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Hi everyone! 

Just an update about the game. Once I learned that death service professionals like death doulas, hospice workers, clergy members, and funeral directors are now using this as an empathy tool, and families with a loved one in hospice have been playing this to help them process their loss, I have made the decision to NOT pursue this as a commercial product. It will remain free. I want it to help people, and have also decided that I will not profit from his death.

I have decided to enter it into the IGF. To that end, I have updated some things prior to that entry:

• The music is less repetitive...I added other pieces to make that possible.
• The Robert E. Howard poem has been replaced with new audio of a reading by Steve Shell from the Old Gods of Appalachia podcast...this is VERY special.
• During the jam, I wanted to use "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" by Callista Clark, over the credits, but I didn't receive permission in time. I have now received that permission, and it's there. Another thing with deeply personal meaning.
• I've made some changes recommended by judges and commenters, including:
  • Added periods uniformly after every "Continue."
  • Removed all extra carriage returns.
  • Made the length of the text in different screens more uniform (before, some were small, but some had like 4 paragraphs).
  • Addressing one of the comments below, I've now made it so that every player sees the part where he flips me off.
  • Fixed weird instances of overlapping audio and audio that doesn't turn off correctly.
  • In the original version, the opening sequence was in second person, changing to first person for the rest of the game. That bugged me, so now the entire game is in first person.
  • Minor text changes and edits.
  • Added a picture of the actual Zippo lighter I designed for him, and added a picture of Lunchables, so that the arrival of the fox is now a surprise.
  • Players now have the opportunity to read the obituary I wrote for Travis, including a slide show of him/us.

I am working to make other special upgrades before judging begins.

Because IGF required that a trailer be made, I made one. I've never done that before, so I hope it's ok and that wherever he is, he is ok with it.

Anyway, thanks again for your compassion and support, and...wish me luck!

Folks have been asking me what’s next for Moments Away.

I’m taking my time, getting a lot of advice, talking through stuff with my therapist…I’ve identified several minor things to fix/change to make the existing piece better, but have decided to not touch it again until after the holidays, for my protection. 

I’m also thinking about what would I do AFTER I fix those minor things, what work would make it worthy of being a more polished indie release, and I have a list. I’m getting quotes from the team members I’d like to work with, to see how much money it would take. I’m in conversation with an interested publisher, and need to figure out what specifically I would need from them (and what I’m willing to sign away to get published).

I’m thinking about things like, do I want to work closely with this material for a year or more, can I handle any responsibility I have to comfort folks I make cry, can I withstand criticism, trolling, and the accusation that I’m cashing in on his death (and would donating a portion of the proceeds to St. Jude offset that)? It’s a lot to work through. 

TL;DR: I’m in information-gathering mode, and intend to take my time figuring out whether or not I want to take this further, and how.

Many thanks to everyone who has played (I know it’s a heavy lift), and everyone who has shared this with others or reached out privately. It means a lot, especially now facing my first holiday season without him. Thank you. 🙏🏻 

thank you, friend. 💜 you know I think you’re the bees’ knees and I thank you for your kindness and support. 

🙏🏻💜

Thank you for playing, for seeing us, and for your kind words. I don’t know how to function without him. Baby steps and a lot of therapy, I guess. 😅

Thank you very deeply for playing the game and responding so kindly. 

What a lovely response. Thank you so much. 🙏🏻💜

💜🙏🏻

💜🙏🏻

💜🙏🏻😭

I am actually thinking after 12/8 to make this scene one of the ones that all players get, even the ones mostly skipping memories. The way it is in the game, you miss a cute scene when you choose the middle finger scene, and if you choose the cute scene, you miss getting flipped off. What do you think?

🙏🏻💜

😳🫣😭

Thank you so much. 

I have tonnnnnnnns of things I already want to change or fix. ;) Tenses, scene order, audio turning on and off a little better, original audio, original art, a few more scenes that got cut (unless people think the length is fine? Not sure…) I may hit you up for those notes but I’m not ready yet, I need a few days to kind of settle after making that. I really appreciate your words and that you played and just thank you! 

Thank you very much. I’m far from ok at present bc it’s only been a month, but I start therapy tomorrow (paid for by that GoFundMe, thanks to those folks!!!), I’m safe and cared for at my mom’s, and I have the time and resources to figure out how I pick up the pieces. 

Finishing this was HUGE in that regard bc part of this is I needed to prove to myself that I can still make art. After my son died three years ago, I’ve been creatively blocked. So please, don’t anyone else die for a while bc if this is the switch, the next one might turn me back off. 😅

Also FYI, I’m always happy to hear from kind, cool people, and if it’s the forum I’m thinking of, then nobody from there is anyone I think of as a stranger on the Interwebz. 💜

What a kind comment. Thank you very much. I’m so glad you saw what I was trying to do with this. That’s definitely an anxiety as a creative when you release stuff into the wild…will they get where I was trying to go with it? Thank you for getting it. 💜🙏🏻

🙏🏻😭💔

😭😭😭🙏🏻

That’s incredibly kind, thank you so much. 😭

Check the public domain rules in your country. If the original Winnie the Pooh book is not in the public domain there, you will need an American on your team to participate.

You can! I just wanted people to check the laws where they are to make sure it’s allowed in their country of residence. I’m not a lawyer and can’t give legal advice, but if you’ve checked your local laws and are confident that the original Winnie the Pooh book is in the public domain where you are, go ahead and enter if you want to. Thanks for checking! 

Please check your supporting characters. The original Winnie the Pooh book that has become public domain in the US includes only the following characters (the other franchise characters were added in later books that are not public domain yet, or were added by Disney), so are safe to use:

• Pooh
• Christopher Robin
• Piglet
• Eeyore
• Kanga and Roo
• Rabbit
• Owl
• Heffalump (not the charming little Disney invention but the scary full grown one that Pooh dreams about in the book)

Gopher is a particular creation of Disney. 

There are bees and a Queen Bee in this book that you can play with.

Tigger and Lottie the Otter were added in later books. 

Note that there are two places in the book where "Rabbit's animal friends" show up, and they are never described. There is opportunity there for these friends to be made up of new forest animals. 

Special thanks to Greg Lane for pointing this out!

Hi there!

Someone rightly pointed out that while Winnie the Pooh is now in the public domain in the United States, it might not be the case everywhere in the world. We need to make sure we are not running afoul of international copyright law. Therefore:

All entries must either be from an American team or have at least one team member who is American (which can make for a great networking opportunity!) People from other nations can play the games and vote. Please check the copyright laws in your country of residence to be sure that you are not running afoul of its copyright laws. 

Thank you!