April 2022 Update (Patreon)

This will be my fifth update on the Tickling RPG project called The Cyriaan Chronicles #10.  I've done a sub-par job keeping my Patreons up to speed on its progress, so I want to do a better job at communicating how it's going.

What we're planning

Right now, I am planning on entering alpha phase sometime early summer.  Alpha phase means the initial development is done.  But the game is probably buggy in places, could use some more love and interaction in spots, and certainly could always use some balance fine tuning amongst the classes to ensure they're all viable.  This phase will just be me and the producer(s) testing the game.

I want to enter beta phase by late summer.  All Patreon supporters at the time we go into beta will receive beta invites to the game.  I am hoping at this stage the game is stable and only small bugs remain, although there could be many of them.  I will be adding new features based on user feedback.  I will be leaning on beta testers heavily for feedback, as this is the first time the game will be opened up to a larger audience.

I want to fully launch the game by winter of 2022.

How are we tracking to those goals?

I completed chapter 9, so now I'm left with designing the 10th and final chapter to the game.  There's a good chance I will add an optional chapter at the end, kind of an epilogue to the game to more fully flesh out what happens to the characters.

I wanted to be done with initial development by May, so the fact I'll likely wrap up a month early is great.  I'm happy with how it's gone so far.  But I will spend a lot of time testing and reworking the game before the alpha stage launches.

On the artwork front, I think I've found my artist.  Recruiting talented artists is rather time consuming.  With the comics over the years, it's been a mix of raw talent, ability to follow direction, and commitment to a project.  Finding all three of those is tough.  I found someone I'm helpful will work out.  They will have a lot of work to do before we're all said and done.  My plan is to have a full set of artwork and expressions for the four main characters by the time the game launches.  I've approved 1 of the 4 art sets, the artist will work on the others.

I'd also like the game to launch with 10 tickling pinups, and we haven't started those yet.

I"d like the game to launch with custom artwork for important secondary characters.  That hasn't been started yet.

I'd like the game to launch with custom artwork, including a limited set of expessions, for important NPCs getting tickled in game.  That hasn't been started yet.

I've budgeted roughly $1800 to produce this game.  About $200 in purchasing the software and tools needed to create it, and $1600 for the artist to add custom artwork to the game.

If you have any questions or thoughts, let me know!