Progress Report and Some Thoughts

So, since I rapidly burned through most of my pre-written content last month, I have been writing a lot of new stuff.  

New content always takes longer to write than something I have already started. By its very nature I have just had more time to think about earlier ideas - even if it was just in the instant I wrote it and then forgotten. A good brain never lets an idea go though!

I have also outlined a bunch of new scenes that will patch earlier gaps in the story on Mitch's route (and others), along with fleshing out various parts of the story.  Since Mitch seems to be the community favourite ('o.o) I am expanding his route length, adding new mid and end game scenes along with new endings.

Also due to Mitch's popularity I also added him to a couple alt timelines so he will be turning up more often and lead to a couple more interactions/endings I can fill in later.  Due to where this new story arc I just wrote is placed it might not come for a month or two but I might be able to rush some connections and work it in early.  It is really cool web of short stories though and it should please some fans of various mind control antics.  So many "bad" ends :\  Poor Taylor :*(

Another thing I wanted to briefly mention is that the output of a writer - especially a hobby one, does oscillate.  And then even at my artistic best - it still doesn't mean I will make content in order.  I go where the creative spirit takes me and that usually leads to good stuff, even if you might have to wait a bit to see it in sequence. I will do my best to be consistent and I do feel I have produced a lot lately...way above my normal rates.  I am excited to show you more stuff and that pushes me to write more.  That motivation of wanting to please you dedicated fans is what has driven me to put as much effort as I have into this.

A lot of the new additions are inspired by fan reviews and feedback so please be sure to leave some.  I have new clothing/beautification/sister, class scenes etc for the early game.  A lot of them should make it into the next update.  

As for the response so far: wow.  We are so far ahead of even my most optimistic projections I am humbled by the response.

I have played most of the games of tfgamessite and definitely everything over 100 likes.  As far as I can recall - Transfigure has probably the most freakishly positive reviews and comments ever.  Even my favourite games usually have widely varied opinions.  I think this happens in part because most of the content on the site is made by an author for themselves first and the audience as an afterthought.  I think this is backwards and that it often leads to some awesome stories/ideas/mechanics etc going nowhere...or worse, in a direction the reader really hates or does not expect (in a bad way).  (This is how I feel when M2F games take a left turn and suddenly become a futa simulator or something).  The most common thing that annoyed me about the other games and that pushed me to make my own was the blue ball factor.  There are hundreds of good stories that build up into...nothing.  I can't count the times I read 100,000 words only to have the game end at the first bj scene or something like that.  I just find it odd how many authors abandon their project just as it gets to some of the content their readers (and they themselves) should most want to see.

Some of the feedback I have gotten is contradictory and hard to gauge.  "Moar pics!  Less pics!" so I am not sure what to do with that kind of stuff entirely, probably just keep on trucking and adding things as they fit.  I figure if it is split like that I am achieving a fair balance.

I also had a few requests to add spoiler note things to important choices.  It is a long, sort of convoluted topic, but the argument is not knowing a choice's impact undermines roleplaying.  I thought about this for a while, even considered a vote to on whether to add maybe a * or something next to important branches.  In the end I have I decided I am not going to do this.  I think it is actually the opposite: giving people foresight doesn't improve role-play-- it hinders it.  It also undermines one of the core points I am trying to make with Transfigure: that reality and your circumstances influence you as a person in profound ways.  If you have foresight it is more you picking your future than being molded by the people and influences around you.  In the end, nearly every decision is important (minus the 1st day) so I can't even imagine having a star beside every choice - because 98% of them will be important and lead to different routes/outcomes.  I personally don't think proximity relationships are confusing, ie hang around Ryan and accept his advances = Ryan relationship shouldn't confuse anybody.  Actually getting there? Well one a day a walkthrough will probably have a little descriptor "Choose Ryan if you like romance," and then list the choices.  I think the best way is to just see where it goes, or use such a walkthrough at the end for completionist reasons.

I think it is very encouraging that even the harshest critics find the project promising and seem to find lots to praise and I am grateful they point out ways I can improve.  We are just getting started though.  In my opinion what will truly make this project special is the mid-late game and the endings.

I googled Transfigure and found several sites hosting it.  One has nearly 25k downloads - on alt mirrors I never uploaded.  Wow.  That was just one of several hosts and doesn't include the main DLs!

Plus my other counters put us at about 100,000 downloads...in a bit over a month.  Holy shit.  That is like a small city of readers.  That truly blows my mind.  Even if it is only 30k and re-downloading that is still a high interest rate.  Some authors might be annoyed with such appropriation - me I am immensely flattered.  I also had a small % that were pledging and ghost stealing for every update - even when there wasn't anything to steal.  To me that means that many have a strong interest in Transfigure.  Cool!

I am also going to try and do a Q and A or maybe sprinkle in a weekly question or something - so if anyone has questions about characters, routes, endings, or anything really feel free to shoot me a message. 

****Below may contain spoilers.

Q: Is the best friends route leading to threesome content or will they not quite work that well together?

Answer:  Yes there will be a potential threesome and yes it depends on the options. I need to write a few pieces to tie it together, but eventually (depending on your choices) you can use your 2 friends to accelerate how quickly Taylor learns about the truth regarding his transformation - which means this can lead to an early "good end" where Taylor returns to his original form before things get too weird or the other route (which is the main focus) where Taylor convinces his/her friends that they are a positive influence on each other - then with Taylor as the glue and a bunch of crazy shit happening to draw them together and solidify their relationship, this ends with Taylor in a polyamorous relationship with both Drew and Evan. It is super hot...and I have already written the cabin scenes where Taylor, Drew, and Evan take the trip as intended...with very different results than the route with solo Evan you have already seen. 

Q: When is the next update coming out?

Answer: I have found the 15-20k word cut off makes for a nice update that I feel is substantial and not milking people.  So when I reach that threshold I will release.  Currently I have written a bunch additions to Damien and Ryan's stories along with Mitch.  I also have a lot of small bits for the various women.  I am probably close to this threshold now but still have to put the content into the game engine and add a few more connection pieces.  I will probably have something released about the middle of the month as the first patron one week exclusive.  Ideally I could just update rapidly and push out my public content as intended but these updates do take a lot of time to put together. Doing 15-20k a week is definitely a full time job.

Thanks for reading!  More Transfigure madness coming soon~