V0.4 Retrospective and Update 7/25 (Patreon)

Hey guys!

So release has been a wild ride as always, and I'm so happy with the game I was able to ship to you all over the course of the last few weeks. 

It's been so amazing to see a bunch of streamers and reviewers play the game and offer their thoughts on it, sharing it with wider audiences and making me hide under my desk at live readings of my smut 😭. (It seriously made me question the fact that I made this game lol).  

Thank you to those who have supported and played v4, as well as all those who showcased it on their platforms, it really made this launch a special one. 🥰 All in all, this was a wildly successful launch, and you guys all helped to make it that way!  

Now that v4 launch is over, I've got to pivot my focus to v5 and beyond. But first, I'd like to share some really big news!

The game's been approved to be on Steam!

This will just be another place the free version of the game will be available, because I don't want to rock the boat with the system we have on Patreon and releases and such. 

But, if you have a steam account, it would be amazing if you could wishlist it! This helps Steam see the game as worthy™️ enough to showcase/suggest to others and that really helps me out. 

The game won't be playable on steam until the 3rd, due to their weird rules, so please keep that in mind.

We got a really cool new uncensored trailer to accompany the new Steam page, so definitely check it out (the songs been stuck in my head for days. lol)

Game Update stuff

Well, in the ~3weeks of launch, I've been busy bouncing in between streams, setting up Steam store stuff and outlining for v5.

I said originally that there would be some time jumps, because I want to move the story along. So naturally, I ended up with an outline with 12 days in it? 

Granted, all days are not made equal, and some of them really are very short plot beats, but still, I have so much I want to get through, so I'm taking the time to outline this really well, so I'm not overwhelmed during the writing process or stray too far from my intent.

The next update I'm hoping to span over the course of a month. Theres a lot of content to cover, but I think that I can do it! 

I'd like to fold in doing artwork even earlier in my development this time around, so even as soon as my writing starts I'd like to start getting some pieces done to lighten the load later.

I'd say I'm about 90% done with the outline, and aim to have it completed by the end of today, just in time for my week-long break!

My break

So I'm taking a week off, starting tomorrow. No game, no discord, and with the exception of one scheduled stream on Friday, I won't be interacting with the game or any of its platforms. 

I'll have scheduled tweets and Tumblr blog posts going out but I won't be online to respond/interact with them.

As I'm sure you all know, this game is a lot of work, and not only that, putting so much time and energy into something and sharing it with strangers is really hard. I'm learning how to navigate it still, but being on the receiving end of opinions and comments really takes a toll.

I originally set out to make a game I wanted to see out in the world, a game that I would like to play. And I'm still doing that, just with an audience larger than 1, haha. So I think in times of self-doubt or negativity, I need to ground myself.   

At the end of the day, I'm making a game I'd want to play. And as long as that's true, I'll still have that passion and drive to complete this thing. Everything else is peripheral in sight of that. (Not that I don't appreciate all y'all, but I hope you understand what I mean here.) 

So if I'm not as responsive in DMs or personal reach-outs, just understand I'm setting some boundaries and protecting myself.   

So I'm stepping back for a week and really going to unplug. I look forward to a Steam release and v5 writing on the other side 😊

Community/Discord/Funstuff

When I get back, I'm planning to fold in more community activities and events. I know waiting between updates is a long time, and I really am trying to get things out in a timely manner while also not diminishing the game's quality.

That being said, I've got some ideas I'll be implementing on the Discord and Patreon to make waiting between releases not feel so long.

On Discord, some of you may have noticed a new option in the submit-your-application section. If you tick it, you'll gain access to a new part of the server meant for silly little bot games I've customized for CC. 

You can get your fortune told with CC character cards, earn fake currency (creampies), play the slots, buy gifts or marry other members of the server. It's silly, but its a fun way to pass the time and I look forward to adding more functionality to Sugarbot for more fun games in the future.  

I'll also be putting together a schedule for weekly community events. I customized Sugarbot to run a cards against humanity game (but the cards are CC themed), so we can hop on voice chat and make a night of it. Other event ideas I have are (drunken) community readings of the game, with random challenges associated, as well as movie nights. 

Be on the look out for the schedule here when I get back! (Also, if you have any ideas, feel free to comment below)  

I've also been brainstorming a few ways to add perks to those who are on the Patreon and continue to support during non-release months. I'm looking into some small merch to dip my toes in, as well as some lore-posts, sneak-peaks of writing and art, and some private streams of spoiler-artwork.

I know this has been a huge blog post, but I hadn't written one all release, so we had a lot to cover. As always, I'm grateful for your support and understanding and really look forward to getting back into things when I return from break!

xoxo,

Pretty Ink