Hello everyone! I hope you're all having a great year so far. :) With Otome Jam 2025 right around the corner, I just wanted to give you all a heads up on Everfall's status, what's been going on, and what's next.

For those of you who don't know, Everfall was created for Otome Jam 2024, a two-month-long game jam that took place May-June, and it has been on a bit of an unofficial hiatus since the demo was released. I wanted to explain to you all why that is...

So first, allow me to introduce myself. I'm Red, the group's project lead, writer, and programmer. Unfortunately, last year's jam was quite turbulent for me... My best friend passed away rather unexpectedly in the middle of the jam and, needless to say, I was unable to continue writing. My team was very kind, very understanding, and willing to do whatever I needed, even let the project go. But they had all already worked so hard and I knew it was too late in the jam for them to find other teams, so I wanted to get something released for them. Plus, the coding grind was a helpful distraction for me, at the time. We all discussed it and agreed a demo would be acceptable, so we polished the first two chapters, finished the assets needed, and got the demo out.

It was my intention to continue working on Everfall's script after I'd had some time to grieve, but my creativity was completely shot. I struggled to write for awhile, but after two months, I decided to take a break, afraid that if I kept trying, I would either come to resent the story or to only associate it with a painful memory. My creative block persisted, however. It wasn't until around November that I was finally able to write something again, a personal story that has helped me to process some of my grief. Since then, I've been writing on it every day, making progress. I've regained some of the confidence I lost.

I wrestled for a while on how much of this story to share, if to share at all. It's deeply personal, and I don't like dumping this sort of weight onto others. But in the same way I felt a responsibility to my team, I feel beholden to those of you who have played the demo and are eagerly awaiting the full game.  I want you all to know that Everfall wasn't forgotten, but that a very serious life event with far-reaching ripples delayed it, but delayed it only.

Once I finish this personal story I've been working on, I plan to return to Everfall's script. I've already spoken with my teammates and they are all committed to finishing it, but with how much time has passed, it would be unfair to demand they drop everything to focus on this, so we'll be working around their schedules and commitments to get this game where it needs to be.

Thank you for your patience and understanding!