Developer’s Blog: I Feel Pretty. Oh, So Pretty.

One might even say that I feel hot. (Screenshot from Graphtreon.com, which tracks Patreon growth, and where I am apparently a "hot creator" which makes me feel like Cinderella as she majestically descends down a flight of stairs to the ballroom.)

I also feel grateful, awed, thunderstruck, overjoyed, and slightly hungry (it’s lunchtime). Thank you for giving my Patreon such a successful start! Being able to take days of teaching has been lifechanging: I have more time to write, and even get my editing done while it’s still daylight (and subsequently no longer fall asleep at the keyboard).

Mind Blind’s playable demo currently sits at 198k (I can almost taste that 200,000 word mark!). So far this week, I’ve added additional reactions to Chapter 7’s initial discussion with K and reworked John’s departure in Chapter 5 (before, this section was very much a “I’m-not-feeling-inspired-right-now-but-need-sentences-there-to-move-on-to-the-next-scene” placeholder). John’s departure now fully reflects Button’s earlier conversation with him about their feelings regarding Hope in Chapter 3, although this updated version may not be available until I do the Great Save Wipe before Chapter 10.

For now, I need to playtest this new version of John’s departure with the saveplugin to see if it bumps saves backs to Chapter 3 since new variables were added. If it does, I’ll hold off updating the file on dashingdon until the public demo closes and all the stats get updated and changed (in particular, the coding for attraction and crushes is undergoing a complete, more nuanced, reworking).

I’ve also begun coding Button’s conversation with K, and anticipate uploading the rest of Chapter 7 on February 19th for Patrons. The chapter is sizeable enough, however, that I may need to break it into two separate updates. In Chapter 6, Rosy’s “interrogation” was mostly unbranching, but Chapter 7 has multiple pathways depending on with whom you choose to walk and talk (K, Rosy, or Nick). Because of this narrative width, it’s difficult for me to gauge length and set a definitive release date for the entire chapter. But the first Patreon update will be February 19th!

I’ll probably be a little quieter on social media this upcoming week as I’m focusing on finishing the Valentine’s IF with an ETA for Patrons of February 12th. The poll-winning trope of undercover work is fortuitous: I’m using Button and The Cupid Calamity as a means to test out the logistics behind undercover missions, as well as to experiment with how Button reacts to being a field operative. It’s functionally a lighthearted trial run for when I write Chapter 9!

In Cupid Calamity, you’ll be sent on a mission to investigate a nefarious organization known C.U.P.I.D. aka “Criminals Up To Positively Insidious Delinquency.” And yes, Button can point out that their acronym should actually be “C.U.T.P.I.D.” I’m  halfway done with Gray’s route, and there are deleted sections aplenty that will probably make up the next released blooper reel (including the melodramatic declaration: “I’d rather prance naked down The Mag Mile in winter than kiss you!”).

I’m finding that these Holiday ficlets really help me delve into characterization. The fallout with Hope, for example, hits different when you experience how close the Wiseman family used to be in Button and The Santa Scam. It also lays the foundation for some of the tensions that Button can have with John and Nick down the road, in particular their overprotectiveness and desire to keep Button “innocent” about life’s crueler realities . . . which will play a bigger role in future chapters.

Here’s a more detailed look at what awaits this month!

February 10: Lady Death’s Diary Chapter 4.5

February 12: Button and The Cupid Calamity releases for Patrons (Feb. 14 Public Release)

February 19: Mind Blind Demo Update for Patrons, tentatively to include all of Chapter 7 (Public Release - Feb. 28)

February 22: Mind Blind Short Story

February 24: Lady Death’s Diary Chapter 5

February 27: K’s interview

This schedule only includes the creative writing rewards, and some things may end up being released earlier than stated. Also planned: three more developer blogs, a new development poll for Delivery, blooper reels (both from Cupid Calamity and Mind Blind), and perhaps some poetry.