Update on things + v14 Retrospective (Patreon)

hey.

are we all okay? doin' alright? ok sweet.

So I wasn't actually planning on this post being a retrospective at all. I forgot the literal concept of those. All but vanished in my mind and away from memory.

Buuut I saw someone mention that this post may be that, so I'll go ahead and do a small little thing for it, I suppose. Though, I was saving most of my thoughts for the upcoming Dev Stream next month (more info on that later!)

WARNING V14 SPOILERS PAST THIS POINT:

For players, v14 could be described as such:

Truthfully, releasing v14 has been that for me as well. It started off with pretty good reception, and then people got to the ending and that caused a lot of tension. So much tension that I've gotten a lot of hateful messages, ad-hominem, of course.

So, let's talk about that a little bit.

That ending was the very first thing I conceptualized. That and the character Maria. Two Madame X's and Maria.

I then paved the road to get to the destination that was v14's ending.An ending that you either love, hate, or grow to like over time.

If you hate the ending for what happens to the crew, MC, or Melia... all I can say is this.In this game, things are never what they seem to be. There's always another layer hiding behind a mask.

For those of you who hated the ending because you were satisfied with how things wrapped up. Uh... okay, well good actually! That is what I was going for. The point of the ending was to feel like everything you worked for was taken from you. Right when victory seemed assured.It all went up in flames. But... may I direct you to a previous statement?

In this game, things are never what they seem.

All I ask is for a little faith, a little process trusting, and a little patience. We've got 2 (maybe 3. I did say I wasn't sure if I wanted to split v16 into a v17 or not, and I think I'm back to contemplating. but we'll see, as for right now it's 2)

Anyway, to sum it all up:

You are allowed to feel how you feel for whatever reason...

but also can we not take it out on me?

Even if writing is the most garbage that ever garbaged, or if an ending made you legitimately sad or upset... sending threats and such is never a good thing, nor is it ever okay, or appropriate.

Anyways x2, I've been quite absent everywhere because of it. Sometimes I think I've made myself far too available. People have been crossing lines with me far too often, especially recently. I try to be friendly and chill. I may be stubborn, but I'm just trying to make a fun game that will stick in your mind. That's all. I don't like feeling unsafe.

All that being said, I think I will continue to make myself sparse. To those who message me on twitter, reddit, bsky, tumblr and sometimes through Discord DMs... I'm not ignoring you, I'm just avoiding those spaces for the time being. I don't want to be Perceived atm. I need time to be by myself, is all.

Oh and one last thing

v15+ is considered to be post game.Yes, I know I said Renegade wouldn't have a post game.And I still mean that.The "credits" that appear at the end of v14 was a choice made pretty late.What I was trying to say there was this.When the game rolls the final, true, bit of credits... On Renegade there's no going back to playing on that file and continuing the story past that point. It ends, when it ends. There is no post game.For Paragon, when the true credits roll, there will be a few more things to do afterwards.

...Now back to the post I was actually going to write about!!

V14 SPOILERS END PAST THIS POINT:

hey.

so.

LET'S GET INTO IT!!!! I love making this game. (xcx uncontrollable plays at full volume)

and before you ask, yes I take breaks. But I'm not really interested in taking a huge break this time. I'm ready to gooooo.

So yeah, I have been working on a little something-something. I'm not gonna go into detail about what it is, but just know that I started working on it... literally like the day after I dropped v14. oops.

I dropped this pic in the VIP Vault on the discord (If you aren't in the discord you should totally drop in, we have some lovely folks there. You don't even have to talk! lurking is welcome, too. From one lurker to another.)

I just want to say, no! this is not the first look at v15. That's all i have to say, actually.

stay tuned for the dev stream for more.

Really, this post was to let you know that im still kickin' and I'm working hard despite it all, because, duh, i am uncontrollable.

I have a lot of plans.

Things did not end with v14. It's the beginning of the end, the final chapter is upon us and I can't believe it. Act 3 let's gooooo.

but I will leave you all with one last thing before I go.

A glimpse into what was, and what used to be.

Taking new form.

A call from the past? Or perhaps, a call to the future.

Who can say?