2024 with a BANG!!!

 The New Year is here!!!

For so many wonderful people that means rocking in the year with their hearts set on fresh starts and some lofty goals. But you won't hear us here at Team Epimetheus diminishing the aspirations of others. "Aim for the heavens and settle for nothing less than the stars!" we say. Goal setting is the foundation to success.

Now that the year has begun we would be remiss not to discuss our goals for the next four quarters. But before we look forward let us take a look at what was done last year. Reflecting on our accomplishments and lessons is a good start to planning out the new year. By recapping 2023 we can see what goals were not completed, why and what can be done differently.

At the end of 2022 we had many great goals set for the project. While some of them were set aside many of them were conquered like an early morning mountain hike. If they were set aside it is best to talk about why that was and what we can do this year to accomplish those goals. Sort of shuffling the missed targets of last year into this year.

At the beginning of 2023 we were very excited about the artist Blizzard-Chill we had located to do artwork. Her style was exactly what we were looking for. Unfortunately, she refused to release the rights to the artwork that we paid for. This effectively gave her legal claim to any profit made from the work even after we paid for it. We cold not tolerate the risk of potential theft from the alleged "Professional" artist. Signing an intellectual property release for artwork purchased from an artist is standard practice.

It is hard to imagine an artist declaring themselves as anything, short of a hobbyist, when they balk at this simple legal safeguard. But the lesson was learned on our end. We will not be paying for any content, artwork or otherwise, until a release form has been successfully signed. In addition, we will use the image of Valentina on t-shirts, but sell them at cost, so that there is no profit to be disputed.

Our next goal was to continue expanding on the cultures and histories of the races of Aborlon. While the goal was to complete one race per quarter, we were only able to complete two races: the Centaur and the Trolls. this was primarily tied to time constraints. While we do not see those time constraints being lifted until perhaps late summer, we do believe we can get three more done before 2025.

The races that are still needing to be developed are the Goblin, Gnomes, Giant, Nephilim, Seraphim and Entel. We will be leaving the Entel a mystery that needs to be uncovered in-game, so that just leaves the other five. As usual we will be running a poll on our Facebook page to uncover which races our fans want us to work on this year. So make sure you join our Facebook group and make your voice heard.

We have not been able to locate another artist, so work on the race images has not been accomplished. An outline and screen matrixes have been completed for the pilot game. We have also picked the brains of some other indy game developers to uncover an effective approach to coding the game.

Generating a buzz about the game was not really accomplished either.  Funding held us back on that front. Well funding and a complete lack of talent in that field. I have always been a straightforward, focused, private person. Getting others excited about anything is not in my skillset. Heck, I can't even get any of the other contributors to get serious about helping out, let alone inspire complete strangers.

Our Lofty Aspirations

We will focus on completing three races this year. Next we will complete the concept stage of the dev cycle for the pilot game. We want to have the Art Style Guide, Production Plan, Game Design Document and the Technical Design Document complete and be well into the development of the prototype by 2025. That alone is quite a zealous goal.

If we can get these things accomplished then perhaps we can also get some merch started this year. That is dependent on finances. As of right now I have been homeless for 21 months. I must be more tactful when locating a new employer this year as my current employer, Mabe's Trucking, was dishonest about income earnings, grossly exaggerating earning capabilities as their employee. That degenerate tactic of lying about earnings has left me in a position where I cannot afford to keep my vehicle on the road let alone a place to live.

I could certainly use some prayers for those that believe in its power. Finding and securing a stable income is paramount to success in life. With dishonesty as the new American norm, I will have to utilize some drastic measures. 

That's it! Just those are the goals for this year. Wish us luck, or better yet, jump on board and participate in realizing them.