Hey everyone,
John here. I figure I should make an update announcement to make up for the lack of beta release notes. If you've been following the beta closely, great! We have actually been pushing bi-monthly updates, but things are changing so fast it didn't really make sense to try to make an accurate patch notes for each push.
On a broad note, things are really shaping up. There are only a handful of music tracks left for me to make, and our bug-list is getting smaller and smaller. We peaked at somewhere around 300
Trello cards back in April, and have been working diligently to keep diminishing that number.
At this moment the game is very playable. Other than specific bugs, most of my effort has been put towards finishing and mastering the remaining music tracks, tweaking graphical goodies, and adding pizzazz to all the events in the game. We'll also be addressing some "would be cool ifs", especially concerning the ability to return to a world after completion. Ironing out issues with the quicksave is also a priority - players expect the world to be the same when they return!
We've also been focusing on pushing out a new trailer, which is really shaping up to be a stunner. We've decided on using an updated version of the original
kickstarter trailer music as template, but I'm thinking that I might release one of the brand new tracks from the game for those who have been following us since the early days. Keep your eyes (and ears!) peeled for the trailer and maybe a preview of the soundtrack.
Speaking of keeping your eyes peeled, I'd like to announce we will be announcing our release day.... with the trailer! Which is coming soon. I promise.
But really, actually setting a release date is exceedingly difficult, especially for our kind of team. We've already spent a ridiculous amount of time on this project.
Actually, now that I think about it, here is some scary math. I started working on this game around April 2012. Up until today's date, that is 1948 days. These are obviously not all work days, so we'll call them project days.
I just celebrated my 27th birthday a few days ago. 1948 is already a pretty big number, but what is truly frightful is taking that number as a percentage of the days I've been alive. This equates to...
19.7%.
Nineteen point seven percent of my life has been working on or thinking about this game. And I don't regret a second of it. This game isn't my magnum opus. It isn't my 9th. But it has been an amazing journey of learning, discipline, and creativity. It's been like enrolling in grad school, starting a business, and writing a symphony all at the same time, and thus has been immensely enriching throughout the years.
I also happen to think the game is pretty fun : D
I truly don't know what I'll be doing or where I'll go after this project is all said and done, but I do know that I'll be carrying the wisdom I've gained from it throughout my career.
