Hey.
It's me again.
Vaughn.
I regret to inform everyone that, effective today, the series Hacking the Game Didn't Go as Intended will be discontinued... indefinitely.
Over two years of hard work.
As you would imagine, this was a heartbreaking decision—one I wrestled with for a very long time. It feels like abandoning an innocent child, and even now, it tears me apart.
The reason behind this choice is simple, but painful. According to statistics, over 85% of readers don't make it past the first 30 chapters. Between the constant tragedies and the slow pacing of the early story, many readers simply don't reach the point where the narrative truly begins to open up.
Modern social media has shortened attention spans dramatically, and when combined with my own shortcomings as a writer, it's understandable that many readers struggle to endure such heavy, dark content before the main character finally gets a moment to breathe.
I explored the possibility of revising the first volume, but doing so without completely destroying the flow of events—particularly those leading up to the MC unlocking his abilities and rescuing his friends—proved nearly impossible. While the later chapters do improve, most readers unfortunately never make it that far.
As an adult with real-world responsibilities, it's important that the series I work on is successful. That success is what allows me to carve out the time needed to consistently deliver quality chapters.
Using the skills and experience I've gained over the past two years working on this series, I've begun developing a new project (no working title yet). Daisuke will return as Cloud, and several beloved characters—such as Fay, Zephyr, and Midnight—will be making their return as well. Many burning mysteries will still get solved as I will be recycling material that I hadn't introduced yet, such as Zephyr and Fay's history, the origin of dungeons, alchemy. Even the Mhaledictus will be making a comeback.
Also, I've been paying close attention to your feedback. The new series will steer away from excessive darkness or unsavory themes, place a stronger emphasis on pacing, and ensure that each chapter remains engaging. Characters will be more fully fleshed out—more human, more relatable—and the same care will be applied to world-building.
Once the new series is ready, it will replace the old one on Patreon. However, all existing chapters will remain available on platforms such as this one.
Thank you for sticking around throughout these two years, and again, I'm so sorry for dropping the series.
Please stay tuned for future updates.
Until next time.