SamSuka
massmanic
massmanic

patreon


Page Suspension.

Hello everyone,

I've decided to take some tough action today, one that may or may not be a surprise to some, and that's to suspend my Patreon page.

I just can't justify its continuation.

Much like when I suspended development of TLotK I can personally assure you that this is never an easy decision for a content creator, the time, effort and passion placed into whatever you worked on feels, well, squandered and I hate disappointing fans of my work.

There are so many reasons as to why I've taken this decision, but it's primarily this: The money I'm earning versus effort just plainly isn't worth it, additionally I'm gaining no satisfaction from it.

Enthusiasm for all the projects I've been toiling away on has also waned, from a consumer satisfaction standpoint to my own, which has adverse effects.

TLotK needs a lot of rework for the next update, I return to it just to feel a deep sense of crushing dissatisfaction with what I accomplish, Magical Camp I feel equally dissatisfied with, and RC...

Requited Change, although being enjoyed by the supporters I feel had its 'jump the shark' moment with the split-personality plot, and financial backing rapidly exited around the time I injected this narrative tangent. This rapidly declined £2300 per month way down to something like £1200 and now I'm at £560 per month, a third of my country's minimum wage. I wanted to differentiate myself from Moonlly's and Ron512's work on a gamble and felt as though I ruined the entire integrity of the character arcs I'd envisioned as well as the plot itself.

Maybe I'm being too hard on myself- perhaps I'm one of those rare underappreciated artists operating before my time? (Haha.)

Regardless, the financial consequence is the same for my decision.

I know my downfall isn't only due to these aforementioned factors; it's more in part to my upload schedule being god awful. To be honest, my life and work life currently feels like a self-perpetuating cycle of misery and depression feeding into itself, and has evolved into this ever growing mass weighing me down. Needless to say; this has led to work schedules not being adhered to and work being left unfulfilled, much like how I feel, I've lost my passion; the voice in my head telling me that I'm fighting a losing battle in vain. I feel guilty for not getting it done, try again next week. Rinse, and repeat. Over and over. Ad infinitum.

So, I posed this hard question to myself in my reflective self-loathing; do I want to continue trying to battle this cycle, the cycle that I haven't yet been able to break myself out of, and therefore push myself further into debt? It resoundingly hasn't worked so far, so the answer promptly presented itself:

No. No I do not.

It's been irresponsible of me to continue as long as I have in the foolish hope that I'd improve, and now me and my father are in absolute financial dire straits.

There's a misquoted saying about the definition of insanity...

This is the plan:

I'm suspending my page. There shall be no further content for the foreseeable future OTHER THAN COMMISSIONS - about which I'll have an explanatory post outlining the cost and conditions beginning of next month at the latest.

I shall suspend patreon payments for the next month, giving people the opportunity to leave without being charged for May. After this I'll keep the page up for a while to enable anyone who wishes to throw a dollar at me for past work undertaken or to gain access to all my work to do so. All work shall be consolidated into a single post this week at some point.

I'll be pursuing other avenues of income outside of this page to avoid the stigma that's, in my mind, undoubtedly now been rightfully earned and affixed to it and myself.

I can only apologize for the somewhat abrupt nature of this announcement, but I can't continue going the way I have been. I've not only got my own future to safeguard, but my Dad's too.

As always, I appreciate those who have supported me all of this time... but I think it's time for you all to finally go. I wish nothing but the best for you all, your generosity over the years has been wonderful... and, well, thank-you.

I know this is disappointing, but it's a firm, but fond farewell for now.

Oh, and Icarue, I'll be contacting you soon on an alt account on Discord regarding plugin help.

Comments

:( I am sad to see you walk away but you have to do what is best for you. If you are not going to continue the comic for now, could you just answer the biggest questions people had about where the comic was going? Just to give people closure.

Christopher Bartlett

It'll be sad to see you go, but understandable. I wish you luck in the future and hope for your return in better days.

Cil

Sorry to loose you since you were the reason I joined Patreon however I do believe you have to do what’s best for you If you feel it’s taking too much out of you then it is probably a good idea to stop Good luck with whatever you do next in life :)

Kieran Hale

Jokes on you, I'll keep giving you five bucks until you physically remove me! Sad that Alraune isn't going to see an end since it seemed close but you do what you gotta do. Came for Kitsune, stayed for the comics, have enjoyed your work throughout. Best of luck to your future endeavors and all that.

Bonin

I think your art style and sense of humor separated you enough personally. I would consider redoing those chapters with a different direction. You wouldn't instantly win back the lost subs, but maybe it would be better received. That is not much of a wage though, i understand. This is very sad news!

B

Good luck my man, thanks for all of the enjoyment and laugh throughout your time here. TLoK, despite whatever flaws it may have and its unfinished state, will always be an experience I very much cherish. Take care, alright? Additionally, I've quite enjoyed how RC has been progressing. The split-personality arc has been pretty fun. You're a great creator! But ultimately, do what's best for you man.

Doge

A pity, but understandable. So long and thanks for all f(et)ish.

MrRequiem

o7

ChefQuote

Take care of yourself chief

BLA TRAIN

Sad to see you leave but you do what's best for you! I can understand that this isn't an easy situation to be in. But for what it's worth I really appreciate all that you have done so far. Hope the future is better for you!

Hilde

unfortunate but as a former artis i can understand

dutchblizzard

This.... i agree with all of this. Mass we all love you and your art but we love YOU first and foremost. So do what is best for you.

shineypooface

Welcome to the Suspension Bar. Grab a drink. HLF and I will serve you a drink while we listen to your story. (I was debating whether to start with that or: Soon this place will be nothing but Bimbo Quest! More Icarue content will expand! First Sigma(ish), then Ruin, then Mass, then... the world!!!) In all seriousness, I understand where you are coming from. The words used in the post sound very similar to a game I just recently "finished". I am willing to lend an ear in your alt account or Patreon messages. But there's nothing wrong with finding a job and returning Massmanic to be your hobby (if it ever was one). I can't talk about you, but I have an itch to make, so even if I can only work like an hour or half an hour a day on my games, I do so. I don't worry too much about quality, but its more so about satisfying myself (not like that). What do I WANT to make? I make that. I wanted to make a merchant game, I do that. I wanted to talk about my feelings and process it through games, I do that. "Its time to look inward and ask the real questions: who are you, and what do YOU want?" Uncle Iroh, Avatar. Balancing the want with the need is never easy (neither in writing nor in life). But if you really really want to make comics, but you really really need a job, hopefully, you can continue doing it after work. And there's nothing wrong if your comics look worse as a result. It's understandable, and even commendable that you can do both at the same time. (And even if your comics "take a hit" because of what you are going through, so what? If you enjoy it, it doesn't matter what others think). For myself, I will commission comics. And don't think I do it out of the kindness of my heart. Its marketing baby! Ruin's comics well over pay themselves with the traffic they bring to my page. I can help with storyboards like I do with Ruin's comics. So hopefully that will alleviate the workload. I might understand what you are going through... or maybe not. I am not you, but I am willing to lend an ear so I can understand better.

icarue

Unfortunate. Hope that whatever direction you take your creative endeavors on will at least help you recover the passion and fun of them! We all wish things go right for you, whatever way you take things.

Reiko Lupus

Best wishes for you and your Dad! I know in this age of the internet leaving your viewers without content can feel like betrayal or dissapointment, but to me, you come before your content! I appreciate all of the work you've done so far, which has been, for me, stellar. We tend to focus on the negatives and see careers, jobs and works only focusing on the negatives. My personal advice - take some time to focus on the positives! Read through the comments of past posts of all the people that loved your content, for that means a lot. I still read RC back to back for how good it is. I for one am not glad it ended, but I am glad that it happened and that you're prioritizing yourself 🩷

BiancaArtGs

I understand you of where you are coming from on the crossroads of your life direction. I am going through the same processes as well too. So I can try to contribute more to your cause but I do care about your self being and welfare and your work is appreciated but I want to see you succeed and try to make a positive decision where it benefits you and your life and if anything thank you for your honesty and sincere response.

C.J.C.

It's such a shame to see you go! I personally didn't mind the split personality arc; it didn't feel tasteless or out of place, she was experiencing deep trauma and that can lead to compartmentalizing conflicting feelings as personas. I saw where it was left off as a manic episode and that reality was not reflecting her perception.I feel you did a great job encapsulating gender dysphoria, that it isn't as black and white as many other creators in this genre portray it as.

agothgirl

:'( It is sad to see you go but you need to look after yourself and understand what your saying here. I choose to see this as not goodbye but maybe see you again in the future. I hope the best for you. i will personally linger about on your patreon and return every now and then to see when/if you come back. For now though i wish you luck in the world my friend.

shineypooface


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