VoidBound: The State, the Pace and the Future (Patreon)

Stating the truth, no matter how disappointing, is far better than spinning a fallacy and propping counterfeit hope.

Dear fans,

Today, we want to touch on something beyond VoidBound; something we're concerned, might turn into an elephant in the room if goes unaddressed for too long. But, before we dive into the heart of the matter, a bit of backstory on how VoidBound came to be. 

Near the end of 2018, Cursed Atelier started work on a sci-fi project with the goal of creating a 2D game on an established engine but with an exceptional thematic approach to the concept of RPG. What culminated in the years following, became what is VoidBound today. But, the path itself wasn't exactly smooth sailing.

Be it trial and error evaluating a new concept or loss of staff due to various reasons, we were traversing an uncharted path stricken with challenges that kept testing our timelines incessantly. We anticipated bumps, even planned for it; but underestimated the fallout so much so that dealing with them truly was, and sometimes still is, an exhausting experience. However, nothing weighed more heavily on us than the future of the project itself, after we exhausted our main source of funding.

VoidBound's development started in early 2019, but it wasn't until 2020 that the game actually made its debut on crowdfunding platforms like Patreon. And though we were thrilled on how well it was received, the income generated however, just wasn't enough to offset the expenditures incurred. Some kind souls pitched in every now and then, but for the majority of the development cycle, Candiru continued to shoulder expenses out of his own savings. Sadly, just like all good things in this world, that too came to an end and by 2022 we made the difficult choice of pivoting the project from a professional to a passion project. 

Now at this point, some of you might be wondering, "What is with this humdrum tone? Some roundabout stretched way of making an excuse? Or maybe guilt tripping into making me pay(more) somehow?" and the answer to that is an unequivocal and a decisive, " No, absolutely not! In-fact, the intent of the post is the polar opposite." 

In January, we made a sincere effort explaining our situation, making sure we picked words carefully, and though we feel we largely succeeded in getting our intent across, some details and aspects about the game however, evaded clear explanation. If left unaddressed, we fear, presumptive speculations will end up doing more harm to the game, and its community, in the long run. So without further adieu, lets fill in the gaps.

The State of VoidBound

Where does VoidBound stand currently? In spite of VoidBound's recent rocky development cycle, we're pleased to report that our current content deployment is in sync with the planned roadmap. Planets and the story conclusion(s) were written out well in advance, and we remain resolute in spinning content around it. Take Henosis for example. The original city blueprints called for two complex features: Detailed architecture and in-depth lore integration. And though it took months to achieve the former part of that objective, we're sincerely proud of how near to our envisions, the city turned out to be. The latter part of those plans still need some extensive work but, with our current momentum, we project our next patch would be ready within the next 1-2 months. In short, VoidBound remains on track; the problem, however, lies in..

The Pace of VoidBound

This is where things have gone a bit tipsy topsy. As we mentioned, the state of the game is now a passion project. For those unfamiliar with the term, it means Cursed Atelier has largely transitioned from a studio of professionals working on a regular basis, to a circle of like minded individuals working when they can spare the time for it. Goes without saying, that the staff was no longer drawing a reliable salary, with some taking a pay cut, while others, no longer drawing any at all.

While some of the team members have chosen to stay with the project, understandably, others have chosen to depart for salaried opportunities, which has left us in situations where, sometimes, one dev is tackling two work fronts at the same time. Due to this, the speed of the development has taken a massive hit and though we're capable of putting out content, we just don't have enough hands anymore to do so in an expedited manner. Learning new skills while continuously applying our own is the biggest reason why our release timelines have spluttered out.

In short, we'll finish VoidBound, we just cannot decisively say, when. We understand this isn't exactly "addressing the unexplained", but rather than evade the question and embrace silence, we believe it's prudent that we're fair and honest about the "why", with you, which finally brings us to.. 

The Future of VoidBound

VoidBound's direction remains unchanged and though we may have lost the optimal manpower count, our core staff remains firmly entrenched into the game's development with no evident factors stalling it. Slowly but steadily, is an ideal way of putting it. But, what lies ahead? Well, we wish we were seers and capable of divining the future, but we're not and though we remain calm and dedicated, working as usual, there are factors that will definitely be seeing changes moving forward. Allow us to break some of them down in bullet points.

• Patches/Updates: We'd be lying if we said that we didn't panic at one point about how to keep content rolling off the line. Eventually however, we came to the conclusion that instead of releasing a half baked substandard patch in a hurry, it's better instead to compartmentalize content and sincerely endeavor to release it in a bi-monthly fashion. This means, that though patches won't be as meaty as they used to be, they'd still retain the quality that our fans have come to expect from VoidBound. Please note, we're not a fan of drip feeding content, so once we are back to being financially stable on our feet, we fully intend to revert back to our original release pattern. Humble apologies but, for now, please bear with us on this.

• Shelving ideas: At this point, some of you might be wondering, "If things are so wild, why encumber yourself further with something as complex as character animations or voicing the game?" and the answer to that is A) Because our game and our fans deserve the best and B) Plans for those ideas were already long in motion. They just matured at a very odd time. So instead of hacking off a seasoned idea, we decided to keep working on it at our pace and to our best of abilities. But, that is where we draw the line. As much as we'd love to keep collecting feedback for new ideas, considering the circumstances, we fell its proper that we focus on what's on our plate rather than what's on the menu. Doing so will also double as an effort to make sure we don't drop the ball on existing ideas and keep our attention squarely on the bird in our hand.

• Exploring new platforms and updating current ones: With our development well crossing over the medial line, the team feels we're finally in a good place where we can start presenting our game's existence to a wider panel of audience, examples being reddit, newgrounds, itch.io etc. Though some you might remark that it was remiss of us for not doing so earlier, instead of presenting excuses, all we'll say is, "Better late, than never.". We'll also be taking a hard look into our website and bring it upto speed in the coming months in order to make a more custom archive of our work, affording us greater presentation control.

• Patreon Benefits: Typically, we release patron benefits on a monthly basis but we always found that the method was unfair to patrons that no longer were with us due to any reason whatsoever as unsubbing from a creator also means losing access to exclusive content. Soon, alongside the public post, we'll also start mailing our patrons their tier benefits. That way, even unsubbed, you get to keep content as a passive benefit. Consider this as our way of saying a long overdue thanks for your patronage.

This post became one heck of wall text, so lets wind it down. Looking back, the words of this newsletter might feel drearily heavy to some and we deeply apologize if it came off that way. But, we genuinely believe it's necessary to be honest now, for the sake of Voidbound's future. Rather than paint a deceivingly rosy picture, we'd instead prefer facing your ire or disappointment head on. 

Often we mull on a lot of things that could have been done differently, but not a day goes by where we do not take uninhibited solace in the fact that we truly built a gold tier community around VoidBound. In-fact, having you all around us is our BIGGEST motivation and the prime reason we decided to keep fighting for VoidBound's survival. No amount of words would be enough to show our appreciation for the support you've given us by believing in our project, but we'll strive to continue trying. If you have any other questions or doubts that may have gone unanswered, please feel free to splash them down below or get in touch with us on Discord and we will get back to you ASAP.

If you managed to sit and read through all of the post, we respect you for your patience and thank you for your time. And if not, we still respect your attempt anyway ^_~

On that note, take care and we'll see you in the next month. o/

Kind Regards,

Cursed Atelier