I’m currently working on an update to improve the first introductory steps (and some reworked features), as several players have raised similar concerns. I can now see that the game creates considerably more friction at the beginning than I intended.
I also share your view on “vibe coding,” although the term seems to mean different things to different people. I use AI as a tool to reduce my workload and expand what I can achieve as a solo developer, but never as a substitute for judgment or as a decision-maker. The game’s mechanics, direction, and design decisions are deliberate and remain entirely my responsibility.
Regarding the visuals, much of the game’s identity currently relies on its icons for buildings and items. My plan is to replace these with hand-drawn icons in a style inspired by old maps, later. Since the game is still at an early stage, and doing this properly will require both time and a more consolidated list of icons, I haven’t begun that work yet.
As for the writing, I understand the criticism and will take another careful look at it. Just to confirm, you were playing with the English localisation, correct?
Thanks for your feedback. I do plan to improve the visuals later in development, most notably by replacing the current SVG icons with hand-drawn ones, but that will come at a later stage.
About your question, I’m not entirely sure what you mean. If you’re asking how to find my demo on itch.io, searching for “the Cellarer” should bring it up. If you’re referring to something in-game, could you clarify what you’re looking for?
Thanks for your feedback. If the game made my own intentions and sensibilities feel invisible, then that is a failure on my part.
AI has assisted me with parts of the implementation, writing (which I review and rewrite extensively), sound, and visual production, but the game’s systems, direction, and design decisions are mine. I have spent a great deal of time designing, testing, tuning, discarding, and rebuilding its different systems until they matched what I had in mind. Still, I understand that none of that matters if the result feels machine-made.
I don’t agree that the creative process was simply outsourced, but I take the underlying criticism seriously.
Thanks for the feedback. The path system is intended to be one of the pillars of the experience: you create directed transport routes between buildings, much like belts in other automation games, and then watch your monastery come alive.
That said, if it feels like a nuisance rather than an interesting logistical challenge, especially when something goes wrong, then there may be issues with its feedback, controls, or explanation.
Could you elaborate on what felt like “unfun micro”? Was it laying and rebuilding paths, diagnosing blocked production, or the general build & connect loop?
