(Posted this over on Ko-fi as well, but wanted to cross-post it here.☀️)
Hello! Time to properly welcome 2023 by looking at how 2022 went for me, then walk towards the new year with renewed energy.🐰
I don't even remember most of what happened this year.. things that happened from when the pandemic started up to now is sort of a blur to me. I had to read back my previous posts to remember how 2022 went and the things that I wanted to accomplish for that year.
First off, I succeeded in entering Himig into a few digital events. There's Indie Live Expo, PitchYaGame, NightMarket Festival, and DreamHack Beyond Indie Showcase. Most of its appearances have only been small though. I'm not sure if I'll get to join many events this year again, but the plan is to have major things this time. I'm feeling good about the current development of the game, so hopefully I can do it.☀️
I still look at other people's reactions when they see the game in some of those events from time to time. Even if the game appears for just a few seconds, their thoughts about it has been pretty motivating.
My plan last year was to release that year or at least have a demo. Both didn't occur, but what happened instead was me having to gather my resolve and look for ways to survive in life by pitching the game to a bunch of places. There's a few good things, a few bad things, and a few no responses at all, haha.
It's looking positive-ish though!
Ah, and I did get to make a new trailer at least. One thing to cross off from past year's list.
Speaking of surviving.. I posted about this a few months before to supporters, but since living is getting harder and harder as time goes on, I decided to change Himig's pricing from free to paid. I want to continue making games for as long as I can, so I feel like I have to try this for now and see how it works out.
This still isn't reflected on the game's Steam page, but I'll work on fixing that soon.
Everyone who supported the game before this post, either through Ko-fi or the previous platform Patreon, will still get the game, don't worry. I'll notify everyone when it releases.🙇
Back to looking at 2022.
I also started posting the game previews weekly instead of monthly. They're supposed to be posted every Saturday, but keep ending up on Sundays. Maybe I can fix that this year? I started the latest one on Monday though.. ehe.
I'll try. At least they're more frequent now. I'm not sure if I got better at writing them though.
Another thing that I ended up doing was focus on designing the game around accessibility more. I did have some things like audio subtitles for a while now, but now I'm thinking more about if parts of the game are playable in certain ways, like with just the visuals, audio, or with limited inputs.
It takes more development time, but made designing a lot more fun.
I was trying a marketing-focused development style last year, but it's pretty hard to have something new to show for every week.. it requires a lot of planning and energy, both of which I can't do all the time.
Developing in an accessibility-first style felt better and less draining to me. I'll have things to show as I develop the game naturally anyway, so I might just continue making Himig this way. We'll see.
For non-game related things that I wanted to do last year:
- I haven't practiced cooking at all.. I couldn't find the time for it. Maybe this year..? Probably not early this year. Maybe mid-year when I have more time..
- I'm exercising..! It's just light movements, but at least I move every day now. Progress.
- Aside from these previews and the game, I haven't been able to do any kind of creative writing. Being on Cohost for a while made me want to try posting about games I currently play though. Maybe I'll do that. It's not exactly the type of writing I wanted to do, but if I don't start writing anything, I feel like I won't get anywhere. Yeah!
There's also me getting hit by COVID again. Thanks, world. I don't even go out. I got another booster shot a few weeks after that at least.
Also dealing with bugs in the house right now. I feel like they kept coming since Christmas ended. They're even hanging around on the bed; I can't sleep well. I'm always carrying the magic flyswatter as I walk around now.
..in any case.
If you're still here reading this, thank you. You are a blessing to the world. Half of this is probably hard to read. Thank you so much.🙇
For this year, I'm still focusing on Himig, looking for opportunities, definitely facing a lot of challenges, and basically trying to survive through the world's current state.
Staying safe, being positive, making the game, trying to learn other things, and have a happy year. That's basically the plan.
Overall, I did good for 2022.🎉
I'll do my best this year as well.💪
Thank you for supporting the game. I wish it, and whoever is reading this, to have a good year.🎇
See you next time!🧅