Devlog #17: The Aftermath of 2020

Hi, hackers,
hi, friends,
hi, fans,

What's happening? When is episode 4 coming out? IS THE GAME DEAD?!

Valid questions! Yes! We hear them a lot. And the answer is:

NO. The game is NOT dead!

It is complicated, though. First of all, we'd like to apologize for the long radio silence. 2020 has taken its toll on us, like for many others, and also on the development of Episode 4: Permutation. So let's start with the TLDR: development of episode 4 is currently put on hold and will continue in March 2021.
I will explain why in the following.

Code 7 has been an ongoing project for us since 2015. That's five years. That's a long time. We have gotten to a point of creative fatigue that made it harder and harder to work productively on it and with having a grand finale with multiple storylines, it was difficult not to think that it wasn't good enough. We kept pushing, because we wanted to finish the story and give backers and fans what they wanted and deserved, but it got harder and harder to keep a positive attitude while doing it.

Covid didn't help. We had to give up our office and move to home-office, which was something we had to accustom to, while juggling two projects (Shadows over Selenia) as we didn't anticipate that long delay of Code 7.

Why not pause SoS and finish Code 7, you ask? Not that easy, unfortunately. We received funding from the state to develop a prototype and have to deliver it by March 2021, so we had to work on it. Additionally, we hired Lea, our super talented, kick-ass artist, and she needed us to be around for the project to work efficiently.
The financial factor, of course, is important as well. If we had pushed Code 7 through, Goodwolf probably wouldn't exist anymore now as we were running on fumes financially and the hacking adventure doesn't perform well enough to carry the company yet. The Shadows prototype is what secures an ongoing future for the studio.

The whole Covid situation, the elections and the general state in the USA, and many other things going on in the world had a big impact as well. I (Zein) was struggling with Depression and ADHD which made it increasingly harder to work. I finally made the step to get help and I am doing much better, so please do not worry, lovely friends!

All these reasons led Kevin and me to the decision to put Code 7 on hold in November, get some distance to it, finish the prototype of SoS, and then pick it back up in March with a fresh mind and heart, hopefully recharged and more positively. 

We know that this is frustrating to hear after waiting so long but I also know that a lot of you will understand, because we have a wonderful community and we love and cherish you all. Thank you for being part of the journey and your patience. We appreciate everyone who plays the game, every memeber of the Discord (even if you just lurk ;) ), and anyone who supports us in any way possible. You rock!

Code 7 is coming and nobody can stop it.

Love,

Zein & Kevin