London's Aesop
I'm back.
Hey everyone, HyenaDev here.
It's been quite a while since I made any sort of update on the game, my whereabouts or my progress. At this point, you probably have a lot of questions regarding both. It was never my intention to lead anyone on, but there have been issues I've had to fight to overcome. I'll be sure to explain what happened, what I've been doing, and how I hope to progress in terms of Chapter 3.
So, what happened?
After the release of Chapter 2, I wanted to take a short break from game development to prevent burnout and refresh my mind. During that time, however, a lot of shit ended up happening. I won't bore you with the details (Most of it is rather personal, anyway), but the takeaway is that it took up a lot of my time and heavily impacted my mental health. I tried to work more on the project (And to be fair, I did make some progress), but nowhere near as much as I wanted.
So what now?
As of right now, I'm still in a bit of a funk. I hate how long it takes me to make progress on the game: It takes about 3 months to finish just one chapter. Call me shallow, but when I see other game devs make progress, I feel jealous. That jealously should drive me to do more work, but more often than not, it causes me grief, which in turn delays the game further. I understand this isn't a good mindset to be in, but that's how I feel. I'm sorry.
There's something else I feel I must share. For the longest time, I have been working on another project, one that I hope will make it to the mainstream. I've been working on it for about two years at this point. I can't exactly disregard it, but it does take up time that could have been used on London's Aesop. For personal reasons, I cannot share much about this other project, given it will use my real name and will be unveiled to the public. I come from quite a strict household: I don't want my parents to find out I am a furry. While they have no issue with me being gay, I cannot say what their opinion will be if I tell them about my involvement in the furry fandom. That will also extend to my siblings. I don't want them to abandon me.
Then why did you even start the game?
Bluntly, I underestimated the workload. When I envisioned London's Aesop, I expected it to be a small project that would reach completion after a year or two of development. However, that is nowhere near the case. There are assets to commission, code to write, scripts to draft, etc, etc.
That being said, I have had a lot of fun and met so many great people while working on the game. I also know that I have garnered a fanbase: When that occurs, one is obligated to give them content to enjoy. However, this game is not my lifeblood: Any donations are voluntary and go right back into game development. Game development is more of a hobby for me than a full-time gig. I am nowhere near big enough for that to be the case.
So...
For now, I will try to juggle the game, my project and work all at once. The third chapter will be coming out, but it will take a good while. I have the script about halfway done and I can reuse a lot of sound/background assets. However, I will need to commission artwork for a new character, finish the script and scour out some new music and sounds.
I'm sorry that most of my devlogs end up being the bringers of bad news. However, I believe it's important to keep everyone updated on the game's progress and how my life affects development. After this long of a break, I think it's high overdue that I restart work on the project. I can't give you an honest date on when the next chapter will be out but I'll do my best to get it out quickly. Please be patient.
Yours as always,
HyenaDev.
Get London's Aesop
London's Aesop
An urban LGBT furry visual novel
| Status | In development |
| Author | HyenaDev |
| Genre | Visual Novel, Adventure, Interactive Fiction |
| Tags | 2D, Bara, Furry, Gay, LGBT, Romance, Story Rich |
| Languages | English |
More posts
- Goodbye.May 06, 2022
- So...Oct 31, 2021
- What's going on here?Aug 04, 2021
- Time to talk about 0.2Jul 17, 2021
- Build 0.2, here we go!Jul 05, 2021
- Thank you!Jul 03, 2021
- I'm so sorry.Jun 30, 2021
- Another Chapter 2 updateJun 12, 2021
Comments
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Try not to drown in all the expectations and criticisms. I mean even that is a criticism but dont mind me hehehe. You have a limited time you can work on your VN, so if your goal is a chapter every 2 months instead of 3, then think about shortening or even cutting the chapters early by 1/3rd. Count words and set limits. Count the hours it takes to place the sprites. Count the hours it takes to find/make new background images/sprites. And lastly mark the hours of the days in the month that you can dedicate to making your VN.
Im not a psychologist, but I use to write scary stories a few years back when I was in highschool. I had a problem with reading and rereading comments to them because this was all under my school's profile and even the teachers took interest. But it was that which made me slack off and lose motivation and even imagination to write new stuff. What I found that helped was to not bother looking at the comments anymore. Obviously when I had to tell people IDK what they were talking about because it was of their comments/criticisms they then basically orated their comment to me in person which caused the same problem to rise up in me again, and this time I was a lot more annoyed and when people saw that my reputation went from 'brilliant horror writer' to 'scary weirdo' very quickly. If I were you I wouldnt bother reading comments anymore if youre very sensitive to critisism like me. Or at least read a few once a month and if you ever feel like replying, write what you want to write but then delete it and let it go. I think it is for the best if youre writing this VN for fun or because it is a story you want to share. You shouldnt be open to other's criticism if youre doing this purely out of your own heart's desire. Others should just love it or leave it and their opinions shouldnt matter to you.
To be honest, I do care a little too much about what people think about the game. I don't think there's much point making one if others can't have fun!
That being said, this is more of a fun project for me; I'm making barely any money off it, so work and my own mental/physical health does take priority. I can't work on the game if I'm ill after all.
Thanks for writing in! I'll make good use of this advice, don't worry!
Please don’t put yourself down!
I know it’s easy to say, but there comes a point when comparing yourself to other developers isn’t too helpful. After all, for all you know, they’re millionaires lounging on a beach. Or out of work. Or they’ve hired a cast of thousands. Or any number of things. There are all sorts of reasons why they might be working quicker than you. Spending too much time worrying about what other developers are doing can hamper anyone's creative processes. I know it does for me!
Do what you do best, and work at the pace that works for you, and for your life as it is now. You might be pleasantly surprised to know just how trusting and patient your fans can be! We can wait!
Sure, a symphony can be written in a day. A novel can be written in a week. But no-one really ever does this. Even the really great names in history rarely do. That’s because art is *hard*. And we live in the real world, which often gets really messy. If it takes Tolkien years to write a single book, I don’t think you should put yourself down for taking a while to write yours!
So, if you can, try not to worry what others are doing. You’re doing just fine! That’s in amongst all the awful things that happening in the world around us, not least the things you yourself have been experiencing. Work at your own pace and, in time, you’ll have something really beautiful that everyone can enjoy. Good art takes *time*. Don’t rush it, and give you mind a rest when you need to!
And all the best for the nasty things you’ve been going through.
Wow, thank you so much! Reading this really made my day (And gave me the energy I needed to stay calm in the face of a very rude client). I'll be sure to make something that my yeenlings can enjoy! :D
Well, it’s nice to hear that I helped out a little! After all, it’s all too easy to concentrate on the negative aspects of your art, missing all the positives. Everyone needs some encouragement sometimes. I know that from my own experience!
So, just keep up the good work, at whatever pace works for you. You’ve done some really nice things so far, and I look forward to seeing where you take this in the future! :)
Hey man it's fine just make sure you dont bottle this all up,
Also I'm starting to get scared that someone might cause a comment section war like in Fbtw
I had a look at the comment section of that game and... uh... Well, I'll try to keep things in order.
Thanks for your concern, tho. :)
If you ever need help with potential ideas, do feel free to @ (name) or (roll) (s) ina specified area of your server. I am only one of multiple who could think of something that might help. I try to be logical, but it isn't always what you may be aiming for.
I'll be sure to keep that in mind, thank you!
take your time to enjoy yourself while creating your project. The wait for an update is no real issue ^^.
Thanks for being so patient! I swear, if it wasn't for society, I would spend all day making my boys go on adventures.
During these... trying times letting us know you are alive, well, and even have some time to dedicate to your hobby is great news.
So what if it'll take longer to complete an update? It's not a race, take your time.
To sum it up, don't fret, you are doing amazing, sweetie.
I'll try and finish the game before I pop my sandals. I really want the game to be on Steam someday, so of course, I gotta take my time with it.
You'll be hearing more from me soon enough. :)