What a year. Feels like every year I get ten times more busier than last year, but at the same time less productive overall. I released a short film with it's original soundtrack, a book, a few podcast episodes and just two video essays (will hopefully be three before the year's over). If you wish to check the projects I did this year, view 'the timeline page'.
But the one goal I set this year, that is to get my upcoming game finished and released, I did not reach (I did work on it a bit, though). As usual, (I feel like a broken record saying this) my 9 to 5 is taking up most of time and it is difficult to balance everything. I also cannot work 24/7 and need time for leisure activities. Sometimes I feel like giving up this hobby of mine and just focusing on my job, however I am not sure that decision will be good for my mental health.
At the end of the day, God's grace for everything. You have to keep moving and keep trying. I will set the goal again, this time for 2024 to finish that game and release it to the world. I also hope to do more audiologs/podcasts and video essays in the coming year. I am working on one at the moment, will try to release it before the year's over.
I wish everyone reading, a happy new year. Thank you for being here, genuinely. I have been making things on the internet for a long time now, mostly without any appreciation for it (not that I am chasing it whatsoever, but it would be nice). I am grateful that even without that, my passion for creating things and telling stories hasn't left me. God's grace.
- Rahil Blade
December 25th 2023
Updating this blog after a major project, and it's good to be back honestly.
I released 'A Climb', my second short film after 2019's Dorian. I also released the original film soundtrack for the same.
This project got me back into the workflow. This year so far has been quite unproductive, my energy is devoted mostly towards my professional side of things, as a result my creativity has taken a back seat. Until... I worked on 'A Climb'.
I really enjoyed making this short film and have been enjoying producing my severely inconsistent podcast/audiologs. I started a new season at the start of this year and at the time of writing have uploaded eight episodes. I talk about a variety of different topics, so enjoy that from wherever you get your podcasts.
That's all for now, I have been playing some of the games released this year (It has been a great year for gaming, honestly), and just reading, writing and learning. God's grace for everything. I hope to (God willing) record and upload some more podcast episodes in the future as well as to get another major project out before the year ends. I hope you all are doing well, and as always, I appreciate you being here.
- Rahil Blade
September 18th 2023
2022 was quite an adventure, at times it was fun and sometimes it was frustrating. I am honestly still new to the concept of work-life balance; so this year when my professional responsibilities increased, my personal hobbies took a backseat, and I wasn't fond of that. Moving forward, I intend to learn how to balance both sides and deliver on both fronts.
I am happy that I got to end the year by releasing 'Static Closure', a song which not only stands on its own, but it can mean a lot more if you understand the context behind it. For that you will have to check out 'Rahil City'; as a general rule, each side of me will operate in their own spaces, rarely (if ever) breaking the fourth wall.
For 2023, I think my primary focus is to (God willing) complete this game that I have been working on for the last 2 years. Development was negligible this year, but the extended time allowed for more introspection on the game's story and the world in which it is told. Excited to get on with that next, after a month or so.
I really want to jump back into making video essays, but I never force anything; sometimes I get inspired from the video games I play or the art that I study and it makes me want to share that. I didn't play a lot of games this year, so the output on the essay front was low. I intend to take a short break next, so I assume the essays will resume sooner or later.
Regardless, thank you for being a part of this journey. I hope you all are doing well, spending some time with your loved ones. That is all for this post; I shall return when I have more stories to share.
- Rahil Blade
December 31st 2022
If you have been following me for a while, this website will seem different to you and if you are new around here you can check out the original version for some context.
To keep it short, the old design was very outdated and all over the place, this one is much more streamlined. A list of all the new changes can be found in the new about section.
2022 has been the busiest year of my life as I juggle between my professional job (which you don't see), my personal projects (90% of which you do see), and my social life. This new website itself has been in works for about a month and a half. None of this is negative in any way, I really enjoy working on all these creative projects and God willing more are on the way (Few have been planned and some have finished certain stages of execution). All of this obviously takes time... there is beauty in completion, but there is also joy in progression.
I hope you all are doing well, please enjoy the updated website, try all of its new features. Thanks for being here, take care and I'll update you when I have new stories to share.
- Rahil Blade
June 19th 2022
Nostalgia Candidate my first book is a collection of 3 short stories/essays, do read it, I am sure you will find something of value in the book.
Progress has slowed a lot for both my videos and my upcoming game. By God's grace, I have a job now, so that takes up my time, still I will keep working on videos and exciting new projects. I am still very interested in creating video essays, with some ideas already being worked upon, so main channel will remain relatively active (I'll try one video a month, hopefully).
Also the short stories channel ? Yeah that's probably done, I realized I jumped on an algorthimic bandwagon and honestly those one minute videos never give the satisfaction of making a longer, well thought-out essay.
This blog will keep being updated btw, but I do it only a few times per year after every major project release. For keeping up-to-date with ALL my latest works, recommendations and more, check out my journal.
I appreciate you all being here, please take some time out to relax and medidate. Don't be in a rush and enjoy the process. That's all for now, take care and see you all in the next one.
- Rahil Blade
December 31st 2021
In my last post I had said that I would announce my next game around May or June; however, the game is not ready yet. Currently most of my time is spent on searching for a full time job and as a result my personal projects have taken a back seat, so the progress of my next video essay and game is certainly slow. I will release the game when it's ready, no doubt about it, I can only show it off when I am confident of the final product. At this time I have created a new channel called Rahil Blade Stories focusing on short videos. It's an effort to keep my creative side active while I look for this job and so far it seems to be working. I am still writing, working on multiple upcoming projects while searching for work so videos/projects won't stop but progress is slower that usual. That's all. Thank you for all the support, like always everyone who even takes interest in what I do motivates me to make more stuff and tell more stories. Take care and I'll see you all in the next post. - Rahil Blade June 29th 2021
I had started making Video Essays from January this year to keep me busy and productive at the same time, I have been uploading them on a semi-regular basis while managing other projects. In all honesty it's a lot of work, but it's also a lot of fun. So yeah the plan is to make more. In regards to the development of my 3rd game, it's going really well, I will probably reveal something about it around May or June. This project is extremely special to me and I don't want to rush it. So till then hope the video essays Keep You Company (Got the reference?) and when the game's ready you'll know about it. - Rahil Blade March 24th 2021
I had updated this on the game's official page: Rahil's paradox my first game has been delayed indefinitely. RP was my first project and I had made a lot of mistakes during it's development, now that I am getting better as a programmer and a game developer I want to make sure that the game represents my skill level at the moment, that obviously will take time, but I'm 100% sure you will be able to experience RP again. I have grown attached with that game and definitely want to make it better before I bring it back. Meanwhile, I am working on an entirely different new project. It is a story based narrative driven exploration adventure game that I have been working on for the last few months. The game has entered into phase 4 of it's development and I still have lot of stuff to work with before it can be released. I want to thank everyone for their support, anyone who looks forward to my work and encourages me to do better. - Rahil Blade December 23rd 2020
the last brain cell is a game I made in around 48 hours for the unexpected game jam. This was my first game jam and at the time of writing this, the submission are still open. The games haven't been rated yet, but frankly speaking I was inspired by the challenge of trying to make a fully playable game within the specified time limit. If you are concerned about Rahil's Paradox, don't worry. I am still working on it. In the meantime play the Demo, play the last brain cell. I have put a lot of effort in both games. - Rahil Blade September 13th 2020
The demo for my game is out now! You can check it out here.
I want to talk more about it, but I also want the game and it's world to speak for itself.
Quite the dilemma if you ask me.
- Rahil Blade
July 31st 2020
The modern world has become obsessed with numbers - "Hey look I have 100 million followers" we get lost in this number hunting world to the point where people who support us or enjoy our works are treated not as individuals but as numbers. It's obvious that this is a bad practice, our natural ego wants recognition for our work and we validate that with a number... Instead cherish and bond with the people that support you, make art for them, try to bring them joy and make them forget about their troubles, even if it is for a fleeting moment. I want you to know that your work contributes to the whole, even when nobody is watching. - Rahil Blade July 3rd 2020
The art of patience is something that is quite weird to understand. There are multiple parallels of the same vision, either you are waiting for the right time or hey maybe you were a little too patient and the right time just flew by.... It's hard to get adjusted to this cycle, it's hard to understand when and where you let go and just take a chance, right time or not you gave it your all, you may fall flat on your face, but who is stopping you from making a comeback. I am worried about the man who tries too much and too hard on every single passion he has... at the end it's always termed a failure. An ever aching thought at the back of your mind and a universal question arises ... "Should he let it go or will he get lucky this time ?" - Rahil Blade July 2nd 2020