Chapter 16V and 16K, Now Up

(Scroll to bottom for demo link. It’s the same as before even though Caleb is now guiltless. Sorry, Caleb.)

(I also apologize to Juliette, for entirely different reasons.)

(Also, I updated the wrong file earlier for Chapter 16V. The correct version is up now, complete with the reason that I needed to apologize to Juliette. If you haven't encountered Juliette, consider replaying Chapter 10 as Chapter 16V assumes that she and Button have met.)

If you’ve attempted to play the demo over the past few weeks, you’ve probably had it break for you at various chapters. (Or maybe you’ve lucked out and been able to play Caleb’s Chapter 15 interview path.) I’ve been updating the files constantly changing things, but the frequent updating probably only served to reset your saves. Sorry! Really, at this point I should just stop setting timelines since everything always turns out to be way more broken than I anticipated.

Good news: The bugs in Chapters 4, 6, and 9-14 are all fixed! There were a lot of issues, most created due to yours truly inserting in new variables for the endings. The Vengeance Ending also turned out to make zero sense unless you made certain choices (a dumb oversight on my part), so new dialogue has been added throughout Mind Blind so that all players can properly follow the plot even if not romancing Kenzie (who features heavily in the Vengeance ending because reasons).

More Good News: Chapters 16 fully is added for both the Vengeance ending and the follow Kenzie-down-the-passageway ending (aka Chapters 16V and 16K). I had wanted to add Chapter 17 (17V) of the Vengeance ending before posting this update, but life proved uncooperative. In the process editing, Chapter 17V had enough material added that the Vengeance ending now has 18 total chapters instead of just 17. Instead, I added Chapter 16K to the demo, which is one of three main Chapter 16 versions that you can achieve depending on your choices (this chapter was closest to the original version, so it had less issues to iron out than Chapter 16H).

One option in Chapter 16 is also blocked off should you follow Kenzie down the tunnel, however, because it bypasses scenes and jumps you from file Chapter 16K to 16V2.

If this all sounds confusing, that’s because that it is confusing. Confusion has been my default state this past month, but all of Mind Blind's endings are now neatly organized into labeled files. Huzzah! Chapters 17 and 18Vs (the Vengeance path files) will be out as soon as they’re completely playable.

Sorry if this post is difficult to follow. Basically, there are a lot of files, because there are a lot of endings (and this after I edited them to heck and back so that there weren’t any repeat scenes). Each file contains about around three to six flavors of a main ending path.

For those curious, I’ve listed all of unposted files below in order of my estimated timeline for Patreon release. Once these are up, Mind Blind is officially donezo and ready for submission. Obviously, you won’t ever play all of these endings in a single run. Your actual playthrough will be something like Chapter 16V, 16K2, 17R, 18R, 19R (for example).

Anyway, here’s the list:

Just Released:

Chapter 16K (Chapter 16, if Button chooses to follow Kenzie) – released

Chapter16V (Chapter 16, if Button chooses to join Vengeance) – released

Releasing as Soon as I Finish Fixing Stuff:

Chapter 16V2 (Chapter 16, the Vengeance path but not really)

Chapter 17V (Chapter 17, Vengeance Route continued)

Chapter 17V2 (Button fails the Vengeance route in Chapter 16V, already partially in demo, basically the second half of 16K except all your coworkers hate you now. Except Sally because she takes that last F of BFFs very seriously.)

Chapter 18V1 (Chapter 18, Conclusion #1 to the Vengeance Route)

Chapter 18V2 (Chapter 18, Conclusion #2 to the Vengeance Route)

Vengeance Epilogues 1, 2, and 3 (Varies depending on your main henchperson. I think I already spoiled all of the options on Sanctum discord, but Caleb is potential goon and I love him despite the current demo link title.)

Releasing November:

Chapter 16V2 (Chapter 16, the Vengeance ending but Not Really)

Chapter 16H (Chapter 16, if Button runs back to the van)

Chapter 17R (Chapter 17, should Button decide to pursue Reese)

Chapter 18R (Chapter 18, Reese’s path)

Chapter 18V (Chapter 18, Reese’s path but evil)

Chapter 19R1 (Chapter 19, Reese’s path, Conclusion #1)

Chapter 19R2 (Chapter 19, Reese’s path, Conclusion #2)

Releasing December:

Chapter 17N (Chapter 17, should Button choose to rescue Nick)

Chapter 18N1 (Chapter 18, Nick’s path, Route #1)

Chapter 18N2 (Chapter 18, Nick’s path, Route #2)

Chapter 18N2 (Chapter 18, Nick’s path, Route #3)

Chapter 19N1 (Chapter 19, Nick’s path, Conclusion #1)

Chapter 19N2 (Chapter 19, Nick’s path, Conclusion #2)

Chapter 19N3 (Chapter 19, Nick’s path, Conclusion #3)

Chapter 19N4 (Chapter 19, Nick’s path, Conclusion #4)

Chapter 20 (Possible conclusion for Chapter 19N1)

Releasing ???

Rest of the Epilogues (Too many epilogues to list individually. I don’t know why I did this to myself except that I am an absolute sucker for feel-good fluff at the end of a story.)

For the record, each of the chapter files averages around 45,000-50,000 words (this after undergoing extreme editing to reduce duplicate scenes and make the files more manageable). First drafts are all written and coded, and the R Chapters (representing the route where Button takes down Vengeance) are mostly playable with just a few missing scenes that I need to rewrite.

(I’ll be real, though, the N chapters are a tangled cluster duck. Feathers everywhere.)

The bad news: In order to not run into issues while playing the Vengeance ending, you’ll need to restart from Chapter One. Former save files might work but things will likely be wonky. Even if it works, old saves will DEFINITELY break once the other ending branches starting in Chapter 15 are added. This should be the last time a save file reset happens, so any new save made in Chapter 14 should work for all future endings. (Take this statement as an expression of my hopes, however, with several dozen grains of salt. I've heralded the end of save file breakage before, and I was a dirty rotten liar).

Finally, the Vengeance ending usually has requirements that have been taken out for the purpose of the demo. Your MC’s internal dialogue will likely feel out of character unless you’re playing an evil-maniacal Button with delusions of grandeur and a glacier-sized chip on their shoulder.

For those of you playing such Buttons, I hope that you enjoy the power trip.

Demo Link (same as before):

https://dashingdon.com/play/wildelight/calebisbeingabitch/mygame/

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Wait What’s This Oh No Jo Focus on Editing And Stop Starting Side Projects No Matter How Much Fun It Seems To Take The Premise of Lady Death's Diary and Create An Interactive Fiction Where The Main Character Dies Halfway Through The Story and Then You Go Back In Time To Replay Everything With The New Knowledge:

https://dashingdon.com/play/nothingtoseehere/my-little-side-project/mygame/