Hello!

Sorry I'm a day late, yesterday had a lot of stuff happening for me!

I was also thinking about how I was gonna organize everything I wanted to say in this post.

Su-BARA-shi!

So, production isn't going very well. I've got a bit more story in, and I'm doing the linework for another character's portrait, but finishing the game in a month is impossible.

I don't know why (I only have theories), but it's been really difficult for me to keep the motivation to work on the game I was so excited for.

I've made the decision that the game will be put on hold, NOT canceled.

Everything I've tried to get work done hasn't stuck with me for very long. Which is weird, because forcing myself to do the work usually goes well.

I'm really quite ashamed to be doing this... but I hope you can believe that I've tried very hard.

I don't know when I'll start officially working on it again. But, I'll always have it in the back of my mind, and fiddle with it when ideas come to me.

All I can say is "sorry", to those of you who were looking forward to it coming out soon...

But... there's something else I wanted to discuss.

Game?!

Since I don't have to worry myself over Su-BARA-shi, I can work on other things.

So, I've joined a game jam. It's this one!

The idea was very appealing to me, so I wanted to make a game for it. It'll only be 7 days, so it's not too much of a detour. I think it'll be good to help with any burnout I might be having.

Joining a ranked jam is a little scary for me, but all I'm focused on is making a neat little game!

This is also the first game I've assembled a small team for... which is very nerve-wracking and exciting at the same time, hahah!

I don't know much about what I'm making, since it's one of the jams where there's a mandatory surprise theme (that's the only part I really don't like), but the game will probably be less cute and more serious than the stuff I've published so far.

I've been working very hard to get good at pixel art for the game! I even sometimes post the ones that I think aren't terrible. I hope you like the different artstyle the game will be in!

But... if no Su-BARA-shi, then... what do???

I'm not quite sure.

However... there were some very kind and helpful people that gave me ideas for what I wanted to do, going forward!

And... I wanted to start a big project.

My thinking goes that I can work on a game of my choosing for a while, maybe 2-4 years depending on what I'm making, and pause production to work on game jams along the way.

This way, I can make a quality game, take a break from working on the same thing for years, and still get to release games for you to enjoy!

This is what I want to try, and I also want to properly thank the people who helped me make this decision. <3

The only question is...

What will I make?!

I have... quite a few big projects in my list, ahah...

Just weeks ago now, I've gotten really into coming up with ideas for my own type of "Pokémon" game, loosely inspired by the franchise and more of an RPG than a monster-catching game.

There IS a game I intended to be my first ever published work... but it's been a while since I did anything for it, with all the new games I've been creating... I could go back to it!

I don't have to make a decision right now. But, I need to think very long and hard about what game I want to commit myself to.

Other

I noticed there's a "Devlogs" thingy in the Community tab, and I'm kind of confused if I should be using that, and how?

I know the way I currently write devlogs, it can only go to people following me, which isn't very great for building an audience. It's great to update people who are already interested! But... it won't be interesting anyone else...

It's confusing! Do I use one or the other? Post the exact same thing to the two places?

If anyone's willing to help me figure this out, I'd be really happy to listen!

I suppose this is the end.

No Su-BARA-shi (for now)... a funky pixel game... and lots of confusion and hard decisions... A lot happened last month! And quite a bit of it was sad. :(

So! There's a plan!

1. Right now, I'll be thinking about the upcoming game I'm making for the jam, as well as what I should start working on for the next... very long time!
2. In about a week and a half, the jam will start, and I'll make the game with the people that agreed to help me!
3. I'll decide what game to dedicate myself to and participate in game jams along the way!
4. ???
5. Become famous!

Everything I've written should bring you all up to date with what's been going on! It's a very big shift from what I was doing just a month ago...

To end this super-long devlog, have a cute picture of Shohei but very smol!

Thank you for reading, and I hope you have a very nice day!

Bye-bye~! <3