HAPPY NEW YEAR

New Year just dropped

Some time in November, Zero End celebrated its first year of development. Well, celebrated might be a bit much since I completely forgot about it (I'd make a horrible parent), but it did mark its anniversary. I figured since the game's been out for a year and we're on the precipice of a new one, I'd look back on everything that's happened and laugh-cry over it, then ponder what the future holds.

First and foremost, a big and thicc thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the kind words and support. I know it might sound disingenuous to say I couldn't have done this without your support, but it's true. I was very familiar with the realities of game development when I started, but I didn't realize just how difficult it would be doing it alongside a full-time job (it kinda tripped me up because the first 6 months or so were easy). I don't think I could have kept the motivation and excitement about the project going for so long without your kind words of support, without seeing you excited to play the next installment, without knowing there are people who like what I'm doing here. I love this game, but you make all the effort feel like it's worth it. So thank you for that.

I feel like I've learned so much in the last year. When I started the project, I didn't really know much about anything apart from writing and game design, so I started to learn about photography and cinematography which has been a bunch of fun and it's awesome (and cringe) to compare some of my first images with what I'm capable of now. I hope this continues and I cringe again next year at what I'm doing now. When I got to developing the game, I wasn't sure what I wanted it to be. My creative process at the start of a project is to have a character, some ideas, and to place them in the world and see how they interact with it. You'll notice this if you go through the first half of the first release--it feels rather rough and unfocused. Still, what I knew is that I wanted an occult mystery that slowly got revealed over time and that I wanted to draw inspiration from World of Darkness and Hellblazer. Bloodlines, specifically, was a large part of that inspiration, and now, a year later, Zero End is fairly well regarded by a relatively small number of people. Much like Bloodlines. Not sure what I was expecting there.

This year, I've also created my own company. So I guess I'm a business owner now. Unfortnately, I've already engaged in sexual relations with the only employee.

Turning my gaze forward, I'm... not sure what will happen. A lot of things depend on the Steam release and how well that goes, but judging by the number of wishlists, it won't be enough for me to work on the project full-time, so it's very likely that I'll keep going as I did in the previous year. On the subject of the project itself, I expect the new release will be ready some time in the first quarter of next year. After that, I'll probably need some time to figure out how to deal with Steam DLC releases. And probably take a vacation, I feel like I'm on my last 10% of battery.

Finally, I really wanted to have a showcase of some of the most heartwarming feedback I've received in the last year, but looking through it all, I just couldn't pick one I liked the most. I will say, however, that I read them over and over when I feel bad and it always makes me feel better, like whatever's happening isn't as bad because I still have this project and the people who enjoy it. So anyway, since I can't pick a good one, we'll instead be looking at the stupidest, most unhinged shit I could find.

>accepts offer for oral sex from a person he's just met

>decides to follow her path

>finds out she's a succubus

>angry that his sex demon girlfriend used to be promiscuous

My brother in Christ, you're the one who picked her route.

I think I might have taken too much modafinil. Reading back through this text, it reads like a chimeric abomination combining a heartfelt thank you and a shitpost. But, thinking about it, that's a very accurate descriptor of my personality, so here's to the next year! May it be better than the last.

Happy New Year!

--SR