I feel like a broken record at this point but really thank you guys. I can't tell you how happy this reception has made me. While it was exhausting, right up to the end (and beyond) I still really enjoyed just sitting down and writing stuff for you all every night and watching you interact and navigate what I built for you.

Something as small as someone recognizing the old corpses in the maze as stock characters would make me stupidly giddy. Basically any time someone 'got' or figured out what I was doing or aiming for. It was so creatively rewarding.

I'm a bit embarrassed by how worried and morose I was for the first half of the game (until the spectators joined to drown out the voice in my head, really). I could blame it on my sickness but it persisted for a bit after that as well. People would tell me they were having fun and I couldn't just be happy and take a compliment without adding a "yeah, but..." to it.

But this reception will definitely see me go into the next game with a LOT more creative confidence. That and having Rose to work and create with is going to be invaluable going forward.

Mostly I'm glad that I didn't go and get Paul's permission to make this one official only to deliver a giant flop. I imagine I could have made a lot of money if I showed up with a fake mustache and took bets on whether the game was coming back after that hiatus.

Anyway, nothing I did would be anything without the characters you guys submitted and played to perfection. Their quirks and the spider web of relationships made crafting the narrative pretty easy. Those epilogues really wrote themselves at the end, they were nearly foregone conclusions.

I sincerely hope to have you all back for the next rodeo.