Changeling Tale's Journey (with Numbers!) (Patreon)

Having just finished the last of Jessie's frame assets, and with only epilogue art and a few odd scenes to go, it looks like the next Early Access build will be ready to release in around two weeks! Since the stuff I've been finishing has too many spoilers to post, and with this big milestone just ahead, I thought now might be a good time to share with newcomers how far we've come since the early days of the project.

When I started work on Changeling Tale in early 2017, I was both excited and terrified. It felt amazing to embark on this dream project, but... I didn't have a team yet. I was learning how to code in Ren'Py on the fly. And most importantly, I didn't know if the story would resonate with readers.

It did! Even when Changeling Tale was nothing but a handful of mocked up screenshots and a synopsis, it received support beyond anything I could have imagined-- something that was and continues to be incredibly humbling. I was able to assemble the team, and a few months later, the first Demo Build of Changeling Tale was released: Jessie's Chapter 2.

While it was a little unorthodox to start in the middle of the story, we wanted to let players dive into the plot and get a feel for what Changeling Tale would ultimately be. It also let us pioneer our storytelling methods, experiment with how to show action, and construct a foundation that we've been building on ever since.

Jessie's Chapter 2 was about 11k words long, and had 65 unique scenes and frames. Each chapter since then has matched or exceeded the previous as we've grown as artists and storytellers. Fast forward to today, and we are wrapping up Jessie's final chapter with over 44k words and 131 unique scenes and frames.

Of course, more isn't necessarily better! We've pushed ourselves with each chapter, and with this one we bit off more than we could chew-- at least, within a reasonable time frame. We'll be dialing back the scope a little with Grace's final chapter while still striving for the high bar set by her sisters' finales!

Also, numbers don't tell the whole story. They don't speak to the great team we have, nor to the helpful feedback you've given us to make Changeling Tale the best it can be. They don't describe the amazing community that has grown up around this game, nor the way it inspires and motivates us. And they *certainly* can't quantify the amount of gratitude we have for each and every one of you helping make Changeling Tale become a reality!

...That said, numbers *can* be pretty cool ; ) Some of you have asked for the game's statistics, so I tallied a few totals and made these charts. While they don't show the entire picture, they help illustrate how far we've come and where we are today. As a creator, it's eye-popping to see the sum totals of 5 years of work, even if those totals are a bit abstract. We have come a long way, and we still have quite a journey ahead-- one we hope you will continue to take with us!

Thank you again from the bottom of our hearts! And if you find information like this interesting, let us know and we can provide updates from time to time!