Hey everyone!

So first of all, I want to say to everyone that I am completely aware of the delays this game has faced, and how this might make some of you doubtful of the game or its release. And I completely understand that, especially after the fates of some previous POPGOES games. We initially predicted this game to come out in April! But hey, things are fine. Let me explain what has happened a bit more.

The delay:

These games are extremely difficult to predict once you get started on them. It's very easy to misjudge progress and release dates when in the early stages, because your perception of the game and what's left to complete is, to be honest, quite inaccurate. As things are completed, it's easier to notice that, actually, there's quite a lot of stuff left to do. And in the case of PA2020, this slow progression has been the result of a few things, like coronavirus, school, and more recently (and importantly), a desire to "fill in the gaps" or to add content that will help flesh out the experience.

We've recently had the ability to playtest the full "main" game for PA2020, and following some feedback from the team (and an external tester), there are some portions of the game, especially near the end, that have felt a bit repetitive or unrewarding. So instead of just leaving this alone or cutting out parts of the game, Emil and I have worked on concepts to FILL IN those gaps with additional content so that the game feels more full and fun. These aren't huge things, but they are enough to be worthwhile for the player (but of course take a few extra days to work on).

This is a good thing for us to do. And it's natural in a game's design process. Sometimes you'll plan something out and then, when you experience it yourself, you realise something doesn't feel right. Something's a bit boring, or a bit too difficult, and that unfortunate criticism would have been IMPOSSIBLE to predict in the planning stages.

The release:

So yeah, that's why things are taking a bit longer than we expected. But don't worry, we're almost done...

I won't be giving a prediction for the release of the game, but I will announce here that we plan on giving this game a "release trailer" with a countdown on YouTube. That means a video that will "premiere" on my YouTube channel that, when finally uploaded, will ALSO celebrate the release of the game itself. So that should be really exciting! We might also do something else to promote the game before then, but I'm not sure about that and I don't want to give details yet.

The content:

I also want to say that you have seen a very small portion of PA2020. We are deliberately holding back on showing most of the game (like any fangame, really) to keep it a surprise. That being said, I'd like to share a new screenshot of the game that showcases the Corrupt Wolf (an enemy that has already been shown before, admittedly) in his home environment, the East Forest (also known as the Winter Forest):

The Corrupt Wolf is considered a "rare" enemy, as he has quite a low spawn chance. He's very strong too (and so is Popgoes, in this image!).

Thank you for reading. We're getting close!

Delays, NOT cancellations.

- Kane