Some personal news

There's a lot to talk about, and I know a lot of you want to know what exactly has been going on with me. The last time I spoke about this was on November 17th last year, so its time to update you on how things stand.

In many areas, things are still the same; I'm still working to improve my finances, and currently in talks with 4minutedev to for full employment in his dev team for Ravager (and other future games).

Regarding the situation with my day-job, my contract work actually ended about 3 weeks ago. And I've been searching around for more work since. Its the life of a freelancer. It is what it is. If I can procure a full-time job with 4mindev however, I can perhaps slow my search for contract work and just focus more on commissions instead.

But of course, what about the games? What happened to those?

1) Poke H. Ever since I took a financial hit last year (around the time I made the previous post), I haven't worked on it much. I'll be honest about that. I've just been doing HD wallpapers and wallpaper WIPS for patrons without getting around to updating much of the game. (My apologies for the February wallpaper being late btw) But recently, I've been slowly getting back on things, trying to get back to the flow. I don't have much to share, but I'm optimistic I'll be able to continue once things start looking up for me.

2) Tower of Giruvegun. Aside from original soundtrack, I haven't posted very much on the Art front. This is mostly because nearly all the assets needed for the Alpha build is already done. Only thing remaining are custom sprites (which I need to commission Robert Pinero for), music (which is still being done piece by piece) as well as the actual programming/scripting part (which I'm still hoping to recruit someone far more experienced than I am to help me).
Since this project relies on a lot on monetary compensation to outside help, its currently paused for the time being until I can get a dedicated programmer to help get the Alpha up and running.

I'm currently trying to find projects and work that involve the one thing I do best; just art. I need to strengthen my finances, but also do something that people may want to support AND have it be something I really enjoy. So I'm going to bite the bullet and present to you guys an insane idea; One that benefits both my free followers as well as my paying patrons. This one is huge and I'm honestly scared of the feedback, and you'll know why in a minute.

How many of you are familiar with the Visual Novel; Katawa Shoujo? It definitely has its fans and is one of the better known classics of H-VNs. I'll be frank with you guys; for those who hasn't read it, its one of the best VNs I've ever had the pleasure of reading. Its an emotionally touching story that really hits the spot for sentimental saps like me. Its also quite old, and was released on Jan 4th 2012. I was in freaking highschool when I first read this VN. Damn.

Well, here's the crazy part I wanted to share. A few days ago, while I was figuring out what to do for work, I decided to play through it again, for inspiration. It occurred to me that as much as I loved it, it was... a bit outdated? Its a great novel, but I also know that a lot of people are more visually motivated especially when trying new things. So I thought to myself, what if I were to Remaster the novel? I've thought about it a bit. The original will always be here, of the fans prefer it. I'm simply trying to remaster the sprites/CGs for a more... updated look, so to speak, for those who might prefer that instead. Think about it from my perspective.

Unlike both Poke H and TOG, which both require far more work (and in TOG's case, money) to make, remastering Katawa Shoujo only requires 2 things; time and my artistic dedication. I don't need to pay anyone to help me, and I don't need to program anything. I'm simply doing what I do best, for a novel that I absolutely love. And if this helps my finances, I can finally quit day-job searching altogether and finally shift my focus to these projects instead!

So what does this mean for my followers and patrons? Oddly enough, it doesn't change anything. I'm not going to increase the cost of any tiers, I'll simply be giving you something else to look forward to aside from Poke H and ToG. Of course, this leads to the next question; how is this going to help me financially? Honestly? This is what scares me. I don't know. I mostly draw as a passion, you see. Regardless of whether I'm paid or not, I will always eventually pick up my stylus to make something. I love to draw. I would love it even more to be able to draw for a living. I would love it BEST if I could draw what I LOVE for a living. That's all I want to be able to do. As much as I want to continue on my original path, sometimes life just gets in the way and I have to adjust and change course. For all of my OG patrons out there, for whichever reason that motivated you to support me, I thank you. Truly. If you'd like to continue this journey with me, I would be most grateful. If not, I would understand.

(Just to clarify, I am NOT quitting Poke H. Never. As the post above already stated in 1), I've only been put off by it due to financial/job struggles. Once I'm stable, I'll be more than happy to continue.)

So what exactly will happen now? Here are further details.
For my patrons, those of 3$ and above, I will now be opening polls for which CG gets reworked. There are quite a few. You will, as before, get access to sketches and WIPS.
For the 5$ patrons, your benefits remain the same, but you also get access to polls that determine which sprites I will rework first.
For 10$ patrons and above, you get access to the full HD artworks/sprites whenever they are ready. I will release each package as a ZIP/Winrar file for you to download and replace you existing assets in Katawa Shoujo. (Because Katawa Shoujo is a free VN, I cannot and will not monetize the novel itself, obv. I will only monetize my Remastered/Reworked artwork) I'm also planning on increasing your voting power as well.

Ofc, eventually all of my patrons will receive these art packages, 10$ patrons simply get it first. It will also eventually be released for free to the public when its done (in parts, while patrons will get it every update).

End of the day, this is a gamble. Will this bring me more supporters? I dont know. Am I possibly giving myself even more work to do at the risk of losing current patrons whilst not gaining any new ones? Its entirely possible. That's why I leave my fate to you guys.

Thank you, and do tell me what you think.
Best regards,
- Sintax.