Quest Failed - July Rewards + Alpha Status Update

Hiya there! Happy July~ (I wrote Jilly initially there, lol. Happy Jilly! Well, when is she ever not happy? I guess when someone's stealing her man.) Summer is well under way and the sun is attempting to melt us down, but don't give in to its wicked heat! Stay cool, hydrate, and if possible put on your best swimsuit and go and pose fabulously on the beach, because hey, that's what summer is for!

I'm just making this post (a little later than usual) to explain how the general processing period works and when to expect your rewards, just so there's no confusion or panic!

Due to Patreon's processing sometimes being a little laggy, I typically wait until the 3rd of the month before sending everything out in one wave, which is a little easier on my brain--because gosh do my eyes go into swirls at the start of each month when I try to figure out where to send what to who. I should REALLY get someone to manage this for me one of these days! This is done to avoid repeat waves of PMs being sent out endlessly--though if you have any questions or concerns regarding the processing period, please don't hesitate to reach out and I'll try my best to resolve things for you.

So assuming all goes well, I'll be sending out the following tomorrow:

$10 tier or above - Quest Failed: Chapter One copy (Featuring the v 1.1 update!)

$15 tier or above - Full Resolution Uncompressed Art (This will be the gorgeous sunbathing Ren from the guest art segment!)

$25 tier or above - Quest Failed: Chapter Two Alpha (Of the most recent alpha build--0.8--news on 0.9 to follow)

As always, if anyone has any questions or concerns regarding rewards, or anything else, please don't hesitate to comment, send a PM or email me at unlimitedfrostworks@gmail.com! Thank you!

And now I'd like to talk about the latest alpha build and when it might be done--something I've admittedly been worried to talk about due to how out of hand it's getting, as it eats away at my soul each day that I look at the script and realise I haven't kept up to my promises. I feel the biggest advantage of Patreon however is that it gives me a direct line of communication to those that want to support me, and I feel it's only fair I offer complete transparency on the matter so that people don't feel like they're being left in the dark.

The biggest questions I'm sure will be 'where is it' and 'why is it taking so long'--to which I want to try and explain as best I can.

The most elegant way to put it is--I get carried away. I make scenes too big. Scenes that should be a simple back and forth exchange between Matthew and a monster girl to further their affection along and line things up for the subsequent h-scene after end up ballooning into their own detailed little interactions that I get lost in, trying to nail down all the little details, the subtle nuances in their expressions and demeanor and then character development on top of that if I can cram it in.

For example, the latest alpha build will feature a h-scene with Lucille. Before that however, on a day before the h-scene--you have the chance to visit her and help her rebuild her house. Since this scene isn't directly tied to the h-scene, I could have just as easily made a very hand-wavy 'I help Lucille build her house for a few hours and then go back home.' Then ending that current in-game day and letting you come back the next day for the h-scene itself, with her affection level suitably lifted. This is how it is in Persona games essentially, with filler scenes in between the key scenes that unlock new affection levels--so I don't think there would be anything wrong with that approach.

But where others might see a simple transition scene to further the relationship along, I end up seeing an opportunity for mischief between Lucille and Matt, and to have some with some slightly more detailed exchanges as he steps up to offer a hand--and I feel their relationship benefits from it, rather than being a hollow exchange of constant sex and suffering on Matt's end.

This, in a nutshell, is why initial things I plan out and believe to only take a few days end up spanning into weeks of writing. I entrench myself into scenes quite a lot and work them out so much, never stopping to consider if a scene benefits from so many words or if I should just skip it with a transition. My writing style sort of just necessitates so many words, as you can currently tell through my rambling blog posts here, haha.

Adding larger scenes is a double-edged sword, too--as the more elaborate the scenes become, the more I'm at risk of hitting mental walls that require chipping down a few words at a time, greatly halting progress. This contributes to longer times between alphas as well.

I've become completely enamored with the idea of Chapter Two becoming such a big story composed of so many little sub-stories and connections between each character that at this point I consider it far more than a standard adult romp.

Though at the same time, I know I have to be careful and not stray too far from what might have attracted people to Quest Failed in the first place. (Which if I'm being honest, I think lots of people were attracted to the game for many different reasons. I've seen quite a large number of people that aren't even into femdom get into Quest Failed--which is kinda flattering!) Some people might get turned off by how long it can take between some h-scenes now, even if there's so many of them. Trying to balance this has been a headache too--like I'm trying to please everyone, even though I know that's impossible.

Anyways--sorry for the ramble! I felt you guys deserved a little more transparency instead of a barrage of pretty images all the time. (Even as great as they are!) I just wanted to get it off of my chest and give you all some proper answers.

These aren't excuses either or pleas for forgiveness on taking so long--I fully understand if some of you may be upset with how long things are taking and take full responsibility for it all. Lots of far better and longer games have been released in shorter spans of time than what I'm taking, I'm sure. All I can do right now is promise that the new alpha will release this month, probably near the middle of the month to avoid rushing these last few parts I have to do--and that I'll continue to strive for transparency on the matter so you're never left wondering about what's going on! Subsequently I want to release the full version of Chapter Two this year. If I end up pushing against this deadline though, I do have some contingency plans that might benefit everyone waiting--but we'll wait until closer to the time before seeing if that's necessary!

Look forward to a flashy trailer soon as well--I have all the parts for it, they just need piecing together now!

(Also this doesn't constitute as a proper dev log--just some extra wordy words. I'll have something a little more light-hearted after rewards have been sent out!)

Thank you so much for your amazing support, everyone! I really do appreciate the opportunity I've been given here, and I don't intend to let it slip through my fingers. Here's to making the best darn monster girl game we can~ <3