So, technically, I did quietly release the first beta version of Ascension back on the 8th of May. I didn't make an official announcement because I wanted to give my first tester a chance to play through the game, since she's the only one I'll get to actually watch (and witness her reactions) while playing, and I wanted at least one other person to play my game, to reassure me that there weren't any glaring problems that I've overlooked, before I put the word out to friends, family, and complete strangers. I've already made a few changes based on her feedback (nothing world-shattering, but some worthwhile tweaks), so that's why it might look to you like I'm starting with version 1.1. Aside from that, I'm pretty happy with what I've got. (So far, I haven't encountered that one game-crashing bug since I eliminated the one plugin, which is promising). So it's time to release it to the world! Here's a little statement I've prepared:
Ascension is now a complete game that can be played from start to finish. It's not perfect, and I may choose to continue making changes and releasing updates into the future, especially if and when anyone gets a chance to play it and gives me some feedback. But even if I never make another change to it, I can rest assured that it is a game that is, at the very least, out there for people to play. There may be some things you don't like about it. Hopefully, there will be some things that you do. And on the bottom line, I've put in a lot of work to make it fun, and ensure that it is indeed playable. But I'm not a professional game designer - I'm just an amateur, working alone. But how many amateurs can say that they've completed one of their projects in RPG Maker? And as far as completed RPG Maker projects go (which, admittedly, isn't a super high bar in the world of game development), I hope that the quality of this project speaks for itself, however flawed and imperfect it may turn out to be. Because I've poured a lot of my heart and soul into this game; it's not merely something I did for the hell of it, or just to pass the time.
And now, without further ado, go, download the game, play it, and have fun. And let me know what you think of it after you're done. In the meantime, I've got an even bigger project to get back to working on...
