Maids & Masters (& 2023 Holidays)

If you've been following my work for a while, you're probably aware that I like to do seasonally flavored updates. Things like Halloween, Christmas, and April Fool's Day. You may also have noticed that it's October, and my next release (which I'm hoping to have done around Halloween, but more on that in the coming weeks) isn't exactly the same Haunt updates that I've had in the past. 

While I'd like to keep up tradition and make more holiday releases for this year, it unfortunately just isn't going to work out. v0.13 already has its content set, and while I could see an argument being made, it isn't exactly a Halloween update. I could maybe do something for Christmas, but with the amount of time the remaster took combined with the update schedule I have in mind for Act 2, that just isn't going to work either. It's just as well, I think, since as is, the in-game years have been suspiciously short if you compare how long it typically takes for one of the children to be born, and the events of Act 2 are supposed to happen over a comparatively short time span.

I can't say for sure that even April Fool's Day next year will go completely unaffected by this. While I'd like to have another project ready (and I do have a couple ideas for it) creating an entirely new project - even a dumb one that's only meant to last for 15-20 minutes - takes a lot of time. The best I can do is hope I'll be on track with my long term projections for Act 2, and I'll be able to use the 2024 holiday season as part of Act 3 to create a bit of down time between the first major plot point and the end of the game. Maybe I'll get ahead on work and have the time for an April Fool's release, but only time will tell.

That's not to say I won't be doing anything for the holidays this year, though. To make up for it, I'll be making more promotional renders than usual, starting with this Friday's Patreon post being a collection of renders from more than a dozen devs made available for all to enjoy to celebrate the spooky season. The following Friday will be a full set of my own Halloween-flavored renders only available to Patrons. Plans aren't set in stone for future holidays, but I hope I'll see you over on Patreon to celebrate the season through the new year.