Hello Observers,

As the title says I'm quitting game development but before I go into more detail, I would like to explain 2 major points :

1- Even though I'm retiring as a game developer ( no more solo games ) I will continue working as a game writer in collab games.

So this post is related solely to The Happiness game series.

If you don't care about the Happiness series and solely follow me because of the collaboration games (for example: Pattern Screamers) then feel free to ignore this post.

2- Make sure to download the Happiness series games before 31 December 2023 because that will be the date I will *Probably* remove them from itch.io 

( However, those who miss this date can easily DM me and I will provide them with an alternative link to download the games so no worries )

Okay now that's out of the way, I would like to go into more detail regarding this announcement.

Today marks the fourth year anniversary of the Happiness series, this day four years ago was when I  first made ''Happiness 1'', the first game in what turned out to be a very long series.

My personal relationship with the series is complicated, to say the least. There were times when I really enjoyed working on it, and other times when I just wanted to forget it even existed.

I think deep down most indie developers feel the same way about their creations.

I have been writing stories and novels for more than a decade now so I believe making games and visual novels won't be any different.

At first, that was the case, these visual novels were the same as my old novels except with ....well visuals.

However, that soon changed once ''Null'' was released and gained attention. Working on these games became less about creative expression and exploring ideas and themes and more about providing the player with a fun and satisfying experience.

In a sense, game development is no different than any other service industry job.

You're here to provide a service.

Which is not a bad thing, I love video games and I think game studios who strive to give the players what they want are the best entertainment providers out there.

However I'm not a service provider, I never was.

If you've played the Happiness series then you must've noticed how different and weird it is.

The Happiness games were made to explore themes and ideas I have been struggling with for so many years and they're not created just so people have fun playing them.

People enjoying the happiness games was just a happy coincidence which I really appreciate.

Every game holds a very important place in my heart and I hope it's the same for all of you.

But everything must reach an end at one point.

The Happiness series was supposed to end with ''Farewell My Happiness '' back in December 2022 and in a way it did.

It's almost one year since then and the Happiness series only got 4 new games after ''Farewell My Happiness ''

Mostly due to my real-life situation which has gone a full 180 since December and it's only getting worse recently.

I  blink for one second and the whole day is over.

That's why I believe it's only fair I inform you of the current situation.

I know some of you are interested in seeing a final game in the series, something like an ultimate conclusion, and for these people, it's not completely hopeless just yet.

There is an upcoming collab game that should give you the conclusion you're probably looking for. 

It's also the biggest game I wrote and in my opinion, the best story I've written. I don't know how much I'm allowed to say about it so I will just stop here.

Anyway, I think this is all I wanted to say.

Thank you for reading this far and happy fourth year anniversary.