Release Notes:
After over a years of working on The North, I've decided to release it early. I'm doing so because I am very burned out on working on this. It consumed all of my time (as in entire days, not just free time) for over 8 months. The rest of the time development was spent fine tuning, bug hunting, getting feedback on what needs improvement. But I am very, very tired of working on this game. There's still more to be done. A lot more, but that's all polish and bug fixes. The bulk of the game is ready. So I'm releasing it early.

Bugs:
There are a few. The menu being one of the biggest one but there are a handful of annoying ones. It's nothing game breaking but still need addressing. Feel free to comment on this post with any bugs you find. At the time of me writing this, I'm way too exhausted to go over the code with a fine tooth comb and add more features. When I get the materials I need for the updates is when I'll start patching these, as I'd prefer to release major updates over minor ones.

As for updates:
There will be no further updates. This game is officially abandonware.
I will be releasing a few more updates in the months to come. I'm waiting on a professionally edited version of the script and more original music to come in first. John Fraker of Ratatonic (who is a good friend and the musician who made the opening title theme) is composing tracks for the rest of the game. I have no timeline for this. It takes as long as it takes. John's a very busy man with more important things to do besides make music for my games. I appreciate him donating his time and talent to this project but I won't rush him or put any pressure on him to complete the score... well, any more pressure than I deem appropriate.
Music Update: I have discontinued my working relationship with John for personal reasons. So unfortunately the soundtrack will remain incomplete. I have, however, opted to retain his theme song for the game and likeness in the NPC icon. I very much doubt this will be a problem. I have other material he has made for other projects that I also plan to use. I do not foresee any issues as our parting wasn't sparred by any conflict or fight. The default tracks will remain; one of which is Black (Sirens Wail) by Darius Greene, another close friend who has been so kind as to allow me to use his music for this project.

Future Games:
I have a few ideas for smaller games in the future but there's a limit to how much I can do solo. This game pushed me to that limit. The North was me biting off just enough to choke a little. I do intend to continue making larger, more ambitious games but rather as a member of a team, preferably in a writing and directing capacity. Ideally I would like to play a part in a indie studio on the creative side and not development. I find coding tedious, to be honest. Whether or not this ever happens is anyone's guess. We'll see what the future holds.