An Announcement from Curly
Hello everyone, happy Monday. Today's news post is something I have feared as a public facing person and has sadly, recently come true.
Over the last few weeks I have been made aware of several folks who have decided to ask around about the sale deal between myself and Bedouin. The deal we made for the purchase is all protected. However, given recent events for, specifically my safety, we have agreed to talk about some of the deal. I have been aware something was occurring in the background that involved conversations about HoFa and staff. Additionally, I have also been made aware that both HoFa work and now my personal life has been caught up in these conversations and resulting fallout.
I have recently had someone attempt to contact me personally outside of HoFa and I do not take this lightly. My personal life, my family, and the safety of both current and former staff take priority. I have made Bedouin aware of what has happened.
I honestly do not know how to describe how I am feeling. All I understand based on everything that has happened is someone internally has talked outside HoFa channels, conversation has occurred which somehow led someone to me, and what may have started as “just asking questions” has now crossed my boundaries. This is why as of today, aside from a few moderators, all HoFa staff have been relieved of their positions. I know innocent staff are caught in the crosshairs but at this point I have no way of knowing the full truth and have to do the next best thing I know to do. That being said, I am open to avenues for some staff to return at some point. Additionally, harassment of staff will not be tolerated.
Bedouin and I have agreed to share info on the HoFa deal given the circumstances of what's happened. Part of the purchase of HoFa included hours from Bedouin to help in the transfer of the codebase to a new developer, of which some of these hours Bedouin offered for bug fixes. The issue I have run into in getting a new developer has been: cost, consistency, and developers with the skills to translate plans and wireframes to game code. Because of this, the long search, and the need to continue fixing and updating HoFa, Bedouin has been contracted for code work beyond the prior agreed purchase hours. It hadn’t crossed my mind to announce such a thing because the deal terms were secret and I couldn’t but also I had no way to know how long this agreement would need to last. I know some of you are upset, I sincerely apologize. I’ve done everything I can to make sure HoFa has forward momentum while searching and this is how it has shaken out.
Given the success of the last year and inability to find another developer I have decided to end the developer search and continue to contract the code development of HoFa with Bed. I’m doing what I believe is best for HoFa as well as being honest to the playerbase. Bedouin has only worked and will only work in the code capacity and has no say in planning, HoFa direction, or anything outside of code. She has no ownership of anything HoFa. The last year has proven to myself that Bedouin is consistent in the work, does a great job, and has always rooted HoFas success. She and I hold no ill will between each other and have talked through what's occurred both in 2025 and now. I am very thankful to her for being willing to continue to work with me even as I sought other developers. Without her willingness to help HoFa would still be sitting where it was September 10, 2025. I know some of you have mentioned the recurring bugs per the bug fixes, image fixes are my responsibility and the new image system has had quite the learning curve. Additionally, many bug fixes require a live push with much much more data and scenarios than the dev site can muster. If it's then still broken, it has in fact been fixed. As of writing this there are 7 bugs in the bug box, a feat I don’t think anyone truly ever thought possible.
I have spent the last year working to organize, plan, and execute everything HoFa has needed and at this point, I am beyond burnt out and I feel very uncomfortable with the boundaries crossed. I don’t get paid for my HoFa work, work a full time job, deal with chronic health issues, and have had a lot in my personal life going on. HoFa has been my priority because I know folks love to play the game and I felt I owed it to you all to fix everything and make the game even better. I will be finishing up any currently paid for plans such as events, breeds, and other goodies which would bring us to the end of November. I will then be taking a break for the holidays.
All of this said I know folks have questions, concerns, and thoughts. I ask that folks keep as civil as possible. Lastly, there are some things I cannot answer per privacy and HoFa purchase terms.
Cheers,
Curly
I have been contemplating what to say, if anything, because there are so many parties involved and, overall, I am hurting for the community, for staff, and for Curly’s violation of her sense of safety. It’s unacceptable and as someone who has been in similar positions, your actions carry ongoing impacts you’ll never see and that can fundamentally change someone’s life and sense of security forever. I hope you understand the gravity of your actions, care, and reflect on this.
To the community:
After careful consideration and thought, the main reason I decided to comment is from seeing discussion here is I am not sure it’s understood how vital staff (volunteers) have been to the developments this past year.
To plainly state:
The quality and rate of development HoFa has seen this year would not have been possible without the helpers.
Many of these same volunteers were also instrumental in supporting and facilitating Curly’s transition into ownership, which itself became an important part of HoFa’s continued development. Some took reputational hits for publicly standing behind that transition. I think that context also matters when considering the scope of what they contributed to the game.
To see the developer comment so causally and not acknowledge how instrumental those contributions were is frustrating at best. I will leave it at that.
Curly has acknowledged several times how essential staff are to this as herself and the dev are removed enough from day-to-day gameplay that they rely heavily on helpers who know the game, its systems, and its community.
Those volunteers have been instrumental in testing, identifying issues, shaping features, communicating player needs, and helping turn ideas into updates that actually work for the people playing the game.
My goal is to make sure their work is highlighted and understood, and help them feel seen, especially when so much praise for development is currently being directed toward the dev.
Also please consider: Boundaries deserve to be stated, protected, and upheld, and the staff deserve the same space to process what has happened without having their intentions, character, or reputations decided publicly while emotions are high.
Again, more than anything, I wanted to make sure the work of the volunteers is not diminished or rewritten in the middle of everything happening now.
I cannot express how much I appreciate the community. HoFa is something special because of the people who care about it so deeply. I hope from my own contributions it’s understood I want the best for everyone involved and care deeply about all involved. I’m lucky to have worked alongside these staff members, Curly, and the opportunities provided by the privilege of being staff/volunteer. It takes an immense amount of trust and vulnerability from Curly to let people be be involved behind the scenes.
Thank you to those for your kind comments and support. Please continue to extend grace and compassion to Curly, staff, and volunteers. 🩷
Edited 1 times
I am posting PSA here and have contacted all former staff on this as well. If someone is contacting or attempting to contact former staff, I would like to know who that is. I cannot help fix any problems, discomforts, or issues if I am in the dark. Harassment of staff will not be tolerated.
I have no way of 100% knowing what exactly happened to cause someone to contact me in my private life. Whoever contacted me did so on their own free will. I do not hold any animosity toward any staff. I am forgiving of whatever was said on the staff end because I know even the littlest things could embolden someone to act out of line. I am very sorry to the staff if someone is attempting to contact them and stir the pot at their expense. I am also sorry if what's been shared publicly has caused someone to act out of line. If any staff is harassed or someone has proof of who contacted me, again, I need to know to take action.
I've already stated multiple times now that harassment of anyone will not be tolerated. I care about the wellbeing of former staff and know their help the past year has been immensely helpful to myself and the direction of HoFa. I may not have expressed this well in the original post or my reply on page 3 of this thread.
To put it very plainly: I only care about knowing exactly who contacted me or if someone is harassing former staff. I also only care that myself and others are safe and left alone and whoever did this stops. If they aren't stopping, I need to know. Additionally, I will not be sharing details about the encounter with anyone because I prefer this to never, ever, happen again or give ideas to others! I’ve taken the needed steps to protect myself on my end. The need to know information has been stated to the level of my comfort. Any type of witch hunt involving former staff to attempt to figure out what happened will also not be tolerated.
I am very tired and burnt out which makes it difficult to answer clearly here. I will be locking this thread to reduce any additional drama and stress for the staff and for a mental break for myself. I am hopeful to have an update for Friday to finish out what is left of our bugs and a few other QoL changes.
You must login to reply to this topic. Login here. Don't have an account? Join us.