Dev notes #14 - 2023-12-04

Greetings everyone, and a warm winter's welcome to you all! Here's the freshest update on our game's exciting development journey.

Version 0.02.1 Public Release Coming Soon!

Get ready for the release of Version 0.02.1, set to go public later this week! For those who haven't yet experienced it, brace yourselves for an array of new features! Start from the beginning to check out all of the changes! As you eagerly await, rest assured that I'm already hard at work on the next version, promising significant progress in the storyline and the introduction of pivotal characters. We don’t have a release date yet, but stay tuned to be the first to know!

Winter Themed Wallpaper Vote:

This month, we're spicing things up with a winter-themed wallpaper vote on our Discord server. Every member can contribute by choosing their favorite character, and perhaps a few additional details. There will be an SFW version made publicly available, but supporters will enjoy enhanced voting power based on their tier and, exclusive access to an extra-spicy SFW and/or NSFW versions of the wallpaper depending on their tier. We hope to make this a regular bonus going forward. The special renditions will feature more revealing clothing and poses, providing an extra layer of content for our fantastic supporters. As far as I can tell, this is standard practice on projects like this. It will provide you with more content with your favorite characters and additional rewards for supporting the project, and it will give me an opportunity to practice creating renders (especially lewd ones)!

Patreon and Boosty Updates:

We are also planning to update how we post game builds to Patreon and Boosty. Direct links to the latest game builds will be prominently displayed in the about page for easy access. Additionally, we're planning to pin a current build post on Patreon in the future, so that you can always find the most recent build right at the top of the feed and see what tier currently has access to it. Boosty doesn’t appear to have a similar feature, but we’ll continue to look at our options to make your experience as smooth as possible!

Streamlined Development Approach:

In a bid to enhance efficiency, our development process is undergoing a positive shift, too. In the past, I've done everything sequentially: renders first, then dialog along with coding and adding different mechanics to the game, and then adding sounds and music. This has worked for me to some extent so far, but we think we can speed up the development process a bit and alleviate some of the stress from me by rethinking my approach. Rather than the sequential approach, we're adopting a method that involves creating smaller portions of the story within each version, with key events, dialogues, and renders—a project "skeleton" first, then expanding from there. This not only eases the load on our proofreader but also allows me to take a more holistic approach to each update. I can't even count how many times during the production of previous versions I went back to add some dialog or scenes even after I was at the stage of adding music and sound effects, and if wanted to add some larger segments later in the development cycle, I just didn't have the energy and time anymore because I had to start the whole process all over again for that fragment. With this approach, I think this can be avoided ensuring a smoother, more cohesive production process.

As always, your unwavering support fuels our creativity, and we're excited about the incredible journey ahead. Thank you for being a part of this adventure!