As some may know, I started creating How Far back in May 2013 in order to support the child i was going to be the father of. Over the next nine months i worked hours & hours & hours, breaking many nights, sacrificing almost ALL of my social time, walking into work and school like a zombie. To be honest, i was learning as i went along. Playing this whole project by ear. Riding only on the confidence i had in myself to complete this project with no snags. The goal was to create a horror game that would sell just enough to support my family for at least one year, to give me time to settle financially, & continue my endeavors building Eye Blade Studios to become a recognized & respected game creating entity. Of course a goal this big would come with snags. Although these snags are mainly personal matters, I MUST share them with you in order for you to understand whats happening here.
Due to a disagreement in beliefs of what i should be doing with my life and other things, I had been kicked out of the home I lived in [I had accepted it fast, because I felt my family wasn't seeing the vision I have anyway. Plus, I believe in myself more than I believe in someone else's negative opinions]. Being only 19, that was slightly intimidating, but I do have a small job as a teachers assistant to hold myself over for a while. However, I'm staying with my girlfriends family at the moment, but this is of course NOT permanent, and I'm limited with time. I am a bit nervous about how all this will pan out, but i'm confident I will succeed, with or without any more difficulty. But I can no longer do this alone the way I had originally planned. I need YOUR help. The computer I'm using to create How Far was never meant to handle modern games well, let alone make them; its an Emachine EL1360G-UW12P. The lag is serious, but for all these months I've pushed my mind and patience to continue working on it anyway. The rate of which i'm getting work done on the device is no longer acceptable under my unstable living situation. As I said before I'm limited on time, I don't know how much I have, but if I can get more progress done, I can show my girlfriends mother that this is bigger than she thinks it is [shes not educated AT ALL on the world of gaming and technology]. The only way I can achieve this properly is to get a new computer meant for games; but I cannot afford it. I've decided to start a Kickstarter page for How Far, simply to get the new equipment I need. The success of the Kickstarter page alone would be enough to convince my girlfriends mother that there IS a world of people out there willing to support my goal and buy the finished product. Therefore buying me more time to live here working on it.
On February 3rd 2014, my daughter Isis was born. Only those of you who are parents understand the love and joy felt when you first hold your own child. Its almost heart stopping isn't it? My girlfriends name is Ashley by the way. Ashley, Isis, and I spent 5 days in the hospital while Ashley recovered. I haven't worked on How Far since before going to the hospital. It feels almost pointless to do so at the moment due to the fact that the Emachine is so slow at rendering graphics that juggling the hasty creation of the game and caring for the baby is nearly impossible. I always wanted to achieve the completion of How Far without using a Kickstarter; without using any finances at all. But that is no longer a possibility. In the next few days I will be setting up the page, recording the video, and promoting the page. When you see me promoting, please spread the word as well. I will also be releasing a new demo once its ready, that way you won't have only the alpha to judge the game anymore, but a new updated build of a different level. My deadline for completing How Far is Halloween of this year. With your help this can happen!
I am also aware that I have not connected with you, the community, enough. Over the coming days, weeks, and months, I will be connecting with you on more personal levels. I feel that i can earn what i'm asking for that way, as well as build a relationship with any fans I gain in order to make every game I make, the best it can be in your whole opinions. Check back very soon for the announcement of the How Far Kickstarter page! If you have read this to the end, thank you so much for giving me your time; that alone means a lot to me!
-Brian
Well, you are in quite a bad situation here, if I understand correctly. But your dedication is very strong, which is a good thing, because most of the time it's beacuse of lack of dedication, why projects fail.
I don't know what to say, only that please don't ever give up what you're good at, and what you want to do. I'm not good at giving others life advices, since my life is...well let's just say, that it's not turning out as I imagined. So I can relate to your current status, but can't help you at the moment, sorry. Wish I could.
Your comment is appreciated regardless. Thank you for acknowledging my situation. If you can buy the game for $7 when its released, that'll be a great help in itself; if you can't, thanks for taking interest anyway! I hope you realize you can still make your life turn out the way you imagined; it won't be easy, but if you have that very dedication, you'll succeed as well.