Update 07/09/2026

Hi folks,

I was putting the finishing touches to a couple of renders — and inevitably redoing a few that I decided weren't quite good enough 😂 — when I suddenly realised I'd completely missed last week's update.

So, I suppose I'd better put that right!

First of all, Part One of Shaddolands – Memories is getting very close now, and here's roughly where things stand:

Renders: 100% 🎉
Animations: Meh... still not completely happy with them, so let's say 20% 😂
Scripting: 65%
Coding: 25%

Yes... 100% on the renders!

There may still be the occasional one that I look at and decide to tweak or replace — because apparently I can't leave things alone — but everything I need to tell Part One of the story is now rendered.

A lot of what I'm doing with Memories is about more than simply telling Mal's backstory. The decisions I make here will help establish some of the framework for Shaddolands itself, so getting those foundations right now is really important to me.

Trying to map everything out has certainly given me a few headaches! Shaddolands will eventually have a number of choice-driven routes, and I want those choices and their consequences to feel as though they belong naturally within the story rather than simply being branches added for the sake of having them.

That's also one of the reasons Memories is a kinetic story.

I completely understand that kinetic visual novels aren't everyone's cup of tea. But Memories isn't intended to replace the choice-driven nature of Shaddolands. It's there to establish Mal's history — the things that have already happened, the people she's known and the experiences that helped make her the woman we'll eventually meet in the main story.

Memories is the past. Shaddolands is where you get to influence what happens next.

That's an important distinction, and hopefully when the two eventually come together, you'll understand why I've approached Memories this way.

We're getting there, folks. Part One is beginning to look and feel like a finished story rather than a collection of renders, scripts and ideas scattered across my computer — and that's a bloody nice milestone to reach!

As always, thank you for your patience and for continuing to support me while I build this slightly insane universe of mine. It genuinely means a great deal.

Until next time...

Shaddo 🖤