Dev Blog 9/22/23 (Patreon)

It’s been a bit!

I hope everyone is doing the best they can out there and that heading into the end of the year we are all giving ourselves peace. This blog is going to be in two parts. First is going to be the technical stuff for the development of the games and the second part is more of my personal stuff.

Part One:

Well, book 2 is underway. From the second I finished book 1 all I wanted to do was write book 2. And man was it a chore not to. To the point where I was actually sad about it. LOL! But, it is now underway and I am so excited.  It will be published in the same format as book 1 where I will be posting it chapter by chapter with early release here on Patreon. I would really love to do month by month chapters, but the variation in this one is going to be a bit more vast so I don’t think it will quite be like that any longer. More like every two months, most likely.

I am also taking all the stories from Patreon and getting that up as a DLC for both itch.io and for Steam. It has extra stories in it and a TON of artwork. So be on the lookout for that very very soon.

Book 1 will still occasionally be updated as I find bugs and/or spelling errors. I want to apologize for how many issues there was on release. If I had known it was in need of that much more work, I would have held off for a bit longer. But, I know better this next time around and will be able to have a better time frame and expectation when Book 2 finishes.

That all being said, I am so excited about the introduction of some new shopkeeps, brought to you all by Kickstarter.I am also over the moon about the character of Pen.

Part Two:

Now onto the personal stuff. Skip if you are not interested in my frustrations.

Full transparency, life has been a bit harsh these last few months. Sadly, a friend took their own life and within a few days we found that my stepfather has cancer. That, coupled with having teens who are going through some of their own personal issues due to having a split family, and raising littles, it’s been rough. And I’m going to be honest, the internet got to me something bad upon the full release of the game. I immediately got bombarded with people mad at me for the game and bug reports and it just stressed me out to no end. In the beginning, I had far more bad reviews and asks coming in that anyone being excited about the game or enjoying it. Then, to top it off, I started getting people just bad-mouthing me in other forums and blogs, even though it was clear they had not even read the game. They were just mad about my decision to have a poly and not a monogamous route with Milo.

I’m going to be really honest with everyone on that one. I am so tired of it. The entitlement that comes with people thinking that these characters are something they can lay claim to is incredibly frustrating. So much so that I have held back on certain content because I just do not wish to even deal with the asks. Because when I say they are bad, they are fucking bad. I don’t want to write a monogamous route with Milo. I feel strongly that he is a character that would do far better with two people. And I am very excited for that romance. Doing a solo route with Milo is not something I am interested in writing. I don’t think it is within his character. And the amount of people that are telling me that this is an IF so I have to give them a choice is just irritating as hell. I don’t have to do anything for the sake of other people’s entertainment.

On top of that, oh boy am I angry about the weird sense of access anons seem to feel like they deserve to my work. I have chosen not to do stats. I have chosen to railroad the MC in certain situations. Why? Because it is my story. It is what I want to write. And each time I get someone being angry that they aren’t given a choice or a path, I feel like telling them to write it themselves.

Also, the amount of hurt that people want to do out there is truly disgusting. The people who wish for me to write the MC being able to kill and have a “dark” route is just gross to me. All because you were “betrayed” (you weren’t). And even if you were truly betrayed, that’s your response? I’ve been hurt so I want to hurt others. Even ones who have nothing to do with the situation. I struggle with that A LOT. Mainly because that is something I have pushed from my life actively.

And that’s my rant.

To be honest, I am so incredibly thankful for the readers I do have that are along for the ride. Who enjoy seeing the twists and turns in the story. That is the community I love. The one that hides behind their computer screens and their anonymous asks are a bit harder. And knowing how they have been lately, I fully expect this rant will get posted somewhere else and there will be more complaints on it. But, for those who have been supporting me, thank you. I am really hopeful that you will enjoy book 2 just as much as book 1.

Zinnia