Painful News (Patreon)

I want to apologize to everyone for the lateness of this update. My world has gone to hell. At first I thought I could just push through the issues that I am facing and soldier on. Things have just gotten worse and worse however.

A little over a week ago, my mother was diagnosed with cancer in her lungs, liver, and spine. I have been taking care of her full time for the last four years since her last bout with throat cancer with both of us living off of her pension and social security. She seemed alright when she was first diagnosed, but it turns out the lung cancer was too big to be cured. Her condition has been deteriorating surprisingly quickly. She got a bad case of pneumonia, and now from all appearances hovers at death’s door. I have been running myself ragged trying to take care of her. She is now in inpatient hospice where they are making her comfortable in her final days.

So what does this mean for the game? Luckily I have a bit of a savior in all of this. A skilled and prolific writer that I trust has stepped forward to work on the game while I am occupied with my personal issues. I have been getting him up to speed to the best of my ability when I’ve had time, and he is well on his way to mastering the use of the engine I have built. So basically there will be a delay in the release of the next version as he gets up to speed and continues writing content.

After my mother’s passing there will also be the issue of dealing with the financial aftermath. As I have been relying on her for my living I will need to find employment, and deal with the medical and funeral expenses. My job as a full time caretaker of my mother left me with a lot of free time to work on the game; it is unlikely that this will continue. Fortunately she is leaving me with a rather large plot of land that I will likely have to sell for a smaller place to use the excess to pay bills and what-have-you.

I also have a potential medical problem of my own that I have to look into (an abnormal chest X-ray that might indicate lung cancer, but could just be scar tissue or some other relatively innocuous abnormality). The earliest appointment I could get with a doctor was May 15th, so I’m in limbo about that for now. If it is cancer, it’s still relatively small, and should be possible to be cured.

I wasn’t going to tell you guys any of this; but my inability to work on the game has pretty much forced my hand. If any of you want to withdraw your Patreon support, I will understand.