Greetings, folks.
Despite the recent news as of late, time marches onwards and so too must we in covering the upcoming site announcements.
Being mindful of the radio silence of the past few months, we’ll try to aim to keep people better informed on a more regular basis, like with a seasonal newsletter of sorts - consider this a very, very late spring newsletter!
A couple of big announcements for you all:
1. New Site Progress
Work continues apace on the new site, and it has been suggested that we could be looking to invite devs for testing the alpha build within this year! For those out of the loop I will invite you to refer to this Tweet here. (Ed: please note that the game being shown in the interface is no longer in development!) As you can see from the 2021 date, this is a move that has been years in the making and so it is with some relief that we are finally looking to see headway on this major development.
What will the new site upgrade offer?
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For users, there will be a simpler and more streamlined means to find and access games. Less trawling through forum posts to find games that you like! Archival through the Wiki and a potential means to purchase games directly are planned for future releases.
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For developers, it will mean an easier and better means to hosting and and distributing your games on our dedicated store page. Do you use Patreon to filter access to your content? Planned Patreon-integration to user accounts should streamline the process while still maintaining content security!
Some planned disruptions ahead
With all of these changes, expect a little turbulence within the upcoming months, particularly with a planned migration from AWS to GCP. This is a big change that will not only help reduce operating costs but also eases the maintenance burden on Grotlover2, making system admin easier and quicker than before.
The recent failure with AWS that we had to endure is a frank reminder of the need for us to change and the benefits this will have in the long-term for maintaining site integrity.
More details about any such planned disruptions will be announced closer to the time.
2. No Official Gain Jam this year
Sorry, guys. It really pains me to say this, but with work ramping up on the new site and disruptions expected to land in the summer, the decision was made to call off the official Gain Jam for this year. The move to GCP alone is large enough that managing that as well as the Gain Jam was looking to put too much of a burden on us. With delaying the Gain Jam only straining the time availaibility of competitors, we are instead chalking up 2023 up as a “recovery year” while we get things lined up for the changes in store for the site.
A “Lo-Cal” alternative…?
You may note that I’m using the term “official” here, as while there is no intention to run the Gain Jam in an official capacity, going cold turkey and with nothing to fill the void feels more than a little disappointing. While many of you enjoy both the influx of games and the competing for prizes, the Gain Jam (as well as game jams as a whole) affords an opportunity for developers old and new to dip into the spirit of creation and try their hand at making something new. To temporarily cast concerns aside and just make something. For those who look forward to the Gain Jam as an opportunity to create, I hear you.
An idea was raised for a simpler, lower-stakes game jam. One that was smaller in scope (one week instead of the usual two), more casual and with less overall strings, bells and whistles attached. The caveat for this would be that there would be no judging, and no prizes. I repeat: No cash prizes. This would simply be a community-driven event for those who want to flex their creative muscles and put some time aside to make something cool or see an idea take root and to share within this community.
To all the developers out there, both the seasoned Jam veterans as well as to aspiring newbies, would you be interested in participating in such a game jam event? We took to naming it the “Lo-Cal” Gain Jam.
We’ll be putting a poll out shortly to gauge interest in this!
3. We Still Need Your Support
Writing this, I am painfully aware of following up that last bombshell with this. Instead of simply going cap in hand, however, I instead want to remind everyone about our overall aim with Weight Gaming. Despite the changes and potentially bumpy road ahead, our aim and dedication remains unchanged as to the service that we want to provide: a friendly, dedicated space for people of likeminded interests to congregate, create and proliferate entertaining adult content. For us, that view hasn’t shifted. We continue to make purposeful gains in this regard, wanting to make hosting content easier, more accessible and more secure for users and developers alike.
Unfortunately, the reality is that such a service does come at a cost. As our last statements show, running the site does come with a significant upkeep. While we continue to seek cost-saving measures, such as the aforementioned GCP migration, there is no denying that the new site will demand more of a fiscal burden in the short-term.
Join in our excitement!
Despite all of this, we remain undaunted and excited for the future. If you at all share in that same excitement for what the future has in store for this website and this growing community, then please consider pledging a couple of bucks over at our Patreon page. Any support is vastly appreciated and helps keep the site running. The statements only confirm that we are not looking to fleece the community for our own gain, and that support for the site will be used as intended: giving back to you guys.
Whew! That about wraps it up for this update. Stay tuned for more updates in store with regards to the Lo-Cal Gain Jam. See you again, later in the summer!