» Progress Update for 0.0.11 « [Devlog #1]
Hey everyone!
First off, thank you so much for the feedback on the first release. I've already tried to answer some questions, but I think a few things got a bit mixed up, that's completely on me, not you. Talking about stuff that's still deep in development is tricky, and I'm still learning how to communicate it more clearly. Going forward I'll link straight to devlogs when I'm ready so things are less confusing. Remember: this is my very first game project and I'm pretty ambitious about it, but I've designed it to be manageable for me and I'll keep trying to react to your community feedback as best and soon as I can.
Below is the current progress update! I hope it answers some of your questions.
» The idea behind Rin «
Something that might not have been obvious in the first version: you will play as Rin, an ancient demon who can take on different roles. Down the line you'll be able to choose either a female or a male path, each with its own storylines. There will be a main story that sits above the various side stories, and those paths will sometimes interact with each other as well, story-wise.
Later on, the male protagonist will be able to interact with characters from the female path (and vice versa), for example, to unlock secrets in their apartments. That will be extra content and won't break the main path structure. But this is still fairly far ahead, so I won't go into too many specifics yet, right now the priority is getting the main story solid.
I know it sounds like it'll take forever, but a lot of the underlying systems were prepared during development of v0.0.1, so the core mechanics already exist. At the moment it's mainly about creating graphics, UI and content.
» Update Cycle & What’s upcoming in 0.0.11 «
I originally planned for larger content drops, but I changed my mind, I don’t want you waiting months between updates, and your constructive feedback matters. From now on I'm switching to smaller, more frequent updates and releasing things step by step as they're ready.
Plan for 0.0.11
Fix the save bug
The root cause is identified and I have two solutions ready. I'll spare you the tech talk, short version: the bug will be fixed in this update. It was an unfortunate oversight during testing (I tried everything except actually saving...). If the game were further along, I'd have released a hotfix immediately. Given the current ~30-minute playtime, I've bundled the fix into the upcoming update.
Expanded intro of Rin’s story
I moved up some story content originally planned for later: you'll get a better intro to Rin (you, the player) before Ayako's storyline starts. This new story part is about 90% complete and already rendered. I'm currently building Rin's Sanctum, a HUD/interface you'll operate from. More on that in the next update.
Path options introduced
Basic path choices will be included now, initially covering the first chapter of the female path. This sets things up for 0.0.12, where I plan to add the first male story path.
Possible small additions to Ayako’s content
I may add a few minor content pieces to Ayako's story in 0.0.11, but I might also reserve them for 0.0.12 to line up with the male path rollout.
That's where we're at. The next update won't be too far away. For this one I'll release everything publicly because a core mechanic like saving should be available to everyone immediately...
Thanks so much for being here, for your feedback, and for the support at such an early stage. I really hope you enjoy the upcoming updates and where the story is headed.
See you soon,
— Kishin