15 Days: Part 17

October 23rd to November 6th

• A note to my subscribers;
• Foolish Mortals launches;
• Fitness update and comparison;
• Slots and Daggers;
• What next for testing?

A note to my subscribers: Because I sometimes make tiny mistakes, my last 15 Days was sent out in draft format so, if you had that first email and wondered why it made little sense, or was followed-up by another email, it’s because I got my buttons mixed up.

I have this option within WordPress to ‘Publish’ and then send a draft email to myself to see how it is formatted and, if I’m happy, I press ‘Publish’ again for the real thing to be sent out. But I forgot I’d already pressed ‘Publish’ once and so it was sent half-written. I suppose it’d be better if WordPress just had a ‘send test email’ button but there we are, it is what it is.

It was very irritating and I wasn’t happy that something half-written went out. However, what I liked about this mishap was how annoyed at myself I was, which just tells me how important everything I do in this game development world is to me. A simple shrug of the shoulders and an ‘Oh well.’ would have indicated a lack of interest but the annoyance and disappointment I felt told me otherwise. I’m not looking for perfection but I am looking for excellence, and I felt I hadn’t done a proper job. However, I am also human so I didn’t give myself too much of a hard time in the end.

So let’s pretend, you and I, that a perk of subscribing means you get to see ‘behind-the-scenes’ stuff like, you know, draft emails that show my writing process and thinking. Yeah, we’ll go with that. 😉

Foolish Mortals launches: At 11am GMT on 5th November 2025, Foolish Mortals was released into the gaming world.

It’s a weird feeling, seeing a game I’ve spent a long time testing out there. There aren’t many I’ve committed this much time to or had a particularly holistic view of. There’s a couple of cool additions and contributions alongside my testing that have made it into the game and, as I’ve alluded to previously, I do feel like I am a core part of the team.

Testing for Foolish Mortals went right up to the day before release and it was only my internet dropping that forced me to go to bed. Come launch day, I had a small section at the end of the game to finish so when I got home from work, I sat down and played it to the end, just for fun.

I was tired and, as I enjoyed a glass of wine to celebrate, I watched the credits roll, reflecting upon the work done on this wonderful game over the last seventeen months. I’m not ashamed to say I shed a tear. It’s been hard work but it’s been well worth it and I’ll remember my time working on Foolish Mortals fondly. I stand by my comment that this game belongs up there with the best in the genre.

And as with any game, reviews are key to making people aware of its existence so if you’ve played the game and wish to leave a positive review on whichever platform you’ve chosen, it all helps and it is very much appreciated. The greater the exposure, the higher the chance for more wonderful games like this one being made for us to enjoy.

If you want to read more, some of the reviews so far include:

Adventure Game Hotspot (100%):

Foolish Mortals review | Adventure Game Hotspot

1upNerd (90%):

https://oneupnerd.com/review/foolish-mortals-review/

RageQuit.GR (90%):

https://ragequit.gr/en/reviews/item/foolish-mortals-pc-review/#

Foolish Mortals is out now on:
Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1848440/Foolish_Mortals/

Fitness update and comparison: I have a graph thingy for you this time.

So, what this shows me is that I have a caffeine addiction, I’m slightly less full of chocolate than I was in September, and I’m made up of 18.97% alcohol.

I joke, of course. It’s an improvement, and however slow it may be, it is making a difference. For example, I don’t have a sudden wave of fatigue during the afternoon and although I feel my sleep is disrupted, I’m very much awake during the day and my energy levels have improved. I have earmarked the end of the year to completely cut out caffeine, if I haven’t done so by then. It’ll mean a very grumpy Paul, and potentially terrible migraines initially but I’ve done it before and I know how much better I feel afterwards. Ideally, I’ll just gradually reduce how much I drink between now and then but we’ll see. All I know is that the numbers go down overall, and I’ll keep going.

Fitness has been less about strengthening and more about walking. Testing Foolish Mortals into the evening reduced the time I had to exercise but walking to and from work, plus a lunchtime stroll, means I kept up some level of cardio. My weight has slowly come down; I’ve lost seven pounds since I started, and my clothes are slightly looser than before. All-in-all: good work.

Slots and Daggers: It’s not all been testing and fitness though. I did find some time to play a game for fun, and Slots and Daggers has been my game of choice lately. It released on 24th October 2025 and has been very well-received. It took me about 8 hours over several short sessions to complete and I picked it up for a launch discount of £4.68, which is less than a coffee and cake. A fun game and no cake for me. Win win. There’s a short video below and the link is here if you fancy a look: Slots & Daggers

What next for testing?: All the freebies are now complete. Everything I had committed to is done and fulfilled. My portfolio is varied, my experience enhanced, and the testimonials gratefully received. This first act is finished, and I now find myself at a crossroads. One that requires some focus and decision-making as I work out my next direction. I know that I will continue to test games but there’s more to come, whatever that may be. Perhaps, once I understand what that is more clearly, I’ll share my thoughts here. For now, I am grateful to everyone who has given me a chance. I am not here solely because of skill and hard work; I am also here because people gave me an opportunity to grow and show what I can do.

Now it’s time to understand what happens in Act 2.

As always, until next time, stay safe, and thank you for reading.

Paul.