The following blog post carries the personal thoughts of Elder Prince, founder of Blossomsoft Games.
Woo! It’s the first time in four years there’s real hope for my game projects.
My life was in shambles from 2021 to 2024, but as I mentioned in another blog post, a savior came through and paid off all my credit cards. That’s a miracle! I’ll definitely include a heartfelt dedication shrine in the game for him and his family.
About the Mandela Edition
Let’s pick up where we left off eight months ago—oh, that’s right, we were discussing the Mandela Edition launch!
I wasn’t kidding earlier—the game is in its final stages and it’s rocking!
I was on the brink of a major final phase back when I was struck by significant financial trouble that ruined my whole life for months.
To recap, back in November 2023, I was making strides on rewriting the battle system from scratch, replacing the old ‘tankatai’ system. Though ‘tankatai’ was a solid script maintained by the RPG Maker community, it was a convoluted mess and hard to build upon. In the new version of the battle system, I plan to keep you entertained with updated gameplay elements and enhance the boss fights by integrating more complex tactics. The game will also include a summoning system for spirits, as you’d expect.
I could’ve opted for a scaled-down release to hit the December deadline, but if I want to launch the game on Steam or similar platforms and maximize sales, going the extra mile (even if this persistence almost costed me everything in the past months) is crucial.
So, throughout this month, I’ll be heavily involved in moving Eternal Eden: Mandela Edition to my RGSS++ infrastructure, which will allow the new battle system.
Despite the previous delay, the release will still honor the game’s 15th anniversary.
About books
I’m not giving up on writing books. I’ll still need to do some food delivery runs to cover my regular bills, so I’ll keep working on new stories while I’m on the road.
It’s hard to gauge whether there’s genuine interest in an Eternal Eden spin-off featuring Josefine and Elvira, so drop a comment and let me know what you think! There is currently a few chapters available on my website.
Regardless, I need to try making a living from writing stories alongside game development since books can be produced more quickly. It’s smart not to put all my eggs in one basket for income.
About the ongoing update campaign
This week, I’m updating the website to the latest WordPress framework. I’m on the 2022 template now, but I want to move to the 2024 version to access the newest features. The idea is to build a hype for the Mandela Edition even better than last year. I should share gameplay videos this time.
If I can sell more DLC units (for those still trusting me), I’ll be able to shift my focus back to game development and hopefully leave food deliveries completely behind.
Micro updates
For frequent, bite-sized updates, make sure to follow my Discord server!
A shout-out to past supporters
Big thanks to everyone who chipped in last year! Even though there weren’t a ton of contributors, a few of you went above and beyond. I want to make sure the new features I’m adding to the game make your patience totally worth it.
A huge shoutout to our top-3 DLC supporters: super couple Deanna and Raymond, DarkZitan, and Satuk. And a big thanks to all our other regular supporters too—you’ve all been amazing!
New release date
Let’s keep it a mystery for now. I’ve had enough of countdowns—they were a mess last time and made me look foolish when the clock hit zero and the game wasn’t ready. It was not only humiliating but also incredibly frustrating, especially since I was stuck in a food delivery grind just to make ends meet after exhausting all my funds instead of focusing on the release. With the 23K credit card debt behind me, I’m feeling much more financially secure. This should lead to a smoother few months ahead.
When the game is ready for release, all backers and newsletter subscribers will receive a heads-up. I’ll get it done as quickly as possible—while not compromising the quality of the game of course.
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