Two Years As Lady Pancake

Philippa Isom
Jul 27, 2017 · 4 min read

This is the hardest post I have ever had to write, and I honestly don’t really know where to start. Let me start from the beginning…

Two years ago, I was approached by Scarlet City Studios, who make the Aetherlight, to come and work for them. I already knew all about the Aetherlight because my class (’cause I’m a teacher if yah didn’t know already :-) ) were already testing it and we were giving feedback. I LOVED it and I loved what it was going to do for creating curiosity about the Bible, having fun together, solving problems, learning the Resistance Values and building our community. Here’s where I made my first REALLY hard decision, I accepted the job at Scarlet City Studios, left my class (who I loved so much) and started on this new journey.

When I first started here, it was a very steep learning curve. I had to learn about game design and programming, email campaigns and writing them in HTML, working with so many new people…it was all very exciting and scary at the same time. We were still doing lots of testing with the game and refining it to make it even better for when we launched it to the world. As we got closer to launch, we needed to think about the community who would be coming into the game and how we would be able to interact with them. This is when I took on the role of Community Manager — it’s just a fancy way of saying keeping in touch with our community, the players and the parents.

First, I had to get really good at answering support tickets that came through. I had to be able to answer questions clearly and be a real person rather than robot sounding at the same time. I really enjoyed getting to know people through the tickets. We also had forums running and it was another great place to meet players and have conversations, not just about the game but about life as well. As well as Community Manager, I was also still working on the Postman’s Journals, parent emails, Kidsafe certification, and all of the machines in the Companion Engines (those Mean Machines took a LOOOOOOONG time!). So, after working everyday for six weeks straight, it was time to get a helper! This is when Mr Ironheart started in the studio and literally saved me from going mental!

Mr Ironheart is one of the kindest people I know. When he applied for the job, his application stood out because it was clear, kind, funny and generally just what we were looking for. He took over the weekend shifts and is a superstar on the forums! He genuinely cares about you and not only about you playing the Aetherlight, but also about how life is going for you, highlighting your creativity to the rest of the team, raving about the ideas you have and how supportive you are to each other. So, although this next part is really hard, I know I am leaving you in very good hands.

Yes, I did say leaving. The Aetherlight is a very expensive game to make and unfortunately we do not have the funding currently for everyone to continue here. You would have noticed that there has not been any content released for quite a while. In the background, the business team here has been trying very hard to get more funding to continue making the game while the design team has be planning and pre-producing more content. However, the funding has not yet come through, so all production has been put on hold and many of us at the studio have needed to find new jobs.

During the time we have been waiting for more funding for the game, we have been able to work on another exciting project, the Museum of the Bible, which will open in November in Washington DC. There will be a kids tour that will include a game that has been made by us and you may even recognise one of the characters. In fact, there may have been a cat spotted somewhere around there as well. If you are near to Washington DC or you are planning a family vacation, I would highly recommend a visit! One day, I hope to get there myself all the way from New Zealand. I know that I will not be doing the adult tour, but choosing the kids one instead!

I know that some of this news may make you feel sad or disappointed. I have been feeling very sad myself. But, I also feel excited for what the future will bring. I know that we have built a great game with the first season and I know that as more funding comes in and the next seasons can be built The Aetherlight will continue to impact lives. The game is still there. You can, and should still meet your friends there. You can, and should still use the forums and keep being creative. Mr Ironheart will be there to answer questions and support you. I still have a game account and will still be a member of the forums. You will just have to be a bit patient waiting for the new content to come out. The team here plan to tell you more about what the future will hold near the end of October. The resistance values are; generosity, courage, truth, community and creativity. But, I would like to add one more and that is patience. Just like Abraham and Sarah had to wait for Isaac, and Jacob had to wait for Rachel, and Joseph’s journey to leadership was not an easy one, so we need to live our lives and trust that God’s plan is going to get us where we are meant to be — I know that I do.

So, I now officially sign off as Lady P and hand over to Mr Ironheart. Big virtual hugs, this journey we are on is incredible.