Fire: Personal Log

Hey friends, there have been some developments I'd like to tell you about. So I am writing this personal log.

Alright, buckle up, relax, and hold on tight... this will all seem a bit crazy. So you all know (from my last devlog) that I had got pretty sick for about a week straight and stayed in bed that whole time. And I didn't go into details, but I was sick a few times before that also. Most of this bullshit sickness is being brought on by stress from my full time job, our income headaches and bills, etc.

Now, I've also mentioned retirement. I can retire whenever I feel like I'm ready to. I have a 401k plan. My wife came up with a crazy solution to most of our problems. If we could pay off our house, her car, and our credit cards, we could survive off her income alone because we would just be paying light bill, phone bill, etc... I have more than enough in my 401k to pay off that shit (I've been with the company for 25 years). I just need to get in touch with them on Monday to try and estimate how much my 'lump sum' would be after taxes. If it really is enough to cover all that crap, then I may very well be retiring much sooner, like by the end of this year.

This decision also depends on how things go with my Patreon and SubscribeStar subs. Because, of course I would still want to have some kind of income coming in. I have a feeling though that being free from my full time job, giving me a lot more time to work on my games... this could only benefit me. A lot of subscribers will join for a month to get an update or to contribute (thanks!!!) and some will actually stay for a while. I'm not one to gamble, so if I do choose to retire early and use my 401k to pay off everything, it won't really matter too much as long as I don't lose a ton of subscribers all of a sudden. But I've seen where many will leave and give the reason that I wasn't active enough or too long between updates.

What would my retiring mean to you? Simple... I'd be working on my games a LOT more than before. I would work normal work hours on game stuff, and take time off in the evening like a normal person. And that is a whole lot better than the current situation - working full time job all day, then trying to use the evening time to hang out with wife, eat supper, watch some tv, then do some game work before bed. HUGE difference there. It will mean more updates... probably better content since I will have more time to 'perfect' things. I may actually be comfortable with giving you release dates, and more progress updates as well. I'll be a lot more active on discord and probably posting updates and other patreon content more often.

How can you help this situation? Easy... subscribe for a month, any tier. Get friends to. If my subs jump up quite a bit with this next release, that would be the perfect timing should I decide to let my boss know I plan to retire. I am hopeful that this Last Human update will be ready before the end of this month. Some extra subscribers (even for just a month) will boost my income a bit while we wait for our money to pay off things. But mostly, it will tell my wife that I can get folks to subscribe. She's the boss and this was actually her idea. But she needs to see that my little side-project doing this can actually grow.

I should know before the end of next week where I stand on all this and of course I'll keep you guys in the loop because retiring would be a really big deal. For now, I'll be spending the weekend trying to get more renders completed for the update. Thank you all for the support!

Love you all, ...Fire

Last Human: Episode 6 (Devlog 5)

Hello my friends...

Personal update: I have been dealing with some health issues that have gotten progressively worse over the last 3 months or so. I don't want to go into detail on that situation with you just yet, but it has been a struggle to get things done, plus work my full-time job, plus deal with house, family, pets... you get the picture. As so many of you have been so kind to tell me... I've been taking more breaks from whatever I am doing... as needed. My wife did find a job finally, but she is only making about half what she was making at her previous job. So we're still struggling financially in a big way. But it's a start in the right direction at least. As for my health, most of you know I'm an old guy. And I am not one to complain about my stuff. Just know that I am managing it and trying my best to balance work, game development, and rest. The week before last, I was sick in bed pretty much all week. My laptop doesn't handle rendering that well so I couldn't do anything with that. But I did manage to finish writing the first episode of Camilla. More about that below. Moving on...

Last Human (Episode 6): I was able to go back and fix that scene I mentioned in my last devlog, thankfully! I didn't get a LOT done, but I am passed the halfway point now at least (with rendering). During my sick time I did a few minor rewrites. Just basic dialogue stuff that I thought sounded better another way. People keep asking me when this will release. I don't do release dates. I don't know how many times I have to say that. Release dates just create pressure for me and my little brain can't deal with it. I like moving at the best pace I can and when it's done, it's done. I'd hoped I would be able to have this finished before the end of this month, but I think it will be November. That's all I can really say about the release.

Serenity (Episode 5): As you all know, originally, I was supposed to be working on the next episode of Serenity during this time. I ended up shelving that because of writer's block... basically, I didn't like the way it was going and had no ideas how to change it at the time. You'll be happy to know I have resolved that issue and have written an outline for it that makes much better sense than what I had before. I am happy with it. Being sick in bed did have it's pro's! So after I complete this LH episode, I'll be able to jump right into coding Serenity again and rendering. There aren't many episodes left and to be quite honest, I am ready for it to end at least for now.

Camilla (Episode 1): This baby is coded and ready to render. I have most characters already created but still have a few minor tweaks I need to do to those. I finished writing and coding it while I was sick and had nothing better to do. And I am super happy with the way that story is going. Everyone who enjoys Serenity and Last Human will definitely enjoy Camilla. The first thing you'll notice when playing it is that the characters will have very noticeable personalities. The story is written in the same style you already know me for, with the MC basically narrating - but from his journal entries. We will see him (the MC) at times as the story progresses. I know some people don't prefer that. But for some scenes I just feel like it works better when you can see him, or at least part of him... camera side angles, etc... But I don't think we'll see his face. I dared to do that in Last Human during the 'courtroom' scene. I wanted to show the anger on his face when he is putting Rin in her place. As for Cammie herself... she will be as you expect her to be. Mean at first, but very quickly she will turn around by the end of the first episode. But she will still have some tsundere events and MC will have to learn how to deal with that. So, Camilla is our tsundere... then we have MC's best friend, Tara. She's kinda 'goth', tall, tattoos and not shy about being seen naked. And we have the shy, sweet one that will eventually become slightly yandere, Lucy. There may be one more side girl outside of Tara and Lucy. I haven't decided yet. But each side girl will have the option to avoid any intimate content with them should you not like them. I have a feeling most of you will choose them all.

I want to thank those of you who have chosen to keep supporting, even though these updates are taking longer than we would like. Bless you all. I can't tell you how much this bit of income helps us right now. It isn't a lot, but every bit helps... every $2 member is helping as much as every $25 member. So, thank you so much for continuing to support. If you've thought of supporting me or just want to help us out, any tier helps even if you just jump on for a month and cancel. Every single one of you are appreciated. Keep in mind that if you're on any tier, I am very approachable... don't be afraid to ask for something. I want to give back what I can. If that means a $2 guy wants a render of a certain character to have on his computer or phone for wallpaper, I'll do my best to make that happen. All you have to do is ask.

That's all I have to say for now. And sorry I haven't posted these as often as I normally do. I feel like I can have more to say if I wait longer between these devlogs. Oh, and almost forgot... I did start another special render set, just not quite finished yet. It will be Rin. I'll try to get that finished soon and out to you guys. I love you all, ...Fire