2018 was crazy.
- I worked incessantly. Every day. Even when travelling.
- We travelled! Italy was a particular highlight, as was seeing more of the Balkans. My belief in internationalism was strengthened by the people we met and the experiences we had.
- Verena successfully ran a marathon, but later in the year had some problems with her Achilles tendon, which meant she had to use crutches and get various treatments and exams. We managed to keep working during this time (there wasn’t much else to do) but it was pretty exhausting. She’s much better now, thankfully, and will soon be able to start training again.
- There were a lot of funny cat stories, but sadly, despite our best efforts, my parents’ sick old street cat died. We spared no expense to keep him alive, but in the end he wandered off, never to be seen again. Sigh.
- At some point, without quite noticing, I seem to have become a proper full-time game writer, rather than a game developer who also writes games on the side. This is a welcome development, but it’s meant a lot of work, and will continue to do so. The good news is that I really love the projects I’m working on.
- I wrote a ton of stories for Phoenix Point, by the way, and yes, I’m also involved with writing the in-game content. Yes, there’s a lot of it. No, it’s not cutscenes. It’s all interactive.
- Serious Sam 4 is going strong. If we can pull it all off, it’ll be really fun.
- Other Croteam-related projects like The Hand of Merlin and Tormental are also really promising.
- I wrote an entire game early last year that’s not even been announced. I rather liked what I wrote, so I hope that all turns out well.
- Then, of course, there is The Council of Crows. Last year, I thought I was almost ready. After that, I worked on it constantly, eating up all the spare time I have outside my regular work. Afternoons, weekends, everything. And… I’m still almost ready?
- The truth is that I severely miscalculated my endurance, and more importantly, I forgot what I was aiming for: a game as polished and detailed as the Steam version of The Sea Will Claim Everything, not the original release. The Steam version tooks months of full-time work.
- So what have I been doing? Mostly just polishing. For games that look deliberately crude, these bastards take a ridiculous amount of polish. Cleaning up images, adding descriptions to objects, book titles… and yes, I may have expanded the plot a little.
- Look, the thing is this: indie games like The Sea Will Claim Everything are stone-cold dead. I no longer expect to make any real money on any future Lands of Dream games; in fact, there’s a good chance that future games will be freeware again, or really cheap. I need to approach these games as purely artistic work. I will pay my collaborators, but I don’t think there’s much of a point in trying to sell such games to an increasingly uninterested or hostile press.
- But since I have work, I think that’s OK. The Lands of Dream cycle is going to be finished. It started before indie games were all that huge, and it’ll conclude after they’re gone. I suppose it’s appropriate.
- Another major delay was caused by the nature of telling a story on such a huge scale. The more I worked on The Council of Crows, the more I realized it needed to include much bigger themes, and ultimately that meant working out the next two Lands of Dream games as well.
- So after The Council of Crows is done, I’m going to make Ithaka of the Clouds, which is the beginning of the cycle; and the cycle will end with Strange Days in the City of Dreams.
- I wish I could adequately express just how badly I need to finish The Council of Crows. I’m not the kind of person who is comfortable with not delivering what he promised, despite the other stuff the backers got. And the sheer amount of energy that’s going into the game is keeping me from finishing other personal projects, including two novels and a podcast that I urgently want to get out there.
- I’ve worked myself to the point of physical exhaustion several times now, and I’m trying to avoid doing so again, but… it feels like I’m on the verge of a breakthrough. There’s a lot of promise on the horizon, and if I can just keep going a bit longer, if I can finish this, amazing things will happen.
- So please, all of you looking to travel back to the Lands of Dream, be patient just a little while longer. We’re so close, I can smell the snow.
