Help Me Out Of A Tight Spot
Donation protected
Hello! I'm Olivia White, gamedev and author. I run the studio Owl Cave, and also write horror fiction.
Right now, I'm in a bit of a tight spot. As some of you know, our publisher went bankrupt just before Christmas, which caused a lot of disruption to our earnings. I've been working tirelessly to try and bring new things to the table to earn money; some new games will be coming soon, as well as two novels I'm trying to sell around, but in the meantime there's been a severe lull in my income. I've had to borrow money to survive, on top of existing loans I had to take out to fund our last game, The Charnel House Trilogy.
I'm also disabled. I've had multiple spinal reconstruction surgeries over the last decade, which have led to me suffering severe chronic pain and prevent me from having a 'normal' job. I can't travel or walk much, so my options for working and earning money are severely limited. I wrote about it here on Polygon recently.
The target I've set would allow me to continue working without stress, as well as pay off a number of debts that have accrued during my downtime. In particular, a loan for just under £5000 which went on game development and which we were hoping our game, partnered with a publisher, would be able to earn back. As of yet, when you factor in other expenses I've had, it hasn't. The current goal would allow me to pay off this loan, as well as have a little money to continue paying myself to live/work until such times as I can put out a new game and the aforementioned novels. They're all close-ish to completion, but due to health/financial reasons I've hit a bit of a temporary lull.
Having support from this GoFundMe campaign would mean the world to me. I genuinely have no idea how to continue supporting myself without the support of others, and my disability means earning money can be difficult for me. I've worked tirelessly for years trying, but both physical and mental health reasons mean that I'm severely limited in what I can take on. Any help people can provide would be a lifesaver right now, allowing me to focus on work and getting back on my feet without the constant looming stress of financial ruin. The stress is taking a severe toll on my health and mental wellbeing, and already the support I've received has helped alleviate that. I'd be grateful beyond words for any further support, and the chance to be able to continue my career in game development and fiction.
<3 you all.
*Edit* I've posted this as an update, but it's pretty relevant to the main campaign too so I'm sticking it on the main page also.
Firstly, thank you all so much for the support and donations so far. They've allowed me to pay off some stuff, and actually live without crushing anxiety while I'm trying to sort stuff out financially.
Disappointingly though, this weekend it became clear that the infection and illness I've been suffering with recurrently from June 2014 has come back again, and this time in a potentially pretty serious way. Medical stuff is underway, and the doctors are looking into changing the treatment to be more preventative now that it's recurred so many times. But, the downside is, the illness totally wipes me out, as do the antibiotics I have to take to combat it. It's the last thing I need right now when I'm trying to get things done professionally, and I'm absolutely gutted it decided to rear its head right now of all times. At the moment I simply don't have the energy to do very much at all; I'm still doing as much as I can, I've suffered with so much illness over the years that I've learned to work through it, but I'm still terrified that this downtime is going to affect me negatively.
So, yeah, if anyone is able to provide further support, by sharing the campaign or what have you, then it would be a lifesaver right now. I don't know what I would've done without all of your support, and I'm so sorry that yet again my rubbish health has come along and set me back again. Gutted doesn't begin to describe it. But I can get through this, I know I can, and that's why reaching out and asking for support is needed. It's a hard thing to go through alone, and I'm already immensely grateful to all of you who've made it so that I don't have to. <3
- Olivia, 28/06/16
Right now, I'm in a bit of a tight spot. As some of you know, our publisher went bankrupt just before Christmas, which caused a lot of disruption to our earnings. I've been working tirelessly to try and bring new things to the table to earn money; some new games will be coming soon, as well as two novels I'm trying to sell around, but in the meantime there's been a severe lull in my income. I've had to borrow money to survive, on top of existing loans I had to take out to fund our last game, The Charnel House Trilogy.
I'm also disabled. I've had multiple spinal reconstruction surgeries over the last decade, which have led to me suffering severe chronic pain and prevent me from having a 'normal' job. I can't travel or walk much, so my options for working and earning money are severely limited. I wrote about it here on Polygon recently.
The target I've set would allow me to continue working without stress, as well as pay off a number of debts that have accrued during my downtime. In particular, a loan for just under £5000 which went on game development and which we were hoping our game, partnered with a publisher, would be able to earn back. As of yet, when you factor in other expenses I've had, it hasn't. The current goal would allow me to pay off this loan, as well as have a little money to continue paying myself to live/work until such times as I can put out a new game and the aforementioned novels. They're all close-ish to completion, but due to health/financial reasons I've hit a bit of a temporary lull.
Having support from this GoFundMe campaign would mean the world to me. I genuinely have no idea how to continue supporting myself without the support of others, and my disability means earning money can be difficult for me. I've worked tirelessly for years trying, but both physical and mental health reasons mean that I'm severely limited in what I can take on. Any help people can provide would be a lifesaver right now, allowing me to focus on work and getting back on my feet without the constant looming stress of financial ruin. The stress is taking a severe toll on my health and mental wellbeing, and already the support I've received has helped alleviate that. I'd be grateful beyond words for any further support, and the chance to be able to continue my career in game development and fiction.
<3 you all.
*Edit* I've posted this as an update, but it's pretty relevant to the main campaign too so I'm sticking it on the main page also.
Firstly, thank you all so much for the support and donations so far. They've allowed me to pay off some stuff, and actually live without crushing anxiety while I'm trying to sort stuff out financially.
Disappointingly though, this weekend it became clear that the infection and illness I've been suffering with recurrently from June 2014 has come back again, and this time in a potentially pretty serious way. Medical stuff is underway, and the doctors are looking into changing the treatment to be more preventative now that it's recurred so many times. But, the downside is, the illness totally wipes me out, as do the antibiotics I have to take to combat it. It's the last thing I need right now when I'm trying to get things done professionally, and I'm absolutely gutted it decided to rear its head right now of all times. At the moment I simply don't have the energy to do very much at all; I'm still doing as much as I can, I've suffered with so much illness over the years that I've learned to work through it, but I'm still terrified that this downtime is going to affect me negatively.
So, yeah, if anyone is able to provide further support, by sharing the campaign or what have you, then it would be a lifesaver right now. I don't know what I would've done without all of your support, and I'm so sorry that yet again my rubbish health has come along and set me back again. Gutted doesn't begin to describe it. But I can get through this, I know I can, and that's why reaching out and asking for support is needed. It's a hard thing to go through alone, and I'm already immensely grateful to all of you who've made it so that I don't have to. <3
- Olivia, 28/06/16
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Ashton Raze
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