I'm back.

Hey everyone, HyenaDev here.

It's been quite a while since I made any sort of update on the game, my whereabouts or my progress. At this point, you probably have a lot of questions regarding both. It was never my intention to lead anyone on, but there have been issues I've had to fight to overcome. I'll be sure to explain what happened, what I've been doing, and how I hope to progress in terms of Chapter 3.

So, what happened? 

After the release of Chapter 2, I wanted to take a short break from game development to prevent burnout and refresh my mind. During that time, however, a lot of shit ended up happening. I won't bore you with the details (Most of it is rather personal, anyway), but the takeaway is that it took up a lot of my time and heavily impacted my mental health. I tried to work more on the project (And to be fair, I did make some progress), but nowhere near as much as I wanted.

So what now?

As of right now, I'm still in a bit of a funk. I hate how long it takes me to make progress on the game: It takes about 3 months to finish just one chapter. Call me shallow, but when I see other game devs make progress, I feel jealous. That jealously should drive me to do more work, but more often than not, it causes me grief, which in turn delays the game further. I understand this isn't a good mindset to be in, but that's how I feel. I'm sorry.

There's something else I feel I must share. For the longest time, I have been working on another project, one that I hope will make it to the mainstream. I've been working on it for about two years at this point. I can't exactly disregard it, but it does take up time that could have been used on London's Aesop. For personal reasons, I cannot share much about this other project, given it will use my real name and will be unveiled to the public. I come from quite a strict household: I don't want my parents to find out I am a furry. While they have no issue with me being gay, I cannot say what their opinion will be if I tell them about my involvement in the furry fandom. That will also extend to my siblings. I don't want them to abandon me. 

Then why did you even start the game?

Bluntly, I underestimated the workload. When I envisioned London's Aesop, I expected it to be a small project that would reach completion after a year or two of development. However, that is nowhere near the case. There are assets to commission, code to write, scripts to draft, etc, etc.

That being said, I have had a lot of fun and met so many great people while working on the game. I also know that I have garnered a fanbase: When that occurs, one is obligated to give them content to enjoy. However, this game is not my lifeblood: Any donations are voluntary and go right back into game development. Game development is more of a hobby for me than a full-time gig. I am nowhere near big enough for that to be the case. 

So...

For now, I will try to juggle the game, my project and work all at once. The third chapter will be coming out, but it will take a good while. I have the script about halfway done and I can reuse a lot of sound/background assets. However, I will need to commission artwork for a new character, finish the script and scour out some new music and sounds. 

I'm sorry that most of my devlogs end up being the bringers of bad news. However, I believe it's important to keep everyone updated on the game's progress and how my life affects development. After this long of a break, I think it's high overdue that I  restart work on the project. I can't give you an honest date on when the next chapter will be out but I'll do my best to get it out quickly. Please be patient. 

Yours as always, 
HyenaDev.