It’s UPDATE TIME! (Patreon)

Demo Completion: 45%

Game Completion: 5%… maybe? 

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Art Stats:

(these numbers are the running totals for the whole game, not just the demo)

14 of 36+ sprites done! I might need to cut down on side character sprites… 

6 of 10+ animal/creature sprites (so far!) done. 

2 and a bit of 75+ backgrounds (maybe I should add hire BG artist to stretch goals… but many are in WIP stage) 

0 of 30-40+ RO CGs!

3 Moment/Clue CGs… so far. I add them to the list when I feel it needs one as I’m writing.

UI design: 75% complete 

Writing Stats:

Chapter 1/ Demo currently sits at 28,436 words. I need to cut that down, I can’t keep that pace up. The game splits into two routes, then after the midway point, the game splits into the separate RO routes and those are all unique chapters going forwards, so the game basically has a total of 47 chapters and even those chapters have alternate versions based on choices.

I’ve been working on a sort of outline/detailed synopsis, but I write it very out of order. It’s at 18,045 words right now. I’m not much of a planner usually, but this thing needs a road map with all the choices and routes. So I’m outlining this thing as best I can. 

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Hello patrons, old and new! 

I’m still slowly making way through the art that will be in Chapter One/the demo. There’s… a lot. It introduces a lot of characters and we go to a lot of locations, so it’s asset heavy. All the RO sprites are done, though I might need to redo a couple early outfits. I got way better at painting clothing by the end. Though I gave up on coming up with my own outfits and just started repainting outfits I found on Pinterest exactly lol. 

5 of the 7 side character sprites for CH 1 are done, though I might just… not have a sprite show up for all of them yet. We’ll see. The curse of being your own artist is the only thing I have to spend on more art is time and energy. But time is money. Or no money. 

And I’m really putting off work on those BGS. They just are not my strong suit. So many BG WIPS calling to me and I just… go back to character art. 

The UI (user interface) art is almost done. At least I know how I want it to look. Though, the demo won’t have much extra stuff, just the bare minimum to get a feel for the game. The dialogue box is the one thing I am still not happy with.  

Chapter 1 needs some rewriting and revising still. MC won’t find out Lir isn’t human until later in the game now. And obviously this isn’t just for fun writing, although I do enjoy it, this is Professional writing, which means just so many drafts to make it good. And of course the pressure is on for making it the BEST first chapter ever. 

I’m also looking into making Wisteria Games TM an LLC so I can get a separate bank account before the Kickstarter. But I’m putting that off until the demo is done and out there. I’m trying not to spend any actual money on TC until I absolutely have to. 

Also, I have two leads on a programmer for the game! We’ll see if they pan out.

Speaking of the Kickstarter…

I have a tentative list of tiers and rewards. The rewards will all be digital to keep costs down, but I still plan on having a limited merch pre-order later on if the Kickstarter is fully funded. I’ve settled on pins, as they were the most popular item on the survey. I’ve played around with some designs too. The next most popular item was RO art prints! Followed by… candles! They will be a bitch to ship, but I’m excited to make some candles! And they’ll be a unique thing I can offer. Then postcards were also pretty popular. As was a map of Twin Coves. I might also offer some T-shirts, but I want to keep merch limited. 

I also have an idea for a very limited number of “mystery boxes” that have physical versions of some of the things in the game. Very exclusive, much collector edition. But that’s a pie in the sky idea of mine. I looked into different merch producers, got some price quotes and calculated shipping based on a small run of stuff. It would be about $4,000 to make everything and ship it, which maybe you can see why I am hesitant to add merch to the KS. Adding $4,000 is a lot to a KS goal that will already be about $20,000. 

But back to rewards. Obviously, the game is the main reward. I’ll also offer digital wallpapers, high-res art files, an official walk-through released along with each chapter, a illustrated game lore book(maybe?), a digital coloring/game book full of mazes and crosswords with game things, exclusive short story or stories?, name in the credits obvs, discount codes for merch, naming and designing NPCs in the game, a very limited amount of commissions and! Early access to the beta version of the game $10 patrons also have access too. If you have any other idea for digital rewards, please let me know lol. 

Moving on to stretch goals! 

Probably the one people most want to see is Rook and Wren’s story! They’ll be funded together as they both have to do with the same side mystery. 

Followed closely by a poly route! It wasn’t something I planned for in the beginning, but I have heard the cries of those that want a poly route. Hopefully one really good one will satiate. 

Other possible stretch goals include: more CGs! Adding physical rewards to the Kickstarter tiers! Commissioning custom music for the game! Hiring a background artist! Perhaps a… fluffy Epilogue chapter?

But of course, just because stretch goals aren’t hit on Kickstarter doesn’t mean those things won’t happen. Merch sales all go towards the game, and extra stuff for the game will also be funded through Patreon. 

What else I got? Oh, yeah. So, I know this is very far in the future, but I like planning ahead… 

I have plans for an Mini-Sequel DLC! I was going to have it as a stretch goal on Kickstarter, which is why it’s been planned a little, but I decided other things were more immediate and important. Summary: you and your RO of choice go on vacation to a island for some rest and relaxation after solving a murder… only to find yourself caught up in another mystery! It would be a lot fluffier, with a little murder.

Also, I’ve been doodling aliens when I need a break from TC. So I may post some of that sporadically. My tentative tentative plans are to work on Farpoint, my sci-fi VN concept, once TC is well underway. But… I do have other ideas too. We’ll see.

But, of course, this all hinges on Twin Coves being funded and going well. I am physically fighting the cart trying to put itself before the horse.     

If you got to the end of this, give yourself gold star because you deserve it after reading all that.