To Be A King Is... (Patreon)

Fuck. I've created a monster. And I am not talking about Valentina. You may recall me proclaiming that Volume 2 would be the final volume for To Be A King. As I worked on the story outline over the last couple of months, it just felt too sudden to end things. It wasn't a bad ending, but it was being written like a TV show that knew this season was their last and needed to get a lot done. Too much that would be interesting to take our time and explore was getting cut to get us to the end. A lot of the characters are either still fairly new or need more exploration of their stories. Part of that is my fault for introducing so many characters later in the story (not making that mistake on my next project). Additionally, other key plot developments, that I'm not going to spoil, seemed cheapened by pushing everything into even an expanded Volume 2 with another two or three chapters beyond what I originally planned.

At any rate, we aren't done with Volume 2 yet, and we are going to need a Volume 3 to wrap things up. The good news is that I have the outline for that done, so I expect a fairly smooth wrap up. A wrap up that is now probably two years away, at least. Volume 2 will wrap up in 2023, though I am not sure exactly when beyond "in the second half of the year." Volume 3 will continue as soon as Volume 2 wraps up.

Now, what does this do for the next game? Well, I have been able to find time to work on its story, as well as several other things that are needed for it. Prep work is going well, so we will see how things continue to develop. I do enjoy stepping away from TBaK for a few days a month to work on something else. It helps feed my need for something different, and it makes me more eager to come back to To Be A King's development. As long as my schedule remains normal, this workload is just fine without stressing me out or causing me to burn the candle at both ends. 

I am unsure how working on two game projects simultaneously for several more months is gonna feel later on. However, I really do not want to move this next project's release to 2024 or later, especially with progress going much quicker than I expected on it. At the rate 3D technology moves, I'd need to largely start over with all that Daz work with that significant a delay. For now, I'm going to give it some attention in between my work on To Be A King. It still needs a lot of development before any release, so I'll take my time on it and continue to provide previews. It wasn't due to launch until sometime in 2023 anyway.

The only certainty with my plans is that the adventures in Caudium will continue into 2024 now. Four years of my life, and maybe more. I hope all the princesses appreciate this. Kaylan sure looks pleased.