Dev notes #11 - 2023-07-19

Hello everyone, it's time for some fresh dev notes! (№11 because previously I was posting them only on Boosty)

Firstly,  thank you for sticking around during this busy period - it's been quite  the whirlwind over here since my last post. After launching our latest  game version, I've been pouring over your feedback and all of your  thoughtful reviews. It seems that your main suggestions right now are  improving the dialogue quality, refining the overall directing, and  adding more mature content.

As  some of you might already be aware, English isn't my first language,  which can make writing elegant and fluid dialogue a bit challenging. But  here's the good news: a superb writer recently came on board to lend a  hand with the project. Their knack for the written word should take our  text quality up a few notches, and that's a thrilling prospect. Solo  efforts on big projects like this can be a bit difficult - nobody can be  an expert at everything! In my case, writing isn't my top skill, so  having this assistance is a real boon for the project.

Now,  onto the mature content. I promise you, I'm all in for boosting player  interaction with the female characters, but I want to keep the narrative  grounded and serious. I understand there's a desire for more explicit  scenes, but I'm a tad cautious about how to weave them in without  warping the character dynamics. I don't want our game to slide into a  shallow narrative where female characters fall head over heels for the  protagonist and are ready to jump his bones at the drop of a hat (At  least not right away). I will be giving this matter considerable  thought, after all, it is intended to be an adult novel. I would love to  hear your thoughts on this, so please chime in over on Discord at  #feedback-and-critique!

Updates  are also in the works for areas beyond the story and characters. We're  planning some internal code upgrades too. Some sections will be  simplified and repetitive dialogue options will disappear after they're  used. This should prevent any annoying repetition and make for a  smoother, more engaging gaming experience.

There's  been a great suggestion to tweak the renders in the 'Another' episode  to give them more contrast, a little gamma adjustment, and use the .webm  format. The latter could cut picture sizes by up to 80% while barely  touching the quality - unless you're zooming in. I think these changes  will really bring out the atmosphere of the alternate dimension and make  everything look that much better. Here are some before and after  examples (edited images are screenshots because the platform has a bit  of a hiccup with file formats).

So yea, right now, we're more  focused on polishing what we have than introducing new stuff. But don't  worry, there's a whole host of cool features on the horizon for our next  update. Things like a fast travel map, a main hub location, a quest  log, and of course, new characters - humans and hybrids included.
Also, I'll post some stuff from the Boosty here on Patreon according to the tiers - mostly this is character concepts and other interesting things related to the project.

Your ongoing support means the world to me, and I can't wait to share more updates with you soon.
Until then, stay awesome!