Alora Fane

I've not done anything on Atonal Dreams again this week because I've been ill, still! I did manage to add another album to the archive I've been building; I even drew some new art for it.

I've written a few personal posts this week about my poor health. Yesterday, I felt okay, health-wise; I thought all the head anxiety was behind me and I could finally focus again. But last night I woke up again due to various symptoms (though it felt more like physical illness than brain stuff or anxiety, which felt like a relief), and today I've just been feeling generally beaten-down and bleh (which is why I'm writing this weekly update later than I usually would). So that's annoying.

I still don't know what's wrong with me, and I'm leaning away from "IT'S BRAIN CANCER AGAIN!!", though that's so hard to completely ignore. It could be some kind of infection or something; my mum mentioned experiencing very similar symptoms today, so maybe. Or maybe I'm just experiencing the lingering effects of a period of prolonged stress? Or the COVID vaccine?!? I really don't know. Whatever it is, it makes it hard to focus on anything meaningful.

I was hoping to at the very least compose the battle tracks I've mentioned this week, but was unable to find the inspiration or energy and, well, didn't.

I was also hoping to get back to the game tomorrow... though considering how I've been today, I really don't know. Should I just wait until after I have the scan on the 24th?? Ehh...

I didn't want to break my streak of uploading these albums, so here's the next one chronologically: Clarence's Big Chance! This is the exact same album that's been on the old Fig Hunter Bandcamp page for years, though I've drawn some new art for it!

I wanted to try distracting myself from illness and anxiety, and drawing seemed like a possible way to do that. I barely draw at all these days, because I can never think of what to draw... The idea of drawing cover art for each of these albums seemed intriguing though; it gives me a clear goal and a deadline if I'm trying to get out one each week.

Drawing for this weird game was... interesting, though. Very different to what I'd really want to draw these days! I'm also so rusty that all I see with this result are issues, things that could be better, but... it's something??

Oh, and it's a kind of parody of ∞ this box art for the original Super Mario Bros, by Shigeru Miyamoto himself I think? ∞ It would have been nice to more accurately mimic the art style of that (thick outlines, soft shading), or the arrangement of characters - I also wondered whether to do something stupidly realistic-looking, like the comically off-model-retro ∞ Mega Man 9 box art ∞, or ∞ Mario parodies like this ∞ - but it was a huge effort just drawing anything at all - I had to do it in several short sessions - so this'll have to do! It's not like many people will ever even see it anyway.

Anyway, here's the album: [LINK]

I still have a blog post about CBC from when I replayed it a year or so ago, which I've yet to post. I was wondering whether - if I can't manage to push through the illness to start putting Atonal Dreams on Steam next week - I could put CBC on itch.io or something... I do want to put my old games up somewhere 'official', eventually. But I keep wondering whether it'd be more valuable to put it on Steam; the MARDEK Steam port is still earning hundreds of pounds a month. Not mega money, but not nothing either. That'd mean going through the awful Steam upload process though, which is exactly what I need to do for Atonal Dreams anyway...

I could also update the ∞ Atonal Dreams info page ∞, since I do need to, but I'll need to gather some visual assets for that... That's actually the main off-putting thing about the Steam process actually, so hmm...

Oh, I don't know. I haven't done any work in ages and I really don't like that. I should at least try to make some of those visual assets...

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