It's midday, I'm riding my bike beneath the springtime sun, when suddenly white flowers catch my fancy. I stop and admire them quietly for a moment and feel the warmth of the air like ocean currents passing by calmly.
"How nice would it be if those were in Paper Soul Theater?" I wonder aloud. I snap a photo and keep on my way.
In a sense, that scene sums up my life. I may be busy often, but Paper Soul Theater always remains in the slower moments. Even on days when no actual development gets done, I'll wistfully think about it.
This may seem insignificant until you learn the bad news. Unfortunately, two very important members of the team recently quit, leaving what's left of the development team in shambles! Without a programmer, or composer, I recently considered terminating the project. Sometimes there's no shame in quitting, and maybe I don't know when to do so, because I'm just so damn excited about Paper Soul Theater these days.
It's time for a rebound. Spring is all surrounding as winter comes to a close. This is what's new:
~ ~ ~
I'm lucky to say that my designer and writer are sticking with me. Our designer has before struggled with participation, and still does, but I can feel that's getting better. Though at a slow pace, I can depend on him to sketch something or give his thoughts on a design, now.
These days, our writer is slowly becoming like an adviser to me, being there to listen whenever needed. I've been having him create interactive fiction to simulate story-heavy moments and dialogue. Each time, we go over what I like and wish for him to change, and it has shown me how blessed I am to have him specifically on the team. We have great chemistry as partners in crime, and I trust him when he disagrees with me or when he has an entirely different idea.
The oldest two members still with us, are only honorary members. I talk with both of them on occasion, and even though they've moved on, they each still care. Our other writer, who was the first person to join the team with me, had a brilliant idea towards our cause of downsizing the game, the other day, and suddenly I felt nostalgia for 12 months back when it was the two of us against the world. Our soon-leaving programmer is doing so with a going-away present: a promise to help the next programmer learn the code he's leaving behind, and I consider that very kind. More still is another ex-writer, who is a friend. Just the other day, he pointed me in the direction of a programmer, and I'm excited to contact him later today.
I myself have been working on and off with the surface short-grass hexagon textures. This is how they are going to look:
"How nice would it be if those were in Paper Soul Theater?" I wonder aloud. I snap a photo and keep on my way.
In a sense, that scene sums up my life. I may be busy often, but Paper Soul Theater always remains in the slower moments. Even on days when no actual development gets done, I'll wistfully think about it.
This may seem insignificant until you learn the bad news. Unfortunately, two very important members of the team recently quit, leaving what's left of the development team in shambles! Without a programmer, or composer, I recently considered terminating the project. Sometimes there's no shame in quitting, and maybe I don't know when to do so, because I'm just so damn excited about Paper Soul Theater these days.
It's time for a rebound. Spring is all surrounding as winter comes to a close. This is what's new:
~ ~ ~
I'm lucky to say that my designer and writer are sticking with me. Our designer has before struggled with participation, and still does, but I can feel that's getting better. Though at a slow pace, I can depend on him to sketch something or give his thoughts on a design, now.
These days, our writer is slowly becoming like an adviser to me, being there to listen whenever needed. I've been having him create interactive fiction to simulate story-heavy moments and dialogue. Each time, we go over what I like and wish for him to change, and it has shown me how blessed I am to have him specifically on the team. We have great chemistry as partners in crime, and I trust him when he disagrees with me or when he has an entirely different idea.
The oldest two members still with us, are only honorary members. I talk with both of them on occasion, and even though they've moved on, they each still care. Our other writer, who was the first person to join the team with me, had a brilliant idea towards our cause of downsizing the game, the other day, and suddenly I felt nostalgia for 12 months back when it was the two of us against the world. Our soon-leaving programmer is doing so with a going-away present: a promise to help the next programmer learn the code he's leaving behind, and I consider that very kind. More still is another ex-writer, who is a friend. Just the other day, he pointed me in the direction of a programmer, and I'm excited to contact him later today.
I myself have been working on and off with the surface short-grass hexagon textures. This is how they are going to look:
It's nothing special, but since it looks okay in game, I think the wise thing to do is move on, rather than slow progress by being a perfectionist. As mentioned before, I've also been finding people to interview, and easier than I expected! Assuming that goes well, we'll be back to our prior size and with more progress made to boot! I've lowered my standard for who we try to hire, in hopes that rapid-fire interviewing will help get the right type of person aboard.
While manning our social media, I've come across the upcoming Steven Universe game, and honestly panicked as a response. Here again was another game to compete against (Paper Mario gameplay) but this time, it's well known by the public, getting journalistic attention. I looked into Save the Light, and I found it will be "available on consoles" with nothing hinting at a computer or handheld release, and given that Paper Soul Theater might release on computers at the same time, that deflated my worries a little. I told my close friend about it, and he convinced me nothing is ever going to be "too similar" to Paper Soul Theater, so for now on, I vow to simply trust in the unique ideas and quality of our upcoming game to prevail.
I have a good feeling about the future. We're not throwing in the towel ...not when there is a big milestone event coming soon...
While manning our social media, I've come across the upcoming Steven Universe game, and honestly panicked as a response. Here again was another game to compete against (Paper Mario gameplay) but this time, it's well known by the public, getting journalistic attention. I looked into Save the Light, and I found it will be "available on consoles" with nothing hinting at a computer or handheld release, and given that Paper Soul Theater might release on computers at the same time, that deflated my worries a little. I told my close friend about it, and he convinced me nothing is ever going to be "too similar" to Paper Soul Theater, so for now on, I vow to simply trust in the unique ideas and quality of our upcoming game to prevail.
I have a good feeling about the future. We're not throwing in the towel ...not when there is a big milestone event coming soon...