2023 in Review (And Future Plans)

It's been a long year.

I've experimented with multiple prototypes exploring a variety of different first person shooter concepts and ideas.  RUN GUN captures the kind of gameplay I most enjoy. Inspired heavily by everything that I love about Post Void, combined with my own personal preferences in FPS design and gameplay, the feel and overall presentation should eventually capture what I love most about not just shooters, but games in general. And seeing it develop and grow as a prototype as been a treat! As this year comes to an end,  I just want to thank all of you for your support 💖

I wanted to write this also to report the current state of the game. The last month has been slow in terms of development. Lots of travel and social engagements have kept me from working on the game but the coming months in the next year are looking quite good. I expect to put in a solid chunk of focused work into polishing up the gameplay and churn out the content I need to populate the levels. Good news is, I'm no longer working on this solo 🙌 I have the most amazing artist helping with character and player animations that will embody the essence of the experience we're trying to create with the game. This should accelerate the production process by an order of magnitude more than when I was hacking on this on my own. So stay tuned for more updates early in 2024!

This project, out of all the prototypes I've worked on before and games I've published as well, is really very special to me. In part, this game marks a very special milestone, not just in my personal life but also my career as a game developer. I've taken the scenic route exploring my passion for games development with the slew of Lovely Planet games I've made over the past decade and I find myself now at a crossroads from where things seem to make a lot more sense. In moments of clarity, I've witnessed the true source of my drive which, against all odds, has kept me coming back to making games. It illuminates a kind of pattern to all the work I've done. Not just the titles I've released, but the ocean of unfinished prototypes I've left in my wake as well. In a flash of insight I've seen that these games are tethered to one another by a common thread which speaks of a message that is very dear to my heart. And I can see it very clearly now, I think I know what games I'm trying to make.

So in 2024 with RUN GUN, I intend to complete this decade long cycle that I started with Lovely Planet and set the stage for more games I will make in the years to follow ✨

Happy New Year 🙏