Progress Report Week 18 Q&A #3 (Patreon)

First, I'd like to say that the 0.9.6 build has been released for Tier-2 earlier today.
Second, this is going to be another fairly long post.

Sweet Affection 0.9.7

I'm happy to say that I started work on the 0.9.7 update.
Apart from having to redo some painting, all renovations have been finished, and I was able to get started on all the art for this update, yesterday.

My goal is to have all the art finished in about 7 or 8 days from today.
And, that should give me plenty of time to do all the writing.
I see no reason why I shouldn't be able to deliver all the planned content for this month.
But, more information about the progress of this update in next week's progress report.

A personal message.

During my week off, I did a lot of thinking.
This time not about Sweet Affection or about the future of Naughty Attic Gaming, but this time more about myself, personally.

For the past couple of years, after I was done with working on Sweet Affection for the day.
I always used to have my phone & tablet by my side and would check in on Patreon/Discord/Mail every 10 minutes, or so.

Answer emails, messages, and questions.
And, just making sure that I'm able to help everyone as soon as possible.
Every minute that I was awake, my mind was on Naughty Attic Gaming.

And, I'm starting to come to the realization that I should take a bit more care of myself.
That as long as my brain is busy with work, it doesn't have a real chance to recover and rest.

Working long days, there is nothing wrong with that, and I love doing that.
But, I should learn to turn myself off after that long day of work.
Because the past week, I tried to stay away as much as possible from everything, and I haven't felt as rested as I do now in a very long time.

What does this mean?

I'll still be here most of the day while I'm working on Sweet Affection.
That is still going to be 8-10 hours a day.
But, once I'm done with work for the day, I'm going to try and stay away from work as much as possible.
And, I'm hoping that results in me having more energy to work on Sweet Affection during my work hours, but also after. :)

That does mean that it might take me a bit longer to answer your messages, and I'm really sorry for that.
But, I still promise to answer your messages within 12 hours.

Q&A #3

I received a lot more messages than I expected, and it's the main reason why this post is going to be so long.
I'm going to try and answer every question though. :)
( I might end up rephrasing some of your questions, just to summarize them.)

Question #1
Wouldn't it be better if the game is a bit more lighthearted?

I think that one of the reasons why most people enjoy Sweet Affection is because each character in the game deals with her/his own challenges in life.
I try to create a story for each character that is as believable/realistic as possible.
With a unique journey and challenges to overcome for every single one of them.
And, I try to find a good combination between lighthearted events and heavier events.
And even though life is not always sunshine and rainbows, I'm trying to show that even despite that... there is always tomorrow and you never know what is going to happen.

Question #2
What is your end goal for the characters?

Very simply, to finish all the storylines that I created for them.

Question #3 (This post might contain Spoilers.)
Are characters going to open up to more extreme actions, or behavior?

Yes and no.
It completely depends on the characters themself and their personalities.
For example, characters like Maya & Donna are more interested in extremer actions than a character like M or Claire would be.
In the end, all H-actions and behavior will become a bit more extreme with levels, but how extreme? That completely depends on the characters.

Question #4
Are you perhaps planning on implementing body enhancements?
(Extreme Clothing, make-up, piercing, tattoos, bigger breasts, etc..)

No, something like that won't happen.
Apart from natural body changes, and clothing that you can see during events like the cosplay/lingerie events for M&S, or Laura's store events.
Any extremer things won't happen.
And, in the end... it is also kinda the same answer as in the question above.
To what degree a character will change, completely depends on the characters and personalities themself.

Question #5
Are you planning on having M&S interact more with side characters?

No, apart from Suzie being connected to M&S their journey.
All other journeys are completely separate from each other.

Question #6
Are you planning on perhaps updating how the characters look?
Perhaps making it look more cartoony or make it look more modern.

I did think about updating the characters and make them look a little bit more HQ, a bit more 2023.
However, that will always result in the characters themself changing slightly.
People and myself as well fell in love with these characters for a reason, and changing them now would be wrong, in my opinion.
And because of that I won't be doing that.

Question #7
Is money in the game ever going to get a real purpose?

The money mechanic will be re-balanced a little bit in the future.
Just so it makes a bit more sense in terms of the story.

Question #8 (This post might contain spoilers.)
Will Suzie become a part of the M&S journey as well?

She already is to a certain point.
She will have a bigger part in the future, that is for sure.
But, in what capacity, exactly? That completely depends on the characters and personalities themselves.

Question #9
Adding all the side characters around the same time might have been a mistake.

I definitely agree with that.
As mentioned during the previous Q&A, it's one thing that I wish I could change, in hindsight.
I don't regret implementing them, because I love every single one of them and working on their content is so much joy for me.
But, implementing them all around the same time was a mistake.
There is too much time between updates for them and people have to wait too long for their next chapter.
And, it feels terrible that I haven't been able to work on some of the characters in a very long time.
Both towards you guys, the fans... but also towards the characters themself.

It might take some time, but every single story will be finished eventually.
Starting with the 5(Jane, Sidney, Laura, Suzie, Donna & Rose) characters that we are focusing on.

Question #10
Don't you think that cutting back a bit on the dialogue would be a bit better?

I think that everyone knows by now that I love writing.
Turning every little event into an experience.
I do realize that I go a little bit overboard at times.
And, especially during level 5 for M&S it became a bit repetitive.

It is sometimes that I'm trying to improve on every single day.
And, something that I will bring with me when I create a new project.
But, Sweet Affection is built on a lot of dialogue and changing that completely now would not only be wrong towards all the fans that support me because they love all the dialogue.
But, it would also completely change the identity of the game.

I will work on it, and continue to improve it, and myself.
That is a promise. :)

And, those are all the questions for the time being.
I hope that I answered all your questions as well as possible.
If I missed yours, let me know and I'll make sure to answer it as soon as I can.

I want to thank everyone for the kind messages in the last week.
And, as well for everyone's continued support.

I'll be back with another progress report, next week. (hopefully a bit shorter^^)
If you have any questions, you can reach us here on Patreon or Discord.

- Naughty Attic Gaming