Alright, it's been a month since the new demo launched—time to share what I’ve learned and what’s changing in Paper Sky.


Let's begin from the top, the release of the new demo was a success overall, over 40,000 players completed the demo, and I'm seeing 500–800 new players weekly, passively generating wishlists. That gave me some space to step back from content creation (as I mentioned last month) and focus on business and upcoming events.

Still, I can’t get too comfortable. While the numbers exceeded my expectations, I want to stay true to the original vision for Paper Sky.

Here’s what players liked most:

• Fun Gameplay
  
• Fluid experience
  
• Great sense of speed
  
• Delivers on the pitch
  
• Beautiful graphics
  
• Very well optimized for its content

• Confusing controls (keyboard/mouse)
  
• Too short
  
• Not enough incentive to explore or collect
  
• Minor bugs (see Steam forums)
  
• Sparse options menu
  
• Harder than the previous demo (about 10% of players, based on Kickstarter feedbacks)
  
• Offensive content in online messages
  
• Steam page visuals could use a refresh

The demo was meant to be a proof of concept, even if some features were missing. But feedback made it clear: Paper Sky needs to evolve a bit. I’m considering changes to the core gameplay, which would extend dev time by a few months. (This won’t affect asset creation or visuals)

Player feedback is valuable—but it’s often silent. I need to keep steering toward the game I want to make, not just vocal player feedbacks (good and bad).

Here's what I'm planning:

• Online messages: No more free-form input. Players will choose from curated word sets (Dark Souls kind of messaging). I hate to do this, but too many messages were offensive. I’m exploring a system where words you choose reflect how you upgrade your plane—words will have power.
  
• Options menu overhaul: Full redesign with V-sync, remappable controls, and accessibility settings.
  
• New trailer and Steam page assets, including translations.
  
• Fix Plane-to-Ball transformation to prevent clipping.
  
• Major gamefeel shift: The current level design leans too much into platforming. Most players expected a chill, floaty experience with bursts of challenge—not constant uphill struggle. Future levels will be larger, more open, and downhill, with generous air currents and more space to flow. Early game = chill and contemplative. Later game = faster and more skill-based.
  This should also ease difficulty complaints and better match expectations.

A new trailer drops next month along with some platform announcements. I’ll also share visual progress on other worlds.

The new demo has been out for two weeks, and the feedback has been amazing. I’ve fine-tuned a lot of game mechanics, and I’m really proud of how the demo represents the final project better than the previous one. It’s reached over 15k players in that short time, which means I’ve been reading a ton of new messages from the Paper Sky world.

There will be another demo update before the full release of Paper Sky, featuring all the mechanics I’ve mentioned in previous updates: more challenges, fauna, NPCs, a world map, and the complete gameplay loop of at least one world (the current demo only covers half of it).

https://steamproxy.net/steamstore/app/1617230/Paper_Sky/

Good news for Apple users! The Mac port is up and running smoothly, so I can confirm it’ll be available at launch alongside the PC/Linux versions.

Not directly related to Paper Sky, but I wanted to share everything I’m working on. Over the past few years, I’ve participated in 10+ game jams. This weekend, I did one called Hollowspire—a fun, clicker-inspired game where you dig deeper and deeper until you can ascend. It’s highly addictive and easy for anyone to play.

It was a nice change of pace from Paper Sky with different art style, different mechanics. Give it a try here: https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/57/hollowspire
The past few months have been intense between the game show, the new demo, and the sleep-deprived game jam. I’m feeling the need for a brief pause (less than a month) to avoid burnout. Don’t worry, I’ll still be working on Paper Sky, but it’ll mostly be administrative stuff that I’ve been putting off and cleaning the project work process. The next update will likely be light or a bit empty, but I’ll be back to full speed in May.