Friday Rambles 2025-12-19

Good afternoon, Fridaynauts. It is the penultimate Friday Ramble of 2025.

Thank you to everyone who has supported me over the years. And thank you to the new patrons as well! Love you all. Hope you stick around for another year >:)

Not Game Dev Stuff

I filled out the annual Summary of Art for 2025. Not bad. I actually had something for each month this time around.

Here's a thread with all the other previous years as well.

Speaking of art, I drew 64x64 pixel arts of some Endless Monday characters over the course of a day, for fun. Feels like 2019 all over again. Except back then making a single 64x64 pixel portrait took all afternoon instead of like, 20 minutes or whatever.

I finally got around to making a library card at my local library, and it's magic! I can just access books online, for free! I saw that the library's collection had Snotgirl by Bryan Lee O'Malley (Scott Pilgrim Guy) and Leslie Hung, so I read the four volumes that are out now. It's not very Scott Pilgrim, but in other ways, it kinda is? I enjoyed reading it, especially the last volume, which took a fun turn. But it's still ongoing and at the rate it's going the next book will be out in 2030. So it goes.

I finished reading Children of Dune, which is not like Snotgirl at all. I am now finished with three books out of the six book "Dune Chronicles," so I might as well finish what I've started. But maybe I won't binge the next three. Maybe I'll read something else and come back later.

The next book in the series has a threatening aura.

I saw a book called The Man Who Died Seven Times at Barnes and Noble, and the plot apparently involves a time loop, so I think I might read that.

I've read more books this year than I have since I graduated high school. I've also played more games this year (especially VNs) than I have since I started making game(s). I'm hoping it'll widen my artistic horizons and help me make more gooder games that are not suck. I think what it's actually doing though is inflating my ambitions more.

Game Dev Stuff

Before my ambitions get inflated too large and prevent me from actually finishing a game, I figure I should just hurry up and do this thing. Now that I know next year's cost increases for housing and health insurance and stuff (substantial), I'm feeling a real urgency to get something new out as soon as possible. Plus I'm tired of just promoting the old game now, and I'm sure my followers are too. So I've committed myself to releasing a trailer and Steam store page for Game 2 in January of 2026, so people know I'm working on this sequel and I have something to point to for people to wishlist. Then the game will be finished in maybe 9 months after that, accounting for all the localization time and stuff, and I'll be able to continue to market the new game in the meantime.

This gives me a solid goal to aim for, for the next month, which is like: determining key scenes for the trailer based on my story outline, writing dialogue for those key scenes, drawing/animating completed sprites and BGs for those scenes, and putting it all together in a way that gets people interested in what's happening. During that process I'll also have built out some assets/concepts I can use for store page screenshots and the rest of the game.

To start, I drew a new Skye sprite (not final yet, though).

I am drawing new sprites for all characters that appear in the game, because it's been like 3 years since I drew all the previous sprites and I want to refresh them and not be stuck having to replicate how I drew back then for new expressions/poses or characters. And it's a good and easy way to demonstrate it's a proper sequel.

And of course, I'm going through the motions for the Steam Winter Sale. It's still the most important source of income for the studio (Endless Monday Game Studios Inc, Co, Ltd.), after all.

Once I have a second game to discount, I'll probably update this picture. Maybe?

Year in Review 2025

I think this is a good a time as any to do a little "year in review" thing as it relates to Endless Monday Game Studios Inc, Co, Ltd.

Cool things did/happened:

• Finished and released Overtime chapter

• Finished and released Nintendo Switch version

• Penny plushie campaign with Makeship

• Skye Ozonefryer eating a burger in the new Undermine zone in World of Warcraft

• Famous Hololive-EN Vtuber Ouro Kronii playing my game

• Went to Tokyo Game Show 2025 (as an attendee)

• Took part in Fanatical "Build Your Own Story-Rich Bundle" Bundle

• Did merch thing with merch people, will be dropping in early 2026

• Rewrote dialogue system for Game 2 twice (not actually a cool thing, but progress, I guess)

• Started drawing weekly doodles for Patreon

Nice. A lot of things, but I'm feeling ready to move on fully onto Game 2, so my main focus will be that in 2026. Gotta sell games to eat, after all.

Cool things expected in 2026:

• Release trailer for Game 2 in January

• Finish Game 2 by September, or earlier

  • Maybe I can even have something to show at TGS 2026.

• Announce cool merch thing with merch people

• Another Makeship Plushie?? Maybe??

It's gonna be a busy year next year. Hopefully some good things will happen. Let's help make 2026 a good and productive year.

The End

Next week I'll be busy with holiday things, so I'll probably be pre-scheduling the last Friday Ramble of the year. Thanks for your support, as always! See you!