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I like knives and ass🤙🏻 Commissions are open! 27 year old freelance artist from Switzerland. He/They

[thekindblacksmith]

DevLog03

Hi and Hello, Dodd here!

Once again it's been a while, first of all, I'd like to wish everybody a happy new year! Since it is the beginning of 2026, I wanted to pop back in here in give all of you a much needed update on the game development progress.

Since the last update we've worked on quite a few things. Some of them include:

Art & Story

-Finished 2 out of 3 story cutscenes

-Written and edited journal entries [1 Draft]

-Written and edited interactable item dialogue [1 Draft]

-added 4 more interactable items to the first gathering level

-added a journal page flip animation

-added missing UI elements

Programming

-updated the game to the most recent version of Godot

-improved asset loading

-added ways in which sfx is integrated

-Implemented more journal mechanics [chapter selection through world map, base layout for pages]

Soundtrack

We have managed to find a fitting composer! Thanks to their wonderful and swift work, we have all the custom music pieces we need for the planned demo! Feel free to give the main theme for the Visual Novel section a listen here:

Other things to mention

A lot of work has been going on in the background of actual game development. We're officially a Steam partner and have been quietly building our storefront. We're still missing some crucial things before we can publish, but I hope we can pass steams guidelines and open shop soon. For non-steam users, yes the game and the playable demo will also have its home on itch.io

The links will be shared of course, once everything is ready!

New year resolutions

As the lead developer I wear many hats and I am eternally grateful that I was able to shift the crucial programming work to Martijn, who has been helping me build the game mechanics from day 1. Same goes for Munou_ who made wonderful music pieces for my little passion project.

That being said, being my own marketing department on top of being the artist and writer has proved challenging. As you can probably imagine, marketing is not something I am particularly good at, haha.

So for 2026, I hope to be more confident and vocal about the game, especially on here and on Youtube! Let me know if you would like to see more behind the scenes character work, Q&As etc :3

It's still a long way to go before the full game can be published but the demo is inching closer and closer! I am looking forward to share the first glance of the game and most of all I am excited for feedback!

That's it for now! Thanks for reading and I'll see you soon!

-Dodd

[thekindblacksmith]

Infected Knight

[thekindblacksmith]

DevLog04

Hi and Hello, Dodd here!

It's due time for another update, so you guys know what is up! Thanks to a lot of accumulated overtime at my day-job I am getting a lot of time off and can work on the game almost daily.

Here are some Updates that have been happening since the year started:

New Mechanics

-We're adding a brewing mini game to have more interactive sections throughout the novel! Assets are ready, currently waiting until the programmer is available so we can implement a first build into godot.

Early concept of the Cure Brewing UI

-The planned Relationship Score hasn't been fully integrated yet but for now the game already tracks if the player chooses negative, positive or neutral dialogue. The relationship will later on affect possible endings and even the behavior of the Knight (be too mean to him and he will become scared of you)

Demo Expansion

originally the Demo was supposed to include Day 1 and the morning of Day 2 + the Gathering Level that happens right after. After some pondering I decided to actually include ALL of Day 1 & 2 in the Demo. This way you'll get to see all the mechanics of the game - including the new brewing mini game - and you'll get to know Blacksmith and Knight a little better!

Currently the deadline for the Demo is September/Early October 2026, just in time for the Steam Next fest. If we can't make it it will be delayed to February 2027. The Demo will come to both itch.io and steam.

New Dialogue options for the player (Script Screenshot, Day 1)

Art & Story

all Demo related cutscenes finished

Journal fully implemented

Fully implemented Day 1 Dialogue and added additional Dialogue options

Implemented Day 2 Dialogue + Dialogue options (rough draft)

Started writing Day 3

Started on Day 2 specific Scene Illustrations (2 out of 9 done)

Menu Screen Illustration finished

Script Excerpt from Day 3 (WIP)

Programing

My Programmer Martijn is currently busy with his Master's Degree, everybody wish him good luck! He'll return to help on the game in July!

Final Thoughts

There is still lots to do until the Demo but I hope that we make the October deadline! While the programmer is away, I have free reign of the game build so my goal is to fully finish everything on my end until Martijn is available to work again.

Which means I have to paint and write. A lot. And continue to market this thing of course. We're currently at 300+ Wishlists on steam (and growing!) and I am so stocked to see that this many people have taken an interest in my passion project about two guys being stuck in a room together for 6 days....

Yeah, that is it for now, I'll keep you posted as always!

Don't forget to wishlist and check out the games socials, all links can be found on:

The Kind Blacksmith

the kind blacksmith website to link to various socials

[thekindblacksmith]

Oh Blacksmith, what a fool you are....

[calamitys-child]

I always say that the thing which sets Sargent apart as a portrait artist is that he draws/paints literally every subject - no matter their gender, social position, life vs representational drawing etc - like he is right that minute realising he's desperately in love with them. And it rules every single time.

[calamitys-child]

Examples pulled just from his Wikipedia page most popular works. Absolutely devastating scenes for bisexuals for over a century

[shorthistorian]

Don't forget the ALLIGATORS. He loves them too.

[carmahnart]

Hey y’all I have an announcement! My web app that I’ve been working on, Afro Index, is now live! It’s a visual reference library of Black hairstyles, for artist, animators, writers, and anyone who wants to learn more about them!

Check it out at afroindex.org! 💛✨

Afro Index – Black Hairstyle Reference Library

A reference library for Black hairstyles with accurate naming, structured filtering, and curated reference images.

[carmahnart]

Omg hi everyone 😭💛 thank you so much for all the love on Afro Index, had to go upgrade the site because of all the traffic lol I appreciate y’all fr 💛

If you spot anything missing or incorrect (styles, images, names, etc.), pls drop it here: https://afroindex.carrd.co

This project is meant to grow with the community, so all your feedback is actually perfect and exactly what I hoped for 🙏🏾

[carmahnart]

The art community is so amazing, I had to upgrade again omg y’all are the best! If you’d like to help support with maintenance costs I have a ko-fi for the project here: https://ko-fi.com/afroindex

Also, thank you everyone who has provided feedback and style suggestions! I will be implementing them over the coming weeks. Thank you! 🤗💛✨

Support The Afro Index

Support The Afro Index

[thekindblacksmith]

Thorns or some decisions you might regret

Celebratory illustration for the launch of <<The kind Blacksmith>> Steampage!

The game has still a long way to go but the journey is a blast. I get to know these characters more and more and the fact I get to share them means the world to me...

[thekindblacksmith]

We made it onto Steam

Yes you heard right, the game has passed the Valve review and can now be wishlisted on Steam! It's still a far way to go, we're still working on a Demo but this feels like a huge step forward and I am really excited!

Be a lad and wishlist this badboi, plz....

The kind Blacksmith on Steam

The kind Blacksmith is a Visual Horror Novel set in ficticious medieval Italy. In a land ravaged by war and sickness, you take on the roll o

Obviously I am not forgetting about my buddies over on itch.io, you will also be able to get the game there!

I've also been branching out the Marketing on different sites, if you're interested:

The Kind Blacksmith

the kind blacksmith website to link to various socials

Anyways, enough screaming into the void, That's it for now!

[dodddraws]

I can’t believe I never posted this lil SamFloyd animatic on here…. When your crush suddenly starts to flirt back

[dodddraws]

I can’t believe I never posted this lil SamFloyd animatic on here…. When your crush suddenly starts to flirt back

[thekindblacksmith]

I am trying to have mor of a Social Media presence this year so I filmed and edited a lil <<day in the life>> vlog

If you're interested in the behind the scenes workings of the game, give it a watch :>

[maedaeme]

!!! mushishi season 1 (ACTUAL season 1) sub & dub temporarily free on youtube holy shit

I remember watching this at 200 dpi in 10 minute increments a decade ago because every hi res version vanished off of the planet. one of my all time favs. currently losing my marbles

[dodddraws]

The Patron is a 3-Part Novella series with illustrations and a 30000+ wordcount

A Noble on his nightly prowl spots a man so intriguing, he takes him to bed - and deals with the fallout

Part 1:

The Patron - Part I by Dodd

Queer erotica about two older men finding each other

Part 2:

The Patron - Part II by Dodd

part two of a gay erotic novella

Part 3:

The Patron - Part III [Finale] by Dodd

The Final entry in the Patron - A story about two older men finding each other despite their differences

[thekindblacksmith]

And finally!! How different is the current state of the project compared to your earliest draft?

I'm very excited to finally play this game once it's complete!! I wish you all the best of luck!! ⚔️⚔️⚔️

Thank you so much, m really excited the publish this bad boi, it is still a long way but hopefully the demo will be out soon!

The game has both changed a lot and also not at all at the same time lmao. Its skeleton, its structure has stayed true through 1.5 years of development but alas I always find things to improve and add. And my programmer also gives great input so it definitely grew out of its breeches.

The biggest change was going from a pretty straight forward visual novel with a few dialogue options to having this more intricate relationship mechanic. We're still figuring it out but ideally, once your score hits a certain number you're dialogue options become worse/nicer. The player sets the tone.

[thekindblacksmith]

What was your thought process behind using alien parasites in your dark fantasy setting?

Well, I've always been a fan of cosmic horror and the idea of cosmic horror in a more historical setting is intriguing to me!

Even in very early story ideas, the Knight would eventually get sick from something. First I was riffing on a more fairy tale style story; He would get infected by slaying a sick dragon. Later on the idea came for this metallic root structure that buries itself into the body.

It eventually morphed into this alien parasite that came to earth through a meteor and would eventually latch onto metals and therefore infect and eat away at the people that wore it.

[thekindblacksmith]

Does the game have multiple endings planned? If so, do any of the routes congregate?

Yes the game has multiple endings and will be kept deliberately short so people can have different runs!

Though it is not a classic branching dialogue type structure. Endings and Dialogue options are determined by two factors:

Your Relationship with the Knight. (The game has a hidden relationship score and depending on certain choices the score goes up or down)

Your ability to cure him.

We've already implemented the relationship score at this point but there is still a ton of work to do for more consequential dialogue options with the Knight.

[dodddraws]

Lil OC short about the breaking of Family curses (TW for homophobic slurs, child verbal abuse and implied physical abuse)

Thank you for reading!