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RALWORKS

@ralworks.bsky.social
51 followers 62 following 59 posts

I'm Ral. Multimedia artist / senior software dev. I like to make things. Current project: A talk beneath the tree (traditional media narrative game. 26 endings) store.steampowered.com/app/4316020?… Wishlist now!

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RALWORKS @ralworks.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
Hey friends. "A talk beneath the tree" launched yesterday. I want to thank everyone who wishlisted, everyone who purchased on day 1, and everyone who's supported me up 'til now. A launch like this has been a lifelong dream. Because of this community, I achieved it yesterday #indiegamedev
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RALWORKS @ralworks.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
We. Are. Live. store.steampowered.com/app/4316020/... #steamgames #ATalkBeneathTheTree
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RALWORKS @ralworks.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
A talk beneath the tree is going live on Steam and itch in just over 3h. store.steampowered.com/app/4316020/... The countdown timer is my homepage at this point: ralworks.com/games/a-talk... So stoked to finally share this with you all
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RALWORKS @ralworks.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
When Magical power stems from Demonic Possession, an out-of-control Mage is a disaster waiting to happen. 1 conversation sets the course of 2 lives "A talk beneath the tree" goes live tomorrow store.steampowered.com/app/4316020 We did it! Still pinching myself #indiegames #visualnovel #darkfantasy
Crayon and fineliner illustration of two people sitting under a tree. Large red block letters read "Launch Is Tomorrow". A complex, hand-drawn flowchart surrounds the image. Some coloured crayons and a black pen lie scattered on top of the page.
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RALWORKS @ralworks.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
3 days to launch. Wishlist to stay on Celeste's good side. She knows how to USE that lightning. store.steampowered.com/app/4316020/... #ATalkBeneathTheTree #IndieGameDev #VisualNovel
Dramatic illustration of a wide-eyed woman with lightning crackling between her hands. Behind her is a darkened hallway, where a figure sits slumped against the glass of a cell.
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RALWORKS @ralworks.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Way back when, I told you guys I'd post some in-world documents. So here's the pamphlet Celeste's mom got when she found out her daughter was possessed by a Demon 4 days to launch. Wishlist to tell the algorithm this is cool store.steampowered.com/app/4316020 #worldbuilding #darkfantasy #steamgames
Brochure.

Title: When Someone You Love is a Mage

"It can happen to anyone. You wake up one morning to find your friend; your child; your spouse - has manifested a Demon Wish and is producing Magic.
"It isn't a reflection on your loved one's character, and it certainly isn't a reflection on yours. Possession just happens to some people. No one really knows why. For your loved one, the course was simply chronic rather than terminal."
Heading: What happens now?
"Possession in cases where Magic fails to manifest is 100% fatal.
"Your loved one is alive. And with the right support, not only will they stay that way - they'll thrive.
"Gone are the days when Magic was considered a fate worse than death. Many Mages can be successfully rehabilitated, and go on to live full and productive lives in Alchemical Institutes, such as the Magic Program at Mormount Fortress.
"But you need to act now. Contact Magic Rehabilitation Central Intake at [phone number redacted] or call your local Mage Tipline. Delaying the call could cost lives."

Heading: Life After Magic
"There has never been a better time in history to be a Mage. The science of Demon Crisis rehabilitation is making strides every day. The first-break remission rate is now over 80%. And in the modern day, the rising demand for Talisman-tech has created a wide range of jobs for Mages at Alchemical Institutes.
"However, because Mages with continued contact with the pre-break social environment have a demonstrably higher relapse rate, visitations and excursions are not permitted.
"This is goodbye for you. But for your loved one, it's simply the start of a new chapter."

Footer #1: Presented by the Mormount Fortress Alchemical University, Rehabilitation Department 
Footer #1: This brochure is for informational purposes only and does not replace consultation with a Licensed Professional Alchemist
Footer #3: Play "A talk beneath the tree" - Coming to Steam and itch.io June 5th 2026
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RALWORKS @ralworks.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
Pretty sure Sylvain doesn't do anything except read, and pray to his lightly cult-coded god. Working in a research lab is the full extent of his social contact, since his falling out with Celeste. You *might* be able to repair that relationship. Or not. #ATalkBeneathTheTree #IndieGame #Characters
Crayon illustration of a man sitting cross-legged, reading by candle light
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RALWORKS @ralworks.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
Leave it to Celeste to set us dreamers straight. #gamedev #shitpost #ATalkBeneathTheTree
Screenshot from a colorful, sketchbook style visual novel. A man leans on a tree. Character "Celeste" says, "Mages don't live in towns. They live in containment fortresses." Words are scratched out and written over in red so the text reads, "Mages don't live as gamedevs. They live by getting day jobs."
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RALWORKS @ralworks.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
What I imagine Celeste does in her spare time. This may not be an obvious character beat immediately, but by the time you hit route 4 I guarantee you'll understand why. Launch in 10 days. store.steampowered.com/app/4316020/... #gamedev #waxcrayon #steamgame
Wax crayon illustration of a woman throwing a jab at a heavy bag
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RALWORKS @ralworks.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
I was looking for an interesting way to explain the premise of "A talk beneath the tree", and I ended up with a hand drawn mini-zine Seems more suited to promoting a game in an arts café than online lol but good try Ral. #zine #indiegamedev #darkfantasy
Zine comic, illustrated in ballpoint pen, on paper, in a sketchy style.
Cover. A girl with her arms crossed says, "In my world, magic comes from demons."
Title: So what happens when a Mage runs away from the containment fortress?
p1. Frightened man points. "Anybody who finds out what you are will call the guards on you."
p2. Hand reaches toward girl. "You won't like the guards."
p3. Unlocked padlock. "But maybe you could be free."
p4. Goat. "Start a farm"
p5. Person holding an infant. "Start a family."
p6. Door thrown wide open lets the light in. "Ok. So, supposing you ran"
p6. 2 people kneel under a tree. "If a friend came after you to personally beg you to come back to the fortress before you got hurt..."
Back cover.
Large text: "What would you say to her?"
Small text: "A talk beneath the tree" is a visual novel coming out June 5th 2026 in Steam. Wishlist us!"
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RALWORKS @ralworks.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
Big news! The release date for "A talk beneath the tree" has been finalized for June 5. Do you like #darkfantasy and games about intense conversations? Help out an indie dev, and wishlist us on Steam store.steampowered.com/app/4316020 Words cannot express how stoked I am to share this <3 #gamedev
Release date announcement graphic. Text reads, "A talk beneath the tree - coming to Steam June 5".
A slideshow of images from the game - including an angry woman, a dark hall, a kneeling girl, and a meadow - plays behind the text.
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RALWORKS @ralworks.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Here's a fun music+visuals loop from "A talk beneath the tree" Almost left the dialogue in (there's voiced narration now!) but that would have been major spoilers You'll all be able to play soon enough, so there's no need to get ahead of ourselves #indiegame #indiegamedev #vn youtu.be/Hgg4IfyBfQY
youtu.be
"Celeste Spiral Graphic" from "A talk beneath the tree"
YouTube video by RALWORKS
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RALWORKS @ralworks.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
Did a little sketch of Celeste from #ATalkBeneathTheTree, just because I felt like it. I don't draw for fun as much as I should these days. I'm as much of a workaholic as Celeste is, apparently. #sketch #indiegame
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RALWORKS @ralworks.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
Even just watching the trailer, I get a horrifyingly familiar sense of creeping dread. Too real guys *cries*. But doesn't this look like it'd be so cathartic to play? And more than 80 endings? Count me interested. #indiegame #branchingnarrative #it
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RALWORKS @ralworks.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
"A talk beneath the tree" is a branching narrative game about 1 conversation gradually spiraling into 26 elaborate endings. store.steampowered.com/app/4316020?... Worldbuilding, Subtle mystery & High emotional stakes. Hand illustrated. Voiced over like an audiobook. #WishlistWednesday #vn #indiegame
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RALWORKS @ralworks.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
A lot of voice work went into #ATalkBeneathTheTree. Want to see how I handled the file organization? Attaching a little demo here, for the curious. #gamedev #vndev
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RALWORKS @ralworks.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
Check this out: Hapshapen Games is taking physical media video games to a whole other level. It seems like there's an actual, physical set of handmade miniatures that was filmed to create this. Mindblowing. Hands down one of the coolest game format concepts I've seen for a while.
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RALWORKS @ralworks.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
I'm thinking of making a short series of "in world pamphlet" style infographics for #ATalkBeneathTheTree lore. What are the signs of Demonic Possession? How to cast [x] spell - as if I thought you were a Mage IRL. Stuff like that. Sound fun to anybody else? Cause I'm stoked #gamedev #vn #darkfantasy
Screenshot of a visual novel. Crayon illustration: a girl in an old fashioned dress kneels in a futuristic prison cell.
Prose aside reads:
"
Sylvain's eyes fall, for a moment, on a young girl kneeling behinf the reinforced glass, weeping.
She looks younger than even he and Celeste were, when they arrived.
Damn this cursed place.
"
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RALWORKS @ralworks.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
Digging this sound design experiment. This cardboard mouse sounds more "human" than many games' human enemies. Delightfully strange. And like so much of this project's design, incredibly tactile. Whether Paper Rogue keeps this sound or drops it, I'll be following to see what they do next.
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RALWORKS @ralworks.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
when you do an entire QA round with just writers to catch all the plot holes ... and the darned writers catch all the plot holes. #gamedev #sketchart #writersky
Loose, frustrated pen drawing of Ral face-palming
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RALWORKS @ralworks.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
The tree in #ATalkBeneathTheTree was originally just the location where Celeste and Sylvain happened to meet. But it eventually became one of the central metaphors of the game. It's a tree. It's branching. Get it? #choicebasedgame #indiegame
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RALWORKS @ralworks.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
Paper+crayons+scanner+acoustic guitar = video game? One of the main things I'm playing with in #ATalkBeneathTheTree is making everything on my side of the screen as physical as possible. I like to think it brings a little humanity to a character-heavy #choicebasedgame. Wishlist on Steam! #gamedev
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RALWORKS @ralworks.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
Here's a little #animation that I added to #atalkbeneaththetree recently. Hmmm ... who's this watching Celeste and Sylvain? I'm more used to bones/light table (hilarious combo ik) and vector animation is comparatively new to me. Really pleased with how this came out. #indiegame
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RALWORKS @ralworks.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
I'm learning a lot lately. Making a game is hard. Launching one is a whole other kettle of fish. But what I find is that in this community, we all just want each other to succeed. Everyone you meet is rooting for you, even if your specific game is not really their thing #gamedev #atalkbeneaththetree
A long haired person reads a book while taking notes. A caption on the book read, "Dense AF", and a caption on the character reads, "Secretly exhausted but playing cool."
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RALWORKS @ralworks.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
"A talk beneath the tree" is a #DarkFantasy #NarrativeGame by RALWORKS, coming soon on Steam. In a world where Magic and Demons are inextricably intertwined, 2 old friends have a difficult conversation ... that gradually evolves out into 26 visual short-story endings. youtube.com/shorts/J4qoJ...
youtube.com
A talk beneath the tree - Trailer
YouTube video by RALWORKS
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RALWORKS @ralworks.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
Hey - remember when I was going to work on "a little side project" for "a couple of weeks" ... ? Well it quadrupled in scope. And then I finished it. #Atalkbeneaththetree is coming to Steam Spring/Summer 2026. Exact date TBA. I am so stoked you guys (!!!) Thanks for being here for it
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RALWORKS @ralworks.bsky.social · 18/10/2025
I entered the final stretch of dev for #ATalkBeneathTheTree this week. All the dialogue, options, and endings are hooked up. 2/3 of the voice acting is done. There are only a few more things to wrap up before the big QA marathon. Stay tuned. Trailer coming soon. #ScreenshotSaturday #VisualNovel
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RALWORKS @ralworks.bsky.social · 11/10/2025
Here's a 10 second teaser for #ATalkBeneathTheTree. The content is ripped straight from gameplay, but I replaced the pretty standard #VisualNovel captioning and image sequence that the real game has with something a bit more dramatic. I still think this fits for #ScreenshotSaturday #IndieGameDev
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RALWORKS @ralworks.bsky.social · 06/10/2025
I woke up thinking about the #OST I did for the short visual novel I worked at #AlbertaGameJam 2024--Marbury & 3rd (saarth-rajan.itch.io/marbury-and-...). This is some of my favourite music I've made in the past few years. #IndieGameDev youtu.be/4s-WNqtI-Wk
youtu.be
Marbury & 3rd OST by RALWORKS
YouTube video by RALWORKS
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RALWORKS @ralworks.bsky.social · 22/09/2025
#doodles #sketchbook #ballpoint Sleeping cats are round.
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RALWORKS @ralworks.bsky.social · 16/09/2025
#sketchbook #myart #ballpointart (Yes, I blurred out the journal entry around this)
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RALWORKS @ralworks.bsky.social · 13/09/2025
Added about 2500 words of new content to #ATalkBeneathTheTree (WIP) this week #ScreenshotSaturday #IndieGameDev
Screen from a visual novel. A wax-crayon illustration of a long-haired man with a keyed-up, angry expression, standing near a tree. Dialogue text below. Celeste says, "What did you do?"
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RALWORKS @ralworks.bsky.social · 11/09/2025
#ATalkBeneathTheTree (WIP) is a distillation of one of my game dev obsessions: my quest to carve out my own style of granular yet impactful player choices, particularly inter/intra-personal. Pictured: artistic riffing on a draft flow diagram from one of the routes. #IndieGameDev #ChoiceBasedGaming
A branching narrative diagram, in artistic colours, with labels removed. 2 characters discuss animatedly in the background. Title text in foreground reads, "A talk beneath the tree"
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RALWORKS @ralworks.bsky.social · 07/09/2025
There is a very good reason why my WIP #NarrativeGame project, #ATalkBeneathTheTree now needs 5 times the sprites for the point of view character. I'd love to hear your guesses - but my lips are sealed as to why. #VNDev
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RALWORKS @ralworks.bsky.social · 06/09/2025
I'm switching gears for the next month or two to put out something a bit different from my longer term work. youtu.be/_AjnlgBnrzg Stay tuned for more #ATalkBeneathTheTree #IndieGameDev #VisualNovel
youtu.be
RALWORKS: A talk beneath the tree teaser #1 -- "Reflections"
YouTube video by RALWORKS
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RALWORKS @ralworks.bsky.social · 06/09/2025
A local dev I really respect, @pyranostudios.bsky.social is gearing up to release #SoundsTerrifying, an #AudioGame with spatial exploration and suspense. Got to participate in an early demo and it was a mind-bending and immersive experience. Go check out what they're doing! #IndieGameDev
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RALWORKS @ralworks.bsky.social · 29/05/2025
Táls Caem Táls Sulu ("Tálsa") is a professional Guide, who sees people through the dangerous wilderness. She came out cooler than I intended. What do you think? Should I promote her from 1-off encounter to recurring character? #SaintOfMazesAgeOfDusk #IndieGameDev
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RALWORKS @ralworks.bsky.social · 13/05/2025
Last weekend, I completely redesigned the UX for the character creator in #SaintOfMazesAgeOfDusk. There aren't actually any new customization options compared to the old one, but it really feels like there are. #IndieGameDev #CharacterCreator youtu.be/1UeaSP4JZNU
youtu.be
Demo: Improved Character Creation UX - Saint of Mazes; Age of Dusk
YouTube video by RALWORKS
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RALWORKS @ralworks.bsky.social · 30/04/2025
Here's a WIP in game #isometric scene from #SaintOfMazesAgeOfDusk. Blocking is done in 2 tone paper. Colours yet to be applied. #IndieGameDev
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RALWORKS @ralworks.bsky.social · 28/04/2025
Early planning for a new area in #SaintOfMazesAgeOfDusk (WIP). At this stage of scene design, the edges of the viewport in each area aren't broken up yet. As you can see, the illustration has escaped the page. #IndieGameDev #ArtisticProcess
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RALWORKS @ralworks.bsky.social · 20/04/2025
For #ScreenshotSaturday, here's one of my favourite sections of gameplay in #SaintOfMazesAgeOfDusk (WIP) for visual design and #OriginalMusic. I can't wait until I get to go back to this part and fill it up with puzzles and story! www.youtube.com/watch?v=LslR...
youtube.com
Saint Of Mazes; Age of Dusk -- Mazes: Visual Design Demo + Original Music
YouTube video by RALWORKS
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RALWORKS @ralworks.bsky.social · 16/04/2025
#doodles #BallpointPen #MyArt
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RALWORKS @ralworks.bsky.social · 13/04/2025
#SaintOfMazesAgeOfDusk (WIP) relies heavily on traditional media--specifically, wax crayon and tinted paper collage--for scene creation. Here are some hard copies examples I pulled out of my archive to show how it works. #TraditionalMediaIllustration #IndieGameDev
Colourful illustrations on paper arranged on a desk. Colourful scenes of forests and overgrown buildings, along with line drawings of a man and and a horse. Box of wax crayons on desk beside.
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RALWORKS @ralworks.bsky.social · 07/04/2025
The star ritual is deadly if mishandled. Fail it while injured? You die. Recorded the music for this today. #SaintOfMazesAgeOfDusk #IndieGameDev #IndieGameDevMusic
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RALWORKS @ralworks.bsky.social · 30/03/2025
Here's the "Star Ritual" mechanic, used to clear areas blocked by dark magic. Favourite detail: the way the character scowls when his health bar gets low. Side note: how do you like my new UI layout? #SaintOfMazesAgeOfDusk #ScreenshotSaturday #WIP
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RALWORKS @ralworks.bsky.social · 08/03/2025
A very accelerated demo of the visuals of day & night in #SaintOfMazesAgeOfDusk (WIP) #ScreenshotSaturday #IndieGameDev
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RALWORKS @ralworks.bsky.social · 02/02/2025
A quick demo of the travel system in #SaintOfMazesAgeOfDusk (WIP) for #ScreenshotSaturday. I plan to add some details to the camps: tents; the horse & cart; evening & morning lighting, etc. But here's my proof-of-concept for now #IndieGameDev
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RALWORKS @ralworks.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
I spent the weekend jamming at #ggj. My team built "Perpetual Poem Machine" (ralworks.itch.io/perpetual-po...). Balance colours in a bubble-machine to create perpetual motion--using only a natural language control panel that interprets words in a regular but non-semantic way. #IndieGameDev
ralworks.itch.io
Perpetual Poem Machine by RALWORKS, hl__ur
Make a perpetual motion machine out of bubbles, and poetry
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RALWORKS @ralworks.bsky.social · 21/01/2025
The main character recalls their mother, in #SaintOfMazesAgeOfDusk (WIP). Her skin and hair colour change to match depending on the player character's design. #IndieGameDev #characterart
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RALWORKS @ralworks.bsky.social · 19/01/2025
youtu.be/CXPx9A7Xgic You ever get one of those ideas that comes out of nowhere and *completely takes over your life* until it's done? Well, 3 days ago, I felt a hint of a song coming on. Now there's this. There has been no sleep. #singersongwriter #multimedia #indierock
youtu.be
Electric City - Lyric Video
YouTube video by RALWORKS
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