Hey all.

Things are looking up. I've got 1/4th of the Recycler's route on day two done, and about half of the second part of the route done as well. It's a shorter route (although I think it's got some interesting choices and implications), which means I'm trying to really emphasize quality over quantity. It's also nice to finally have some consequences to prior player choice come into play-- speaking of which, I think I might finally have an idea for what Carter's route on this day should look like...

That about summarizes all that I've got done so far. I've started putting out previews of chapter two to my beloved playtesters (and friends) so I can get working on bugs and errors well in advance. Part of my problem is I think I tend to tackle ALL of the writing and then ALL of the bug fixing before release, which leads to burnout. But if I start playtesting now, I can get feedback in advance which lets me move from one aspect of the game to another when I get bored or overwhelmed.

I'm also toying with the idea of reviving a secondary interactive fiction project I initially started working on as stress relief during college. Alternatively, I'm toying with some other stories for a setting I've been developing a lot lately. And on top of all that I've been learning some Godot tutorials...

But that will all happen in time. Or it won't. Who knows!

Thanks for sharing this journey with me so far. I actually like that my projects and these posts get almost no response-- it means I've got a quiet space to reflect that I can look back on in the future. Plus, no worrying about whether strangers like my game or not!

That said, to the people who have quietly let me know that they appreciate PANOPTICON via a rating on the game, adding it to a collection, a like on a post, a comment on the game's page, or even by just periodically checking in for an update-- thanks! You're the absolute best kind of stranger.  Sometimes you shout into the void, and the void is very nice and lets you know it appreciates your work.