Team Epimetheus

The background and structure images for the pilot game are being finalized. Many of these images have been crafted with the help of ChatGPT, and with that stage nearing completion, the next step is developing the game platform itself. That means our gears must now shift toward coding. And that is a giant step into yet another hat. Being the Developer Producer of a developing indie game means learning many different skills. In Rich Dad Poor Dad , Robert Kiyosaki places heavy emphasis on the idea that increasing personal knowledge is one of the keys to improving wealth and opportunity. The goal, according to the author, is to know a little about a lot of things. A few years ago, I studied HTML and CSS so I could build and manage a website. It was a great learning experience. As the website developed, the need for images and icons arose, and I leaned into my own artistic talents by handcrafting many of them personally. To be honest, this turned into a fun adventure as I discovered new way...

What does it mean to work with AI? When incorporating this amazing new tool into a production cycle, how exactly does one apply it? Can it reproduce an image with user-specified alterations while maintaining artistic consistency? Can it change the color or facial expression of an asset while everything else remains the same? Unfortunately, the answer is usually no. While there have been some remarkable results in creating art assets, consistency remains AI’s greatest hurdle. When you upload an image and request small detail changes, the AI often reproduces the entire image rather than editing only the requested area. This is where the asset begins to lose consistency. By recreating the image from scratch, the AI is re-rendering the asset based on how it “understands” the original image, then producing a new version while attempting to fulfill your request. A human artist has the ability to visualize a verbal request, ask for clarification based on the picture in their mind, and adjust ...

Demons of the Underdark      Continued focus into the rising technology of AI has greatly aided development of Epimetheus this year. There is an enormous amount of grueling tasks that must be completed to stay on schedule of releasing a pilot game this year. Utilizing the abilities of AI we have been able to speed up the process vastly. This team did not jump on the bitcoin train and we are disappointed that this opportunity was not exploited, but adaptability is a skill of flexibility. Consider us passengers on this new adventure widely known as AI.      In addition to working hand in keyboard with AI, our contributor Timothy has stepped up and taken a more active roll in the production process. He is currently working on production of videos for each of the races of Aborlon. Videos that may very well end up in the pilot game itself. His in-depth knowledge of modern video games and unapparelled knowledge of the Epimetheus world promises an amazing collabor...

 If there was a committee whose sole responsibility was to ensure the progress of this pilot game they would have the noose around my neck by now. The sweat would be running down my face in buckets as they asked questions that had no desirable answer. Progress? Afraid progress was almost non-existent this year as numerous pitfalls befell this solo pioneer. Updates? No I am afraid I had so much going on that updates did not get completed. What have I done? Not nearly as much as I would like to have. All that aside I have not been entirely lax. Some of the histories and government descriptions found within the Races and World lairs have been edited. But that about sums it up. A one man operation hinges on the one man. This last year just about broke me. So there has been nothing left to give. Hopefully this new year will provide better opportunities. Nonetheless, I am giving the furtive one finger solute to 2025. May it burn into obscurity.

Each quarter I come on here and post updates about the progression of the development of Epimetheus. It is a way to both display progress and ensure those who are following that I have not wavered in my dedication to this childhood dream. It also serves as a platform to share common pitfalls and opportunities in the realm of indie game development, for the casual developer. However, there have been times where I fell into patterns of sharing personal struggles and challenges. Over-sharing is a symptom of ADHD. One that needs to be discontinued if I am to portray a professional, polished game to the masses. While I do want people to enjoy the game, I also want my followers to understand the trials that one is faced with when pursuing a task as monumental as this one. That being said there really is not much to discuss this quarter. All of the progress has been personal. I had briefly probed ChatGPT about its development in learning as a result of our interaction. It stated that AI prog...

 2024 was a challenging year. But when pressure is applied diamonds are formed. Looking back on all that took place last year I am a bit apprehensive moving into this year. But there are blessings even in the most trying of circumstances. It is prudent to remember those gifts. Truth be told I am a far better giver than receiver. A fact that clearly needs some work. Cyclops Ok, so on to the accomplishments last year. We added three more sections to the storyline ( chapter 2 ). I have never claimed to be a superior author, and it came to my attention that I have not detailed the characters in the story thus far. So, to correct this oversight, I introduced a side character Ruthwah. He is a character who is far more detail orientated, who should make up for my shortcoming on visual descriptions of the protagonists in an organic way. Who knows what will become of the beloved Roun, trusted diplomat of Canthium? At the beginning of last year AI had been looked at for the creation of art a...

What a quarter we have had! Scandalous employers, trumped up criminal charges to cover immoral antics, a devastating flood in North Carolina ignored by the media, flooding in Florida, Fires in Wyoming also being ignored by the media and all this with a monumental presidential election on the horizon. Yes my fine fellows and felonious friends things are getting spicy. What does this all  mean for Team Epimetheus? We adjust our sails for the wind is out of our control. I am afraid the hero of this blog is living in a tent in the woods. It seems that dignity and respect are running pretty low these days, even from those that you would think a person could count on the most. But one must fall into the dredges so that God can be glorified by the changing of those circumstances. For three months I have tried to locate a new trucking job to no avail. Mere days after the evil actions of one "Everyone On-time Safely Trucking" company and its degenerate inequities the jeep broke. $7,00...

 As many of you know, I have switched careers in an attempt to raise my income to one that is more sustainable. I left my position as the Lead Press Operator of 4 years, packed my things into storage, worked as a lumper and earned my class A commercial drivers license. If I am honest, this course was set  by God and not at all what I would have chosen for myself. In the last eight years I have lost everything, save my dignity.  While one can always control their behavior and actions, they cannot control what other people say or believe about them. Alas, we live in an era that has been accurately named the "Age of Misinformation" where people take one of the most powerful connections to knowledge ever built, and flood it with pointless videos, pranks and scams. Our golden era has been perverted. Looking back on the last three years, I would never have suspected that I would be in this position today. With a year invested into a trucking company only to have to suffer throu...

Well, life is chaotic is it not? All the best laid plans in the world are bound to run into challenges. When I was younger I would come up with contingency plans to fall back upon when the initial plan went fubar. As time went by I came to quickly realize that this wasn't always that effective. So what does one do? Looser plans with a knack for adapting to the circumstances at hand. This approach has proven far more efficient than anything else that had been tried previously. To anyone outside of the circumstances, or: "outside of the know ", it might look like chaos. At the very least it might seem to be haphazard. There has been absolutely no progress in developing the culture for the Goblin race. Having researched the goblins of the LOTR world and doing some historical lore research as well has left us unsure. Nothing that we have found really falls inline with our desired outcome. Therefore these green-skinned hunters will remain undeveloped for the moment. Progress o...

  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 g...

 It has been a year since I began my career as a Professional Truck Driver. According to the research the average income for starting CDL holders averaged around 56k per year. Not great, but a good start right? I mean rent after covid alone is 15k+/yr. Add to that another 6k per year in vehicle payments and almost 6k in child support that would still leave nearly 20k per year for food, insurance, gas and other consequentials. Unfortunately, I joined a dishonest trucking company that has left integrity in their past and honesty at home. These types of trucking companies, I am told, are the norm. At this degenerate company, however, I was told 52k per year could be expected. Instead I am looking at about 35k!!! And this is with a 60+ hour a week commitment. This has put such a strain on my finances that I am still homeless after a year as a professional truck driver. For eighteen months my things have been in storage. My cat has been shuffled from home to home. My vehicle needs thous...

Cultural Shortfalls With so many things going on this year it has been hard to stay on task. The goal was to work on the Trolls this quarter. Having completed the cultural development of the Centaur we worked laboriously at putting the information into the blog. That is where we present the majority of our content. Upon inserting the culture of the Centaur of Evates, we noticed that there were some serious discrepancies between the races and their respective nations. For one there was a lack of consistency in presentation as well as inconsistencies in the information itself. This simply would not suffice. And so an overhaul of the Races and World pages was needed. Cultural work on the Trolls requires a level of involvement that isn't available from the team right now. To be completely transparent, we're not really sure where we want to go with them as a race. We know where they live, what they look like and how they are born. But that is where the buck stops. Ok, ok. We also ...

Breaking in to the New year there had been some serious excitement around the artistic talent that Blizzardchill brought to the project. Her style and talent really added some life to our concepts. Unfortunately, not all good things work out the way we would like them to. Whether the complications that we are confronted with are due to the distinct language barrier, the artists changed priorities or our intent to secure legal rights to the work we paid for we cannot be sure. They have refused to complete an Intellectual Property Release Form. This step is fundamental in selling artwork to an upcoming business. It releases the artist from having any legal claim to the work. Not only is this a common practice when selling artwork it is a legal requisite that must be covered to prevent lawsuits, as well as a must to secure investors. Luckily, we have only paid for one piece of artwork from her and so our loss is minimal. It is a shame that we will not be able to use her talent in the futu...

   Looking back on this year really excites us with a sense of pride. While we stuck to our guns on some of our approaches we also embraced a new one as well. What did we do differently this year you ask? Well, work was outsourced. Thomas Brush, a well-known Indy developer, strongly suggested outsourcing work to alleviate pressure on a small development team.    The artist that we found has a remarkable talent and her work is certainly generating a buzz. Her rendition of Valentina is what we were hoping for. This style of art that she brings to the table is exactly what this project needed. Please take the time to check out her other work < here >.    At the beginning of the year the decision to expand on each race and their corresponding nation gave the team direction for development. That goal was met and exceeded. One race per quarter meant four races per year. That gives a projected completion date of 2024 with twelve races needing development. ...

  I think my first time seeing a cyclops was on the timeless classic: Clash of The Titans (1981). I remembered it as a massive one-eyed oaf. Brutal strength tempered by a dim wit. In developing this race I decided to stick with this take and add a little bit of humor. To be honest though I have found that a little challenging. Thinking back to all of the movies in times passed I asked myself: "Where have I seen the combination of cruel, powerful, dumb and funny?" Unfortunately  recollecting a fitting reference was a dead-end. There was this three movie franchise in the eighties and nineties called "Gremlins" where the combination of cruel and funny was attempted. Unfortunately, it fell short of success. There were moments that made the audience laugh but it would be easy to argue that the music and sound effects played a big role. There is also the scene where Bilbo Baggins outsmarted the trolls in the Lord of The Rings storyline. Regrettably, this was more of a sit...

 The creation of a civilization from scratch is both complex and revealing. As I read through this quarter's update , the influences that have shaped this team's work is at times funny. Someone might have suggested that we can use those influences as Easter eggs. Some of us think that person just might be a genius. If you have been following along then you know that each quarter of the year a civilization is focused on for development. The decision of who recieves this attention is voted for by Facebook followers. As the DP of this team, much of the workload falls onto my shoulders. There was such a limited response to the last poll that I was able to sway the decision of the poll with very little effort (sorry Ben). I really had no desire to develop the Gnomes yet as they feel more like a spring quarterly project than a winter one. Cyclops happen to live in an area called the Barrens, a relatively inhospitable rocky region with constant snow and ice. So faster than old sleep...

   There was a time when I believed in dreams. I had hope, this little glimmer of light that had miracoulsly survived every storm I had weathered in life. When the torrents of suffering dragged me down into the abyss I would look to that small flickering beacon and find my way back to the surface.    Some people wish for a family with a nice house and a fence. Others might desire a career that allows them to leave their mark in the sands of time. Perhaps fame and fortune motivates their soul, wanting nothing less than the best things the world has to offer. Everyone has a driving force that moves them in life, the gales of intent that keeps them upright when they should be down.     These ideals that move us, that shelter us from the torrential downpour that is life, they make up a core of purpose. It is in this center, the eye of the storm if you will, that who we really are is revealed. There is no right or wrong when we strive for something, there i...

Here in the most eastern state of the US, our weather is a little unpredictable. We can have snow storms on Monday and clear skies in the 70s by Wednesday. We have cold snowy winters and bright sunny summers. But that isn't always true. Sometimes we can go all winter with very little snow or all summer with very little sunshine. So when we have a summer like we have had this year: full of sunshine and bright blue skies, we are definitely going to take as much of it in as we can. This is not to say that there is no forward progress taking place in Epimetheus. We are ever vigilant when it comes to the development of this project. So in between the lathering on of sunblock and snorkling, the devouring of burgers and dogs, the bicycle adventures and trail stomping we have still chipped away at the sculpting of Epimetheus.  Each quarter we focus on the culture of a particular race predetermined by our Facebook fan group. This quarter we have developed the Dwarven people. A post has bee...

 You see them all over the country. They sit in the windows of Mom & Pop shops, hang in the front of department stores and grace company billboards. We're talking about the 'Now Hiring' signs. Everyone is looking for workers these days. Well, we wouldn't want to miss a ride on the band-wagon. So make some room for our tookus on this rickety form of transportation. That's right we are now offering real money for artwork. You must contact us @ nathan.epimetheus@gmail.com before pursuing this en devour.  2nd QUARTER UPDATE As many of you know we decided to develop the cultures of our Aborlonian races this year. Focusing on one race every quarter allows us to add depth, history and individuality to the peoples of Aborlon. With our Developer Producer amidst a career shift, time to invest in game development has been limited. Nonetheless, the accomplishments toward the evolution of the Draconian people has been phenomenal. That's our opinion anyway. Terms Amazig...