What's been going on with the game and the coming parts?

This post is all about good news, don’t worry!

Just like many people said in my Discord server, I really needed to make a big post for all my social media about what’s been going on with the game since the last update.

First, here’s the very VERY short version in a message I wrote recently:

Then the more detailed answer:

I’ve actually been “”very”” active on my Discord and posted many small updates about the progress and what was my goal with the game and my life situation etc, but I never took the time to properly make posts on my other socials because I felt guilty of not posting any BIG update about the game itself.
So I’m truly sorry to all the people who weren’t on the Discord and were expecting any news this whole time.

I’m gonna try to explain what’s been going on for the last 2 years with the game and my life. Just know that you can read the older and more detailed posts on my Discord server (in ‘big info’)!

SOLO DEV PROJECT

A lot of people believe that this is a multiple people project, which is a HUGE compliment to me, but no, I’m a solo dev who’s too passionate about this game and story. With this info, I think you can guess why it is very difficult to work on it and post updates regularly. This is not a book or a webcomic, it’s a game, with programming, music, art, some animations, etc. AND I also have to do the promoting/marketing all alone.

FINANCIAL STRUGGLES

I believe that most people reading this know the struggles of indie creators online, whatever the media is, you either do it in your spare time by sacrificing other things in your life, or you do it full time when you have financial stability from somewhere (whether by making money with the project itself, or a partner, etc).

Currently I don’t gain ‘anything’ from this project.  (It's a free game)
2 years ago I had to come to the realization that I cannot continue FSOP without trying to have a better financial situation (at least on the side) so that I can work on it more “regularly”. And I also realized that I probably needed to focus more on the marketing/promoting side of the game, to grow a bigger audience so that maybe I could make it a sustainable project. Which is, on itself, A LOT of work… And it also meant NOT working on the game/story at all… Which sucks a lot.

Many of you predicted that this was going to be like the majority of episodic games where the first chapter is free and the next ones are not, yes that was the plan, but I’m still not sure if it’s a good idea, free stuff attracts more people, but yeah it’s a tricky subject. I don't like talking about it.

But I really need to point out how much I don't care about the money part, I just wished I could work on it full time like any other creator.

You have no idea how much this project means to me, I have every intention to finish it and work on it my whole life if I have to. If I could do it for free while being able to live with ‘enough’ I’d do it, but that’s not how it works lmao.

So for the last 2 years I tried to find a better financial stability with my other jobs and stuff, so that I can MAYBE pay for advertisements or do marketing stuff etc. Or just be able to live off from a guaranteed job and work on the game in my spare time. But I was not so successful at it.

RECENT REALIZATION

At the very end of 2024 I had to question myself about the future of FSOP. I was terrified at the idea that I was going to struggle my whole life and NEVER work on the game ever again, just imagining that situation almost made me go back to dark places mentally. 
I don’t want to live with regrets. And I’m too passionate for this story.
(I’m much more frustrated about the wait than the players lmao)

So in short, I basically ‘had enough’ of waiting, waiting to have a better financial situation is really awful, I can't fully control my future… so I decided to find ways to be able to work on it REGULARLY and post big updates. That means sacrificing more stuff about my private life that I won’t talk about, I don’t want to promote unhealthy stuff here, but that’s how it is. That’s a sad reality but I’m still optimistic at the idea that one day I might be able to live off of these projects.

WHAT’S COMING?

So with that decision in place, I’ve been very serious about doing two things:

1- Improving the 2 parts that’s already out! By deleting some stuff, updating art, and improving the pacing and length of the whole project, so that new players discovering the game can experience the meat of the story and the ending twist sooner and quicker.

I’m not giving specific dates for many obvious reasons. But I have every intention to do these two things in 2025!  (or at least early 2026)

You need to understand that in the years I haven’t updated, I became a better artist but also a better writer. And just like any normal writer, even if I couldn’t work on the game itself, I could still write notes, add stuff, change things here and there, so the story improved in a lot of ways! Like, I’m genuinely so proud of its new version, I’m so excited to let you experience it!
But also, If I want to finish this project with my current situation, I had to work on shortening the length of the story/project and all the work around it. I don’t want to insinuate that the quality will decrease, but I’ve been working really hard on making it “”easier”” for me, it’s difficult to explain without details… I still want you to experience it in the best way possible, but I’ll have to make some choices.

PROMOTING

And after ‘the true demo’ is out, I’ll probably have to work on promoting the game more. If I want to live off from it it’s important that I grow the visibility of the game.
So, to every player who talked about FSOP to their friends and stuff, online or elsewhere, thank you so so much, I do hope you realize how powerful the players are at promoting games on their own on the Internet. That’s how most of us discovered our favorite games, whether it’s let’s plays, talk/discussion on social media, fanart, shares etc!
And thank you SO MUCH to all the people who left reviews! Seriously, you help me in so many ways!
If you genuinely want to help, you can leave reviews on Steam and itchio, talk about it to people, share stuff about it, anything really. It’s so helpful you have no idea.

THANK YOU

I’m so sorry for all the wait. As you can see, it’s even more frustrating for me.
Thank you SO MUCH to all the people who enjoyed the first parts and have been waiting for any news this whole time. This post is already so long lmao, but it’s impossible to make it shorter.

Thank you also to the people who actually supported me on Patreon! It’s seriously really awesome, you have all my thanks!
I’ll have to find ways to make this game more sustainable in the future, but for now like I said, I just want to work on it and… just do it. Whatever the cost.

Thank you for reading, I hope to see you soon with real updates!

I post more stuff on the Discord server if you are interested!
You can also follow me on Twitter!