Clickbait Title: Doing this ONE THING will permanently improve your mental health!

Hey... Little World of Fates is OUT NOW! Thank you all SO MUCH for buying it and supporting my work! And if you haven't bought it, what are you doing? Don't you know I CLEARLY need bubble tea to live? Support my bubble tea addiction! Quick! BUY IT NOW!

On a more serious note, I want to give a special shout out to Alex Lundquist, who has listened to me rant about this game for months, my co-writer Jay, for your unconditional support of all my ideas (including my shitty ones), and to my D&D and Pathfinder fellow campaign mates over the last few years here -- who taught me so much about safety, consent, and communication in difficult emotional situations. You all are invaluable aspects of my life. I also want to thank Matt Muth and Eric Cagle -- both of whom are incredible teachers and writers in their own right -- as well as my parents for encouraging me to write and to draw and pursue my hobbies out of college, even though I definitely should have been applying to more jobs. It worked out for me, but it might not have worked out for someone else.

So, here we are. At the end of another project. When I released Little Burned Maiden, I was distraught, to say the least. I wanted the game to be good so badly. My self-worth hinged on it. So I was completely freaking out (basically over nothing). Throughout all of LWOF's production, I was a lot more stable. Or at least, my relationship with my art was a lot more stable -- my mental health was poor for entirely concrete and understandable reasons (pandemic, job market, burnout, college, etc.)

And I'm proud of LWOF. And I am proud to be in a place where I can say that. 

I think, for me, the key thing about my health is I've become a better friend to myself in the last year-or-so here. I'm nice to myself now. No more freaking out about being "good enough" or saying that everything I make is garbage. Anything I wouldn't say about my friends, I don't say to myself anymore -- and if I slip up and think/say something mean to myself, I apologize, explain I was stressed, and that I don't really mean it. Sometimes out loud. It helps. It helps SO much. 

I don't exactly know how I got to this point, but I realized one day that I consider myself a good friend and take pride in being loyal to others. So why not to me? Everyone else could leave me one day. I am stuck with myself forever at all moments. I'd better like myself. And my art is such a big part of me, I have to kinda like what I make -- in the same way that I like what my friends make because it's a part of them. (And yes, when I'm seeking critique, I can separate it from my inherent worth as a human being. But my art is one part of the many things that make up my identity.) 

Over the course of making LWOF, I never questioned why I was doing this or if I was good enough -- it was simply something I wanted to do. If it did poorly, I would make it better. If it did harm, I would take responsibility. I didn't overwork myself on this or try to cram it into every spare moment. I took breaks. I took care of myself. I was compassionate towards myself when burnout said, "Stay in bed today -- nothing is worth it". And some days, I even got out of bed anyway. I practiced all that self-care stuff I talked about in Little Burned Maiden.

I'm not just saying all this just to toot my own horn; I know so many of my friends are struggling with their own post-college job hunts, motivational issues, and fears that the world is falling apart. I know many of you guys struggle with your mental health -- even those of you who won't admit it. I just... I want you know that I've been there. Struggling. Wrestling with myself. Hating myself and my work. Feeling inadequate. I want you to know that it gets better. And it's going to be hard and discouraging and things are going to piss you off. But I'm on your side all the way. And I hope you can be on your side too.

This is hardly a conventional game announcement so I wanna thank you for taking the time to read this. For me, this game is a triumph -- not just in its design and writing, but in my relationship to my own work. And even if it's imperfect, I love it. It's brought me so much joy. I hope something about it will bring you joy too. 

Thank you!