2023 in Review (Patreon)

I'm coming into the new year tired but enthusiastic! I've already begun work on a lot of things, but first let's take a moment to look back over the past year.

The Last Sovereign Reflections

Weird as it seems in my mind, the TLS roadmap was only introduced in early 2023. Since introducing it I have checked off 17 different items! That means harem quests for Altina, Dari, Janine, Lynine, Megail, Nalili, Orilise, Riala, Robin, Sarai, Trin, Varia, Wendis, and Yarra (plus Orcent). It includes wrapping up plot sections like the succession crisis, Lilith, and The Mother. There were new features like the portraits system in the base and multiple new scripts, plus we've finished illustrating all the scenes through Chapter 3.

I don't think it's unreasonable of me to feel this was a good year. I surpassed progress in 2022, which was also pretty strong. That said, none of this led to any growth and the Patreon has continued declining overall. I was getting more support in the prior years when I spent less time on TLS.

As I've said before, the primary driver of TLS progress has always been my intrinsic motivation to finish a project that matters to me. That said, everyone's support is a secondary motivator pushing me to finish things in reasonable time despite the above. You've all trusted me with your support and I want to fulfill the promise implicit in that trust.

The Last Sovereign in 2024

Turning things more positive, 2024 should be the year for TLS! Just need to finish Vhala's quest and wrap up a whole bundle of minor issues (Renthnor Wilds, scattered oversights, new Stineford, etc). Then it will be time for the final battle.

I expect those two updates to be the last major hurdle for me, because the climax is intended to be pretty complex. After that I may be tired, but the optional dungeon and the epilogue should be fun updates in different ways and they won't take too long. The postgame will be a lot of work, but it'll be easy to do piecemeal. So unless something goes wrong, we should see the conclusion of TLS in 2024.

I am anticipating some very fun things when that happens. Retrospectives, maybe another demographic survey, the beginnings of the developer's commentary and revisions. It's possible that something will go wrong and I'll fail to meet my goals, but I think even in that case it will be very clear how close things are. Because I want to stay focused, I won't put too much stress on all the post-TLS plans now, but please look forward to them!

Writing

After the busyness of past years, things shifted into a lower gear in 2023, writing-wise. My only ongoing work as Sarah Lin will be continuing books in The Weirkey Chronicles. I finished two side projects I always wanted to write, but right now they languish. Maybe I'll push these forward in a business sense, but I don't anticipate putting as much time or energy into writing time.

On the other hand, I spun up my Cognosticon pen name with Depthless Hunger. In contrast to treading water as mentioned above, doing this increased my Patreon income by 30% relatively easily, and all it took was writing something a step closer to mainstream. I continue to want to build as broad a foundation as I can to ensure I can do this as a career forever.

The Motivation Pendulum

Maybe it's a little premature to state this, but I've been a professional creator for about ten years now, and a creator for longer than that. I think I've noticed there's a broad pendulum of my interests that shifts slowly over time.

I'm always doing some game development and some writing, but the ratio varies. A few years ago, coming off tons of TLS development and side projects, I found myself spending more time writing. But over the past year, having written all kinds of things, I'm just brimming with game ideas instead. A lot of my energy will be put into completing TLS, but I hope to be able to launch into some other interesting projects as well. ^-^

Will this gradual sine wave continue? Can't say for sure, but it feels like a potentially healthy pattern for a career as long as I hope mine will be.

Misc Other Updates

Maybe DStP: This little project continues to trundle along in the background. Maybe this year? But that would require the artist to finish art, so...

Maybe Kickstarter: Last year I raised the idea of crowdfunding as another avenue for my work and people were surprisingly positive. I think a short project to test the waters makes tons of sense, I'm just not sure how it would work out. Right now it feels like I just have too much TLS work combined with other obligations to figure it out. Ideally I would really like to do a short project to get some mistakes out of the way and build a track record before attempting a larger campaign for a post-TLS game.

Maybe Vacation: Last year I took a vacation. I'm not sure how restful it was, but it was probably good to do. Maybe I'll try another this year?

Basically, I expect this year to be composed of two disparate parts. With TLS I will be moving methodically, trying to end everything right. With everything else, I intend to swing for the fences. I have some settled projects you'll be hearing about (maybe even playing) but I'm also experimenting with some new engines and new ideas. Please look forward to everything!