WOOOO YEAH BIRTHDAY! This year has effectively just been another year in my production cycle, but without going into detail there have been interesting and exciting developments. Now, let's get into it!

-IRL Stuff-

I've maintained the two jobs I've had since last year, and they're both going well. Raises, stuff like that. While I wish I was further along in my projects, I'm still at least maintaining a pace. Yet again I bit off more than I was expected to chew with one, but, well, you'll see that in due time.

-REFLECTION TIME-

The past week, upon revelations of the creator of Touhou ZUN using AI in his upcoming entry as well as his previous game, I've thought about what it means to find someone inspirational, and the types of people I aspire to be like: They're typically people that give all of their being into their work, and generally have a fun time doing it while the works themselves have a "fun for the sake of fun" feel, while of course being a good person on top of that. The disappointment of having the realization that they're not as respectable as you thought they were (even if you've criticized them before like I have) due to a change in their views is depressing, but I realize you can still appreciate their past works even if you don't like them as they are now. I wonder if Harry Potter fans think that way, like if you just don't buy anything new from them, you can still enjoy the work and your experiences. Ah, but I'm rambling here.

tl;dr My main takeaway is that I'll always strive to be a hardworker that aspires to create things that are fun, and I'll remain uncompromising in my standards, values, and my dedication to the craft. Rest assured, this disappointment I've experienced only fuels me futher!

With that out of the way, time to talk about what I did while I was a year younger.

Brawl Minus 5.1

Man, these years feel like they're so long I forgot this even came out after my last blogpost. I'm really glad everyone was able to push this through, the week or so where I'd spend every day relentlessly checking the game for bugs and then fixing them before going back to test some more were really tough, but I wanted to make sure it was a version that worked as intended upon release. Unfortunately there was some issues on the organization side of things that lead to more disagreements and disputes. But as far as 5.1 is, I feel like it is the version I myself put the most work into, even while working on other things as well, and am glad it's finally out and Brawl Minus' new stages and new announcer are IN!

Pin Clock Origins Part 2: Pintroductions

I knew this one was gonna fly under the radar, it is the middle child in a trilogy after all, but man it really flew under the radar! Oh well, that type of thing happens from time to time.

A lot of the movie was focused on Newgrounds nostalgia, with what I had experienced as a kid that inspired me to create. I hope it didn't go on for too long, but I'm glad the nostalgia was something people enjoyed. I really do have a hard time trimming things down, it's probably the weakest part of the whole trilogy, but if I'm omitting things then it doesn't really feel like I'm telling the entire story. It's a tough juggling act. On the bright side there wasn't as much scrapped content here compared to part 1 or the upcoming part 3. A few shots yeah, but not major story beats that needed to be cut like part 1 or part 3. Part 2 did a good job there, probably the most successful planning stage of the trilogy.

I will say though, I'm really proud of the CC Collab: Light inspiring SBC's Loop sequence, the synchornization and use of the music was perfect there. Some good, some mid, but the middle part was one that worked out and went as expected I'd say.

-2025 into 2026-

There's always a future and while it never feels like there's light at the end of a tunnel when it comes to my workload...there will be eventually, right? Not only is my Clock Day 2026 film is going to be comically huge for reasons I'll go into later, but I found inspiration to start development on my next game a little earlier than after Clock Day 2026 is done. Yeah it's even more to juggle than I want, but I'm sick of sitting with it in my head forever. I can make it work.

But one step at a time, Pin Clock. Let's focus on what's right infront of me and coming soon.

Pin Clock Origins Part 3: Pinale

Man I was supposed to be done this already, but instead I'm still on the revision stages...Hopefully I'll be done this by June, but at least I'm making sure it's done right rather than hurrying it for other things. It is the end of the trilogy, so this part needs extra care put into it. Also since it's somehow longer than the other parts. I'll likely be able to adjust the time a bit, but we're currently talking 11 minutes BEFORE credits! That's insane! I'm also nervous about showing it, as there's some things I felt needed to be talked about in it, but you'll see when we get there. No matter how it turns out, I'll have expressed myself again, and that's what matters.

Brawl Minus next update

You'll remember earlier there were mentions of disagreements and disputes, and unfortunately that and issues in some member's personal lives that made them take a step back, lead to a much slower development pace now. We could really use more help, but even I am taken aback by more projects even though I've been putting work into it too. It's a shame because I was super pumped to make this version with a feature I was waiting many years to put in, but it'll still happen one way or another, no matter how slowly it gets there. Slow and steady breaks the limits.

Most Importantly

Things may not seem that great for the eternal workflow, but I'm more determined than ever to power through it and deliver quality works that everyone will have fun with. That has always been the type I've strived to be, and each year I want to get closer and closer to the best version of myself!

Thank you for going along with me on this journey!