Important Adastra-related Announcements (Patreon)

TL;DR: Khemia is temporarily on hold. A new VN, Adastra: Cities (working title), will be released later this month.

Most of you have probably noticed the shaky development of Khemia thus far. There are a few reasons for this. Physical health issues and prescription drug-induced mental health issues back in the summer took a bit of a toll on me. Ever since then I've had trouble with Khemia's direction. Initially I thought I simply had a severe form of writer's block, or that what I went through in the summer left me somehow incapable of writing, but while working on Arches, the sequel to Echo, I've found myself able to churn out a solid amount of work whenever I sit down to write. This made me realize that Khemia's issues might have more to do with the project itself. So, I decided that it needs more time in development, and more time for me to decide exactly what it actually is. This might sound odd, but while I thought I knew what Khemia was going to be about, I realized that it's not actually the story I want to tell. I think I also just need a break from agonizing over it month after month.

Because of this, I'm sad to say that Khemia is going into hiatus. I can't say for exactly how long (I'm hoping no longer than the summer), but work is going to continue on assets, and I will continue to develop the story into something that I feel is worth telling. In the meantime, I will also begin releasing updates for Arches next month.

Despite this bad news, or I suppose because of it, I'm able to move forward on a story I have been wanting to tell, and it will keep Adastra-related content part of regular updates. It's a companion VN to Adastra, currently under the working title Adastra: Cities.

Cities will center around the player character's tour of the moon with Amicus, the events of which took place off-screen near the end of Adastra. This is something I've considered doing for a while as I've tended to agree with the audience's concern that Amicus and his human didn't have enough time to really spend together amidst the fast-paced nature of the story. I also feel that there was a lot more to say about the culture and history of Adastra that wasn't explored in the original VN. There will certainly still be an overarching narrative involving some tension and conflict, but I think many of you will enjoy seeing these characters in situations in which there is room to breathe and relax, though not completely (especially with Alex and Cassius along for the ride).

Many of the assets are already complete considering most of the sprites from Adastra will be used, but Haps is excited to work on all the new illustrations and even characters that will be involved. I know that this isn't very much info to go off of, but we're planning to post the official title, assets, and even the first build by the end of this month.

Apologies to everyone who was enjoying Khemia, but I feel this is the right move while the VN is still at the very beginning. I'm hoping I can make it something that's even more enjoyable when builds resume a regular release schedule. I will keep you posted on when exactly that might be.

Thank you for everyone's patience these past several months.

-Howly