Two Years of Remembrance

To think that it's already been two years since I finished and released Remembrance...

Looking at it now, it's such a small and simple game (perhaps overly so), especially in comparison to its complex, technically-sprawling sequel, but what an effort it was for me at the time.  When I first was seized by the inspiration to make it, I'd never touched RPG Maker before, never drawn any sprites / pixel art before, and never put together any actual music worth speaking of before.  I'd only just started getting serious about drawing at all earlier that same year, so my technical skill there was still rather minimal.  I knew how to program, at least, but I'd never made a game.  I'd written a scattering of short story drafts, but nothing with character complexity on the level that Remembrance demanded.  In short, I was in way, way over my head with my attempt at a solo gamedev project.

I made it anyway.

My lack of skill and experience in all of the above areas shows in the result.  Remembrance has too much exposition too early, a distinct monotony in its gameplay and level designs, simplistic map layouts and tilesets, a rather anticlimactic ending, and (perhaps most infamously) an overly sharp difficulty spike near the end of the game, among other such problems and rough patches.

All the same, I love it so, so very dearly, and to this day it means more to me than I could ever hope to put into words.

For whatever flaws the end result may have as a game and a story, had I not made that decision to make Remembrance and insisted upon seeing it through to completion, I very seriously doubt that I would've flourished and improved to the extent that I have as a writer and artist and developer alike nearly so much as I did over the course of Remembrance's creation.  What's more, as is hardly a secret to anyone who's played through it, the game's creation was a critically important—instrumental, even—part of my effort to process and come to terms with some of the uglier traumas of my past.  In addition to helping me grow as an artist and programmer, Remembrance helped me grow as a person, in a way that nothing else could.  (Heh, I'm getting a little emotional writing this out, but it's the truth, plain and simple.)

With that in mind, I want to express just how truly and deeply grateful I am to everyone who's taken a genuine interest in Remembrance, everyone who's played through the game despite its shortcomings, everyone who's shared praise and kind words about it with me, everyone who's donated to the project or drawn fanart of my girls (and Rook, too!) or recorded videos of the game.  From the bottom of my heart, thank you ever so much.  Truly, nothing makes me quite so happy as seeing people not just enjoy my work, but resonate with it and draw inspiration from it.

As a token of my appreciation, and to commemorate the anniversary, I've included a picture of Kim that I drew.  I hope you like it.  <3

- Kyou