Three years... (Patreon)

Just writing this as the title is already such an intense feeling...

Three years ago, the first public version of My New Family was released. It was my first jump into unknown waters - The big ocean of adult visual novels. Back then I had no idea what to expect. I played a few of those games, even joined communities that evolve around these games, but I still had no idea what the other point of view is. Not being the player but the person that creates these games...

It took me a long time to get this first release out. It all started with 0.01, the picture you see here as the title one. This is basically the default Ren'Py game overlay with a picture of Sandra, Becca and Lucy. I had this idea back then to show the three "main girls" of the game, the three persons the game will mainly evolve around. 0.01 ended with the animation where you dream about Sandra on the couch. Just looking how I started this game makes me feel nostalgic for some reason, even though it has only been a little over three years. I got a lot of feedback from amazing people on my discord back then, which made me put more time than I thought into the 0.1 some of you might remember.

Seeing my first release makes me chuckle a little. If I would release the game now, I would make so many things different. For example, the "one thing" choices, like ringing the doorbell - That would be gone in an instant. The weird point system I had for the player so he would get Sandra ( or not ) depending on his/her choices. Never again. I see the things I did there and even though I would do it very different nowadays, I still don't feel bad because of them. Yes, I wish I could change some things I did early on, but they are part of my personal development as well. I still see the game as something I want to play myself, the wholesome, romantic and sometimes very cheese household fun with no drama, no bad feelings and no bad endings. A game that wants to make you feel good in the end.

Just for fun and nostalgia, I made a similar "main menu" just to show how I would probably make it look today - still Sandra, Becca and Lucy, but how they look now ( I changed their looks later on in the game, mainly the hairstyles ). Some of you might remember one of the bigger releases I had early on - The release of 0.5. This was the release where I completely remade the first day of the game - Where you meet Sandra, Becca and Lucy for the first time. I think it was over 180 renders I remade in the span of one day - Something I never want to do again ( seriously, I was sitting 12hrs+ in front of my pc, not eating not drinking, just making these ). I think I showed the comparison last year, and maybe I'll upload this version someday for "nostalgia" sakes ( the original 0.1 ). I'm not really a big fan of remaking stuff, but this was something I really had to do back in the day. I just wasn't happy with how the game looked early on compared to the later stuff. And as some of you may remember, I also remade other things ( animations with Mary, Fiona etc ).

Back then I would have never thought to get an actual following - Be it here, on twitter, discord, the filthy pirate sites or anyewhere else. I had no idea that people would enjoy this - this wholesome, cute household stuff. Even though I did the same stuff a lot of other devs did, I still managed to find my niché somehow. And that makes me extremely happy and grateful each and every single day. That I'm able to do this as my job. And this is all thanks to you amazing people, the players and supporters, the haters and the lovers ( mainly the lovers though ). I got to meet so many people that told me their stories and how my games made them feel, and even though it has been three years, it still warms my heart every time when I get a message that tells me exactly that. So, thank you for being you, people.

The last image is the image that is supposed to show me "improving" as a developer. My New Memories was only possible because of the things I learned while working on My New Family. It helped me become a better writer, at least I think so, and it helped me to create better content in general. And My New Family 2 will continue with that tradition hopefully. I always aim to improve, I always aim to write better stories, but I also know where "my roots" are. Creating wholesome, emotional, cute and romantic (household wink wink ) stories. Just, you know, with a little spice now and then, without dragging you down. Because one thing never changed in those three years: At the end of an update, I want to make people smile and say "That was good. Next Chapter when?"

If you read all of this, thank you. Here is to hopefully another three years, I don't plan on quitting anytime soon. While this year has been pretty bad for me ( mentally and physically ) , I still love doing what I do and working on my games is the "good time" in my life, as weird ( and maybe sad ) as that sounds. I love all of you, stay awesome!