Camp Pinewood 2—the game that never happened. (Patreon)

While I’m working on the next update (coming this month!)...

I have an interesting story to share today about the unsuccessful development of Camp Pinewood 2—the game that never happened.

2020
Why Camp Pinewood (the Original Game) Was Left Unfinished
In 2020, I visited South Korea for some very important personal reasons. Even then, the development of the original Camp Pinewood was already in trouble. To be honest, I even briefly thought about ending it all dramatically—with an asteroid crashing into the camp and everyone dying. But that seemed way too harsh, even for me! Another classic issue was constant technical problems—I switched engines several times, rebuilding the project over and over.

Around the same time, I underwent a significant surgery, which had a huge impact on my physical state. While recovering, I could finally reflect clearly on what I wanted to do next. I decided it was time to create Camp Pinewood 2, incorporating fresh ideas and concepts I'd been holding onto since the first game. It felt like the perfect moment.

The Birth (and Rebirth) of Camp Pinewood 2

Right after sketching my first character concept—Hana (inspired by D.Va from Overwatch)—I immediately sensed a fresh vibe for the new game. Feeling inspired and, admittedly, overly ambitious, I went ahead and drew every single character before even starting any actual game development. (On a side note, some of these characters have never been seen by anyone.) Was this a mistake? Absolutely.

Turns out, the audience didn't like the new art style. And you know what? Fair enough! The negative feedback hit me hard—I still feel it—but I understand people have every right to say what they dislike. Realizing I'd made a mistake, I spent several months redoing all the artwork to better match the style players loved.

I need to share something else here—not as an excuse, just a fact of life: for years, I've had a hand condition similar to carpal tunnel syndrome. Drawing for long periods is painful, and switching tablets didn't help. Eventually, I had to change my lineart style completely. Ironically, I've been drawing with this problem for years, even though it hurts. (But hey, I can still work, so everything's okay!)

Anyway, after redoing everything, the new (old?) style matched the original game's feel better. Frankie, in particular, looked much closer to her original version, which fans seemed to appreciate. What version is your favourite, btw?

The most interesting part is that Camp Pinewood 2 originally had a completely different plot. It was deeper, more thoughtful, and heavily focused on technology. There was even a location with a bridge central to the storyline, and AL played a more crucial role. The plot wasn’t initially centered around Jane, either, though some aspects survived into the final concept. I spent countless days trying to adapt my ambitious storyline to fit the new visual direction. It was exhausting, to say the least.

What's next?
As many of you know, this experience eventually evolved into the idea for Camp Pinewood: Remix, which will finally conclude the storyline from the original game. It won't be exactly the same story, but I promise it’s canonical, connecting neatly to future projects.

Thanks so much for sticking with me through all these ups and downs! I deeply appreciate your patience and support. I make mistakes (clearly!), but your feedback helps me learn. Hopefully, you'll be gentle with me when I start my next big project, AMX. After that, who knows? Maybe we'll even see Camp Pinewood 3 one day! ;)

Thanks again, and have an amazing day!