Developer's Blog #3

Current Word Count: 181k

Goal Word Count: 190k

Patreon Release Date: January 22nd (in a week!)

Writing has been going well! There's a lot of info that needs to be communicated in Chapter 6, and info dumps always make me a little nervous. But overall, I'm pretty pleased with what I have down. Of course, knowing me, I'll do a last-minute rewrite of at least one major scene the night before release, because there's nothing like a 24-hour countdown to kick my inspiration levels into overdrive.

I tweaked the plot oh-so-slightly as well. Now Glitch, Sally, and Gray have a bigger plot role in the next chapters, even though they don't appear at all in Chapter 6 (a new-ish, equally important character does, however). As I mentioned in other posts: this upcoming chapter is the Rosy and K show. (Rosy is so much freaking fun. They’re so rude? I love it.)

Button's relationship with Nick also undergoes some strain in this upcoming chapter--Nick is very protective over his younger sibling, and may disagree with your choices. I've tried to build towards an inevitable(?) confrontation by showing Nick's tendency to hover, while also for the most part making the default relationship with him really positive. This way, when there's finally a confrontation with Nick in Chapter 7/8 over boundaries, readers will (hopefully) feel comfortable enough in the sibling relationship that they feel free to disagree (politely or forcefully) without worrying about it negatively impacting their affection level with Nick or end game.

People who love each other often fight, and sometimes their relationship can emerge stronger for it. Fiction thrives off conflict, but I felt it was important to first cement the relationship between Button and Nick as supportive and loving before letting Button really try to fix its weaknesses (no relationship is perfect, after all).

For players with a combative or resentful dynamic with Nick, you'll have the option to either begin repairing the relationship or to shatter it completely. Nick will respond differently to various options depending on your affection stat. Have a low score, for example, and he might assume that you’re being sarcastic if you choose a option that expresses fraternal affection. Likewise, Nick will be more inclined to listen to a Button with a high relationship with him if they get upset and start yelling.

To summarize: Everyone will be given the same dialogue options, but how Nick responds will be very different.

In other news, I’m going to put up a poll tomorrow about Button and the Cupid Calamity, the Valentine’s Day short that K and Gray seem to have won. I’m thinking that it might be fun to play with some classic fanfiction tropes: body switching, love potions, only-one-bed, etc. The winning tropes will be incorporated into the story.

I’ve also been working on some additional goodies for Patreon. Expect to see some Mind Blind personality quizzes in February, as well as some old poetry that I recently unearthed at my mom’s house. (The short stories written in a unicorn diary from when I was a kid, however, I think I’ll refrain from making public.)