Hello again, everyone!!
It's almost become a meme at this point, but wow has it been a while since I posted on here!! I'd first like to thank everyone who has played the game and got us to the numbers we are at now. I saw a big surge in players this year, which I'm assuming has to do with Steam Deck compatibility for the game. Always encouraging to see new players and people who are getting to experience Kedemara for the first time....but onto the news!!!
Since April I've....
My last update in April did cite some big setbacks and events happening in my personal life, but wowza did things ramp up from there!
To summarize, some commitments to family members I made before April have still been in progress. Pair that with moving to a new job (after being at my previous one 9+ years), moving residences under VERY "inconvenient" circumstances (like no A/C in 100+ degree weather), and all the typical life demands makes for....a lot of development time eaten up by other things. Considering the rise in living expenses across the board, changing jobs was definitely the right move...albeit at the cost of available time for game development taking a large hit.
My new job is VERY demanding on the day-to-day side of things, making weeknights very difficult to work on the game. I allocate as much time as possible on weekends to make progress, but game development and life are both a solo gig for me...I'm usually handling all that life demands on my own.
Chapter 4 Release Date
My time off is now in sporadic chunks, so it's hard to pin down a solid release date for Chapter 4 at this time. I can say with some margin for error, that Chapter 4 is going to be released around Q1 of 2023. I have stewed on MANY alternatives to this situation, such as wrapping things up into one slightly larger chapter (combining 4 and 5 together) and releasing later into next year. I'd also considered truncating some of the content for the release and padding it out later on down the line with content updates.
It's hard to fully explain without giving too much away, but there is so much already-existing content that Kedemara I is the foundation for, it's almost impossible to skip it. Even though Kedemara III (Yes...Kedemara THREE) is ~180 years into the future, events in Chapters 4 and 5 of Kedemara have to be fleshed-out properly for all of this to make sense.
What/When to Expect...
I sound like a broken record, but I'd rather miss a deadline than put something I hate out. I will be taking a very hard look at making the content succinct (with less filler) and heavily involving my alpha testers earlier in the process of development. I've gotten big thumbs up on the first hour of content for Chapter 4, but I want to make sure things feel consistent throughout and not rushed. Still, being cognizant that we're at 25+ hours of game already, I don't want things to come off as arduous and drawn-out in the grand scheme of things.
Chapter 4 has some VERY impactful moments that I do not want to cast off, but I may need to simply rearrange them. It's always hard to gauge until someone else does a playthrough, but Chapter 4 may end up shorter than Chapter 3 when all is said and done. The goal will be a solid release by Q1 2023, with sooner than that being a magnificently ideal scenario. I will have much more time off during the winter season of 2022, so I'm looking to make as big an impact as I can around then.
As with anything worth doing in life, it's worth doing right. While a labor of love, the development of Kedemara is still a labor and I am subject to the time I have available to me. Knowing how this particular story concludes, it is well worth the time to get us there. I look forward to sharing this next chapter in Deirdre's story with all of you...and stories to come in the years to follow :)
- Andrew (Creator)