Hello, everyone!

It's already been a week since Where Winter Crows Go has been released, oh my god!! Still can't believe the game is out 🤯

First of all, I want to thank everyone who played the game and left me either a review, a kind comment or both. Those who didn't comment but still left me a positive review, I see you guys too, and I appreciate it from the bottom of my heart!! The game release exceeded my expectations, I honestly did not expect so much love so quickly!! Reading your comments and reviews truly warmed my heart and made me smile ear to ear—I even got teared-eyed more than once 🥹💕

To think some of you were here since the demo, others put the release date in their calendar, others loved playing as Aspen—the person who mentioned having aphantasia, I see you, and I'm so happy you enjoyed the game even more because of Aspen's inclusion!!—others were inspired to make their own games, some even mentioned this being one of their favorites!! 🤯 It truly means a whole lot. I can't thank you enough for all the support and kindness you've given me and I'm excited to bring you even more stories in the future!! 

THANK YOU!!

Now, although the release has gone wonderfully, overall, those of you who follow me on social media will probably know there have also been a few 'inconveniences'. Two of my most important boundaries when it comes to my games are, one, that I don't want any NSFW content made around it nor lewd/suggestive/overly possessive comments regarding my characters and, two, that I allow gameplays and streams AS LONG AS there is commentary in those gameplays—meaning, no silent playthroughs.

I've already addressed the matter of the NSFW stuff on another devlog but, to put it simply, seeing others put my characters in these type of scenarios or making sexual comments about them makes me uncomfortable. As many of you may know, I identify as graysexual, meaning I'm on the ace spectrum. And, while I'm not sex-repulsed, sexual content is still something that's very private to me. While I do enjoy certain NSFW content here and there, I really REALLY don't like it when others lust over my characters. And that's something that I realized during the development of this game, which is why I created the boundary in the first place once I processed my feelings. 

I used to feel guilty about this matter 'cause I thought it could sound hypocritical, but a lot of friends reassured me it's not. That it's completely understandable when someone feels this way towards their characters. They're my characters, after all! And not everyone is okay with their characters being lusted over or others getting possessive of them. I'm definitely someone who gets really uncomfortable over these!

Thankfully, the great majority of you has been really supportive and understanding of my feelings regarding these matterers and, with the risk of sounding like a broken record, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. It's not easy being vulnerable, much less with your audience! But I'm glad that I had the courage to talk about this 😊

Now, the second thing I want to talk about concerns part of the title of this devlog: GAMEPLAYS. In the last few days, a few Let's Players have made gameplay videos of WWCG. While most of them have respected my stance by making gameplays WITH commentary, there's also been a case where my boundaries were completely ignored. In fact, they removed my disclaimer from the game altogether and didn't even reply to me after I contacted them. Making a silent/no-commentary gameplay—something explicitly mentioned in my disclaimer that I DON'T allow—is already bad enough, but having it removed from the video altogether proves this was deliberate.

The reason I put my disclaimers in the first place is because I want people to know what I'm not okay with. They're not only a boundary that I've set but also a way to protect my product. Unlike gameplays with commentary—which have the player comment, react to the game they're playing, and sometimes even give feedback—no-commentary gameplay videos are essentially uploading a full game without really adding anything new to the material. And while this might not be such a big deal with free games, it certainly is with commercial ones because you could be affecting the developer's sales. 

One could argue that regular gameplays could also cut developers' sales and, while it can be true in some cases, these type of gameplays are very useful to developers. Watching people play your game and seeing and/or listening to their reactions can be very valuable feedback. Not to mention, these type of gameplays are way more likely to function as 'free advertising' since a lot of people usually want to see the reaction and know the opinions of other players too before deciding to buy something. 

Added to that, there's the matter of fair use. Fair use is a copyright law which permits copyrighted material without having to first acquire permission from the copyright holder. In the case of Youtube, this website allows unlicensed use of copyrighted materials—video games, in this case—for purposes such as commentary. So, in conclusion, if the gameplay video is transformative enough—aka, it provides commentary of the player about what's happening in the game, their reactions and possible feedback—then this is considered fair use. No-commentary gameplays, however, are essentially uploading a full-game without adding anything new. 

These are the reasons why I don't allow no-commentary gameplays of my games. Even if they are free. I don't like the idea of my games—which I've poured my heart and soul into—being reuploaded to channels that aren't saying anything new about what I've already made. It feels bad and like all my effort was for nothing.

So, this brings me back to the initial point. Apart from me not wanting no-commentary gameplays, I also think it's important that the disclaimers are left untouched in the videos as well. When these are deleted, people who only consume my game through the videos will not know there are some things I'm not okay with. Not to mention, if a no-commentary channel removes the disclaimer, the proof that I didn't allow it in the first place goes 'POOF'. 

While, thankfully, all gameplay videos of WWCG have left the warnings intact, I've heard of cases where Let's Players removed the game trigger warnings from their video; resulting in the developer getting complaints from the video watchers for 'not adding them'. This is why I must reiterate: DON'T DELETE DISCLAIMERS AND WARNINGS FROM MY GAMES. 

For those Let's Players who made a gameplay of the game with commentary but didn't include the disclaimer, it's okay, don't worry 'cause you didn't know. As I mentioned on twitter a few days ago, my intention is not to make you feel bad and the reason why I didn't mention it before is because, honestly, I didn't think it'd happen. But that's why I'm now standing my ground and making clear that removing my disclaimers and/or warnings from gameplays of my games is a NO-NO.

To everyone who reached out, expressed concern and made me feel validated when I expressed my boundaries, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. While, unfortunately, some people will react to boundaries with disapproval and sometimes even insults, I'm really glad the great majority is so understanding and considerate 🥰

I also want to thank everyone who supported the game in general, be it through playing, donating, leaving a kind comment and/or review... you guys are the best. Your sweet messages helped me a lot throughout this whole matter and I can't be thankful enough. You're amazing 💖

Anywho-hoo, this devlog has certainly turned very long, haha! 😂 So, to end on a positive note, I want to send you all a gigantic virtual hug and, once again, my thanks! If you've read this whole wall of text, even more so, thank you so much!! 

I'll see you in another update 👋😊 

Ta-ta!