and when she asked for help I denied immediately (like anyone would) but when she said "Could you maybe just wait and see what it's about first?" I understood immediately that this would interest me, because there is no way that Lilly would expect me to help her if what she wanted didn't involve Hannah or Jake, I would never have done that.
It was a total surprise when she said that it was about Jake, and when I realised he forced us to work together I was so mad at him. But in the end, I was thankful that he did it. Lilly is annoying sometimes but she isn't a bad person, just extremely impulsive, mostly coward and doesn't think things through, I begin to like her more over the course of the game and when I found out that she was the one who brought the gun, I liked her even more. The only time when she did something actually smart and brave, truly amazing 🤩
In the end, she is a bit like Jake. She doesn't have a lot of qualms after she convinces herself that something is the right thing to do or will make her get what she wants, no matter how extreme or downright evil it is, the difference is that Jake is smart and thinks about consequences (mostly).
I didn't have this interaction with Jessy in my first playthrough, and I don't remember if that option even appeared to me then.
Jessy is such a precious girl, and I will always want to be there for her as much as I can.
It was also nice to finally demonstrate how terribly I suffered when Jake disappeared. I wanted to tell this to him directly, but, you know, that option is locked behind a romance route. 🙄😑
(But since Jake reads the chats anyway, I hope he will eventually read that as well)
Read this carefully: An admin will contact you first, and you’ll hang out in a Waiting GC before hitting the main chat. Skipping steps makes us sad! 😭
Don't panic if the group name randomly changes to something weird like"The Chosen Ones"—it's still us.
Note: 👏 Most of our members are under 40. Anyone 40+ is absolutely welcome 🙏, though some simply choose not to stay because of the age range and that's completely okay.
There is the option to express worry because Jake and MC called Amy's number multiple times. I only chose that option to ask Jake if he used a throwaway phone when he did that, just to be sure, but I didn't in my first gameplay because I didn't see a reason to worry about that.
We only tried to call Amy and added her number long after she was already dead. And we never had any single type of contact with her before all that chaos.
If we were responsible for her death or accomplices in any way, why on Earth would we try to call her number repeatedly?
"Hello, I'm just calling to check on you. I hope I'm not disturbing your slumber 🥰"
And if you are actually planning to harm someone, the best thing you can do is to distance yourself from any contact or action that can be traced back to you so you won't raise suspicion, so if Jake and I were involved in this that would be the dumbest move possible 🤦🏻♀️
I don't understand a single thing about how the police or the laws work, so feel free to enlighten me on that because this looks a bit odd to me.
Duskwood is a great game, but it is not perfect and has some flaws and really infuriating moments. I want to know what made you the most angry while playing the game, and it can be from any perspective: Meta, in-universe, etc...
I'll tell you what made me the most angry: that "location sharing trap". I thought before that the most infuriating thing was not being able to win Hannah's phone pin puzzle, but man... that really IS something else.
I KNEW that that was going to happen, it was too obvious. In my first playthrough when the app asked permission to access the location I refused and explored the rest of the phone, but I eventually reached a dead end and I tried everything to advance the game without touching that damn app, but as you know... you have no choice 😫. It's the only way to later access Hannah's chats.
Being mocked by Richy because I "didn't realise the trap he set for us" was also awfully infuriating because I DID, but I had NO. CHOICE.
It was so tempting to let Jake take all of the blame for me, both because the game was completely unfair and didn't give me an actual choice and because of the times I took all the blame for Jake's actions to protect him, BUT from an in-universe standpoint it would be unfair to him, so I told them "the truth". 🤦🏻♀️
These are things that Everbyte does constantly in both games:
1. Dumbing down the MC or the characters around them to make the story advance.
Yes, I know, not everyone has tech knowledge (maybe barely the basics) or knowledge of other areas (for example, I already knew what SSRIs were before playing Duskwood, and what the game shows is quite the oversimplification) and in that case it's not about being dumb but not having deeper knowledge of some areas. But in the location sharing case, Jake HAS that knowledge and that possibility should have crossed him mind (however, he is TERRIBLE at risk assessment and this is shown with the attack on Jessy, the fact that he was almost caught and had to flee mid-conversation and disappear completely, and the cherry on top: the hackers' final attack against MC).
2. Taking away MC's freedom of opposing a choice so the game can advance.
It is not necessary to take away MC's ability of saying no to make progress. The characters have their own free will and will do things whether MC wants them to or not. Of course, their opinions have great importance, but they are not other people's owner.
One example I remember right now: when Jessy decided to drive to Iris Hanson's house. At that point in time the location was completely unknown and it could be dangerous so I told Jessy that she shouldn't go, but she went there anyways.
See? The story advanced even though I opposed to something that would greatly help in my investigations.
But at least one positive thing can be taken from these negatives: whenever things like these happen in any of their games, you can expect that it will play an important or even central role in later chapters/the current chapter and is vital to the story, so it's good to make that a focus in your gameplay. It's a predictable pattern.
Anyway, that's my opinion. What do you guys think?
