It really is kinda funny. I assumed Phoenix was named for the rebirth of the adventure game genre, you know, the idea that they were bringing back something assumed dead, and now...It's fantastic how they're so great at living up to their name. They keep being struck down and rising from the ashes. I've never seen a more dedicated team or fanbase.
Thanks you guys, all of you. Thank you to the team for deciding to create this game and really sticking with it for all 8 years that it took to get to a finished product. I've had ideas for games before that I was really passionate about and...well, from idea to design is a big enough step, but from design to implementation, despite all of the twists and turns along the way... We're all so glad that you kept through it, that you dedicated your time, your effort, your passion into creating this game for us all to enjoy. We've been cheering you on from the beginning, but you've been putting forth the work. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for making this idea a reality despite seemingly insurmountable odds. Thank you for truly being the phoenix of the fan game world.
And thank you to the Save TSL team. Without you guys, we would've been a bunch of righteous chickens with our heads cut off. You guys stepped up and took responsibility when it would've been easier to hide in the shadows and hope someone else would do it. You focused our efforts into one direct force that clearly influenced Activision. I doubt we could've done that with the occasional strongly worded letter sent sporadically. You opened your homes, inboxes, and packs of stamps to save The Silver Lining, and you deserve a lot of appreciation.
And thank you to the rest of the TSL community. While Save TSL made it easier to help, everyone in the community was necessary to make an impact. We sent letters; we poured out our own stories into emails; we pressed Activision with phone calls. Thanks for being active fans and taking the time to not let this die.
This moment always seemed like a far off dream. I always got so caught up in the community, the forums, the conversations, the people...that the idea of there really being a game coming out seemed so distant. When huge events happened, I always got this feeling of just being truly inspired. I realized that this was really happening; we were really going to see this fantastic piece of art. And I'll admit, this isn't how I imagined it happening. I wanted that 2000 (I feel like it was later stated to be a much bigger number
) page script, and the news that we'd only be getting 2/9 chapters was heartbreaking, but I've done a lot more game design since then and...Wow. We're getting a lot more than we paid for.
This is really happening. In just two short (okay, unbearably long) weeks, we'll have episode 1 of The Silver Lining in our hands. It's really happening. We did it. We won.
