Now, for the first time, this feels right. Wrapping things up, telling you what happened in 2015, because now I use Patreon and your kind donations to create. It is only fitting for me to tell you what you got for your money’s worth. Actually a lot happened and you can see most of it in the above collage. Then we’ll talk about what’s coming up next, and that’s a handful as well.
Did I ever tell you the definition of insanity?
Well, yes, yes I did. Twice already. Here and here.
My take on this challenge is a bit different than what Scott McCloud proposes. Yes, I did create a 24-page comics in 24-hour span, that was on my first attempt in 2011, and right then this particular challenge lost it’s meaning because of the fact that I achieved it. Since then my take on this whole idea is this: create for 24 hours. The main condition is time, not number of pages. I’d rather create few pages but of high, printable quality, than a 24-page half-assed, rushed through comics that will be good for nothing actually. And that’s what I’ve been doing since 2011. This year I wanted to create a 4-page Rewolucje short, as I was asked by Andrzej Baron for something for his Znakomiks magazine. Last year I learned that creating one Rewolucje page takes about 6 hours, so the timing was perfect. The first page however (shown below) took me 7.5 hours. Luckily, that was the main establishing shot, most detailed opening of the short. Latter pages were simpler to create and I finished all of this around 5:30 A.M. Since I had few hours left I also created a cover for a 24-hour comic book anthology, as asked by the publisher and organizer of the event. You can also check it out below. Besides that I’m posting photos I’ve been taking more or less hourly through entire 24 hours (well, 20, since I split after 8 A.M. when I had literally nothing more to do). So here it is. The insanity.
So I’ve been thinking.
Since the browser-based game market is dying, (at least for me), why shouldn’t I ditch it entirely. This process in my head actually started two years ago when I begun creating HD versions of Daymare Town and Submachine, which became games playable on PC and MAC desktops, with all it’s perks, like being able to create better immersion through full screen gameplay, addition of original soundtracks in separate mp3 files etc. I expect the process to let me also switch platforms, so I will no longer be constricted only to flash games. But more on that some other time.
This year the sentiment grows stronger, with the advent of my Patreon campaign and diminishing returns from ad-based browser-gaming. I don’t have to cater to countless online masses of anonymous players anymore. I just need to deliver to few thousands of you who genuinely like what I do to the extent of following me on social media. That’s all. That’s you guys – reading these words right now. And don’t worry. If you’ve been able to play my games in the past – you will be able to play them in their new form. Flash wasn’t compatible with handheld market anyway. And those games which were free will remain free. There will be an online, free version of Submachine 10: the Exit, alongside paid, fullscreen desktop version (free for all my patrons).
The first symptom of the inevitable switch from browser to desktop gaming will be newest episode of 10 Gnomes, as it’s the first game on my release list. On my Patreon page, one of the rewards is getting all games I create this year in HD for free. That will probably include Submachine 10, 10 Gnomes and Where is 2016? at the very least. And I noted that 10 Gnomes will not be scalable to full screen since it’s not vector graphics and will look bad when rescaled (pixelated). But then I thought to myself – wait, why am I thinking in terms of browser restrictions. Why not create just larger 10 Gnomes game. Like, already in HD and just let people download it for free instead of releasing it as a browser game. And that’s exactly what I’ll do, come August.
Take a look at the screen below. Click on it to see it in it’s full, 1920 x 1080 glory. Doesn’t it look nice?
Blaki: Czwórka otrzymał w dniu 16 maja 2015 przyznawaną na festiwalu Komiksowa Warszawa nagrodę Polskiego Stowarzyszenia Komiksowego za rok 2014 w kategorii Najlepszy Polski Komiks.
Now this is kind of interesting. Even though I don’t have any kickstarter projects, nor patreon or indiegogo (no one is giving me any money before I deliver) – I feel kind of obliged to keep you in the loop on what I’ve been doing last year and what my plans for future projects are. It’s kind of obligatory for those “fund my project” situations, yet here we developed this kind of relationship without dragging money into the equation. After all, it’s not one project and it’s not just one year.
So… Let me confront my to-do list from 12 months ago.
Proces restartu albumu nie mógł obyć się bez pozbycia się tych plansz, które zostały zresetowane. Sześć ich było, siódma była tak słaba, że nawet nie nadawała się do niczego i poleciała do kosza. Początkowo opcje były dwie: albo to wszystko wywalić, albo sprzedać online. Jednak po chwili pojawiła się opcja trzecia: a jakby tak wziąć i je po prostu oddać w dobre ręce. W ten sposób coś powiedzmy w miarę negatywnego (siedem odrzuconych plansz albumowych) zostało zamienione w coś pozytywnego (sześcioro radośnie zaskoczonych ludzi). Wystarczy tego resetowania. Czas zabrać się na nowo za ten album…
It’s not your fault, it’s mine.
You see, I’ve been engulfed in positive feedback for 10 years now. And if you think it’s a good thing – you’re probably right, but not quite. Too much positive can be bad, especially for a creative person. Through these 10 years of game development (and comic book writing) I was getting a bit too comfortable in what I was doing, maybe even a bit too arogant. I need to get back to my humble roots.
That was caused not only by my own Pastel Forum, but also by comments on my website, facebook, twitter, what have you. Again, remember, not your fault.
And this overblown confidence can be tricky at times.
You probably haven’t noticed, but some time ago I started stepping away from the internet feedback. First thing – I deleted all wordpress comments on my website, those old ones, dating back to famous years of 2005-2007, when Submachine and Covert Front blew up. Covert Front used to have over 6000 comments and I read each one of them back in a day.
Then, when Mochiads went belly up and I had to retouch every single game I made to include new ad system – I removed comments links from those as well.
I also blocked all comments on my videos on youtube (now on vimeo, since I moved all my videos there. Why? That’s another long story).
Later I went even further and removed comments section from my website entirely. Now you can just watch, you can’t say anything.
And all this leads directly to the decision of deletion of Pastel Forum. It’s the last bastion of my confidence, which I can’t have. If you want me to create good games and books, I need to be this guy from 2004 again. Someone who’s questioning himself on a daily basis. Someone who doesn’t know how his work will be received, or perceived for that matter. I need to step away and quiet the noise, especially considering I’m about to create (arguably) my most important game of my “career” (which is the ending to the Submachine saga).
You can still catch me on facebook and twitter, but those are the only two remaining ways of doing so.
See you on the other side.
