iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Conway McDermott @conwaaaaaaay.hauntedtrumpet.com · 01/10/2026

We’re on sale ✨✨✨✨✨ And frankly, we’re dead good. U should buy a copy and play it. It just gets better.

Conway McDermott @conwaaaaaaay.hauntedtrumpet.com · 22/09/2026

One of the rare script moments which came with a: I THINK WE 100% NEED A CG OF THIS EXACT THING IN THIS EXACT MOMENT!!! Note. And as per usual @sansorganes.hauntedtrumpet.com has drawn it better than I imagined it…

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Conway McDermott @conwaaaaaaay.hauntedtrumpet.com · 20/09/2026

We are so spoiled already for gorgeous new art in episode 4, @sansorganes.hauntedtrumpet.com has been working overtime xxxx

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👻 Extremely Haunted Trumpet 🎺 @team.hauntedtrumpet.com · 19/09/2026

We've a bit quiet while we've been putting ep4 together but we have lots more #ScreenshotSaturday material now 🎉 Get ready for diamonds, dates and more disasters than usual for Emile & co... #art #gamedev #vndev #steam CGs by @sansorganes.hauntedtrumpet.com and sprites by @metonumia.bsky.social 💖

A screenshot from The Left Eye, a visual novel. The image is in monochrome but with a purple tint.

Two characters are leaning back on the pillows of a double bed. On the left is a short, chubby young man holding a cigarette. He is wearing a sports coat and sweater vest and looking annoyed. To his right is an older woman with black hair and a patch over her left eye, reclining with her head tilted up and her arms behind her head. She is wearing a coat and scarf.

The text box takes up the lower quarter of the screen and identifies the speaker as Emile, the man on the left. He is saying: “So when were you going to tell me about that bastard guard in Folsom?”

A screenshot from The Left Eye, a visual novel. The image is in monochrome but with a purple tint.

Two characters are viewed from behind, sitting on a bench in a park. They are sitting in a strongly-lit patch of sunlight filtering through the leaves of the trees. The man to the left is shorter with curly hair, and the man to the right is taller and thinner with slicked-back hair.

The text box takes up the lower quarter of the screen. A line of narration says: “I wonder if he was unhappy.”

A screenshot from The Left Eye, a visual novel. The image is in monochrome but with a purple tint.

A letterboxed vignette of an older man’s face is shown over a darkened office background. He is holding a 1920s phone receiver to his ear. A line of dialogue below the image says: “You know how it is. Business.”

A screenshot from The Left Eye, a visual novel. The image is in monochrome but with a purple tint.

A man and woman are shown in a bar. The woman stands to the left. She has her hair tied up in a bun, and is wearing a necklace, a dark dress, and white gloves. She has her hands raised as though explaining something, and has a serious expression. To the left is a man with neat, wavy hair in a suit. He is wearing glasses and looks irritable.

The text box takes up the lower quarter of the screen and identifies the speaker as Annabelle, the woman on the left. She is saying: “You’re about to buy the Rose of Florence for a song.”

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The Serfs (youtube.com/theserfstv) @theserfstv.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

This is the most masculine video on the internet right now

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Conway McDermott @conwaaaaaaay.hauntedtrumpet.com · 05/09/2026

Totally normal for a French aristocrat in nyc to greet his friends with a kiss on each cheek… but when the mob brat he’s trying to run a cold blooded con on starts doing it back to him, you know he’s in trouble… #kisskiss

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Conway McDermott @conwaaaaaaay.hauntedtrumpet.com · 04/09/2026

After patiently waiting through it's early access, I'm now mainlining this and it's SO GOOD. Playing before work and on my lunch breaks because I can't live with the suspense of how my girlfriend is going to ruin my life, or the mystery of WHAT IS GOING ON WITH MY SOUL? Top tier shit, I love it <3

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Conway McDermott @conwaaaaaaay.hauntedtrumpet.com · 29/08/2026

I don't look at maps of the US often but can I just say that if I was from Wisconsin I'd have such beef with Michigan. Look at this shit. That big old nose should all be Wisconsin, but instead it's just inexplicably Michigan. Canada probably has something to say about the little top island as well.

A screenshot showing the map of Michigan and Wisconsin, with a little of Canada at the top. Michigan's borders are outlined in red. Michigan is mostly separated from Wisconsin and Canada by three big lakes, but these lakes also separate Michigan from a big chunk of land which is still connected to Wisconsin by land, but is clearly within michigan's borders. It makes up about a third of the size of Michigan. Thre is also a tiny island much closer to Canada than it is to the rest of Michigan which is outlined in Michigan's red borders.

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Conway McDermott @conwaaaaaaay.hauntedtrumpet.com · 28/08/2026

Just handed the episode 4 script of #TheLeftEye over to our dev at @team.hauntedtrumpet.com to start getting it into the engine!!! 🎉🎉🎉 Now for codex entries, character bios, and episode 5 👀👀👀 #writing #narrativedesign #gamewriting #indiedev #narrativegame #visualnovel #vndev #amaregame

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Conway McDermott @conwaaaaaaay.hauntedtrumpet.com · 27/08/2026

Obsesssedddddd with this gorgeous wip of our short king / tall menace xxx

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Conway McDermott @conwaaaaaaay.hauntedtrumpet.com · 15/08/2026

Also I love the background for this scene in a reading room at the Waldorf Astoria. Most of our backgrounds are public domain shots from the early 1900s, and it’s tricky to find useable images of the actual Waldorf, but this nails that gilded age opulence #research #perioddrama #1920s

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Conway McDermott @conwaaaaaaay.hauntedtrumpet.com · 15/08/2026

Emile playing diplomat while Al and Clarence be like:

A dvd or vhs box cover. The title is “Boyfights: a day in the life of American boys.” Two write teenage boys are fighting. One in a white tee shirt has the other in a headlock, and is pulling his hair as he yells.

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👻 Extremely Haunted Trumpet 🎺 @team.hauntedtrumpet.com · 15/08/2026

Time for #ScreenshotSaturday! And time for a peek at the first scene of #TheLeftEye episode 4! Emile's getting close to pulling off his audacious con, and all he has to do now is broker the sale of an absurdly large and possibly cursed diamond... #vndev #indiedev #justemilethings #havinganormaltime

A title card for episode 4 of The Left Eye. The background is black, and there is a thin white border around the edge of the screen. In each corner is a stylised fishhook with a sunburst pattern around it. The text in the center reads "THE LEFT EYE / EPISODE FOUR: THE HOOK".

A screenshot from a visual novel. Three men are standing in a drawing room. From left to right: Clarence, a tall man in a dark suit, with short wavy hair and an angry expression; Emile, a shorter, chubby man with curly hair, wearing a light sports jacket, giving Clarence the side eye; and Alex, a tall man in a light suit with slicked-back hair, wearing a light suit and glaring angrily. The UI takes up the bottom quarter of the screen and identifies the speaker as Emile. He is saying "Boys, boys, settle down. What if we got a valuation from someone who isn't working for Clarence?"

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Conway McDermott @conwaaaaaaay.hauntedtrumpet.com · 30/07/2026

Loved loved loved getting to put so much more branching and variety into this episode, as we plunge into the second half of our narrative!

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👻 Extremely Haunted Trumpet 🎺 @team.hauntedtrumpet.com · 29/07/2026

Emile is the saddest boy (but not really, he’s just hamming it up for a funeral he doesn’t really want to attend in episode 2 of #TheLeftEye) store.steampowered.com/app/3811440/... #wishlistwednesday #art #vndev #steam #indiedev Art by our CG artist, @sansorganes.hauntedtrumpet.com ❤️

Artwork of Emile from The Left Eye, a visual novel. He is shown from a low angle, holding a rose, with a sad expression on his face. He is depicted in monochrome over a lilac background. A stock photo of a gold trophy has been added in the corner, with the words SADDEST BOY pasted over it.

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👻 Extremely Haunted Trumpet 🎺 @team.hauntedtrumpet.com · 22/07/2026

The #NonbinaryCodedGames festival is over now and we're so grateful to everyone who wishlisted or bought #TheLeftEye! And a massive thank you to @nomnomnami.com and @npckc.net for organizing, and to all the devs, players and streamers who took part 💜 #vndev #indiegame #steam #gamedev

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👻 Extremely Haunted Trumpet 🎺 @team.hauntedtrumpet.com · 15/07/2026

Here's a peek at the episode 4 opening of #TheLeftEye for #WishlistWednesday! We're so grateful for all of the wishlists we've gotten during the #NonbinaryCodedGames showcase, it means the world to our tiny nonbinary team 💛🤍💜🖤 store.steampowered.com/app/3811440/... #vndev #indiedev #gamedev

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Conway McDermott @conwaaaaaaay.hauntedtrumpet.com · 15/07/2026

The brilliant @kymberleyc.bsky.social (who composed some killer tracks for The Left Eye) is now the voice of Victoria Beaumont in The Incident at Galley House, by @eviltrout.com ! After devouring The Roottrees Are Dead, this is an instant stream buy for me! store.steampowered.com/app/3641000/...

store.steampowered.com

Save 10% on The Incident at Galley House on Steam

In 1936, something terrible happened at Galley House. Decades later, with a strange contraption that reveals echoes of the past, you must uncover the truth behind this grisly mystery.

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Conway McDermott @conwaaaaaaay.hauntedtrumpet.com · 14/07/2026

“The themes of The Left Eye were shaped and informed specifically by my experiences of trans-masculinity, the tension between going stealth and being seen for who you are, and the struggle to try and live truthfully when you don't legally exist” But make it con artists! #nonbinary #tranmasc #pride

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Conway McDermott @conwaaaaaaay.hauntedtrumpet.com · 13/07/2026

Whoooop!!! Really chuffed for The Left Eye be joining a bunch of cool games by a bunch of fellow enbies in this showcase! 🔥👾

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👻 Extremely Haunted Trumpet 🎺 @team.hauntedtrumpet.com · 27/06/2026

Petty lies that Emile is willing to tell in order to [checks notes] get a refund for a train ticket? 🏳️‍🌈 he's totally straight 💍 he's definitely married 🦠 he has Spanish influenza #screenshotsaturday #visualnovel #lgbtq #indiegame #gamedev #begaydocrime #verypettycrime

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Conway McDermott @conwaaaaaaay.hauntedtrumpet.com · 25/06/2026

Everyone should genuinely support the power of pride bundle… but those tasty tasty achievements are currently on sale x

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Conway McDermott @conwaaaaaaay.hauntedtrumpet.com · 19/06/2026

Just opened an adorable birthday card with original art of Emile and Jackie from The Left Eye by our extremely talented sprite artist @metonumia.bsky.social ! I love our two fantastic artists at @team.hauntedtrumpet.com, couldn’t ask for a better birthday present than cute art of our OCs 😭🙏 #vndev

A home printed birthday card featuring a young man with curly hair, sitting in a big red box with a bow on it. He’s been caught in the act by a woman in a brown trench coat who is looking at him with her hands on her hips. These are two of the main characters of The Left Eye visual novel.

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Conway McDermott @conwaaaaaaay.hauntedtrumpet.com · 17/06/2026

The research has been slowly getting more in depth for the left eye but I think this on location shooting by @sansorganes.hauntedtrumpet.com takes the cake!

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👻 Extremely Haunted Trumpet 🎺 @team.hauntedtrumpet.com · 16/06/2026

One of the ep4 routes in #TheLeftEye takes Emile & Alex to New York Botanical Gardens so our artist-at-large @sansorganes.hauntedtrumpet.com went there to get some shots of the Haupt Conservatory, which has been there since 1902! #nybg #gamedev #art #research #vndev

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Conway McDermott @conwaaaaaaay.hauntedtrumpet.com · 12/06/2026

Felted a patch for a local pride quilt, with translated lyrics from 1920s gay liberation song “Das Lila Lied”. Working on The Left Eye reminds me that not only queerness itself, but queer also identity, community, and activism are centuries old 🌈🏳️‍⚧️🪻 #lgbtq #queerhistory #pride #felting #queer #lgbt

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👻 Extremely Haunted Trumpet 🎺 @team.hauntedtrumpet.com · 03/06/2026

Hello! Thank you, Casey! 🏳️‍🌈 The Left Eye is a queer romance visual novel set in 1920s NYC, featuring scams, missing diamonds and gays behaving badly! store.steampowered.com/app/3811440/... hauntedtrumpet.itch.io/the-left-eye

A screenshot from The Left Eye. On the right is a young man wearing a fur over a tuxedo, and on the right is his bio:

EMILE DE LA ROCHE
AGE: 25
BIRTHPLACE: CALAIS, FRANCE OCCUPATION: SOCIALITE
CURRENT ABODE: THE WALDORF ASTORIA
HOTEL, NEW YORK CITY

A closeup of a woman's eyes, set over a background of a hotel room. The UI indicates that she is speaking: "You look like you got the devil on your tail".

A darkly silhouetted CG of the statue of liberty's torch, with two silhouettes standing on it. The UI indicates that the speaker's name is Emile, and he is saying: "I really do like you, Alex."

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Casey S. Pumpkins 🎃 @caseyexplosion.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

Hey folks, let's do an indie #ShowCasey for pride month! 🏳️‍🌈 Calling all LGBTQIA gamedevs! Do you have a game you want signal boosted? Reply to this post with a link to your game's store page and a quick description, and let's get you some eyeballs! There's only one rule: no generative AI.

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👻 Extremely Haunted Trumpet 🎺 @team.hauntedtrumpet.com · 01/06/2026

🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️HAPPY PRIDE! ❤️🧡💛💚🩵💜🩷 #TheLeftEye is part of the #PowerOfPride2026 bundle! You can support queer creatives and get tons of amazing comics, games and books for $60 (or $10 PWYC!) 🌈 #lgbtq #mutualaid #pride

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Conway McDermott @conwaaaaaaay.hauntedtrumpet.com · 31/05/2026

Cool shit I’ve had to research while writing The Left Eye, episode 4 edition: ⚜️ Historical Italian Hallmarks (or lack thereof) for Gold 🥊 1920s Illegal boxing clubs 🪾New York City’s ancient woodland 🦪How 2 Oyster????? #writing #writersofbluesky #gamedev #vndev #indiegame #visualnovel #perioddrama

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👻 Extremely Haunted Trumpet 🎺 @team.hauntedtrumpet.com · 30/05/2026

It’s #screenshotsaturday time! Anything goes at The Cadenza, Emile’s personal favorite speakeasy… #vndev #indiegame #art #queer #gamedev

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Conway McDermott @conwaaaaaaay.hauntedtrumpet.com · 13/05/2026

Genuinely one of my favourite moments in episode 1! I love the art getting a facelift!

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Conway McDermott @conwaaaaaaay.hauntedtrumpet.com · 11/05/2026

Finished the itch version of Our Wonderland this weekend and highly reccomend people wishlist! It's kind of like Alice in Wonderland meets Steven King's It, in a masterclass of ace horror! (and yes this is going to be a thread about what I found most exciting about it @justacarrot.bsky.social )

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intern ratbag @sansorganes.hauntedtrumpet.com · 07/05/2026

working on a CG you may or may not see in @hauntedtrumpet.bsky.social’s #thelefteye ep4 (depending on your choices in prior episodes…) #art #wip #vndev #lgbtq #indiegame

a rough digital sketch of two men. a shorter man in a sports coat and sweater vest with curly hair is leaning on a taller man in a long coat with slicked back hair. there is a small doodled heart above them. the lines are a dark purple color, the background is a dusty pink and the figures have been filled in with pale yellow.

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Conway McDermott @conwaaaaaaay.hauntedtrumpet.com · 06/05/2026

Can confirm that getting one steam review absolutely does lead to our entire team getting extremely excited and a full week of us being like: “Gotta work on the next episode!!! For the reviewer!!!”

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Conway McDermott @conwaaaaaaay.hauntedtrumpet.com · 09/04/2026

Speaking of glow ups… ✨✨✨ I love these moments of seeing how far we’ve come!!! #indiedev #vndev #narrativedesign #wip #visualnovel #gamedev #interactivefiction

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Conway McDermott @conwaaaaaaay.hauntedtrumpet.com · 05/04/2026

Is this a glow up? I’m in my notebook outlining episodes 4-6 of the left eye, and found these extremely early sketches of potential screen layout, narrative branching, and questionable probabilities for ep3’s poker game scene! #narrativedesign #interactivefiction #gamewriting #penandpaper #noai

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intern ratbag @sansorganes.hauntedtrumpet.com · 04/04/2026

working on some subtle lil animations for #thelefteye episode 4 this one is of alex about to make a daring escape out of a window, as you do #art #animation #indiegame

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👻 Extremely Haunted Trumpet 🎺 @team.hauntedtrumpet.com · 31/03/2026

🩵🩷🤍 Happy Trans Day of Visibility! 🤍🩷🩵 We are a (tiny) majority trans studio and we love making our queer trans visual novel and all of our dear trans friends 🏳️‍⚧️ #tdov #lgbtq #transdayofvisibility

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Conway McDermott @conwaaaaaaay.hauntedtrumpet.com · 28/03/2026

I can’t take credit for how sick the visual direction of this poker game is (@sanorganes.bsky.social and our programmer played a blinder there!) but figuring out the logic and branching of the game was a really fun challenge, and I think let us do something really cool and new in this chapter!

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👻 Extremely Haunted Trumpet 🎺 @team.hauntedtrumpet.com · 28/03/2026

Emile has one job: pull off a straightforward romance scam. He tried to stick to the plan, but he’s somehow managed to end up playing high-stakes poker with mobsters… store.steampowered.com/app/3811440/... #visualnovel #screenshotsaturday #indiedev #thelefteye #vndev

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👻 Extremely Haunted Trumpet 🎺 @team.hauntedtrumpet.com · 21/03/2026

If you enjoy being gay and doing crime, you can do both of those things in #thelefteye, which is also discounted on itch.io to celebrate the release of episode 3 🎉🎉🎉 You might even say... it's a steal! (sorry) #indiegame #vn #lgbtq #gamedev

hauntedtrumpet.itch.io

The Left Eye by Haunted Trumpet

A honey-trapping, backstabbing, high-stakes con story with a romantic heart.

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Conway McDermott @conwaaaaaaay.hauntedtrumpet.com · 19/03/2026

DIAMOND MAGNATES! TEMPER TANTRUMS! THE THREE CARD MONTE! Our Episode 3 update has SO MUCH story and art and shiny UI improvements packed into it, I’m super proud of everyone’s work on it!

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Conway McDermott @conwaaaaaaay.hauntedtrumpet.com · 18/03/2026

Whooooooo! Episode 3 dropping tomorrow!!!!

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