But why Rora?

As I have mentioned, my husband recently played through the entire game. Over the last eight years, he's slogged through a few minutes of gameplay here and there when I politely commanded, or watched little snippets when I was particularly proud of a cinematic, but he's never seen the whole thing from start to finish until now.

And I had to ask... did the ending make sense? Did it wrap things up? Do you feel satisfied that the story was complete?

The answer to him, and so far one other tester, is "yes."

All of my alpha testers so far have voiced that the mental health aspect of the game is what interests them - while story, dating, and RPG aspects have been more diverse interests. I find that really interesting, and also encouraging. So I feel like I'm on the right track.

Because here's the thing. 

The odds are extremely low that I will recoup the time, energy, and upcoming promotional costs of making this game. I have put in countless hours, plus I have a team behind me, and so I would need to sell tens of thousands of copies to break even. Steam is cluttered with people like me putting out little side projects, not to mention AI slop or outright junk. Even if Rorasuketo is a gem of a game (I'm biased, obviously), who's going to manage to dig it up? At its most basic, it is an RPG Maker game by an inexperienced dev that's rough around the edges.

My goal is to sell twenty copies. I hope for more, but I think twenty is realistic and attainable.

So why do all this?

In all honesty, I really hope to put something wholesome and authentic into the world. Out of all the projects I have ever started, it's the last one I expected to complete. But it's one that I feel has a lot of heart, and hopefully will bring comfort and encouragement to people. Rorasuketo's world is not quite idyllic, but there's cozy elements, and ultimately, I hope the player can live in Kady's shoes long enough to absorb some of the good feelings that are bestowed upon her - and put that energy out into our world. Kinda like that scene in Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind when the one ohm's eyes turn blue, and then the sea of red light transforms into a sea of blue light. You know, if I'm being poetic and shit.

I am very lucky to live with a partner who makes enough money that I have the ability to work on a creative project - that is certain. I am also very lucky to have friends who understand the whole being-an-artist thing and are encouraging no matter what, or friends who are legitimately excited for the project for what it is. I can ride all those good feelings, channeling them into the energy to produce something. For me, a self-described validation whore, that's simply part of the contract.

I'm not sure how to wrap this up except to say that I hope Rora has some degree of impact on the world, and that it's a good kind of impact.