It's obvious a ton of work has gone into fantasy sim Tavern Keeper , from the intricate and often hilarious animations of the patrons and staff to the flexible and easy-to-learn item design tools to the fully-narrated interludes that make your pub feel like it's part of a storybook adventure.

Tavern Keeper arrived on Steam in November, but it's been in development for over a decade—and as impressive as the game is, that's a heck of a long development cycle, especially since it's expected to be in early access for at least another 12 months.

I spoke last week with Patrick Klug, director and co-founder of Greenheart Games, and asked why the tavern sim took so long to belly up to the bar.

"We have made, like, six versions of this over the last 11 and a half years," Klug said, explaining th

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