🚨 IMPORTANT MESSAGE : Taking a Creative Break 🎨

Dear All,

I apologize for the lack of content recently. While I have been actively working on the development of my first adventure game, Meowseum, several major developments have occurred in both my professional and personal life.

You may have heard about the recent infamous issue regarding Unity's decision-making, which goes against the will and power of developers worldwide. This has led me to reconsider my use of this software. Although I will most likely not be impacted by their major shift in revenue sharing with creators, I have grown doubtful of their intentions to protect the rights of indie developers.

As you may already know, I have estimated the development duration of my game to be at least several years (specifically, a minimum of 4 years). The doubts I have towards a major company, upon which my life will quite literally depend on for these coming years, are far from reassuring.

During the past few months, I have started to learn other game engines, such as Unreal Engine, for example. The thing is, it's so different from Unity that I'm having a hard time adapting to this change. I still haven't decided whether I should migrate to another game engine before it's too late. I really love using Unity and have learned so much over the past few years it's hard and heartbreakig to consider switching to another engine. 

Fortunately, my game is still in an early stage of development, but my 3 years of experience learning Unity isn't helping much with new software that uses completely different coding languages.

Here's a screenshot of my first test in Unreal Engine 5, which looks absolutely beautiful with Nanite and Lumen!

During this period of uncertainty, I have also been in the process of moving to another country, which has proven far more complicated than I initially thought. Adding to this, mental health and personal issues joined the party, creating a sort of molotov cocktail in my head.

With all these doubts and significant changes coming in my professional and personal life, I need time to think, try new engines, test new possibilities, and consider various options that will have a substantial impact on my future.

That's why, starting today, I am suspending all my activities on social media and Patreon as an indie game developer, for a few months. 

I will not be present on social media or Patreon during this time. I need this period of introspection to consider, with a clear mind, what's next for me and make the best decisions to guide Meowseum to its success. During this break, I will try to learn new engines, keep a close eye on developments in Unity's decision-making, and ponder my future. 

I am even considering a partial return to Sims modding while I learn a new engine, if I decide to make the switch. But all these crucial decisions require time to be well tought out.

Rest assured, you will not be charged on Patreon during this break. I have put my Patreon page on pause, and it will remain so until I return, hopefully in early 2024.

I hope you can understand this important decision, and I can't wait to come back and share with you all what I love the most: creating!

Sending love to you all, wishing you the best end of the year and joyful celebrations around the world.

Warmly,
Arnie