What's one thing you're proud of (doing) this year?

[katakatica]

It's December! I mean, it has been for a few days but I was too busy playing Celeste and being lowkey sick to notice so, first of all, happy cold month! It's been relatively chilly here which I'm actually happy for (we have heating inside finally and fuzzy socks!)

Anyway, I've been thinking a lot about all the things that happened this year - I won't go into too much detail but some of you know that I managed to move to a big city, vacation, make it to TRS (on my worth month, too!) and actually hit some insane personal records writing-wise. However, while those are all brag-able things, I think I'm proud of something else...

I learned how to cook.

Ok, fine. I'm learning how to cook tasty meals. I love going to restaurants but it's not exactly affordable here to go all the time so it used to be either that or basic stir-fries for me... Once I started cooking for two people, it made it easier to learn and experiment as well. A lot of things went wrong (mapo tofu in burnt pepper oil being one of the most recent things) but it's also been super fun! 

So... what's something that you did this year that made you proud/happy? It can be any big or small thing - I'm just super curious! 

 

[vibronx]

I've begun full production on my passion project - a video game called Text Me Back. And I'm just totally over-the-moon excited about the future because of it.

I've had some very rough years where I've felt like I've been cursed with bad fortune. I won't go into details--I think it's a bit too heavy for a thread like this--but I'm just so happy to have something I've created that I feel so passionate about. 

[katakatica]

7 minutes ago, vibronx said:

I've begun full production on my passion project - a video game called Text Me Back. And I'm just totally over-the-moon excited about the future because of it.

 

If you need a (not-so professional) game tester, I'm always happy to help! (I actually DO test for friends but obviously I'm not...good at games so!) What kind of game is it? Sounds like a VN OR some sort of horror thing to me? (if it's a secret, no need to tell, I just... love games!) 
I'm actually hoping to publish version one of a project I've been working on for a while next year to start getting a bit of a name as an indie dev. but there's a lot to do before that happens... a LOT. 
 

I know this is silly and cliché, but if you need a stranger to listen, my inbox is always open! (however, if you actually do want to share, I WILL be posting a less happy and more reminiscing topic if I don't forget.) But I'm happy that you're able to work on something that you truly want to happen!

[vibronx]

17 minutes ago, katakatica said:

If you need a (not-so professional) game tester, I'm always happy to help! (I actually DO test for friends but obviously I'm not...good at games so!) What kind of game is it?

Thank you! There will definitely be game testing opportunities in the future! 

It's a narrative-driven 3D adventure game where your choices matter. The game it most closely resembles when it comes to gameplay is Life is Strange--but there are some horror elements. I'm doing all the development myself, so it'll take a while before it's out, but I'm enjoying the process!

 

17 minutes ago, katakatica said:

I'm actually hoping to publish version one of a project I've been working on for a while next year to start getting a bit of a name as an indie dev. but there's a lot to do before that happens... a LOT. 

That's awesome, and I wish you very good luck with that! Everything can and will go wrong when you develop something, but just keep at it, and then I'm sure you'll create something magnificent! You already have an advantage compared to many other indie devs as you actually know how to write!
 

 

17 minutes ago, katakatica said:

I know this is silly and cliché, but if you need a stranger to listen, my inbox is always open! (however, if you actually do want to share, I WILL be posting a less happy and more reminiscing topic if I don't forget.) But I'm happy that you're able to work on something that you truly want to happen!

Thank you so much! That's really kind of you. Luckily most of the bad days are behind me, but I might share in the future when it feels less recent!

Edited December 6, 2022 by vibronx

[katakatica]

18 minutes ago, vibronx said:

That's awesome, and I wish you very good luck with that! Everything can and will go wrong when you develop something, but just keep at it, and then I'm sure you'll create something magnificent! You already have an advantage compared to many other indie devs as you actually know how to write!

Thanks! This will really be just testing waters - I want to try my hands at writing for board games/ttrpgs (and journalling games) so had a sort of light-hearted idea that'd let me kind of test systems/puzzles (sort of?) and just in general, styles of writing out and decided that I might as well publish it to see how it works! I'm still hoping to do bigger projects later but starting small feels a bit easier than doing the massive VN with 100k words, 20 characters and so on that I want to do eventually!

18 minutes ago, vibronx said:

It's a narrative-driven 3D adventure game where your choices matter. The game it most closely resembles when it comes to gameplay is Life is Strange--but there are some horror elements. I'm doing all the development myself, so it'll take a while before it's out, but I'm enjoying the process!

 

That sounds really interesting - would it be similar to the Quarry and (what was the other one, the one with the vendigos as well?) I've never actually played Life is Strange (but of course as a VN fan I know how is is when choices matter. Being a solo dev is tough, hope that you're able to work in a good pace (and not overwork yourself!) But yeah, I'd love to help with testing later on!

 

 

20 minutes ago, vibronx said:

Thank you so much! That's really kind of you. Luckily most of the bad days are behind me, but I might share in the future when it feels less recent!

No worries, and I'm glad! Hope that you get to treat yourself to some nice winter(y) drinks/snacks these days (and...maybe some gaming as well!) 

[miiila]

Maybe that I spent more time with and on a few people than I'd usually done. Something that's usually on my should/want to do list, but easily suffers, as I like being on my own and having my downtime all to myself.

[melanielm]

Vibronx, your game sounds intriguing! I really enjoyed Life is Strange, and horror elements make it even better. I'm making a note to search for it next year... or whenever you get it out there.

I finally got a trilogy I've been writing for a while published. That's my main accomplishment for the year. 

[vibronx]

1 hour ago, katakatica said:

and decided that I might as well publish it to see how it works!

That is an extremely good idea. If you want to do a bigger game later on, it's important that you know exactly what happens when it's published. What emails you'll get, which ones are scams (99% of them are), and how much visibility you can expect on a marketplace vs what you could have gotten if you marketed it before.

1 hour ago, katakatica said:

I'm still hoping to do bigger projects later but starting small feels a bit easier than doing the massive VN with 100k words, 20 characters and so on that I want to do eventually!

Again, a great idea! Finishing a game opens your eyes to all the little things you need to get done that you maybe didn't know about before. And if you finish one game, you know you can finish another. I've made my fair share of very small games just to show myself that I could, so now I'm going all out on this one. 100k+ words, I don't even know how many characters, and so many choices. And that is just in the first episode out of five... (but, of course, many of the things are optional and depend on if you make a certain choice, etc.)

I really like writing. I thought about offering it here on Fiverr, but I have a thing about writing for other people. I just can't do it. So, translation it was!
 

1 hour ago, katakatica said:

the Quarry

I really wanna play this, but I haven't yet. I'm trying to make more time for gaming. The characters kinda look the same in a graphic sense, but there's more exploration and free movement in Text Me Back. You basically interact with characters, explore, make choices, and solve puzzles along the way. That's the extent of it. I'm keeping it simple as the story is the important part.

1 hour ago, katakatica said:

a good pace (and not overwork yourself!)

I'm trying to do better!

2 hours ago, katakatica said:

make it to TRS

And congrats on this, btw! Great achievement!

23 minutes ago, melanielm said:

Vibronx, your game sounds intriguing! I really enjoyed Life is Strange, and horror elements make it even better. I'm making a note to search for it next year... or whenever you get it out there.

Thank you so much, @melanielm! That's really kind of you. Life is Strange is one of my favorite games. What that game can make you feel... 
It shows that games can be a great storytelling medium. 

23 minutes ago, melanielm said:

I finally got a trilogy I've been writing for a while published. That's my main accomplishment for the year. 

That's such an awesome achievement! Congratulations!
 

39 minutes ago, miiila said:

Maybe that I spent more time with and on a few people than I'd usually done.

I wish I did this too...
 

Edited December 6, 2022 by vibronx

[catwriter]

All three of my books got a new (electronic) edition this year. It's a small local publisher focusing solely on ebooks and audiobooks, so we'll see if there are any sales coming out of it, but I feel she's worth supporting.

[zeus777]

Oh god I really had to sit down and think about this.
If I ask around I'd like to believe that some of my friends will point out "Well, you did this and this and this and this!" but honestly speaking
I can't really come up with anything from the top of my head!

Then I read Andy's post. Please pardon me, I am NOT trying to turn this post into a sob story or anything.
About a year ago we let a stray cat in the house. He was dirty and skinny, we knew that even if we took him inside the house he won't last for long but we didn't care. He looked like a pretty old fellow and we wanted to make sure he can be in a safe warm place. He was the sweetest little old dude, loved that guy to bits.
Sadly he crossed the rainbow bridge early this morning, and I am glad to say that he was not alone, he was not outside in the cold starving when that happened.
He was with me. He was lying next to me, pretty much breathing right into my face, to be exact. So I guess I can say that I felt proud that I was given the honor to send him off to feline heaven. I'll see him on the other side along with my other furry family in about 50 years or so. Yeah, I'm the crazy cat person!

So just to lighten the mood...hmmmm. There has to be something I can be proud of.
I already hand-sewn a kimono earlier this year, but I made another one, it had a Totoro on it ( if you guys don't know what Totoro or Studio Ghbili is, shame on youuuuuuu!!). I used a curtain fabric I bought from the official Ghibili online store. I think I posted it a while ago somewhere in the forum??
I went to San Diego comic con wearing that thing, and I went to a Ghibli panel and I was showered with praise from the staffs and the producer.
That made me proud.