Quest Failed: Chapter Two - Dev Log #115 (Patreon)

Hiya everyone!

As promised, I'm really trying to get back on the saddle with my productivity around the Patreon posts--and am finally back with a new dev log after all this time!

And since it's been a while, I figured we'd kick things off with a fun little video preview; since those are always fun!

The brief video above details a fun little moment that can be found when progressing through the game's main story, where Matt is camping out with a royal vanguard as they march to defend their country. And while they SHOULD all be behaving, given the seriousness of the situation, certain...antics may unfold if you choose to indulge Ren in her madness from time to time. To get this far, you'll need to have done several things in sequence--but it's not too much of a hidden event to find, so don't worry!

The scene that transpires isn't necessarily a h-scene--as there's no accompanying CG for these smaller moments, but it still gets a little hot and heavy, so I felt it might benefit from being voiced. This is something I've been experimenting with across several key scenes in Chapter Two--occasionally adding snippets of voice if I felt it might enhance the situation or add a little spice, even if not strictly a h-scene. Let me know what you guys think of this--because while there's plenty of actual h-scenes in the game, I feel like these smaller 'ecchi' moments can be a lot of fun to write too, and don't come with the large commitment of having to write out a half-hour sex scene, haha.

So, with the release of Alpha 0.10 this month--I have a clean slate to approach for the new set of scenes I flesh out in the next build, which has been quite a relief if I'm being honest, as I tackled more than I could reasonably handle for 0.10 and paid the price for it, with constant promises being shattered as the months went by. Which I really felt guilty about. My goal now I think will be to do less content per build, so I can release them in a more steady stream and feel a lot better about the progress being made. I think this will be a healthier way to approach development and not get crushed under too much at once. So I'll experiment with this shorter and sweeter approach and see how it pans out!

So far, I've covered quite a dramatic portion of the main scenario--and aim to wrap up another large part of it come the next build. Where many things will be revealed, and things will be set up for even more dramatic times to come! Gosh, the main story sure does get serious when you compare to the completely wild antics that Matt gets up to in some of the side stuff. But don't worry--as you can see from the video above, I try to never get bogged down too much in the serious story, and will have fun little breaks from it here and there. I mean, can you expect anything to remain serious for long when Ren is involved?

The main story has also led to me experimenting with a variety of special effects, both sound and visual related when it comes to swiping of swords, splattering of blood and so on. I only have the alpha players to vouch for those effects so far, as I have yet to make anything showcasing them properly outside of the story, but I hope they'll all agree that it adds a lot of impact to the action beyond sprites just flailing at each other like dolls!

I'll also be getting a few more images done that will help illustrate key parts of a certain decisive battle. A lot of attention is going into story related CG this time around, but I feel it won't impact the development of the h-scene CG at all, since for the most part all of the h-scenes have been fully drawn and ready to be implemented. It's just the writing part that's lagging behind--because my writer is a lazy slacker and deserves to be whipped for their slothfulness. (The writer is me, don't worry I'm not throwing abuse at anyone but myself, haha)

So with all of this in mind, Chapter Two's production values are insanely high compared to Chapter One, and I really do have all of you guys to thank for that! When it comes to deciding which assets to prioritise, nothing has had to be compromised, and I can really flesh out the game's world in a number of ways without running the risk of feeling like I might be exhausting funds. It's honestly a dream to have been given this chance, and despite the lengthy development time I feel it really will be worth it!

The end price of Chapter Two when it releases is something else that's still in a state of flux due to the immense budget behind the game now. I keep finding myself between $15 and $20 for the end price--but am unsure what will be the most attractive price point for people, versus risking selling myself short. The struggle that all indie devs face I think, haha. What do you guys think might be the best price for a game like this?

Anyways, I hope you've all had an awesome Easter weekend and are keeping well! I'll be seeing you all again real soon with lots more content to preview for Chapter Two!

Ahh, and thanks to everyone pledging, both old and new! The Patreon has seen a real boost in recent days and it's been heartwarming to see. I love you all~ <3