[Progress Report]: 14th of August

Hey everyone,

We're entering into the week of the Early Build release and this one kind of surprised me. I'm typically filled with an overwhelming sense of anxiety, but this time it just feels like business as usual... Not sure what I think about that. I have taken this development cycle a little easier in terms of scope in order to recover from the balancing act the was the Power Reveal, but I know the major overhaul of the Sandbox is on the horizon. I guess I just feel a little odd being in the calm before the storm.

I'll be working on Chrys' and Valentina's events up until the release. I'm not sure if an H-scene will make it into this cycle, but I am building out their foundation. Oh, speaking of which, I wanted to talk about the Sandbox Events.

Events in Superheroes Suck are broken up into three categories:

1. Main Story Events

2. Snippet Events

3. Sandbox Events

Each one of these are assigned to a character. When the main story of the whole plot moves forward, that is because we're hitting one of the protagonist's main story events. On the hint system you see in the relationship panel, that is tracking each of the love interest's main story events.

Snippets are the repeatable events you see around the Academy. They're not tracked anywhere, but they also don't unlock anything themselves. They're also not story essential. These are here to make the Academy feel more alive, which is why you click on characters to activate them. 

Sandbox Events are the third major type of content that I would like to expand in Superheroes Suck. These are events that will be discovered throughout the Academy that work like small, self-contained side stories. Chrys' Bathroom sequence will be the start of the game's first Sandbox Event, and I will add content to that storyline overtime until it completes. They are unlocked by the main story, like snippets, but are non-repeatable, like main story events. 

My reason for wanting to add Sandbox Events to the game is to give Superheroes Suck another layer of interactivity, to make it feel more personal, and to give a reason to explore the Academy. These events will not hold back main story progress, so they can be skipped, but this is where I would like to add more choices in the game. I know that Superheroes Suck isn't known for its great depth of decision making or its branching narrative, but I do feel like the coffee or tea choice adds just a tiny bit of flavor to the protagonist. I'd like to do more of that. Sandbox Events are also how I would address some of the game's other plot points that aren't main story essential: the protagonist's introduced and quickly abandoned smoking habit, for example.

A sandbox storyline would probably be around 3 - 5 events in length from start to completion, and would flesh out the characters of the Academy a little further than the main story can provide. Also, unlike the main story events, these would actually use the schedule tracker, and may also be triggered by clicking on the characters in the room like you do during a snippet. Their animation will be a little different to indicate that there is available content. Along with, well, a very obvious dialogue box. 

I hope that clarifies some things. I'm off to do more renders! I'm expecting nine to ten events for Version 1.250, counting the revision event that turned out very well.

Thank you for all of your support,

~Solace

Edit:

Oh! I wanted to mention a quick thank you to everyone who commented on their favorite H-scenes in the last post! I'll be writing up how I'm going to try and use that feedback after the Early Build release!