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First, I should say that I disapprove of releasing visual novels in pieces. I'm perfectly willing to wait three or four years for a good story, but I hate nothing more than being interrupted in the middle and having to wait another year for the next one. The habit of releasing VNs in chapters was a vice mostly restricted to doujin VNs in the past. The more obvious reasons are people like me who hate having their stories interrupted, the previous dominance of physical media, and other issues. However, as digital releases have become more common, companies have begun to try to find ways to suck more blood out of their readers without investing as much money. The result has been a rash of fragmentary game releases, like Corona Blossom, Grisaia Phantom Trigger, and the Uso series by Campus. Now, while I used them as an example, those are mostly positive examples. All three constructed their 'pieces' so they could stand on their own. Phantom Trigger takes an episodic approach, making each entry feel like an anime episode in a series or a novel in a series that does a good job of concluding the events of each entry, so that you don't become desperate waiting for the next. The Uso series by Campus made each entry so that it stood on its own without needing previous knowledge of the other entries, despite their interlinked setting and characters. These are probably the two best ways to approach micro-releasing VN stories... but in both cases, I would actually much prefer to read all the chapters at once, lol. I say I hate micro-releases, but that is because I see VNs as game hybrids. For me, I only want to invest money in a game once. I hate subscriptions, I hate microtransactions, and I absolutely despise random additional (paying) content. I can justify buying a season pass along with the game itself, but that is because it is a one-time transaction that gets me everything without having to concern myself with continuous pushing of bits and pieces of essentially worthless digital merchandise. In other words, I hate that this has become more common because I instinctively fear the day when some 'brilliant genius' manages to incorporate true microtransactions into a pure VN.

Well, as of thirty-nine minutes ago, it is officially my birthday (as of the time I checked at the beginning of making this post). I have a lot of things to reflect on this year. I am now thirty-six, settling into the beginnings of middle-age, knowing my lifestyle will probably kill me before I hit fifty. I'm a sugar addict, I love fatty foods, I make my own alcoholic drinks (this year, a mixed fruit wine that actually turned out well and was much easier than the rum and hard root beer I did last year). I sit on my ass eighty percent of the time, I am hugely fat... ... and I'm surprisingly happy. I won't say I don't have my down moments. Looking back, I regret not going for more athletic pursuits while my knees and back could still stand them. I regret not trying for a more regular and less... frustrating line of work. However, I can honestly say that, for all its frustrations, I actually seem to like being a fat, balding otaku who has pretensions at being some kind of VN guru (lol). I do wish that I could fit into a plane seat, lol. If I ever go to Japan, it is going to have to be a sea trip, since buying two plane tickets for one person is both embarrassing and more than a little expensive. I hate my work, but I'm good at it and, in good times, it pays well, so I keep doing it. So what would I change? Honestly, it is hard to say. I won't pretend I'm all love and joy when it comes to life. I have too much toxic waste going through my brain for that (I just happened to have gained just enough maturity not to feed the trolls constantly *smiles dryly*). I'm fundamentally a passive person once I set foot outside my hobbies, preferring not to do anything I don't absolutely have to do. I'm also negative and misanthropic... but is that stuff I actually want to change? *shrugs* I've never been any other way, so it is impossible to say. However, every year I hit this day and wonder what could have been, which probably says everything that needs to be said about my experiences with life, for all my proclamations of relative happiness.