Greetings all! Time for another monthly update!
As we concluded this month, we happened to have a chance for a real life meeting between our Southern California members and Sean, our new musician based up in Oregon. He was to be passing through Cali on a church mission trip to Mexico and we managed to meet up with him for lunch.
Unfortunately it was just a brief meetup but, hopefully it will be the first of many in the days to come.
Previews will be minimal this month as we've still got work in development. However, work on Astoch is proceeding and is going well.
We also had Beckah do an update pass on another secondary character. He was first previewed back in April. At that time we had him and his poses done in a color pass.
Unfortunately, the model looked a bit out of place in the engine when we finally got it in. Not only were there some issues with the build but, there was also some lighting issues that needed amending.
So we gave it to Beckah as a first assignment involving character modeling. Mostly to see how she'd do in adapting and working with the different styles. Which, we're happy to say, she did well. We likely will be looking to her more in the future as we move forward.
That said, she's currently tasked with our Lady Akane piece and will likely transition to other character models in the days to come.
In music, we expected the month to be a little lighter as Sean had the commitments involving his church this month. However, he did finish two themes. One a general area theme and then the second, he did a full flesh out of Gwynevere's theme and updated it.
Her theme was originally done by Finbarr and was the first piece of music ever done for Dust and Air. Finbarr is a big fan of Gwynevere. While we would have loved to bring it up to date with him, his schedule as of late has been hectic. Frankly, work was starting to catch up on our end too.
In April we discussed transitioning the music development on character themes to Sean and Gimmen. Out of respect for him, we concluded that we wanted to see if Finbarr's situation resolved but, it just didn't. As May arrived, we elected to pick up where Finbarr left off on the character themes. Real life happens unfortunately but, the project moves forward. When things sort out for him, we'll be glad to work with him more on Dust and Air.
Sadly, as we discuss real life...June also saw the tragic passing away of a former member of Broken Hammer. Eric Sellman. Most people won't know about him since his work with us took place more in the founding days. Unfortunately we don't have an updated picture. This is one from when he was younger. However, he very much maintained this look with time.
He passed away suddenly on June 24th after complications from pneumonia. His kidneys went into renal failure, then he was gone. He was 49 and leaves behind a wife and two boys.
Eric's involvement with Broken Hammer in our founding days was crucial. In fact, he really should be considered the third founder outside of Josh and Ryan. He originally worked for many years with Symantec before quitting prior to getting involved with Broken Hammer.
Back when Broken Hammer started he helped provide a lot of insight on the business side. He also did quite a bit of research into crowd funding campaigns, which helped a lot as we went to Indiegogo back in 2017.
While his responsibilities shifted to his kids and he wasn't able to stay on with the project, he often would check in and see how we were doing. He even was one of the original testers of our early development builds. Really an invaluable member and a good friend/relative. He will be missed.
As far as a memorial goes, we will eventually be including one in Dust and Air. Where and what it will be, is to be determined still. Eric was a real kind hearted guy. We're sure we'll find a place for him.
Now, so as to not end on a sad note, we'd also like to formally announce the engagement of our founder and lead writer, Joshua Wise, to the director of our Asia unit, Yohana Wandojo. The two met online back in November 2017. In 2018, in August, with the help of a relative, Joshua was able to travel to meet her. This was where they were able to not only go on their first date but, also, work out ideas for the intern program and the future of Broken Hammer.
Her trip in February to California was the deciding factor for both of them before they moved forward. They are currently going through the US K-1 fiancee visa process. No date has been set but, it will likely be in 2020. So look for Yohana to be around Broken Hammer for a long time. In fact, she is currently assisting on inputting the second story into the game engine.
As we move into July, we expect to have some more updates regarding the other character models in development. We'll also be getting more started on the non-essential art pieces. This includes various pop up images that highlight world objects or places. They aren't necessary but, they add a bit more realism.
Till next month, see you in the skies and till we meet again Eric Sellman, arigatou!