Woah, time is weird. I feel like I released this game a life time ago but also just recently (also this is not a week late what-).

Anyway, it's been one year since I released my first game!! Thank you Memory Ghosts for being the game to let me dive into game development. With that being said, I have complicated feelings about this game. I don't think I ever officially did a postmortem because I assumed I'd come back and do a Real Update to it which improved the mess that it is. But I didn't! Aha, oops.

Memory Ghosts is mid (am I allowed to say that about my game? I'm saying that about my own game). It's very much a First Game and while I think it's one of those games that's fun to waste time with, it isn't really something noteworthy or special. It was just a game I used to mess around with and figure out how Ren'py works. That said, the past few months I've had a desperate desire to revamp the game from scratch. In fact, this game kind of haunts me  (ha!) currently . 

In part, it's because I didn't figure out what I wanted from this game until after I finished it. That left me with the decision to just...throw everything out and remake it, or bite the bullet and release it with how it turned out. I went with the second option, because it was a practice project and I didn't have any strong feelings towards it at the time. But recently, I've been thinking about what could have been. How I wish I dived more into the serious topics I only alluded at, to lean more into the horror, to expand on the character's backstories and to have shown more of it,etc. 

It's the main reason why I never did that update I promised, because every time I look at this game, I keep thinking of what I wanted it to be. I've been having to stop myself from doing that remake. Now, Memory Ghosts never hit even a hundred downloads in this time (it's So Close though at 94) and as such...it feels like a chaotic decision to remake a game no one has played or cares about lmfaO.

Again, is that harsh? I guess, but honestly it doesn't bother me. Plus, 94 downloads is still a lot of people if you think about it. I think there's this weird thing where if you never hit a certain number your game's a flop and if you don't even hit a hundred? Yikes(tm) that's a major failure, but like? That is, in fact, a lot of people. Enough to be overwhelming if you were in a room with that number. And honestly? It is better then what I assumed it would end up as. So it's a fine number. We have got to stop being concerned with numbers (especially in cases where no money was really put in. From a money angle....yeah. Pain, suffering, etc.).

I think the biggest thing I cringe at is the art. You can tell I did Foster's CGs first and Ozul's/Camila's last because the improvement is wild. And then the improvement from my art when I did Foster's CGs originally in 2021 to a recent Foster doodle from this year is also a perfect showcase of this

Wild. The top one also took a few days and the bottom took like 30ish minutes.

I've also learned a lot more about coding and design through my recent projects. I've lamented about this before, but it isn't fair to my past self for me to wish I knew what I did at the end of the process right when I was starting out. Everything is a learning experience, and obviously after messing with Ren'py more I know more. But still, I hate leaving projects alone when they never reached their full potential.

Will I ever come back and actually remake it? Who knows! Maybe after I finish all my current wips I'll consider (of which there is...a lot. Spring Boy being my main priority as I have been procrastinating the demo update aha;;). For now, Memory Ghosts exists in a weird place where the more time goes by the fonder I become of it and the more I realize it's missed potential.

This all also makes it seem like I don't care for MG but I do I swear. I love the characters a lot specifically, and it's the main reason I keep getting drawn back to this game. I also miss Clara a lot. I'm not sure how people felt about her as MC, but I have very fond feelings for her. There's something about anxious characters that make dumb decisions in a desperate attempt to protect the people they love that I always vibe with LOL.

I'm fond of the entire cast too, obviously. And perhaps I'll give them the story they deserve. For now, Memory Ghosts honor is simply being the first game I made and released. 

And onto a lighter note, have a collection of art I've made of the cast I've never shared here!

Fantasy AU doodles

Mermay 2023

Clara doodle

Halloween 2022

Aaaaaaand that is it!! If you found this dev log all this time later and read it, thank you for reading! I still can't believe it's been a year, and I'm happy with my progress since it's release. And I think that's the biggest take away to have.