August 28 Update (Patreon)
Content
Most weeks, this job is a pleasure, and I never lose sight of the privilege that it is to have a creative career. Any problems I have to deal with now are relatively petty compared to some of the struggles I've had earlier in my life, much less people who have faced true hardship.
That said, I do think that some stresses that come with a creative career are at least different. Being the creator of a semi-known thing means constantly being at the center of a maelstrom of opinions in a way I don't think I'd previously experienced. Unless you avoid feedback, you end up being exposed to vehement and contradictory opinions, which can lead creators to react in a number of different ways.
Setting aside whether I succeed, I seek to be an open-minded person, engage everyone in good faith, and not reflexively dismiss things. I think this probably makes me poorly suited to be a creator, as it leads to a buildup of a sort of mental scar tissue.
I want to be crystal clear that I'm not saying I'm feeling depressed or looking for encouragement. The end result is outwardly focused. This isn't who I want to be, and I try to maintain decent mental hygiene, but I feel I haven't kept up with the attrition. I'm not sure I have a particular conclusion here and I hope it won't affect my productivity long term.
Fortunately, I can end on a positive note! Some unknown fan requested fanart of Yarra, which you can see above or here:
https://twitter.com/baalbuddybb/status/1288391933749067777
They didn't tell me, so I can't give them a shoutout! But if you're reading this, just know that running across the art made me smile. ^-^ (EDIT: This image was requested by patron Treeman4!)
Anyway, something new will be coming out next weekend and I hope there will be game updates in the near future. Progress is being made on multiple fronts.