Posted September 06, 2023 by Moonlight Arts
Hello my lovelies,
I'm the developer behind Layers of Stardust, and although we may have not met before, I wanted to reach out to community. I've returned here because the furry multiverse has unfortunately become a breeding ground for malicious gossip and unfounded rumors that I feel compelled to address.
First and foremost, I want to make it clear that I stand firmly against bullyingand bullies.
- Firstly, For those who may think I was banned from FVN, let me clarify this for you: I was never banned; I chose to leave voluntarily. When I first ventured into art, I made some misguided decisions based on ill-advised advice and created a single traced piece of artwork, which I posted here. Unfortunately, this led to a very unpleasant situation.
- Secondly, I also want to address the matter of AI usage in my work. If you've taken the time to read my previous posts, you'll know that I made the decision to use ethically sourced AI-generated backgrounds, specifically backgrounds, due to personal circumstances. Last October, my father passed away, and I found myself battling severe depression, contemplating the unthinkable. Moreover, I've been in a situation where I've had to prioritize basic necessities like food and rent over everything else. This difficult situation was exacerbated when my mother tragically lost her life in a car accident this May.
- Third, I want to clarify that the removal of downloads was a result of in-game changes, which rendered old saves incompatible and could potentially break the game.
- Fourth, there have been comments suggesting I am 'Roleplaying' my working past within Bioware and Project Red. I find it offensive and unfortunate that people will want to erase my professional work past as a principle, possibly literally wanting me to send them payslips as proof.
- Fifth, My own art.
I am not a artist, I am a writer. I will never be a great artist, I have said that repeatedly on the discord channel. Unfortunately since the Update has been released there have been suggestions I fabricate and trace my art using AI. Have I been unfortunate to draw a character with 6 fingers? Yes I have. Have I drawn one with 4? Certainly. Have I drawn characters who have the head to body ratio too big or too small? Of course. Lursa looks like she has cow hips. Jonathan looks like he could crap a brick. I am not an artist. I struggle with hands. The amount of times I wanted to throw my iPad through the window goes in thousands. Some of the chibis look like South park characters, Lellan looks like a fat frog.
But I would not offend my loyal and loving readers with lying to them to scam them.
- Rumours that the VN is unreadable and the grammar is out of this world horrendous.
As a non English speaker, and an English teacher with ADHD yes I make errors, in fact on a daily basis I have a tendency to talk and write in German English where I would use German structure for English sentences. That's why I try to proofread, do I make errors and mistakes yes I do. Everyone does.
There is a channel on the discord where I openly encourage people to tell me what they think I've done wrong. Because I will never stop learning.
I genuinely do not appreciate being subjected to slander and encountering echoes of it across the internet, especially from individuals who have worked tirelessly on their own games—games that I've consistently supported and praised throughout my journey in VN development, even though we may not have exchanged a single word.
Please, let's refrain from engaging in such behavior.
Thank you
Bob