The end of Project Gert.

Though I’m sad to see it go, it’s not like the writing has not been on the wall for years. Since starting this game I’ve dropped out of college, been homeless, been chased by internet (“trolls?"), and seen sales lower than I’d ever dreamed possible. It’s only been belief in the quality of our essential stories that has kept me going. Though I can’t imagine completely abandoning several projects, such as the book rewrite or the puzzle reboot anytime soon, expect the end to be very near. I do not expect a parade of fans to appear at the release of the next game, though that’s always what I hope for. To give you an idea what it is like, it is quite miserable to work on this project at this point. It started with the help of friends, and by drawing in more and more people. But slowly, it has become a more and more isolated experience. This was never my intention, and it has gone on far too long. I only dragged it on out of respect for what took place and the assets and story I had readily available to me. But at this point, I can’t see going on any further. As a metaphor, working on this game and book are a lot like working in a sensory deprivation chamber at this point. I believe the fact that I’ve learned so much about writing and story through pushing Project Gert, that I’ve actually lost sight of its modest origins. That is the chink in the armor. To start it all, it was only a simple game project for a class. Yes, it was meant to be a nice side project, and its goals have been exceeded many times over. But some goals have not been met, and will not be met, unless I can let the project go. I’d love for Project Gert to be a Battlestar Galactica sort of story, where it sees a revival, but that’s looking less and less likely. More likely, is that I’ll write another novel (unrelated) sometime down the line when the Project Gert world is completely past me. I’m still looking for that great idea that brings happiness, hope and fulfillment to people’s lives, but it’s looking like Project Gert is not it. I do not control Xbox Live and I can’t pull or remove games, and I’m not even sure if that’d be an option I’d consider, but I do not want to lead people on that there’s some mystical plan at work that will make everything better. There just isn’t, as that was the book and Recon that were released on Dec 6th of 2012. Right now I have 48 puzzles and a book that is in a rewrite mode. The work I’m doing on it is very slow, and hardly inspired and motivated by anything. Mostly, jobs, and side projects and responsibilities get in the way. Because I want to approach the material with a great attitude, and amount of energy, it is harder and harder to sit down and work on it. I can’t explain the difficulties, just know that they are very great, and work is very slow, and very painful and harsh. It was not like this years ago, and I long for the day I could happily work 12-16 hour days on Project Gert material and not feel totally exhausted. But these days, I feel beaten and torn, and the critics and low fanfare have worn me down too thin. I can’t explain it, but it’s not something I enjoy experiencing and I long for the days when I have new material, new friends, and new hopes that are different than Project Gert now. I no longer want to work with it. It’s too isolating, too cold, and too completely devoid of human contact.

If you have found this letter looking for hope, I am sorry, but there is a chance. Tell your friends, read the novel, build a community around the material. Try writing your own stories, or movie adaptions or fan art. If the community is strong enough, I’d love to come back and help out. There are already some people working on putting Gertrude into a fighting game. I am completely hands off in this matter. I have asked if they wish my assistance, and they’ve kept to themselves mostly, which I fully support. I do not ask rights or profit share, or anything, other than that you try to respect the material and world as much as you can.