Sen'i Update (July 24, 2024)

Hey guys. I wanted to give you a bit of an insight into what's going on with the development of Sen'i. To be totally honest - I haven't touched it in a while. And the reason is because I wasn't entirely sure if I had the passion to actually complete it after all this adversity. The whole idea behind Sen'i, in the first place, was to create a smaller game project that would not take years to complete. Which means I could focus my artistic energy into something I know I can complete within the year of 2024. But with everything going on, I wasn't even sure if I could to do that.

It really frustrates me to have this funk in my mind from the release of my first video game. And I'm still struggling a bit to shake some of that. I have mostly moved forward and no longer dwell on it or get super depressed. But there are little residual effects that find their way into my day still.

All that being said, I am now getting back in it and feeling much better about moving forward. Once I am actually working on the art and the game project, I am having fun and I remember why I want to do this in the first place. It's all that external stuff that effects my motivation. Game development is super fun and fulfilling.

Now I once again face that conflict of whether I should work privately or publicize my progress. Knowing I have an audience on Patreon who support me... I do feel like I owe you guys more updates than what Youtube or Instagram gets. So I will make a serious attempt to keep you updated on the game wherever possible.

So let's talk about Sen'i - This game experience will have much more of a modern feel, since it takes place in Osaka/Nara in 1994. Why that time period? Well, because that's actually when The Mayor of Sanctuary takes place. And the connection between the world of TMOS and Sen'i is Toshiko. If you played the Expanded version of Sanctuary, you will see some of the clues. What is Sanctuary? When is Sanctuary? Where is Sanctuary? That will all be made more clear in Sen'i and the subsequent larger game title (if that comes to fruition). Sen'i answers a lot of questions and introduces a lot of the ideas I want to explore in the following game (that game already has a title, cover art design, basic outline complete by the way).

The image above is what I am working on today. I have been recreating the Horyuji Station in Nara, Japan. First from memory and Google Maps. And now with the help of the photos and videos I shot on my last visit to Japan. Creating a simplified version of this train station that will also work on the Game Boy is obviously quite challenging, but I am up for the challenge. Again - this is the fun stuff. Designing. Refining. Perfecting. Implementing. It's all the things I enjoy about making art and making games. I am both an artist and a technician, so I'm perfectly suited for this kind of work.

If I can just keep my head down a bit and put some serious time into this new project... I think I can deliver something really beautiful. Something that fans of The Mayor of Sanctuary will appreciate. And it will also help my legacy as a game developer. Because I don't just want to be that guy who made The Mayor of Sanctuary who won't stop talking about everything (good and bad) surrounding that game. I want to get back to being a happy, positive person who is involved in the gaming scene for the fun of it. I think Sen'i will help me with that.

With a successful first project, it's always that follow up that defines your legacy. So I want to stick the landing of my next two planned game projects to show you that yaboi has still got it. :)