Rethinking how Light My Way moves forward

Hello everyone. It has been a few days since I returned from Eurofurence but I didn't get to write an entry here. I kind of hesitated because I wasn't sure of the direction of the novel and some other stuff that I'll explain below. But now I have more clarity and I want to share with you my future plans for Light My Way.

A secondary illustration artist

I'll start with the fact that I am actively looking for a secondary illustration artist. There is nothing wrong with Rlion's work, but he doesn't have the free time necessary to finish everything I need for the novel. He's a student and he has a lot to study. He also wants to have a decent social life. So taking that into account, I have decided to put out a job ad for a secondary illustration artist for the novel. I hope that by hiring another artist, we can get the novel moving at a faster pace, maybe even faster than once per month. I kind of doubt that seeing as how many bugs we encountered last time and how we needed to fix a lot of stuff afterward, but at least having the assets ready much sooner will give us time to handle whatever else comes our way before we publish a new chapter.

Thoughts on the first two chapters

The first two chapters are absolutely boring in my opinion. While there are a few cute things here and there, I yawn away when I re-read them. It could very well be that I am much too used to them by now since I had to check for typos and such so many times. But it's also because I know what the story holds for the future. Even the next chapters aren't as exciting as the middle ones. We get to actually know the characters better and that's when things are just ripe enough to enjoy their flavors. Once another artist comes in, I really hope we can get things going faster.

Animation

My ultimate goal is to create full-length animation, so I am very attracted to the idea of making things move in pictures. We are doing some small stuff, but it's hardly anything fluent like an actual animated show or movie. However, I do plan on incorporating more and more elements as time goes by. They do cost a bit and I am beginning to be weary of how much I am spending on this considering that my source of income has vanished since the end of last month. But I also believe that if I put a lot of effort into something and work hard at it, I will also see results sooner or later.

Release schedule

More like, just release once we have stuff ready. I don't want to rush things, but I also decided that there's no gain in trying so hard to have absolutely everything ready with each chapter release. In a perfect world, I would be able to do that. But the reality is that there are many outside factors that affect the novel in so many ways that I can't possibly have everything ready at the same exact time each month. So my goal now is to put out a build even if it doesn't have all the illustrations. Or even zero illustrations. Once the new sprites are done, that means that we can go ahead and do more chapters so the story progresses. If people find a reason to support us because the story is great, even better. Funding all the assets myself is becoming an issue. I expected it, but I also hoped for more support as well. I'm sure that in time things will improve.

Personal issues

The main reason why I would write something personal here is because I was told it is therapeutic to talk about it more openly and not keep it in, which I have been doing for a while now. So here goes...

I have been taking care of my mother for about one and a half years now. She was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer in October 2021. She has been doing chemotherapy, radiotherapy, immunotherapy, and basically every therapy under the sun that could somehow save her. We got a definitive verdict a while ago that there is no chance for her to get cured, which has devastated me and induced some very harsh feelings within me that I've sometimes struggled to keep under control. My time at Eurofurence was plagued with feelings of guilt, loneliness, and much more. The one feeling that hurts the most is that once my mother is gone, the love that she has given me will never be matched. It's impossible. There are so many more things I would write about, but I think that's enough for now.

I don't like the type of attention that comes with pity, so I don't want to make this entry about "my sorrows" and "how terrible my life is" or any of that crap. I don't like broadcasting my personal life to a ton of random people on the internet because it feels disingenuous. I don't have an issue with those who do, I just don't think it's healthy to do something like this often. I chose to write this part because there are just a few patrons here and I feel comfortable enough to talk about this issue now since someone recommended I write about it. Writing is my go-to outlet for a lot of things in my life, so why not this?

Anyway...If I sometimes seem on the edge or act in a weird-ish way in the Discord server. Well...now you know why. I'm not looking for pity by writing this. I'm just hoping for some sort of closure. But judging by the pressure I feel in my chest, it's not working as intended. Maybe it will feel better tomorrow.

I might have ruined the entire mood of the entry, but I did mention from the start that my Patreon would also include some personal stuff. I deleted and clicked undo a few times on this whole "Personal issues" paragraph, but I think I should post it, otherwise, I won't talk about it again and it's just going to stay in me and blow up at the worst possible time. So there. I wrote about it.

Teaser from Chapter 3

I attached a Chapter 3 teaser. It's an office. Whose office? By the end of September, all Patreons will definitely find out. I'll make sure to release Chapter 3 regardless of how many illustrations we have. We can add those later and you can replay the game anyway. I have been much too focused on perfection and forgot that one "shouldn't worry about perfection since nobody is going to achieve it anyway". So let's get things going. Let's get the story out and let's have Light My Way become a novel that is a classic in the making.

See you in Stradia!

- Hadrian Maximus