Game Update #1 (Patreon)

I haven't talked about the game in a while, so I thought it was time for an update. If you have the time and are interested in the game, please read the following.

I think I've already mentioned it before, but this is the first game I've tried to make. In the beginning, although it probably sounds silly, I didn't stop to think how difficult it would be to create a game. Even more so when my game-making knowledge was limited and I didn't have many resources. At first, I wasn't that worried since I considered the game to be just a small extension of the novel. An extra that could be abandoned at any time. Assuming that, the game's first version was really not that good... 

For a moment, I thought about quitting the game. However, several comments made me reconsider. I try to improve various aspects of the game. I changed the renders, added and changed other things inside the game, and released it as chapter 2 after further advancing the story. Although Chapter 2 was still not to my complete liking, it was undoubtedly an improvement compared to Chapter 1. I thought that would be enough and started working on chapter 3.

Then, some time ago, while I was working on chapter 3 of the game, I ran into several problems. There were things I wanted to add or modify, but several bugs began to appear in the game that made it unplayable. When I tried to correct something, it was difficult since everything was a mess, considering that I did Chapter 1 without knowing much, and on top of that disaster, I added the fixes for Chapter 2 that made things even more messy.

At that moment, I was faced with two options. 

The first was to release chapter 3, knowing there would be bugs and content limitations that I wanted to add. This option would allow me to upload chapters 3 and maybe 4 without much delay between one and the other, although I would have to deal with the previously mentioned problems. 

The second option was to start from scratch. However, I knew that would take a long time to make. Starting from scratch will be more than just copying and pasting. I had learned several things that would make the game look better, so the previous content would only be helpful on certain occasions. 

Ultimately, I decided on option two. I knew that perhaps this would not be to the liking of many since I wasted a lot of time advancing chapter 3, which I would no longer use. On top of that, it would take me a long time to start creating everything from the beginning. Not to mention that my priority is the novel, and the time I can dedicate to the game is limited.

Still, I took the selfish decision, thinking that if I was going to commit to creating the game, it would be best to start from scratch instead of doing it feeling unmotivated by continuing to advance the first version, which I knew would be increasingly difficult to progress due to all those problems.

Before starting, I decided to wait even longer since I wanted to collect some of the profits I have been receiving from Patreon's support, for which I am very grateful! I have been able to buy a few things I needed. I also used that time to learn a little more and be as prepared as possible to start creating the game.

As many of you already know, I have been uploading weekly chapters of the novel on Patreon, which takes up a large part of the free time I have each week. Still, whenever I can, I continue working on the game. It's slow but constant progress. 

I have managed to create renders with characters more similar to how I imagined them. I have edited the maps to try to make them more vivid and less tedious than typical RPGs. I have added and edited several things that you will be able to see when the game comes out. I would also like to find someone who can make custom sprites for the game. So far, I've been making some custom sprites; however,  I'm a terrible artist. I'm leaving things in order in case I can find that person and make the changes without much problem.

I know that it could be considered that the game, instead of advancing, is going backward, but I consider that in the long term, it will be the best. This first update is the difficult one and the one that will take the longest since I had to start from 0, but the following updates should be much more constant.

I'm considering uploading the first game update with whatever progress I have at that moment on January 1 or February 1. I'm still unsure. After that, I will do monthly updates with whatever progress I have.