Happy New Year!
Hello!
A quick update from me on [UNTITLED FOLLOW-UP TO BLOOD, SWEAT, AND PIXELS].
First of all, you're probably wondering when you'll actually get to read this thing! The bad news is that it's probably not coming out in 2020, as I'd hoped it would a year ago. The good news is that we're looking at early 2021, so it won't be too much longer. As soon as I have a final release date, you'll know it. And I PROMISE that as soon as that happens, I will be shamelessly hustling for pre-orders.
There are a couple of reasons for this delay. First of all, I still haven't finished the book. Whoops! Turns out it's tough to get a lot of writing done with a newborn baby in your apartment. You'll be sitting there transcribing interviews and trying to structure sentences when suddenly you'll hear something like "aaaggggoooo" and have to go over and play with her little cheeks for a while. It's not exactly a recipe for productivity.
The second reason is that I've actually switched publishers, which I'll talk a bit more about in the future. (All is good, though - I'm thrilled with my new editor and publisher!)
Finally, since I've been vague in the past about the book's direction, let me share a little bit more. A lot of people have asked me if this will be another collection of game development stories like Blood, Sweat, and Pixels. The answer is: Sort of. Book 2 also consists of multiple stories about multiple game studios, but it focuses more on individual people than it does on teams. Some of the stories in this one are also more directly connected; not every chapter is a self-contained story about a studio or video game. It'll definitely feel different, but if you liked the first book's style of writing and reporting, I think you'll like this one too.
The driving question of Blood, Sweat, and Pixels was, "Why are video games so hard to make?" The driving question of this one is, "What happens when a video game studio falls apart?"
More to come later this year! While you're waiting, here are some good video games to play.
Jason