Hey All!

So it's that special time of year where we write another dev blog going over some things, and this is the part where I tell you that we are going to be more consistent with this. Then you go, "Yeah yeah, buddy, we have heard that before." 

Well, this time it's true! Let me tell you why; we, as a studio, have made the scary decision to focus more on our own independent projects. This means more time on design, development, and community building. When we are working on client projects, we can't share too much. That's our client's pleasure; they get to share the remarkable progress and videos. When we work on our stuff, we get to show that off to all you astonishing people who read these blogs.  

So we are just abandoning all of our poor clients? Well, no, no, we are not; we are just slowing down the amount of new client work we take on. This is a scary moment for a business as client work is guaranteed pay while independent work comes with more risks. However, I believe in the team and the projects we have cooking, so I am confident it will work out. 

What's next for the Azure Ravens team? We keep doing what we do; we make fantastic games and ship high-quality experiences. To do that, however, we need Money, and that's where you all come in. Well, maybe not you specifically, but people just like you!  

At this point, Azure Ravens is gearing up for its first-ever funding round. We have done our homework and got all the fun business documents and pitch decks together. I started talking to some investors and partnered with the fantastic team over at WeFunder.com to do our first-ever seed round in style. WeFunder allows regular people and Angel investors to buy some stock in a company they believe might succeed. This gives you some skin in the game and us the money to keep working on our project. 

So what is the big ask? Well, to start, we are setting our goal at $50,000, as this gives us enough money to finish the vertical slice and gives us the time to find a publisher or large-scale investors. If we raise more on WeFunder, which is possible, then we can keep working even longer to make the vertical slice and the game look as impressive as possible. Shoot, if the campaign gains enough traction, we might even raise the total amount needed to make and market the game. Wouldn't that be awesome!

Okay, so I got your interest? Want to learn more about the campaign? 

Well too bad! At least for the moment, we can't tell you too much; we are still finalizing things with WeFunder. So if you are interested, you will need to follow us on social media and check back here for the big announcement.  

I don't want to leave your curiosity disappointed, so I will let you in on a secret. The secret is, we have a fantastic new project in the works, and its tentative title is "Project Ravenwood."

Those without direction in life tend to find themselves pulled toward Ravenwood Acres. The small frontier town, a shadow of its former self, is located in the infested forest at the fringe of human society. Within the town proper, there are countless choices to be made. Starting with the small lot of land entrusted to you by the town's master, will you train under the legendary lifestyle masters, growing your skill in various crafting professions? Perhaps you crave a life of adventure and mystery; the wilds of Ravenwood can provide that and more to those brave or foolish enough to venture out. Or will you simply live a quiet life on the farm with a loved one? Ravenwood Acres, if full of legends, mysteries, and choices, what will your life be?

So what do you think? Do you like the initial idea? What about the concept art? I want to hear everything you have to say, and your feedback helps more than you could ever know. Finally, I want to wish you all a happy end to your spooky season, and I look forward to seeing you in our next post!

- Corbin Reeves