End of an Era (2007-2023)

[RicePigeon]

Well, it was inevitable, but I've finally decided to make the decision after 16 years to semi-retire from the MUGEN and IKEMEN scene. This was not an easy decision for me to make, and there is more than one factor involved, so I will do my best to outline them.

 

The first of these factors is due to real world obligations. My original passion by getting involved in creating MUGEN content was to one day become a software and/or video game developer. Unfortunately, what started as a passion project later turned into an obsession. It began to detract from both my career and social life, as there were times where I felt that if I wasn't pushing out new content on a regular basis that I wasn't doing anything. Eventually, as I began work on Touhou: Gensokyo Reloaded and Touhou: Incident Zero, it began to detract from everything else, and public releases and updates came to a slog (the last thing I released was Futo back in October 2022). In short, I no longer felt motivated, though I initially dismissed this as a temporary feeling.

 

The second, and perhaps the much bigger, factor involved was my spiritual life. Anyone who has engaged with me over the years is probably aware that, especially since the early days, one of my largest paranoia was the fear of having my content taken down for copyright infringement, a fear that overcame me very greatly back in 2011 where I went so far as to post a fake Cease and Desist letter purporting to be from the legal representative of Team Shanghai Alice (the creator of Touhou Project, which almost all of my content is exclusively based on) as an excuse to step away from the community, only for me to come back in 2013 and admit to the lie. I bring this up because, over the past few months, I've begun to rediscover my Catholic faith, and began to reflect on all this and what I was really doing was breaking the Lord's commandment of "Thou shall not steal", especially considering how the game assets that were being used were not only being used against the original creator's wishes, but also because the source itself was not obtained in a legal or moral method. It became clear to me that this was no longer just a legal concern, but a spiritual one, and I will admit that this wasn't the only sin that I've committed.

 

I've consulted with my priest regarding this matter for guidance and I've come to the following decision; effective immediately, I will no longer be involved with development of Touhou: Gensokyo Reloaded, and development of Touhou: Incident Zero is hereby cancelled. I would like to offer my apologies publicly to ZUN and Tasofro in this matter for having wronged them in the eyes of God. I've also taken the additional step of removing all downloads to my MUGEN content and deleting both them and the pirated software from my hard drive, as I cannot condone keeping stolen goods in good conscience. While I cannot control what anyone else does, I implore anyone seeking to create and/or continue creating content for the MUGEN and IKEMEN engines to please seek permission from the copyright holder and/or creator before using them unless you yourself created them, not just for legal reasons, but for the sake of your own souls.

 

Regarding my position as an admin of Mugen Free For All, I had initially intended to also make this announcement to announce my stepping down but, after discussing this with the remaining staff, I've made the decision to stay on staff for the time being. While I can no longer condone creating MUGEN or IKEMEN content using illegally obtained assets or assets used against the creator's will, I still recognize MUGEN and IKEMEN's potential for what it was originally intended for: a fighting game engine, which has legitimate purposes for original content (The Black Heart is a perfect example of this). In light of this, the MFFA community still needs guidance and I would not want to place an additional burden on the other admins.

 

While things haven't gone exactly as I had initially planned, I feel that the coding and development knowledge that I had obtained is something that is priceless, and I feel obligated to share it in any way that I can, both in my future career path and with anyone who just wants to dabble with the engine as I did for the past 16 years. I apologize if making this post sounds prideful or boastful but it was something I needed to get off of my chest. I appreciate everyone who has helped me throughout these many years and the many friends that I've made along the way. Thank you for reading this and God bless.

[KorosKoros]

I don't even know where to begin.... 

 

The one thing I am upset with is the deletion of your Incident Zero project (I was looking forward to) and the fact you see using sprites as theft. It's ONLY theft if you took/charged money for your work. Mugen is generally free so how is a fan project that is free theft or cost any company money? It doesn't. 

 

I am sad/upset with your line of thinking. I can tell you are having some sort of life crisis, and I know making sound decisions in that head space is a hard thing to do. However the choice you made seems like a permanent one with you deleting all your projects and other "pirated" stuff. So with that, I wish you well in your life, but I hope you don't start moral posting about other people's mugen projects with talking points about theft or morality of using sprites or music.

 

As a Touhou and Mugen fan I am extremely disappointed to see this post and the reasons behind the decision.... 

[Mayuri]

oh boo hoo, we're all gonna go to hell for creating mugen contents. woe is me.

 

half convinced you've been brainwashed 'cause otherwise i just cant see how a sane, functioning adult would genuinely have this line of thinking.

 

consider consulting with a  psychiatrist instead of a priest next time.

[Masterhand128]

Honestly I feel sad of you, I understand you have some personal problems for continuing your mugen stuffs, but I think deleting your stuffs for some religious stuffs like "Thou shall not steal" made me raise an eyebrow, nobody is perfect , we have committed our own sins throughout our lives after all, but well it is your decision.

[KorosKoros]

58 minutes ago, Masterhand128 said:

Honestly I feel sad of you, I understand you have some personal problems for continuing your mugen stuffs, but I think deleting your stuffs for some religious stuffs like "Thou shall not steal" made me raise an eyebrow, nobody is perfect , we have committed our own sins throughout our lives after all, but well it is your decision.

 

For anyone needing, check my profile or activity feed, I have re-uploaded his most current version of Gensokyo Reloaded fullgame alongside his "Incident Zero" type characters he released.  As for his stages, I am hoping someone can pull through with a re-upload package.

[GTAguy]

Thank you for all the creations you made so far. But atlas, all things has come to an end. 

As for me, i just quit Mugen as well. No reason to go work on such contents like this. I may not be creator like you, but i just give it a shot.

I'll go focus on my training in RL and going on gaming instead. I've plenty of games to complete, so i won't get bored right away.

 

Welcome to the club.

[Falco]

While I definitely think this initial post could've been worded a little better (implying MUGEN creators' souls are at risk in the eyes of the Lord even if unintentional likely felt like a big slap on the face to those you'd collaborated with over the past decade and a half) I ultimately choose to respect your decision because it's your own lifestyle choice and it seems like this is an issue you've grappled with for a really long time. I'm not personally all that religious, but I do believe in loving and respecting others.

 

If nothing else, you deserve the rest. Thank you for all your hard work over the years and may the Lord walk beside you in your future endeavours. o7

[Kian]

Aww... I guess us MUGENites won't get your characters anymore...

Including your Charizard that you made...

And your joke character, Boxing Chen...

UNLESS someone has them!

Anyways, so long.. old friend...

[OroCrimson]

I'd make the argument that MUGEN is fanart and fanart is not stealing, and that legality and morality are not one in the same. 

 

But Christianity also argues that you are to follow the law of the land, so I guess in that case they are.

 

Stuff like this makes me thank the God I don't believe in that I do not practice religion.

[FrozenArtifactCollector06]

Well I hope that you enjoy your personal life, as you had a great run in the M.U.G.E.N community & the characters that you made were amazing! I completely understand on why you chose to step down, so enjoy on what you originally wanted to do & you'll be remembered for being a great admin through the entire website's history. Though here's the real question, who's going to be the new admin once RicePigeon steps down & it is going to be an another good admin?