Goodbye.

Hello, everyone. This is HyenaDev.

It's been quite some time since I last talked about the game. I'd like to take this time to address my absence and explain my future plans. 

First, I'd like to address the future of London's Aesop. To be blunt, the game is not cancelled but is on an indefinite hiatus. I no longer have the time or motivation to continue working on the visual novel. While I may return to development sometime in the future, please don't hold your breath.

The reason why is one that I'm not eager to admit, but it must be said. I'm afraid I have lied to you all. 

When asked about my age or employment, I always admitted to being a 20-something-year-old receptionist. I'm afraid this is a lie. I am actually a young university student who finished my final paper last week. The reason I lied was to keep my anonymity. I am not as open about my interests as I'd like to be. While the community has been one of the most welcoming I have had the pleasure to be part of, I do not have the courage to admit this publically. As someone who still relies on my parents for accommodation and money, I fear what they may do if they found out about my… activities, so to speak.

Last year was probably the roughest I have faced thus far. I have recently been put on anti-depressants and am saving money to attend therapy. As is the case with the past four years, I rarely had time to work on my own projects: School quickly took over my entire life. During this time, I spent six months a year focusing entirely on school, the other six trying (And failing), to find part-time employment. 

I started London's Aesop not knowing the full scope of video game development. I underestimated the amount of work that had to be put in to make a decent product. I also realized a little too late that video games are primarily a visual medium: As someone who can't draw for toffee, working on the game required a large amount of money for little in return. 

Perhaps because of my inexperience, my expectations for the game. When creating the game, I eventually wanted to create something that would rival a professional visual novel. I wanted to reach the level of the more popular otome games/visual novels, such as Aokana, Amnesia: Memories and Collar X Malice. Naturally, these dreams were far too lofty for a first-timer to accomplish. Creating something of that calibre would require a lot of resources: Voice acting, CGs, sprites and an original soundtrack, to be precise. 

One of the reasons I did not create a Kickstarter or Patreon for the game comes down to my own inexperience. I did not wish to cheat anyone out of their money, should I have ceased development. I have always made an effort to keep the development of the game squeaky-clean and drama free. While I do not wish to name anyone (For the sake of politeness), a few similar games have been subject to controversy or backlash due to mismanagement or late builds. 

My goal, in the long run, was to distribute the game for free until all eight chapters were complete. Once that was accomplished, I would then create an Indiegogo/Kickstarter to raise funds for assets. The final game would then be launched on Steam and potentially Nintendo Switch. Of course, this never came to be.

I once again must apologise for the way I have treated this project. I know a lot of people were expecting me to complete it. However, I would like to thank you all for your continued support. Perhaps one day, I will return to London and continue the exploits of our favourite hyena. Until then, I bid you adieu.