I'm just going to jump straight into it and begin by saying how grateful I am to anyone who supported me and this game. It means the world to me knowing there are people out there who want to support indie devs, and I appreciate anyone who had actually bought this game. I know there are areas that are difficult, the physics are wonky and don't always work as intended (I still don't understand why, blame it on my poor math skills), and some of the puzzles are just downright convoluted. This game was definitely supposed to be challenging and cause a bit of a stress response, but looking back I know there's a lot I could have changed after release.

When the game released, I happened to be going through a severely bad depressive episode, and my only goal at the time was simply to finish the game I spent so much time on and get it out into the world. That's what I did, but that's ALL I did. I genuinely did not have the energy to update anything other than major game-breaking bugs. Nor the energy or desire to keep improving it in any meaningful way based on feedback I had been given. Not even marketing or promoting it after the first week or two, knowing that'd just cause more undo stress with something I was already completely overwhelmed with.

I had burned myself out on this project before it was even finished. Looking back, the scope of this was way too big for what I was dealing with at the time, and the gameplay suffered because of this. I genuinely feel bad about this and wish I could have given more people a better experience. I know those who did enjoy it pointed mainly toward it's atmosphere and/or story, these are my strong suits. Knowing this as a developer, I should have stuck more closely to what I know best; creating a sense of immersion that doesn't rely HEAVILY on mechanics I don't fully have a grasp on. Nothing breaks immersion like picking up an object and having it clip through a wall, opening a convoluted menu, or even just attempting to interpret unclear instructions.

This being said, Lil Doll House is dead, unfortunately. I no longer have the working project files, but that's probably for the best. I'm okay burying this game with the rest of my failed projects. It still holds a special place in my heart, but a year later, I see how many things could have been different. I probably would have made it ENTIRELY different. Or even just make a new game altogether. And that's what I plan to do this year.

A free game this time. Going back to my roots, I want to revisit one of my classics, "HUMAN". I spent a lot of time building atmosphere and the vibe of the world in HUMAN, and over the years I've received countless requests to expand upon this world. And after everything I've learned, I feel like I can do it even better this time. Playing to my strengths in horror and keeping mechanics simple and clean, focusing more on world-building and story, and less on brutally challenging gameplay.

Thank you to anyone supporting me and all the other indie devs out there. You are appreciated more than you could ever know, you are what help us keep going <3