So, due to a combination of legal reasons and game-related reasons (mostly legal), I've essentially started over on All Things Die.

The new game uses Unreal Engine 4 and is comprised of entirely new assets, new code, new maps, new powers, my new business (Joy Machine, LLC), and a new name:

Sacrilege

Even Gods Get Bored

Beyond the complete technological, functional, conceptual, and design changes, the core tenets of the game remain the same: an emergent, action-RTS god game in which you play the role of a faction's God in order to guide that faction to victory over other Gods/factions.

One of the biggest challenges in Sacrilege's development is not starting over from square one, though that's certainly a challenge, but rather it's having the budget to work on the game. For the duration of All Things Die (and now Sacrilege), I've been working a primary job in addition to the time I can devote to development on this game. It's a game that I feel so strongly about that I have no qualms about devoting the time to working on it, and those around me have been incredibly supportive, but it's still difficult to spend every waking hour on the game. That's one of the reasons that I've setup a donation page on our website as well as a Patreon page. Working on a game of this scale that I intend to sell is an entirely new experience for me; I've worked on personal iOS games that I took to market under the banner of Team Chaos before, but nothing this independent with this lack of outside support or monetary uncertainty.

Oh, that's a thing too. I've left Team Chaos and have become a contractor/freelance game designer/developer (currently working with the Crowfall team as a VFX artist/programmer, but that contract runs out soon). So, hey, hire me if you want! Working as a contractor is interesting, but also terrifying. I'm so used to working on long-tailed projects that the uncertainty of where my next paycheck will come from is kind of... scary.

I've been hoping for some time that I could magically raise somewhere in the neighborhood of $20-30k in order to focus full-time (like, full-full time - 16 hour days) on Sacrilege in order to produce an awesome prototype that I could then shop to publishers... But finding someone willing to provide that kind of money is difficult, to say the least. So, I have to continue taking contracts and odd-jobs and so on to fund my life while I continue work on this game on the side. It's an odd experience, to say the least. I still continue to hold out hope that some day that will happen, but I've given up the notion that I can rely on that happening.

"But what about Kickstarter?" people often say to that. I, personally, don't really believe in Kickstarter. I think it can work incredibly well for people that are already well-funded to be able to show off prototype footage or demos of a game that is already far along, but that's not where I am. I also think games on Kickstarter are starting to get an awful bad rap, which increases my skepticism that I could ever jump on that bandwagon. And if your game fails to raise Kickstarter funds, it starts raising questions about whether or not your game is good. Which, I believe, is not the case whatsoever; not raising funds on Kickstarter simply means you didn't do enough to be a showy/polished/art-heavy Kickstarter page with a great video.

So here I am, left with a meager war chest and a brand new engine upon which to build the most ambitious game of my career with absolutely no content acquired or code written before the last two weeks. Granted, I have a lot going for me: my tech is largely procedurally-based, my modeling software is procedurally-based, I have a great deal of experience with my VFX package of choice (Popcorn FX, which is absolutely astounding), and I'm able to learn things remarkably fast (not to sound like a braggart).

Plus, I believe so strongly in the potential of Sacrilege and its ability to succeed as a game both commercially and critically. Anyone who's met me and talked about the game with me has remarked on the passion I've exhibited for this game, and it's absolutely true. This game, since its original inception, has been like a "duh, that's perfect" moment for me. I have absolute confidence in it as an idea, and about a month ago I wrote an extended game design document that made me even more excited about the game and its potential. 

So, if you're reading this and want to put a bit of faith in me and my company, an investment ofany kind is incredibly helpful beyond words. Even small investments are helpful -- if not for building the war chest terribly much, they provide an incredible morale boost, which is invaluable. Check out ourdonation page or my Patreon page and know that if you decide to support us, I will make that support worthwhile. I've never wanted to make a game as badly as I want to make Sacrilege and although I haven't shared the design document with anyone outside Joy Machine, I have confidence that it would excite anyone reading it.