Heya friendos! Dungeons and Dragons or Depression and Distress? Stay tuned for the next episode of Dragon Ball Z! Aside from the clickbait title, we’ll be diving into seasonal depression and dungeons and dragons, but also… business? Let’s get into it.

How Am I Doing?

I’m doing alright. I’ve fallen out of my routine and the lack of sun has been getting to me. I have a bit of seasonal depression every year, so it doesn’t come as a surprise anymore. I know how to mitigate the symptoms: exercise, a healthy diet, go out for a walk every day, and stop drinking alcohol. But picking that up again becomes exponentially harder if you’re already in a slump. That being said, I’m creatively fulfilled, safe and extremely comfortable with the life I’ve managed to build up around me. I’m still able to enjoy all of that, so fortunately that motivates me to get back into the routine.

I’ve been listening to Blindboy Podcast, recommended by a good friend of mine. Blindboy is a fantastic storyteller and goes through similar creative and mental health struggles as I do. Listening to him rant about his latest obsession and linking it back to his state of mind and feelings has inspired me to keep a pulse on my own feelings as well.

What Am I Doing?

It’s also the return of Dungeons & Dragons season. The summer months are hard to plan around since everyone is going on vacation. So it’s been a few months since my last session in both my home game and the one I play in. I’m excited to jump back into Gourmetia, the setting of the game I run. What’s great about making up a story as we play, is that the world turns into this ever-evolving, living thing. I usually only have to lay the rails for the next session and don’t have to worry about things like character arcs and pacing.

It’s also interesting to see how a project grows differently if it remains untouched by my intention to commercialize it. Gourmetia could potentially become large enough in scope to publish a module or something, but I have no intention of doing that at all. I considered it when I first started this newsletter, but the desire to do so has melted away completely. It’s just a fun world for me and my friends and will be around on the backburner if I ever need to grab something impromptu high-fantasy. That’s neat!

Now, this also reminds me of Nomanoge, which I hyperfocused on earlier this year. It has ground completely to a halt since. Hopefully, playing some RPGs with friends will awaken that engine again as well! I still very much see potential in the concept. I should plan a playtest soon-ish.

Why Am I Doing? (this)

I had a call with an old acquaintance of mine who runs a business consultancy for self-publishing games. It was quite a fruitful conversation, hence why I brought up commercialization. He gave me a good jumping-off point for taking the first steps towards securing funding for Rumorweaver.

Part of that is networking. Admittedly, I’ve not been attending industry events for a long time. Partially because I lost interest in career-oriented networking, and partially because of social anxiety and the language barrier to a lesser extent.

So, if you’re active in the Parisian game development scene, you might see me show up at events here and there! And also, if you know chill events or groups to connect with, please let me know. Cheers!