February Update

(This was supposed to post yesterday…)

Has anyone else felt like this last month was unusually tiring? Everyone I have talked to has had a lack of energy, a general feeling of fatigue, and the desperate need for things to calm down for a little while just so they can catch up to the present. I doubt this is surprising to anyone considering the circumstances (everything,) but this feels worse than the past. I doubt there’s any short term solution so I’ll keep moving forward, but it’s clear that the pandemic refuses to let us move on. There have been several days over this last month where I was not able to reach my word goal, which I am dissatisfied with, but I feel like I’m not the only one who failed to reach their goal these past weeks.

Life in General

Work on Lucid continues with these few delays as I try to puzzle out how exactly I want the third draft of Red Moon to play out. At the moment, the plot is split into an A plot that takes place in the present, and flashbacks to a B plot that helps provides context for the present. While I believe this is what needs to happen to make the total story work, it does add a significant level of complexity to making the story. This is a very odd step forwards from the original novella concept that I wrote back in the summer of 2021. I wonder how this compares to different authors, do their plots spiral out of control into something bigger than they first anticipated?

In addition to Red Moon, I am finishing the work on the sixth part of Mortal War. I’ve finally figured out how to get around plot hiccups that have plagued me every time I’ve tried to write this part. I’ll have to write my thoughts down on how that’s developed, because I have gone back and forth on what exactly I want this part to do. This is especially true because I need to keep previous parts in mind while working and I’m trying to pull off a large ensemble cast. Maybe this is too ambitious for a part time project that I work on in spare time, but we’ll see.

Other Projects

I am working on a running list on things that I would like to start work on, but for one reason or another I can’t start it yet. There are many reasons for this, some of these are things that I want to save for when I’ve developed my skills a little more, others are just too complex to pull off until I finish some of my current work. The other reason is that they’re too ambitious for a single person to attempt and I would need a team to pull it off. As amazing as that would be, I don’t have one of those, but I’ll gladly put some ideas on hold till then.

What have I Been Playing?

Recently I’ve got one of my friends into playing the game Outer Wilds made by Mobius Digital Games, which is one of my favorite games of all time and a massive inspiration for my work. I can not stop recommending this game to anyone who plays video games. It is a beautiful game with an intriguing puzzle of a story that absolutely trounces other space games with larger budgets and “bigger” worlds. The unfortunate part is that I can’t say anymore. This is a game that has to be played in full before it can be discussed because the game itself is about discovering the world and picking apart the story one thread at a time. One of those projects that I mentioned above is to create a big spoiler filled review for folks to read after they play it, because I can’t stop talking about this game to those I know.

It’s 20 days till From Software’s Elden Ring comes out. I am eagerly awaiting this next game, but I am hesitant to see how exactly the game works out. Any time a game advertises itself as an open world game, the first thing I think of is a world filled with busy work and empty fields. Even though the open beta from last November reveals that the open world is actually a large number of miniature Souls-like dungeons stitched together with a beautiful world, I don’t know if the entire game is like that, or if that’s just how the first area has been dressed up for appearances. I hope that it’ll be a great game, but a part of me is afraid that it’ll come off as mediocre or uninspired compared to the other masterpieces that From Software has proven themselves capable of.

Looking forward to February, I still intend on fulfilling my deadline of updating Mortal War by the 25th. I also hope to continue developing the history of Vester and sharing the most interesting parts with the website. Next time we’re taking a trip to the lovely shorelines of Almadé. Until then, take care and keep your spirits up.