Chapter 2 & Chapter 3 - A few words from me

CHAPTER 2

Before I get to the information regarding Chapter 3, there are a few things I'd like to write about yesterday's update. This post will be a bit longer as there are really many things I want to write...

I knew that some of the things I would do would attract a bit of criticism, but whatever I do, I always try to do it for a reason. It's never out of laziness or just because I should. I'm talking about the sex scenes with Sam and Olivia.

In the case of Sam, it's necessary to understand that she's the character with whom you begin the story in Beyond Tomorrow. Just because a scene like this appeared with her and you didn't have the option to skip it doesn't mean that you are now tied to that character or that you won't have the opportunity to work on your relationship with another character in the future. This scene was a natural part of their "relationship", which goes back to the time when we didn't know the story of Beyond Tomorrow. Of course, I don't like when some things are done blindly and there are unnecessary questions, so you can expect their own story to be told. But I'll say it again: This scene is natural for the state of their relationship. It took 95 hours to render that scene (pictures and animations), and I definitely don't want to skip or trash something that cost me so much time and money. It must be understood that BT is first and foremost a story-focused game, and as long as this scene was a natural outcome of their story, I've no reason to do it.

As for Olivia, she's a character who goes her own way. I wanted to skip that scene, but the truth is that the same people who voted in the poll for the possibility of skipping it then told me in PMs not to do it as long as that scene is part of her story. If it's a random scene whose task is only to interest the player or maybe create some "lewd atmosphere", then I'll skip it without question. But they were right - there is no reason for that. Anyway, I'll leave this topic open for now. Not many people have commented on it, and overall, I don't understand why anyone would consider it a problem. I find it funny.

CHAPTER 3

So... This will be a bit more personal, more or less from a human perspective rather than a developer.

I created Chapter 1 as a complete novice, extremely inexperienced in many cases, but I was learning, and I wanted to learn. I jumped into Chapter 2 as a little more experienced, but not enough. After the release of Chapter 2, I see many things completely differently, and that's why I decided to change some things even at the cost of losing some support, but I know that my intentions are good and that the people who have been with me since the very beginning are good.

One of the biggest mistakes I made was that I tried to update as quickly as possible. Out of respect for the people who supported me every day, I tried to work as much as possible so that they didn't needlessly wait for an update for 7-8 months. As a result, I often experienced "burnout" or was extremely stressed because you don't know if you will be able to deliver the update on time, if someone will like it, if you will fix all the mistakes, etc. This system isn't suitable for people like me who take things too seriously. It will never have a positive outcome. I also focused a lot on the fact that my hardware limits me quite a bit, and sometimes I had the feeling that I was using it as an excuse in some situations. Believe it or not, you will never be happy in life if you do what you don't want to do. (Yeah, Lily would say something like that). And that's exactly what I was experiencing all the time during the development of Chapter 2. I want to do different visuals, I want to do animations, and I want to do many things, but instead of trying to do them, I was looking for obstacles. We don't have to lie to ourselves - the support I have is nothing compared to what some other developers have. I still invest a lot of money in music or assets, and even if I try to save, I won't upgrade my PC in years. The development still costs more than I get, but I'm not complaining. I'm grateful for it, and it certainly helps me a lot. But the bottom line is that this way I, as a developer, will not move anywhere, and the same applies to my game... That's why I decided on the following:

Visual: I'll make it the way I always wanted to make it. I'll not change anything just because the rendering takes longer. My ideas have always been completely different, but I don't do it because there is some "limit". But I'm afraid that I've created this limit in my head, and it might not even exist in reality. We'll see. This picture is a nice example of what I want to do and what I enjoy doing

Animations: I didn't do them because their rendering takes too much time. It's also one of the limits that I'll completely ignore this time. That game needs animations, and maybe that's why I didn't like the last update at all. So yes, Chapter 3 will have animations, and I won't stop until there is at least one cinematic.

Writing: I was quite influenced by the fact that some players do not want to read. "Long and boring scenes full of text". Fuck that! It's a visual novel, so this time I'm going to write a lot.

Scenes: I will try to make them longer. I felt like sometimes the characters just came, said what they wanted to say, and said goodbye. Nothing interesting, nothing extra, nothing that should entertain me. Normally, I felt like Chapter 2 was one pie that you cut into several parts, with each part representing one scene. Why can't those scenes be mixed? Link with animations? Make them conceptually like a movie? I bet it would be a completely different experience.

...and many other things. Yes, I'll need more time for that. You can't do things well in a few months, especially if you work on everything yourself. Most games have two developers, and you still have to wait 6 months or more. I'm alone; give me time. If you leave because I won't give you another update in 4 months, it's okay. I won't be angry, and I hope you won't be disappointed. It's time to move forward.

If you've read this far, thank you. Welcome, new patrons! Thank you for your support, and I hope you enjoyed Chapter 2 at least a little. See you later!

- Dream