Hey everyone, Tom here. First of all, I want to say that though only two patches have been released since the game’s launch two-three years ago, the game is all but dead. The reasons for this slow progress are the following:

• First of all, I’ve done a massive overhaul for several aspects of the game. Perhaps most importantly, I have completely changed the story (though it still takes place in the same world): as of patch 0.3, the game will no longer be subtitled “Return of the Olden Dragons”, but “The Dream Weaver”. I grew increasingly uncomfortable with the cliché theme of defeat the dragon(s), save the world, so I turned to a far more original story in which a Demon named Midnight, who has the ability to control dreams and invoke nightmares, seeks to lift the seal on the Hell Gates and literally release Hell on Thaeron. This story shifts much more attention to the Angels versus Demons storyline, and yet again mankind is caught in the crossfire. Alongside the story change comes a fully original and extensive 8 bit soundtrack and I focus more on a Zelda-type gameplay with extensive weaponry, equipment and the like with a sole protagonist. These big changes do of course take some time and planning.

• Secondly, I am but a poor student finishing secondary school, and of course I need to prioritize my responsibilities (also for extra-curricular activities) before the game, sadly. Next year I will be going to Howest in Kortrijk (Belgium) to study DAE (Digital Arts and Entertainment), a three year course for those seeking a future in the game industry, so perhaps I will have more time to focus on the game development-side of my spare time activities, or perhaps I will be overloaded with school work and maybe have even less time. I hope it’s the former.

• Thirdly, besides the overhaul of some core elements, this patch is set to contain far more than originally planned for it. I have for example started working on a mechanic where you can play instruments around Thaeron, I’m developing more sidequests than originally planned for this patch, and I’ve made a few (future) locations already: Seraphin (a small tropical island where an ancient warlord had his tomb), Agyr’s Rock (a tropical pirate island), the Frosten Provence (a snowy area where you can find the city of Flake), the Dreamworld, Birchwood (an autumn- and birch tree-themed village) and the Swamp of Dreams (connected to Birchwood, from where we can reach the Dreamworld while awake). Sound was also only planned for patch 0.4, but the game is already full of original music. Besides that I’m also finishing some core mechanics like inventory, stats, combat, settings, …

So you’ve got a lot to expect for the next patch. I’m not going to give you a specific date because that will only disappoint the both of us, but the deadline should be August (and it should be much sooner, but I didn’t say that). Thanks for sticking around!

• Tom