Hi!

This is my midweek post, in which I continue the development story of Final Exam.

As I mentioned before, the release of the very first version of the game is approaching. I am continuing to focus all my efforts on creating images for in-game scenes. At the moment, 29 images have been created. Approximately 34 images remain to be created, after which there will be a short polishing stage and release on specialized Japanese platforms.

The publisher has started to push harder for the game's release. Although I don't like it, I have to listen to him. After all, without him, I won't be able to publish the game. I don't have the resources to do so.

For a speedy release, I had to remove many of the mechanics and features that I had originally planned for the game. As I said earlier, even the bosses will be missing from the initial version of the game. Fortunately, the bosses will appear in the Steam version of the game.

I told the publisher that the development process would go much faster if he sponsored the work. However, he replied that, unfortunately, he is only a publisher, not a sponsor, and cannot help me with financial support.

Of course, in his opinion, my very difficult life situation cannot be a reason to postpone the release...

At the moment, I have three jobs! I work as a laborer at a factory, and I also work part-time as a cleaner in two other places. Yes, it's low-paying work, and with children, I barely make enough from these three jobs. Therefore, of course, I am very pleased to receive donations from those who support my creative activities. All donations are spent exclusively on children! However, despite everything, financial support remains purely voluntary, and I am not forcing anyone to do anything. I will create the game in any case, with or without support.

Unfortunately, I don't know where to look for additional financial support other than Patreon and Boosty... Please forgive me for bringing up the financial issue. I don't usually do this, trying to focus directly on the content creation process. But today, for some reason, I feel that negative thoughts are overwhelming me, and I just need to get it off my chest.

It would seem that the game's release is just around the corner, and I should be happy. But for some reason, the closer the release date gets, the more negative thoughts come to mind. I feel like the game is going to be a huge failure! Because I have to rush under pressure from the publisher, I wasn't able to implement everything I had planned for the game... And I had so much riding on this game when I started creating it. The game's success could have guaranteed a normal life for my children and their financial foundation in the future...

How did our life end up almost hitting rock bottom? I don't understand... Once, in the distant past, nothing foreshadowed anything bad. I had a very happy childhood. I was fond of playing games on my 16-bit Sega console. It was my childhood spent playing video games that determined my desire to study programming at university and start creating my own games.

However, our local university did not offer any programming majors, and I did not have the opportunity to move to another town. I had to choose the major that was closest to what I wanted, and I became an electronics engineer.

Years passed. I graduated from university, but got a job in a completely different field, because where I lived and still live, it is very difficult to find a good job... Then I got married and had a child who had health problems from birth. Despite everything, we did not despair...

Then our second child was born, who turned out to be disabled...

It seems that with the birth of our second child, a series of serious problems began... My husband and I started arguing a lot... And one day he just walked out. He never came back. And I was left with two sick children and a lot of problems... Fortunately, my friends and relatives support me as much as they can.

I can't find a good job, so I have to work in bad places. I have always looked for (and am still looking for) ways to earn extra money so that I can get out of my financial hole, at least for a while.

Please forgive me for this outburst. I don't like to talk about my misfortunes, and I always try to be strong and positive... But sometimes the negativity starts to weigh too heavily. So heavily that I want to give up everything and then start crying at the top of my lungs...

I just needed to let it all out in writing!

Please don't think badly of me. All of this was done without any intention of personal gain.

So, today's post turned out to be chaotic and emotional. I apologize for that. I also apologize if some parts of the text were unclear to you. English is not my native language.

I don't think I need to repeat why I can't update the working build of Final Exam right now. I've already talked about this in previous posts.

Who is interested in the progress of game development, please keep an eye on the posts.

Many thanks to everyone who supports my activity.