Firstly, thank you to all the supportive comments recently, I don’t recall seeing a single negative one.
It’s clear what you all want me to do, and while I haven’t made any decisions yet, I can clearly see potential for this in the proceeding months.
It must be said though, while a lot of you responded positively, I have many doubts on the feasibility, and I’m perhaps a bit more apprehensive than I was a month ago. Obviously I’ll have to put in a lot of effort to rally the troops as it were and to get the word out.
Fortunately, I have a working prototype (Part 1) which people can play, but I do wonder how I’d go about raising interest for something seemingly out of thin air.
What would a publicity campaign consist of? Spamming on social media and discussion forums? Do I need to make a video go viral on YouTube? I’m not too privy to this kind of thing… uh, marketing.
And let’s not forget it’s been over 4 years since Part 1 was released and it would be deluded to think that news of a kickstarter campaign could reach more than a fraction of these people in a month.
I dunno. It’s all very uncertain, I’m sure luck will play a great deal more than anything I can muster.
For now though all I’m trying to do is to get the new site ready. A week ago it looked like it was practically done, but since then I’ve ordered a new server. The current server is usually ok, but sometimes (such as right this very moment) the site slows to a crawl, and it becomes practically unusable. This is because we’re on a shared hosting plan on a server located somewhere near Dallas, Texas, and right now someone ele's website is hogging all the resources. The new one is a dedicated server in Quebec, Canada, with superior specs, and yet it's CHEAPER. Unfortunately, this new one is pretty barebones and requires a lot of basic knowledge that I’m still getting to grips with. Linux, SSH and whatnot, just some boring technical hooplah I won’t bore you with.
That, along with all sorts of little problems that have consequently revealed themselves have made for a pretty unproductive week, so that’s pretty annoying.
I figured while I’m here and I’ve got nothing else new to say, I’ll try to explain the lack of my presence recently and perhaps give some insight as to why.
I’ve stated quite often that if I have no ‘news’ to speak of, there’s little reason to write or publish anything on the site. If I’m honest, this is an excuse for my laziness. I could always write about something, it’s not like I take long breaks where I don’t work on anything or have anything new to show. The thing is, I don’t like writing. Even this news post now feels like homework, especially this paragraph, it’s just tedious.
I’m also a bit too critical of myself. I’ll scan read this post in a week or so, I’ll see something a that makes me cringe, internally I’ll sigh and think ‘tit’.
And I think I’ve said this before and it probably looks ungrateful or disparaging, but I fundamentally do not understand why any of you enjoy my stuff (what little there is) enough to check the site repeatedly for updates. Or rather, I have trouble imagining that I have fans of any sort.
I think if someone else made Wasted Youth and I came across it, I would not think much of it. I’d probably turn it off before the second mission. That’s just me though.
I’m just trying to say I’m a bit weird and I have some trouble relating to you lot… can I call you fans? I don’t like the term much myself. For some reason it brings to mind things like #TeamBreezy and the phenomenon of addled tweens worshipping celebri-c**ts on Twitter.
Anyway, I have to state it again because I’m paranoid the last bit will be taken the wrong way, but I really do appreciate the nice things you often say and please don’t hesitate to send me a message if you like.
#TeamJizzyBumBumOrSomething
No? I’ll try and think of something better in the meantime...
Anyway, from now on I’ll try to post on a regular basis, perhaps even more than once a month! Hopefully the next news post will be on a new swish site on a new swish server. If not I’ve really done fucked up.
And if you support the kickstarter thing or have anything else to say, just leave a comment.
Thanks.
EDIT (21/09/2015)
Jim in the comments has written a considered and lengthy reply via pastebin to my ramblings in which he makes some very good points, all of which I agree with or have deliberated on, so I’m going to put it here for easier viewing:
Jim:
It appears that creating a sequel to that game does not give you joy, even thinking about it. I was one of the first to play it, saw it steadily gaining fans and can tell you some things about it. What happened with that game was that it had the perfect timing. At the time people had time to spare for such a game. There were good games but there wasn't the variety there is today. People gave it a try and liked it. Even though it is a pretty lengthy game, the story kept you going. It was not too hard,in order for someone to quit on it, and the side-objectives were pretty interesting too. The most exciting thing about that game was that it would have a sequel. It was a prologue for something. Thing is, times have changed. Had part 2 come in 2013, a circle would close, the game would rest in peace, a genre would be created. For many reasons, bad and good, that didn't happen. I personally cannot find a better way for a chapter to end, than to let it unfinished. The game has a lore of it own right now. The kids and teenagers people that played it back then now have grew up and regard this game as a memorable experience. I can safely say that not making a sequel is the best thing you could have done. Now, in order for this game to fulfill its potential, you either reassemble the trio and you work on it as a team, or you let it be once and for all. It appears that you lack motivation to do any of the above at the moment. I want to reassure you that a game should not be a response to the people's comments, but the creator's expression. Do not limit your options for the future with this game. Keep going with what you want and like. If something doesn't appeal to you, don't do it. Do not feel guilty for anything. Now, that is an alternative perspective, that may be respected or not by the readers. That was what I could bring to the table.
Regarding ways to attract people, they will come to you, if you make the right moves. You can't just go and make a crowdfunding campaign with less than 3.000 people.
If you want people to know you are making a new game, simply write a comment here, before 'TwinTowers'(pun intended)collapses and takes the game files with them.
http://www.kongregate.com/games/gpstudios/wasted-youth-part-1/comments?sort=best
Also, reddit is the place to advertise yourself. Someone had already done it for you, 4 years ago.
https://www.reddit.com/r/WebGames/comments/ijaa9/wasted_youth_part_1_an_mildly_crudehumored_casual/
To close this message, the plot and mechanics of a game are not enough to make it great. They provide, however, a strong foundation for people to like and embrace it. In this modern era we live in, WYp2 will not survive if it does not bring something unique with it like the original did. I suggest you put it in a self for a bit, stop worrying about it, and things will work themselves out. Focus on more simple and less tedious projects for now. I'm sure they will fare just fine.