Good Morning, Fam!
I take a deep breath as I write this ...not because of any anxiety but simply because I'm allowing myself to take one. It's been roughly four weeks of some very intensive, heads-down work...and know I get to say it...
Here's where the fun really starts.
Before we get to that, I have to share what it took to get here for those of you who haven't been able to follow the live streams. I promise this is the short version.
I set out a few weeks ago to actually find my art style, or at least its humble beginnings, and my character at the same time. And thus began this learning artist's ride on the struggle bus. A lot of failures, a lot of learning.
Finally, I decided to back away and try a fresh approach. Something I hadn't considered until now: Of all the art I've consumed, where did I spend the most time? What did I enjoy the most? What could have some real impact on my art style, without feeling the urge or need to copy?
The answer was Dark Decco, the art style that made everthing so stylistic in the Tim Burton Batman movies as well as Batman: The Animated Series. Yeah, no surprises there.
So I grabbed a bunch of reference images from a Google search and began drawing them freehand. Outside of needing to dial in some proportions, my hand literally took right to the art style.
So once again I gave my self-portrait another go, and it happened.
First me, then Aria, and now Richard as you can see from the image above. Things have been snowballing in the art department.
The characters won't be 100% complete until we have all four of them on screen together and can make some final design choices and refinements. And there will certainly be a few adjustments as I bring them together.
That brings us to now.
And now, as I mentioned above, is where the fun starts. With the art style truly decided and in motion, we can now start to work on everything else. This also means I have some serious decisions to make in terms of how we communicate going forward, as well as where we focus our content.
So here's what we'll do...
Going forward, we're taking the full stance of being Game Developers, with the other projects such as the YouTube series and live streams supporting that project. There are actually several reasons for this, but to keep this brief: It will work the best this way and create the best workflow for ALL of the projects.
A lot of our communication channels are going to light up, and I'll post on the blog as we get going on different platforms, and what we'll be doing on each one.
Please know you can count on a couple of things to start up quickly...
- More Blog Posts: What you're reading right now will become the main source of detailed information and updates on how things are going. This will include both Game Dev updates as well as general updates for the community. Also, as the character work starts to ramp up, please know the blog is one place where we'll always keep it real.
- Member Exclusive Sneak Peeks and Bonus Content: Between the characters developing and the YouTube series launching, there is going to be a lot of sneak peeks and bonus content coming for Members. I'll give details on the YouTube series below.
- Agents of Chaos: After Dark: This new series launches this Friday on our main YouTube channel! Battle and I have been quietly cooking up a new series where we play 80s - 00s PC Games and "play it where it lies." This means very little editing or quick cuts, and a whole lot more improv and gameplay for 20 minutes at a time. We've already recorded and edited 16 episodes, so I'll post a little later this week on exact times.
- Agents of Chaos Member Bonus: Battle and I have been recording Member exclusive videos at the beginning of many of our recoding sessions. We've titled this series "Please Stand By" and we'll drop them along with early releases of the videos, available before they hit YouTube. Again, watch the blog this week for more details!
And there's a lot more... including the upcoming comic, another potential Agents YouTube series, the new Merch lines, and several upcoming live stream enhancements ...but this is exactly why I mentioned the blog is coming alive. There's going to be a lot to show and tell, and a lot more fun community involvement.
Fam, I'm insanely excited for all of this and what the next phase is going to bring. And I'm just as excited to be doing this with all of you. Thank you for your patience while I worked through a very heavy compression point so we could get to the good stuff.
Have questions? Feel free to ask them in the Discord or right here on the post!
With all my Love, Fam!
Jamie
What a chaotic week.
Don't get me wrong, I love chaos as much as the next gremlin, but this has been a bit much. Here's the tally:
- Sunday's stream was sidetracked by allergies that flaired up so bad, I couldn't even be on camera. I truly spent the day sick, and had to cancel Sunday night as a result.
- There were two major streaming software updates that took about half a day to make sure things were still working properly. I still have a lot to learn there with the new tools and plugins.
- And then the icing on the cake is today. I have a doctor's appointment this morning that I cannot move, so I'll be streaming today from 1pm - 8pm ET, instead of our usual 9am - 5pm slot.
So...ugh is all I can say to all that. This has been a messy week for schedules and getting things done.
Still, things got done. A LOT of things as a matter of fact. And it actually sets our pace and path forward for many weeks ahead. Let's get into what happened, and what this all means.
Just a little background: I've been working very hard on a final art style for...well...everything. YouTube, member benefits, the game...everything is going to hinge on this continuous art style. It also had to meet several requirements:
- It had to be us an reflect who we are and what we do.
- It had to be simple enough for a me to learn to animate. Especially as I'm new to it.
- They had to be neon. I wanted to carry a unique look to The Rift.
As a result, I spent a lot of time on the struggle bus with this. On camera, I kept practicing skills and running character development. Off camera, I was constantly experimenting with looks to try and dial it all in. All it needed was that final look so I could establish my final processes so I could bring this universe to life.
Then this past Monday, it clicked – on my self portrait of all things. Suddenly everything I was looking for was on the screen in front of me. It wasn't perfect yet, but it was there!
Fast forward to today, and I already have my bust and the Chill Little Acorn finished. Aria's bust is also well underway (see the above picture), and will be the focus of today's stream.
So basically, it feels like I blinked and everything came together.
The Companions Comic Strip will be the first thing to watch for. My focus will be getting that up and rolling, and then immediately moving on to further character development. With so many characters crossing over between the comic and the game, I'll be able to double-down on my efforts.
As for the streams themselves, this will be THE focus on Tuesdays and Fridays, as planned. Sunday streams will remain gameplay with the Agents of Chaos in Hytale and whatever random game we choose for the evening stream.
Fam, I can not even begin to tell you how excited I am for all this. Expect a lot of art, a lot of updates, and a whole lot of progress.
See you all later today on stream. And as always, thank you for everything you all do for the community.
Love you all dearly,
Jamie
Good Morning, Fam!
Please consider this your Weekly Flow – and know that I come to you exhausted, excited, satisfied, and most importantly…
Relaxed.
Fam… we’re ready.
Everything has been installed, tested, and tested again. I gave it one final pass this morning, and we are officially go for broadcast. Tonight, during our Member night and Sunday will be our live test runs, and from there…
We’re on the air. 📡
There’s a lot I could say about this past week, but right now I’m going to focus on what matters most:
The Theme Has Changed – Don’t Be Fooled
We’ve adopted a deceptively simple Standard Damage meets Public Access style.
And I mean deceptively.
A lot of thought went into making this feel clean, readable, mobile-friendly… and still very much us. Clean overlays. Bold text. Minimal clutter.
Under the surface?
Chaos.
Exactly where it belongs.
DICC-Around — Level 2 Activated
This is where things get fun.
DICC-Around commands are now available to all website members—and yes, this is your official invitation to FAFO responsibly.
🎛 Specific Chaos Commands
(2 minute universal cooldown)
!blank
!boommic
!bsod
!censor
!error
!pinipples
!redacted
!sproing
!static
🎲 Random Chaos
(5 minute cooldown)
!surpriseme – plays a random command from the list above.
And yes… I intentionally left out the descriptions.
You’ll figure it out. 😁
These are designed to harmonize with the stream, not overwhelm it –so while I ask for a little restraint, I also absolutely want you to use them.
What you trigger will directly shape how this system evolves.
Alerts – Now With Bells 🔔
Alerts have been rebuilt into a simple (and very satisfying) bell system.
From a front desk service bell… all the way up to a ceremonial gong.
You’ll hear the difference. Trust me.
We’ve also layered in some extra chaos:
- 300 bits / $3 tip → Fires a DICC-Around command
- 500 bits / $5 tip → TTS Brian joins the broadcast (up to 2500 characters)
- 1000 bits / $10 tip → Station Takeover Level 1 + TTS
- 5000 bits / $50 tip → Station Takeover Level 2 + TTS
And for our returning supporters:
💚 12-month resubs (and up) now include TTS
Huge shoutout to SGT Sarros for that suggestion.
The New Schedule – More, Not Less
I know some of you were waiting on this…
Stop holding your breath. You’re turning blue.
We didn’t cut back. We expanded. ❤️
📅 Weekly Broadcast Schedule
Sunday
10am – 4pm ET → Community Hytale (rotating host)
7pm – 9pm ET → Agents of Chaos (rotating host)
Tuesday
9am – 5pm ET → Art Jam with Little Sis (Jamie hosting)
Friday
9am – 5pm ET → Community Art (Live Stream Dev)
A Few Notes:
- Agents of Chaos includes After Dark—where the cast gets together and just… exists. Yes, we let us be us. You’ve been warned.
- Community Art (Fridays) is a limited-time series focused on building everything else we need: panels, emotes, stream gags, visuals… all of it, live.
It’s going to be chaotic. And fun. And probably slightly unhinged.
Closing Thoughts
There’s a lot more coming. A lot.
But for now, I’m going to pause here.
Just know how grateful I am for all of you – and how excited I am to spend time together tonight with members, and Sunday with the full community.
We built something special here.
Now we get to live in it.
More soon.
–Jamie
Forward from Jamie
How do I say “I’m going to miss you this week” and “I can’t wait to take this week off camera to install everything” in the same breath?
By showing you.
The checklist is ready. The art is done. Everything we’ve been building is sitting right there, waiting to be brought to life.
This week is going to be intense—recording voices, installing systems, dialing everything in behind the scenes so that when we come back…
We don’t just go live. We arrive.
The Flow – From Momentum to Installation
Last week proved something important: This is real.
What started as preparation turned into momentum—and now, this week becomes the turning point where everything gets installed, tested, and brought together into a single system.
This isn’t just about getting ready. It’s about making sure the live streams actually support everything else we’re building. The schedule, the structure, the flow – it’s all being reviewed and refined so the streams become part of something bigger.
And along the way, a few unexpected moments gave us the chance to test ideas in real time – small “happy accidents” that helped shape what this is becoming.
Now, all of the new pieces – sounds, alerts, and the evolution of the DICC-around system – are ready to come online. I’ll be breaking those out into a separate post later this week with full details and instructions. And for those who want an early look…
Members will get a sneak peek during Member Night this Friday at 7:00pm ET in Discord.
The schedule is nearly locked as well. A few final decisions remain, but one thing is already clear: We’re not pulling back. We’re expanding.
Supporting Sparks
Even with the focus locked on the streams… the rest of the world kept moving.
✔ Game Script Milestone: 200+ pages reached (and still climbing) – celebrated with Kira and Elfie
✔ Game Dev Progress: Sir Clapton of Guinea officially begins taking shape as our main baddie (WIP… but already bringing the energy)
Afterward from Jamie
To say I’m excited for this week would be the understatement of the year.
There’s a lot to do. A lot to install. A lot to bring together. But more than anything…
There’s a lot to show you.
I’ll be dropping updates throughout the week right here as things come online, piece by piece.
Much love, Family 💚
Jamie