Butterfly Creek Devlog

he/him (they is fine) devlog for a game i'm making, atm its called butterfly creek but thats most certainly subject to change. atm theres no release date, or anything of the sort. i'll likely release this on itch.io (at the least a demo for free), then if i get atleast 100 dollars from donation, then i'll release it on steam.

[butterfly-creek]

INFO POST™®©

THERES AN ITCH.IO PAGE: https://i-am-controlled-by-cats.itch.io/butterfly-creek

butterfly creek is a story driven game made with GameMaker, and is heavily inspired by deltarune and undertale.

in the game, you head to a strange town in Canada/America (up to you which, unless I decide at some point) to live with your aunt- but the town risks a terrible fate if you don't save it.

DATES OF INTEREST:

8/8/25 - development started (I did the first bits of writing and art)

8/19/25 - this blog created (or at least the first devlog)

LIVE BLOG FREQUENCY TRACKER™:

1-3 weeks between posts

LIVE RELEASE DATE TRACKER™:

no idea. at the very very least half a year, but probably much more than that.

tags I'll (try to) use:

#devblog & #butterfly creek - everything I post

#devlog - major updates with consistent formatting, these will usually include all the minor updates made between it and the last devlog

#update - minor updates, info about how development is going, and info

#art update - minor updates pertaining to art, i.e. if I make a new sprite that I'm proud of

#shitpost - just silly things that don't matter much at all but are funny to me

#poll - polls usually pertaining to development decisions, or blog management decisions

#butterfly creek spoilers - major plot reveals

[butterfly-creek]

Quick update post

As indicated by the massive span of time between now and my previous post, Butterfly Creek is not being actively worked on anymore.

The project is in a state of limbo at the moment. I feel that if it is to continue existing, it will need major reworks to the story, the code, the puzzle/game play elements.

I'm not sure about the story, but the broad strokes of it can probably be maintained.

For puzzle elements, I'm not sure I want to keep using the currently existing light-mixing system. For as much as I do like the system (which is a lot, it's quite cool I think,) I'm not sure if it is versatile enough for a whole games worth of content. What's likely is that some version of it is maintained, but it's seriously reworked. I played a game a couple years ago (no clue what it was called, never even really got into the game tbh) where there was a puzzle element involving stringing wires between nodes which I found interesting. I think that something like that could be adapted into something good for this game.

Additionally, maybe some sort of combat system would be created. This is more of an alternative to the puzzle system, though. I feel like there's no stakes to anything in the game, which I don't like. I want there to be tension sometimes, and a combat system feels like it would be a good way of achieving that.

The other thing I have to figure out is how to get a good dialogue system. I think the one I have presently is pretty alright, but also can be annoying at times. If anyone has any advice, please reach out either in reblogs or DMs or replies or whatever else.

I'll leave you with this stretched track pad doodle:

[butterfly-creek]

hypothetically, if someone wanted to make a cross stitch version of your jelly (not jellyfish), would you be alright with that? for fun, not for anything commercial

funny you ask that, because I was literally just writing a response to your rb saying that!! like three people have said that it would make a good cross stitch piece, and while I don't know what would or would not make a piece be good like that, I think it would be awesome to see!!

ofc don't make it commercial, but certainly you can stitch it to your hearts content!! if you post it, please do credit me though, either this blog or @i-am-controlled-by-cats

there's also a longer version which could make a cool pattern for like a sleeve or something? idk but here's the link to it: https://www.tumblr.com/butterfly-creek/803642600710111232/long-version-montereybayaquarium-does-this-look?source=share

(also, if you want it in a different file type, or just want some element of it removed for ease of stitching, just lmk and I can do that!!)

[butterfly-creek]

21. "dark"

a jelly made with a very limited 3 tone palette. the canvas is 32x64px

i hope to add some sort of sea life to my game (perhaps just as decor) so this was fun to make. I have a couple ideas for actual assets in the game that would have some sea life, so I'll work on those in the future.

this was made for @montereybayaquarium's deep sea December art thingy. hope you guys like it.

(edit: changed "jellyfish" to "jelly" because a post made to monterey bay aquarium's tumblr saying it was a better name for the little guys)

[butterfly-creek]

long version!!

@montereybayaquarium does this look like any specific type of jelly? admittedly, i don't know my jellies and this is just done from memory

[butterfly-creek]

21. "dark"

a jelly made with a very limited 3 tone palette. the canvas is 32x64px

i hope to add some sort of sea life to my game (perhaps just as decor) so this was fun to make. I have a couple ideas for actual assets in the game that would have some sea life, so I'll work on those in the future.

this was made for @montereybayaquarium's deep sea December art thingy. hope you guys like it.

(edit: changed "jellyfish" to "jelly" because a post made to monterey bay aquarium's tumblr saying it was a better name for the little guys)

[butterfly-creek]

update post

butterfly creek is still being worked on, life has just gotten really busy, but I've been working on updating the dialogue system, and I'm done with the system itself I just have to update all the old dialogue to use the new system and that's one hell of a task

[butterfly-creek]

gameplay from that thing i referenced earlier + update on butterfly creek

VIDEO CW: MINOR FLASHING LIGHTS, LOUD(ish) NOISE

Hidden In Noise by controlled by cats

note: sorry about the poor video quality, there's not really anything i can do about that :(

this is gameplay from the game i previously mentioned, i've done quite a bit of work on it recently, as you can maybe see!! i love where its going, and mostly i just have to work on level design and maybe some optimizations.

It's a little hard to see in the video, but there's enemies that chase you around and reduce your "sanity" (indicated by the circles revolving the player) They show up as places where the noise is moving where it's not a wall.

I'd love to get some atmospheric music for this game, so if you're able to do that for free do reach out!! honestly it'd probably need only one short-ish track so not a huge task but i also dont know how music works so i could be wrong!! you'd have massive amounts of creative control around music too!! (credit would be given on the itch.io page, but likely not in the game it's self because there's no place to put any text)

BUTTERFLY CREEK UPDATE:

as for butterfly creek, i've also done much work on that! mainly, i've begun the process of redoing the dialogue system (a fairly monumental task, given the old one managed to spread itself into basically every other section of the code lmao) i've (with help from friends) also decided on some formatting for the dialogue boxes and character portraits. i'm similarly very happy with where that's going!!

[butterfly-creek]

ANNOUNCMENT

I've started working on a second game, this one MUCH smaller scoped and less significant than butterfly creek, but i figured i'd share none the less. It's a horror-type game, utilizing a visual effect preventing you from taking a screenshot of it (which makes marketing difficult but oh well lmao)

here's an image of it:

This is

to put my name on the map.

to reach out to various streamers with the game, and ask them to play it on stream, (i.e. forming those bonds)

to experiment with visual effects i find interesting

to practice actual gameplay stuff

speaking of, if you know any streamers (or you yourself are a streamer) who might be interested in this, or butterfly creek, please do reach out!!

[butterfly-creek]

DEVLOG #4 - we're so back

hello!! i've gotten a sudden boost of motivation, so here's a devlog:

Since the last update, much has changed. I'm really delighted at where the game is at right now. I love the sprites, my friends have been helping me with story and character design, I've come to understand another of my friends is spectacular at puzzle design and I'll be consulting them in the future.

I reached out to @pukicho about music (prompted by his post saying he'd like another a cool project to make music for), although I severely doubt he'll take interest in this game, its neat to know he might maybe do music if he is interested. Otherwise, I'll have to find someone else to do music (which is fine (speaking of if you're good at music please reach out!! (i'm broke so you wont be paid :[ (other than potential royalties) ) )

As for more specific progress, I:

revamped more sprites, making them fit better in the general aesthetic of the game. I might do character sprites in the future at some point, although I'm not sure.

redid the nighttime system, now it uses a shader (rather than a filter), for which i had to learn some GLSL (note: i fucking hate that god forsaken coding language) the previous system was a nightmare, so its good that its fixed.

created a new lighting system incorporated with the nighttime system, which is depicted in the above image. i genuinely LOVE how the light looks right now, i think just some minor tweaks are needed maybe, but i still love it all the same.

worked a lot on the story/writing, with the help of my friends, including making a story-beat, and lore explanations.

created a new type of text display thingy. I cant show any real dialogue, but i can show some placeholder text.

i'm pretty sure there's other stuff too but i literally cant think of it lmao

as for things to keep working on:

implementing the story into the game

increasing play time

adding more minigames/puzzles

reworking dialogue

figuring out music (cough cough PLEASE PUKICHO PLEASEE (/j))

removing herobrine

image gallery:

note: the image with the bus still has the old bush sprites. those will be changed at a later date.

[redstonedust]

every game should have a dating mechanic but like not necessarily romantically. i just think i should be allowed to ignore the main plot and take the npcs out to a café or an aquarium or something. even if it doesn't fit the setting. we will invent aquariums.

[butterfly-creek]

I'm taking notes

[butterfly-creek]

me and mysteriously one half sized clone hanging out around some weird glowing rocks

(just a random visual bug)

[butterfly-creek]

quick update

i'm still working on the game, the reason for the lack of devlogs is

1) lowkey forgetting about this tumblr

2) most of the work ive done has been lore-heavy and i dont want to spoil the story.

3) progress has been a little slow lately, due to life getting busy.

not sure when the next update will be, but it'll come eventually.

[butterfly-creek]

Devlog #3 - a new look!

some sprites from the refreshed look I'm giving the game!! I won't be updating character sprites, atleast not right now, however this style of pixel art I think looks amazing!! I'm really really proud of myself for these, I really couldn't be more happy with them.

on the code front, I've done a decent amount too, most notably:

custom noise implementation (perlin/simplex noise isn't integrated into GameMaker because why the hell not)

puzzle system massively improved, including allowing the "altars" (big towers producing light) to be interacted with

created method for obtaining new butterflies throughout a puzzle set

created a door system for going between puzzle rooms

my next goals (no particular order):

create the rest of the puzzle rooms

create what happens after you complete the puzzles

allow player to obtain their initial butterfly somehow

redo a lot more sprites to match with the new style (luckily I can do this in school!!)

organize game files (you won't be able to see this anyway)

continue writing story

I'm very excited to keep working on the game!! progress has been slow lately due to both laziness and being beat after arriving home (like it's weird how tired I get- I don't even have that big of a course load)

as always, check out the itch.io: https://i-am-controlled-by-cats.itch.io/butterfly-creek

(there's very little on the itch.io rn but that's okay, we still love it)

[butterfly-creek]

new sprites are in the kitchen. unfortunately no one taught me how to cook so they're gonna be a little burnt.

[butterfly-creek]

locked. the fuck. in.

[butterfly-creek]

minor art update:

new sprites for these guys!!

I like these far far more than the previous ones.

also I do realize there's a couple errors with how it displays, (the beam not layering over the blocks properly, and the shading being inverted on the longer block) but I don't care to fix those rn

[butterfly-creek]

me when I'm evil