Update, Discord Decision, and a Shout Out! (Patreon)

It's taken a lot longer than I'd originally planned, but I'm finally done with making renders. I went back and changed a bunch that I'd already completed because I wasn't entirely happy with how they turned out. There are 29 images in total; in retrospect I probably shouldn't have created so many; it takes so long to get them the way I want them. But what's done is done.

They've been taking about 12 hours each to render, and I've already rendered 11 of them, which means there's around 9 solid days of rendering to go. I guess I'm lucky it's getting a bit chilly here! (Rendering computers double as space heaters - seriously!)

Most of the time since last update was spent working on the renders. I got a little writing done, but now that the renders are complete (minus postwork), I'll be throwing all my effort at getting scenes and events done.

Progress Update

Here's a recap of where 0.7 is:

Planning ~ 100%

Features and Mechanics ~ 75%

To do: implement H-scene progression revamp.

Dungeon and Boss Fight ~ 70%

To do: finish 3 more levels and revise the boss fight.

H-Scenes ~ 75%

I've created all the H-scene pics, and they're currently in the process of rendering (11/29 as of right now). I'll still need to do postwork on the renders (when they've finished 'baking') and write the H-scene dialogue.

Other Art ~ 65%

The new character's design is coming along, but I'm still not entirely happy with it.

To do: complete design for new character, create conversation portraits for new character and succubus.

Quests, Events, and Writing ~ 35%

I got 2 more scenes written; getting this part closer to completion is my next priority.

To do: a good number of scenes and events.

Testing ~ 0%

Discord Decision

Last week's poll is now closed, and the results are a bit mixed. It looks like a bit over half of you aren't particularly interested in a Discord server, and the rest are only mildly so. I'd hoped the results would be a bit clearer!

No Discord Server Right Now

It's a tough call, but I won't be setting up a Discord server right now. I might change my mind later, but in the absence of a lot of interest, I don't think it makes sense to put in the effort to set up and maintain one.

The question I was trying to answer with the Discord poll was: "Is there demand for a community centered around the game?" The answer appears to be: "Kinda, but not really." I got to thinking, though, that one of the big things I wanted out of the Discord server idea was a line of communication to all of you that wasn't under someone else's control.

As many of you are probably aware, a number of game projects have been removed from Patreon over the past year or so, usually because of the kind of content they featured. I don't blame Patreon, and I certainly don't think they're out to get adult content creators. At the end of the day, though, they're going to do what payment processors want them to - and what the processors want may change over time.

Probably a Website in the Future, Though

To be clear, I don't think anything is likely to happen to this game. The point I'm making is that one can never tell when or if the rules are going to change, and it would be nice to have a channel to communicate with all of you if anything ever did happen. Discord isn't the ideal solution for this; servers require a lot of effort to moderate and maintain, and they're also not that easy to find (Discord servers don't directly show up on Google searches, for instance). I've come to the conclusion that a website and/or blog is probably the right way to solve this problem, so I'll start putting one together. I already have a domain name, so it looks like I'll be getting some use out of it!

A Shout out to Magical Camp!

Some people think this game was inspired by JoeForest's Totally Immersed. That's understandable; his game predated mine by a good bit, and they have very similar premises. I liked Totally Immersed and recommend it - and I like some of JoeForest's other work, too (The Collar is neat) - but I don't consider it to be an influence. There is, however, a game that both inspired me to create The Proteus Effect and had a big influence on what it became, particularly in its early stages. I'm talking - as some of you can probably guess - about HLF's Magical Camp.

In Magical Camp you take on the role of Eric, a hapless young man who, through a strange turn of events, finds himself trapped in a boot camp for magical girls (think Sailor Moon, Nanoha, etc). He's forced to pretend he's a girl to avoid the wrath of the camp's powerful, man-hating superintendent, and during the course of his training he makes friends, has adventures, and ends up unwillingly becoming more of a girl.

The characters and story are very engaging. Much of the game is pretty upbeat and lighthearted, but there's an undercurrent of melancholy and even horror. The horror bits are sometimes jarring, but the game has a definite charm that at times borders on bittersweet. It is, without a doubt, my favorite game on TFGamesSite.

Why am I talking about this? Well, I'm not sure how I missed it, but Magical Camp now has a Patreon page! So if Magical Camp sounds like something you'd be interested in - or if, like me, you didn't know it had a Patreon campaign now - make sure you check it out. HLF apparently wants the money to go to commissioning art, which I think is a fine idea.

A few notes are in order: first, while the conversation portraits are very well done, a lot of the other art isn't currently that great. That's not a huge problem since there aren't a lot of H-scenes (it's more 'R' or 'X' than 'XXX'), but it can be a bit off-putting if you're not expecting it. The person who did a lot of the art for HLF seems to have improved quite a bit, and HLF will probably be hiring art done now, so I would expect the art to get better over time. Second, as I alluded to above, Magical Camp isn't exactly a porn game. There are some H-scenes, and some are pretty sexy, but if you go in expecting a fap-fest you'll probably be disappointed.

Having said all that, if you're here, there's a very good chance you'll like Magical Camp. Actually, if you're here there's a good chance you already know about Magical Camp, but if not - go check it out!

Well, that's all for this time. I'll get back to the writing and check in with you guys next week. Thank you for your support!