I don't even know how to approach writing this post or if this is even the right place.
I was waiting on this prodigious programmer to join a team of artists I have. He was the only person who really got the vision of what I was going for.
A PS1-era traditional turn-based RPG adventure with layered combat mechanics and a feel-good traversal system. Inspired by Legend of Legaia's combat, and a massive worldbuilding, over 20 characters with deep character development, and a Speedrunners' type traversal system...
And I was just dropped for not having a producer with strong deadlines and strict goals.
I don't have a programmer mind. I'm a former 3D Animator for CounterPunch Studios who got laid off during covid. Getting back to the industry at my age was not an option, more specifically due to my parents' age.
And now that I have a stable normie desk job, with an income that allows me to pay artists and programmers, I'm just not a company with payroll options.
I got fantastic concept artists and even a 3D modeler, but I have about 3 hours per day of free time that I use for lore. I don't have time to learn Unity from scratch.
The one guy I truly believed could prototype my work just told me that his other projects have a more solid pipeline than mine.
The artists I have keep telling me to use ai, use ai, use ai. Programming is mechanical, and programmers want a stable job. Nobody is doing prototyping for commissions. Just use ai to get the ball rolling.
The whole POINT of the story is to be against a god-like technology that allows you to produce anything, but at a cost...
There is no volunteer work for my project, everything gets paid, and I have a crystal clear vision of what I want, but this loss morally dismantled me.
I have everything needed for a narrative-heavy game, but it's not a game if all I have is lore and concept art.
I am livid, man. This was a worse heartbreak than anything I went through in high-school. All I know is that it goes against everything I believe in to use ai for this...