Progress Report (Patreon)

The week is ending!

And so is April. This whole month seemed to pass by in a flash, it was so eventful I felt as if I barely had time to breathe but!!!

What a month it has been. Hosted Games finally, finally sent me the copyedited files of Book One! I almost fainted when I got the email 😄. Just between us, I was starting to get a little bit concerned the game would once again be pushed back - or just outright dropped. I was planning on sending HG an email in May, asking about the development, but I don't have to now! What a great present to end April.

The editor went through my game with a razor-sharp comb. Most of the typos and mistakes people have been sending me on Tumblr were already taken care of - although there was one or two that evaded her too. So, while I'm certain there are probably a few other mistakes in there, in a game with 1.2 million words, I'm also confident that they're sparse and minor.

Regarding content, they only wanted me to change - change not even been the best word, maybe adjust? - some very trifling things. I was scared something like killing Garret and certain language that characters and the MC use would be flagged, but it wasn't. No major content has been censored, and I am so, so happy!! As I said, I just had to adjust a few phrases, I think the total was like 7? Again, in a game with 1.2 million words, that's almost nothing.

I also took advantage to fix a small continuity error a tester had caught, and put a new variable on the stats page that will be important in Book Two. Overall, I can't think of any additional way to prepare for publication. Looking at the files now, I truly believe this is the best I can do. Whatever happens next is out of my hands - whether people like it or not is outside of my control. I really did my best.

I sent the files back with all the adjustments, and HG pretty much said that we're all set for June 2nd! Unless something unexpected happens, that's the date the game will be published!!!! It seems so close but so far away. (´༎ຶ ͜ʖ ༎ຶ )

The email, however, definitely changed my plans for the week! I spent Wednesday and Thursday editing the game, and today I spent the morning doing extensive playtesting - because I'm paranoid, and I was afraid that during the editing process some code might have been tampered with and messed up xD So far, I haven't run into a single error, so that's great! I still want to test a few other branches, but for now, I'm tired of clicking.

Book Two fell into the background for a bit T_T. I am SO close to finishing this first scene - 6 notebook pages left - but alas, I haven't quite managed to finish it. Writing took a backseat as I get everything ready for June, but I was still able to write around 1k words today.

The goal for next week? By God, finish scene one. I also want to finish all the non-game writing for the month in this first week - so write both Bonus Content, the next Interactive Scenario (it'll begin to branch now xD), the commissions for the Rose tiers (♡), and start to think of what sneak peek to give.

That way, the rest of May will be all about book two. Like I said before, I want to get a demo running as soon as possible after June 2nd. So, it's time to make it happen.

But that is an endeavor for tomorrow. Right now, the sun shines in a way that speaks of the coming summer. It's not hot, yet, the shade carries within a chilly wind, but clouds are scarce, and a dog with big, soulful eyes is begging me to go outside. I think I'll take him swimming.

This got long and rambly, but if you made it this far, thank you for reading and for being here. I love sharing this insane process with you all. Have a great weekend! 🌹