Important development news
Added 2022-01-28 23:05:44 +0000 UTCHi guys,
When it rains it pours, or so they say. Last time I told you about how I was falling behind with ORS' production due to burnout and some other issues and now I got the "unspecified virus of unknown origin", I've spent most of the week in bed feeling like shit, so production hasn't exactly ramped up.
I've been thinking about it for a while and I've decided that starting February I will put all charges on my page on hold. I feel I'm not giving you enough value for your money at this moment and it doesn't sit right with me.
I've said in the past that I'm the one looking forward to new releases the most, and that I really wish I could still publish every single month. I can't wait to realize the ideas I have for ORS and there are also several other projects in the back of my mind I'd love to bring to life at some point too. Taking too long to release a new chapter becomes stressful to me, especially considering this business model: a monthly subscription deserves to be rewarded by a flow of continuous content, and ORS is far from a finished piece. That means that work is never over, and as soon as the last chapter is released, pressure to get the next one ready starts lighting a fire under my feet. I've already talked about it in previous posts, but after more than 4 years of uninterrupted work and due to other personal issues, I found myself feeling quite burnt out after Chapter 9.
I know some of you kindly warned me about that pitfall but I guess I just ran with it because that was the only way I was able to keep myself on the loop, and I still stand by that choice. And because I want to get back in that loop, I want to feel at ease to keep working on this big project. I take your support really seriously, so the constant anxiety of delivering content worthy of your hard earned money has been eating at me. I'm not sure if I'm shooting myself in the foot here, but I think it's the right thing to do and it'll help me get back into things with less stress.
That doesn't mean production will stop. I still want to release as much content as soon as possible. I haven't been able to do that recently, so I'm looking to turn that around. So rest assured I will continue to work to bring you quality content and finish ORS like I've always intended to do. The review of the first 9 chapters + Stan's integral rework should not take much longer (it's already taken too long), followed by that Steam release I always talk about and I haven't been able to make a reality yet.
This was hard to write, I hope I did a good job. I know this is far from ideal and I hope I didn't make things sound worse than they actually are. There's a lot of cool stuff coming for ORS, I just want to get it out more efficiently. As always, I want to keep things open and transparent when it comes to the game's development. I'll keep you posted, so stay tuned for next week.
Thanks a bunch guys!
Comments
i think you should take a break if you are burn out, you should relax for a month or two, don't be afraid to feel we will unsub if you take a break, i think most of us are here so to help you finish your product so we are here for the long run.
wei
2022-02-01 19:28:03 +0000 UTCGetting the professional help to battle the burn out and other issues is actually a very good idea.
Brother Bethor
2022-02-01 17:45:02 +0000 UTCThanks for letting us know how you feel and what your plans are. You really did a good job and I can relate to the feelings you described. Usually, I would agree with the other patreons, wich suggested to keep collecting money from everybody. I would not mind at all and really have trust in you and your good will. But that's exactly the problem, isn't it? It builds up pressure because everybody believes in you: "You won't let us down!" But when you collect the money and feel the need to take a day off, you instantaniously feel bad because it feels like you let us down. If there is a small delay, you feel like letting us down. Of course, it is a good thing to take a day off and most of us (if not all) agree that you should take care of yourself, but a bad conscience does not listen for reasons, does it? So I think you may be right and skipping a month could be worth a shot in order to calm your conscious down (even if it is not neccessary at all from a objective point of view!) and let you get some breath. But please make sure this is a "one time" thing. There is no good in it if it builds up a restart-barrier like "is the next update really good enough to justify a restart of collecting money? Or should I do even better" - a vicious circle. Most of the times, Burn Out affects not the lazy ones, but the perfectionists. The best I could advise is to try hard not trying to be that perfect ;) . Yeah, easy said. The other advise is to go search for professional help even in early stages. If a professional tennis player has an aching arm, he should not wait until it falls off, but go see the doctor as soon as possible in order to keep the need for a threatment down. If you do some exercises for relaxation early on, you have a chance not to fall down to deep into that pit and get out of it quiet "easily". Some people might have problems with beeing stigmatized, but I see it just as professional help - like a surgeon or a car mechanic. Lastly, I think it is better to "make things sound worse than they actually are" and do better as expecten than building up high expectations and failing to deliver. "The review of the first 9 chapters + Stan's integral rework should not take much longer (it's already taken too long)" sounds great - I would not have expected a release before april because even replaying the complety game once in one path and carefully reading most of it takes a lot of time. You are doing really well :) .
Dennis
2022-01-30 21:24:45 +0000 UTC
