A couple months ago I wrote about a bunch of screen mockups I made for a theoretical sequel to Another Star . I haven’t done any more mockups since then, but I have been working on other stuff. Specifically, stuff like this:

Yes, I know you can make out the obscured text. It’s probably not going to be the game’s subtitle anyway.

Over the course of about a month I put together a very thorough design document that explains the world and story of a possible Another Star 2 , along with an overview of the game’s mechanics that goes into detail about various changes that would be made compared to the first game. It topped out at a whopping 113 pages because I’m crazy, and also because I was greedy and didn’t want to leave out any possible ideas that seemed good at the time. As a result, I’m guessing half of what’s in this thing won’t see the light of day. To compare, Another Star ‘s design overview was a mere six pages long.

So yes, just to be clear, as you’ve probably already guessed Another Star 2 is in production. Just keep in mind, it may not be Another Star 2 by the time it’s done. Also keep in mind that, unlike the first game, I will probably not be able to work on Another Star 2 full time like I did the original. My career and financial situation are nowhere near as stable as they were just two or three years ago, and that’s probably going to take a larger and larger toll as time goes on. Don’t expect to get your hands on this thing before mid 2017, if not later.

Anyway, one of the huge mistakes I made while doing Another Star was failing to share it. I wanted to keep everything under wraps until it was all done, in large part because I didn’t want to spoil the “twist” near the beginning where the story switches from a somewhat generic RPG world to a mix of fantasy and sci-fi. If you look at almost all of the early screenshots and promotional work for the game, Soel is never even mentioned. In the end, though, nobody really cared that much about the direction the narrative took. It’s a really simple game with a simple story, and trying to keep a lid on it backfired because I ended up having to release the game to absolutely no fanfare, all because I was afraid to show anything past the first half of the first dungeon. I never managed to build an audience for the game. This, it turns out, is absolute death for an indie title.

I do not aim to repeat that mistake with Another Star 2 . Over the coming weeks and months, I’ll be showing off some of the tools I’m developing to make Another Star 2 a reality, and as time goes on I’ll be sharing a lot about the world and characters of the game. Sure, I’m going to keep lots of stuff up my sleeve for later, but I’m making it a point to publicly document the game’s progress.

I hope you’re looking forward to it.