Hey guys! I've been working non-stop on the game for the last 7 days. No peace for the wicked.

This week I put out three new scene tests to the testing group (the last one just a couple hours ago). Those guys told me to sex it up, so that's what I've been doing.

Yes, I've been working my ass off 🤪

Transparency reports should be transparent
Honestly: tester feedback has been kind of mixed.  I'll wait for more feedback on Test 3, but personally, I'm kind of torn. What I'm adding in is definitely making the Lifepath sexier, but I'm concerned that I'm adding in too much detail and it's dragging the overall pace.

I might just be frazzled from working on this non-stop for weeks without taking a day off 🤪 I'm going to grab a pen and paper and figure out if I can streamline the design. I just want to get this done and out to you. 🦀 ❤️‍🔥

Hey guys! Previous feedback from testers was that I'd cut too much smut out of the Lifepath – they liked a lot of things about it (like the pace, and some RPG mechanics like the character sheet), but they thought it could stand some more sexiness.

This week I wrote two new sex scenes, in the game engine, and put them out to testers (last night). The feedback on them was generally good (several testers said the new scenes are hot), with some really thought-provoking observations about pacing and characterisation.

I spent today tweaking and changing one of the scenes in response to the feedback. I haven't finished it yet (and it's 5PM, it needs a few more hours work), but I'm tentatively very excited about the changes.

It's hard to explain without spoilers, but if this new approach works it will make the whole Lifepath sexier and a bit zingier and more fun to play and replay.

I worked for the last 7 days straight on this and I'm frazzled 🤪 so I'll take a break from it now and get back to it first thing tomorrow, with a fresh brain and a fresh pot of coffee. ❤️‍🔥🦀

Hey guys!  This week I finished the scene edit (which took longer and was more complicated than planned 😩) and pushed it out to testers for feedback.

I don’t think the writing will ever get easier.  This scene was challenging to get right because I was trying to put too much detail into it; when I considered it in the context of the overall game experience, I realised I needed to cut some detail in return for some speed.  But I’m really pleased with how it turned out.

More new NPCs
Because the Lifepath is going to be released in one episode instead of four, we need some of the larger cast of NPCs planned for Bangkok sooner rather than later.  I created writeups for three new male club NPCs, and XG wrote up four new bargirls.  We’re planning to do a lot more with the club and having more NPCs will enable us to do some more interesting things in the club, in the VIP and behind the scenes.

Next steps
I’m now moving onto restoring content I cut from the Lifepath which the testers say needs to go back in 😬 But it’s 8PM and I’m frazzled, so I’ll get some rest tonight and get back on it in the morning.

Sorry for giving you two short reports in a row, but I am sticking to producing weekly reports not good reports.  🦀❤️‍🔥

Hey guys! XG told me (forcefully 😂) in a call that I have to put out a dev report every week, even if I feel like waiting another day or two would make the report better.

He is, of course, absolutely right, so here goes:

Testing & feedback
This week I pushed out my new Lifepath build to the testers. The feedback I got was that I'd cut too much, and some things I wanted to cut needed to be reinserted.

I created a new design based on that feedback, which was better received. I'm grateful for the feedback which I think will make the new lifepath a little bit chunkier than I was intending at the time of my last report.

New NPCs
The improved story planning requires more bargirls for club and hangout scenes. XG and I worked on two new farang bargirl NPCs this week, who are both great additions to the wolfpack.

Artwork planning
I did some artwork planning with our illustrator lovely Victoria.

Scene edit
Part of my new Lifepath build included a new story scene (based on a placeholder scene from 1.6). This got good feedback from testers, who said it was fine; honestly, it's up to my usual standard.

But I am fucking sick of my usual standard, so since Thursday I've been going through it with an editing pass, adding extra dialogue choices, skill checks and decision branches.

I feel like I've made it much better. It feels less like a slideshow, more like a game, with more opportunities to characterise the heroine and improved responsiveness and replayability. This draft scene is more like what I want Female Agent to be.

It's 90% done and will be finished tomorrow, when I'll push it out for testing and feedback.

This is the kind of information I'd normally think was worth delaying the report to get, but I was serious about trying to communicate better. I'll let you know if it's the big improvement I hope it is in the next report. ❤️‍🔥🦀

Hey guys, I'm very sorry for the long radio silence. I've been working non-stop on the game, but I needed some time to work and experiment alone on something important.

I know that “going dark” was really shitty and unprofessional, and you guys have every right to be pissed off with me. The truth is that sometimes – when things are creatively difficult, and I’m feeling like shit – I let the stress and doubt and haters get on top of me, and I feel like I need to just fuck off and fix everything before I can show my face again.

I knew it was the wrong thing to do even while I was doing it (which just added to my negative emotional spiral), but I did it anyway, because I didn’t have the mental bandwidth or emotional energy to be the crab you deserve.  I'm sorry and ashamed for handling the stress so badly.

Progress report
I’ve been busy finishing the entire Lifepath in the game engine.  This was originally planned to be spread over four separate releases, but I realised that (A) it was taking too long to make and (B) it wasn’t turning out like I wanted.

The point of Female Agent has always been to make the game I wanted to play: an RPG with a highly customisable heroine, who alternates between kicking and showing some ass to get through the main quest.

Starting a new game shouldn’t be the long, intricate grind it was becoming – the Lifepath I want to play is a fun, highly interactive character creator, where I get to create and customise an aristocratic English rose or an all-American cheerleader with a unique backstory the game will reference later, stick her in MI6 or the CIA, then call her in for a meeting and tell her that she’s trading in her business suit and laptop for a thong and high heels to go undercover.

So I sealed myself away and did some absolutely brutal redesign work (which will shortly go out to testers for feedback).  So the next release will be the entire Lifepath, i.e. the next release will be the previously planned four releases, all rolled into one, and I think it’ll make the early game much more replayable and better paced.

Next steps
Now I have clarity and my idea for a redesigned Lifepath is now finished and working in the engine.  I need to push that out to testers for feedback and improvement, and of course there will be new artwork required from lovely Victoria.  So my next step is going to be detailed comms with V and testers.  We’ll aim to get the entire Lifepath to you as soon as possible.

Again I’m really, sincerely sorry for the radio silence.  It was unprofessional of me and I’m going to make up for it with better comms and a better game for everybody.

🦀❤️‍🔥

Hey guys!  I’m so sorry, I wanted to get the playable scene out to you before Christmas.  I’ve been working desperately hard on it but it’s not ready 😭

I’ll get back onto it either on the 26th or 27th, and you’ll be able to test it shortly after that.

I’ve also been doing some really important (and quite radical) design work on the Lifepath, but more on that soon.  Sorry I couldn’t finish it in time for tomorrow, my original plan didn’t work out like I’d hoped, but the new approach is a lot better, I just ran out of hours. ☹️