Month End Update - January 2023 (Patreon)

It's been like (relatively) warm all month, in a sense, but suddenly yesterday it dropped 7 entire degrees and now it's literally snowing. We always get snow in January, so I guess this is my city wanting to fill its snow quota for the month.

So! Shifter Labs 2 has been kept up with updates since I started really wanting to finish it. I've managed to write four whole sectors in the month, with two coming out every two weeks. It's a lot of work, but I'm managing it well! Sagittarius Library, Scorpio Testing Labs, Virgo Nursery, and Leo Botany Labs have been publically released, and Aries Station, Libra Security, Aquarius Lobbies, and finally, Capricorn Holdings are being made to release during February!

Also: This is the first month that I've spent completely working full-time on this! It's absolutely a change, and one that I'm very very aware doesn't come to everyone. I'm really lucky to have the opportunity to show my work for a living, and I can only hope this is just the beginning. I've thought about the idea that this could very well be a launching pad for me to go into the game-design business if working completely on my own doesn't work out in the long run.

Another thing is that I've really been thinking about how I can actually improve on my game design. I'm really not a visual artist, but I do know how to make good sexy words, so Twine has been working for me since it's mostly entirely text-based. However! I really want to expand my ability to make games. I want to make something visual and replayable, something that can be played on more than just your browser, maybe even release to Steam? The only thing is that I kind of have to work fast at the moment since, until I have some wiggle room, I can't afford to take some time off to learn a new game-making software. I hope you'll bear with me for a while as I settle into a comfortable spot financially before I take some considerable risks like that!

Anyway, I hope everyone is as excited as I am to see the end of Shifter Labs 2. To be honest, I'm already thinking of ways Shifter Labs 3 could play out. Thanks again, and I hope you'll stay with me another month!