I first started writing Love of Magic in September 2019, talking to the characters and trying to make sense of the world they lived in. I spent weekends and nights trying to learn Daz3D and After Effects. I've actually been making games for a relatively long time; I first entered the games industry back in '99, but for most of that time I worked as a programmer; this was the first real chance to stretch my writing muscles writing for something other than a compiler.
Along the way I fell in love with my characters; an unwise practice for an author that occasionally has to do terrible things to them. There's still chunks of the game I can't revisit, even just for fixing typos, without getting dust in my eyes. I DID want to make sure the Emily, Katie and the rest had their happily ever after; hopefully with Act XVI: Eternal Summer I managed that. Book 3 goes on sale on Thursday 28th; if you haven't yet, a wishlist is an awesome way to tell Steam that this game's real, and deserves some support at launch ;) https://store.steampowered.com/app/1992770/Love_of_Magic_Book_3_The_Return/ Apart from the new Act, and the Epilogue, this update also contains the usual mad scramble that occurs when, after a year worth of kicking the can down the road, you run out of road. Bugs were fixed, typos squashed, and finally collectibles and achievements added.
There's also an update to Book 2 itself, which includes bug-fixes to achievements, an improved debugging interface, and fixing some possible bugs in the Texas path, and the Stag party. So. What's next? I've got two things on my plate. First, there's Morningstar: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2396740/Morningstar_Book_of_the_Fallen/ Once the launch is over, and I can start breathing again, I'll return to Act II of Morningstar, working to continue that world. I Apart from that, I've got dreams of doing a New Game+ update to Book 1/2/3, inspired by Persona (which remains one of the touchstones for the trilogy). Some of the events in Book 3 hint that there are *other* stories left untold in the world... eventually starting a new game in Book 1, using the final save from Book 3, will let you explore some of those. But all that is the future. For now, I hope you've all enjoyed the journey, and the characters. Thanks for taking this journey with me. Droid.