This is the time of year...

That Peace Island takes place in.  

When the first leaves are shed and the first hints of autumn colors arrive, but days remain balmy and the nights cool.  It's also that golden spot between the end of tourist season and winter (a time Mainers have treasured long before the arrival of COVID.)

Over the past year, I've been asked many times if the current pandemic has affected the Peace Island project much.  I've always had to confess that if anything, the general migration to digital workspaces and payment solutions has made the project run even MORE smoothly.  

However, that doesn't mean it has not taken its toll...

In times past, I'd usually take at least 20 trips out to the islands of Casco Bay to take notes & reference pics for the project.  I'd usually buy commuter tickets in bulk, because that way I could avoid the 100% seasonal fare increase.  However, this year, due to COVID, I've had to cut my trips out to the islands back drastically.

The more remote islands such as Cliff Island have made it pretty plain that they are not interested in any tourists, even in the best of times.  Nowadays, unless you live out there, you've no business getting off the ferry.

Of course, some islands such as Peaks Island are so reliant upon tourism that they have remained cautiously open.  It's been stunning to watch the absolute disregard that tourists have for the mandatory rule about wearing masks: the moment the ferry departs, their masks come off, and people start shouting loudly in each other's faces.  Needless to say, seeing this sorta behavior has further limited travel.

The upshot of all of this is that we got a heck of a lot less research done, this year - GOOD THING WE'RE MAKING SOLID PROGRESS ON EVERYTHING ELSE!

Our back-end coder was able to figure out an efficient way for the collection engine to keep tabs on all nine cats, and has brought a responsive "stat bar" that allows you to keep track of how well they are doing.  This means we can now keep track of how happy the cats are, how well-fed they might be, as their comfort levels.  

What's neat is that (among MANY other things) as our composer demonstrated the other day, all of this data will be fed into our generative soundtrack.  This means that as you play, the music will be unique & responsive to your actions!

We've also preparing to create the definitive version of the opening level of the game - the stage has been set and blocked.  Next come the props & interior design.

We've also completed the historical progression of the "Ben's Restorative Tonic" logo - from founding, to the present day (a minor detail barely worth mentioning, I know- but it's fun!)

Oh, and I was gonna ask:  GOT NOTHING TO DO, THIS THURSDAY AT 7PM EST?  Consider tuning in to our next YouTube livestream!

ONE LAST NOTE:

We are suspending the shipment of premiums until after the US election on November third.  We're doing this to help relieve pressure on the USPS, so that they can concentrate on handling the delivery & sorting of ballots.

IF YOU HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THE PEACE ISLAND PROJECT, AND HAVE YET  TO RECEIVE YOUR PREMIUMS:  Please send us a message here on Patreon, with your mailing address.

MORE IN TWO WEEKS - THANKS AGAIN FOR YOUR PATRONAGE, CONFIDENCE, AND PATIENCE!