Greetings From Sip of Hope



Sip of Hope is a coffee house in Logan Square that advocates for mental health. 
As stated on their website (https://sipofhope.com/),
     “Sip of Hope is the world’s first coffee shop where 100% of the proceeds support proactive suicide prevention and mental health education. Sip of Hope is the perfect space for breaking the silence around suicide and raising the visibility of mental health resources in our community.”

Started by a partnership between mental health awareness non-profit Hope for the Day and Dark Matter Coffee, Sip of Hope wants to start a conversation about mental illness. When walking in, one is immediately greeting with informational pamphlets about mental health and a number of postcards with resources to help those who struggle. All baristas double as mental health aids who encourage patrons to talk about their struggles. Their mantra, IT’S OKAY TO NOT BE OKAY, is plastered on their back wall.

Long story short, this place rules. 

Having all that said, I think it’s time to talk about my new project.


I’m making a game about anxiety, chumps. 
Socializing Simulator is part visual novel, part collect-a-thon rpg (in the same vein of pokemon) that’ll put you in the shoes of college freshman Robin Ackers as they survive their first semester of college. If you’ve had any contact with me in the past seven months, you know that 2018 has been a trying year for me. I got the anxiety, Jimmy. And it’s been taking me for a ride.

Hence, this game.

I’ve been spending the past few months ENTRENCHED in development for this project. I’ve been conceptualizing the plot, teaching myself to code, making assets, researching engines, so on and so forth. And I’m having a blast. But, more importantly, I’ve found a place to really explain my own personal experience with anxiety.

(This is why the blog has been silent, by the way.)

You play as Robin Ackers, a college freshman with a pension to over-think everything.

Right now I’m working on laying down a lot of the base code and BOY OH BOY CODING IS FUN. IT’S FUN GUYS. I SWEAR. SO MUCH FUN.
So there’s where I’m at. Hopefully there will be news on this to come. In the meantime…
‘Til next time nerds.

P.S. This is the bathroom. The bathroom.

Alright. For real. BRB. Going to New York.