Hi I’m Sutorcen with Hotgates’ second year review. Hotgates turned two years old on October 21st and a lot has happened this past year. Without further ado here are the highlights.

Tutorials

On October 2016 we launched our tutorials page with a beautiful article about the story of Unreal Engine, in case you missed it you can read it here. Since then we have published six tutorials, I know they are not much, but we do our best. Keep in mind that we still have full time day jobs. We plan in the first months of 2018 to be able to create some extra mini tutorials for hotgates.eu and our Patreon page, plus video tutorials if time permits it.

Hotgates went to Mars

Back on January 2017 we took a break from our daily activities to volunteer in a citizen-powered scientific research, to help identify geological features of Mars. Mars plays a big role in the story of “Project: Origins” and the more we studied it the more we got to love the planet. Helping out to understand Mars even a little bit more was worth our time, plus we got to see never before seen images of the planet. You can read all about it on our post.

Asset Packs

Hotgates released our first asset pack named “HG Sci-Fi Decals”. It is a collection of 800+ decals for use with Unreal Engine 4. They are fully customizable and you can use them on any sci-fi project or any other project/theme you like. Check out the video if you haven’t yet and stay tuned for some interesting updates.

HG Sci-Fi Decals is available on Gumroad, itch.io and on the Unreal Marketplace. It is also available for free to our “King” patrons over at Patreon.

We are also putting the finishing touches on another asset pack, which we will be releasing soon on Gumroad, itch.io and on the Unreal Marketplace, more on that soon.

Patreon and social media

Another high point of this past year was the launch of our Patron page in July. Game development is our passion and contrary to the other crowdfunding platforms Patreon was the best suit for us as it gives us a more direct contact with our backers. For more information on Patreon and our vision check out our Patron page. We didn’t expect to have any backers at first but turns out we were wrong, thankfully. In order to honor our backers we created a new page on our site, the Backers Hall of Fame, don’t forget to check it out. Our presence on social media has also received a big push with faceboook, google+, twitter and instagram spearheading our efforts.

Hotgates and Project Origins

Business wise we finished Hotgates’ relocation. We overhauled our website and we also upgraded our hardware. We also came to a decision regarding the name for “Project Origins”. The reveal of the official name of the game is still on schedule. The reason it hasn’t happened yet is because we are currently working on the logo design and the poster. With the arrival of the new hardware we will begin polishing the demo as soon as the second asset pack is out the door. More on the subject on a future post dedicated to “Project Origins”. Most of all we have gained enough experience to look into the future with confidence, optimism and clarity.

Personal Thoughts

Two and a half years ago I had no idea how to run Unreal, how to code in C++, how to run a business and blender scared the crap out of me. Since then I have worked – and still do – almost 6-7 hours after my day job on a daily basis. I can now do most things with Unreal, I’m not a C++ guru but I can understand what I’m seeing and make a game, I’m still learning how to run a business and blender is my new best friend. There is still a lot I have to learn because I know nothing compared to the big picture. I have lost friends, gained enemies met some great people and found support and love I didn’t expect. I made many mistakes but I also made some wise choices.

Looking back, was it worth it?  Absolutely yes. Totally. My life and I have changed to the better on so many levels because of this. The experience, the struggle, the wins, the losses, all of it. Regardless of success or failure I don’t regret embarking on this journey, simply because I love what I’m doing.

Finally I would like to say a special thank you to some people.

The people who believe in me and give me strength to keep working hard.

The random people I talk to online and like what I’m doing but also those who don’t.

Our followers.

Our backers.

My friends and family.

Lidoria without whom most of this wouldn’t be possible.

Thank you all for your continued support.