I haven’t spent much time on my personal blog lately. Mostly I’ve been writing on The Lords of Midnight Blog.
I’ve managed to release two games in the last 18 months, something I need to be mindful of. I have to remind myself that that is no small feat in itself, even if the financial rewards don’t back it up, the personal satisfaction does. Although, it can become quite frustrating when you are a single developer and in direct contact with your customers. Every negative comment cuts like a knife. Every problem is amplified. I find myself rushing around trying to release fixes and updates.
I’m also working about four different contracts. That can be difficult when you are juggling your time. I spend a lot of time with my laptop in hotel lobbies, bars, and restaurants, so much of my evenings are filled with work and not pleasure.
When both worlds collide you get a perfect storm, and I end up mentally exhausted and lost.
If I was writing a Novel or a Film, I would say it is difficult to find the scenes that drive the plot forward, but some of them do in an ever so small way. Maybe I just have to question the plot. I miss the family terribly. And even though I know that I wouldn’t spend that much more time with them if I was at home, their social lives being what they are, and me still being busy, but still, that fleeting amount of contact makes a big difference.
As I transition away from The Lords of Midnight and Doomdark’s Revenge, I am trying to move over to working on my Novel, The Lily Wood Trail. I spent some time working on it  last night, and realised that my writing is now so rusty that I think I might need to get a Tetanus jab. I’ve committed myself to getting a first draft written by the end of the year so I need to get myself up to speed very quickly. It could just be that if it’s tedious to write, then it is likely boring to read…
It’s also difficult to not think about new game ideas, but I really must try hard to park them. I have Timbles to finish first…
I want to thank you for all your hard job. Your TLOM and DR ports are near perfect. I have played a lot of games in my life, and only a few of them are worth my time in a long run. Your titles are not only good games but also a work of art. Graphics are stylish, vibrant and simple beautiful. Your work means a lot for some people, for sure.
Many thanks!
Chris. Slawomir has said it very well and I agree with his statements 100%. You have made a lot of people very happy and you have preserved the legacy of two very important British computer games, and their groundbreaking designer into the next generation. You’ve done a great job and I wish you all the best!
Again, many thanks!
I didn’t know there was a Lord of Midnight blog. Could you please link to it from here?
(I just searched the top 4 LoM-related sections of your website for “blog” and found nothing.)
http://www.thelordsofmidnight.com/blog
Just wanted to concur with the comments above. Thanks for all your efforts re: LoM & DR – very much appreciated.
I had presumed Timbles had taken a back seat with all that work and hadn’t want to appear to hassle you by inquiring about it’s status since your few posts on it last year. I look forward to Timbles release in an equally eager but different way to LoM & DR as I hope it’ll be a helpful utility game for my son in learning his times-tables.
I’m about to restart work on Timbles. Would like to get it released this year.