DEV LOG: 6/15/2026

Tone…Tone, tone, tone.
Been working on Sable’s Siege’s story for the last few days, reflecting on how my own writing experience translates into game-based storytelling; and as an author in a former life, I learned early on that my prose demands three things: Voice, Texture, and Tone.
When it came to authoring those first two elements in prose, I felt well-equipped. By virtue of writing things I genuinely loved but saw nowhere on the shelves, my Voice shone through the prose, while the texture—like subtle bumps as you run your hand across an oil painting—were, if not a little smudged at first, eventually bled together just the way I like.
And I like bloody. I like jagged. I like stories that have something to say.
Tone…Tone, tone, tone.
So, if I like things that might be less palatable to gamers within the context of Sable’s Siege, a game that, just by being an eroge, is rife with genre expectations, tropes, and other throwaway terms that disparage great game devs’ hard work, how the hell do I maintain, not only Voice and Texture, but Tone, too?
More often than not, this was addressed by sharing my writing with trusted friends/colleagues, people who knew how a chapter ought to feel to reader and author alike. Feedback/advice begat trial/error that returned to trusted sources, etc., till I had something I wasn’t embarrassed to share with strangers.
But storytelling within game design is (somewhat) different.
And that’s because it’s a different storytelling medium. Playable builds, vertical slices, demos, patches, etc., these are all aspects of a video game that a novel simply doesn’t possess. Sure, you could liken a chapter sample to something like a “demo,” but the reader can’t stress test that chapter, share it on social media, or watch a two-minute trailer explaining why they need this story in their lives.
On the one hand, that’s a good thing. Every novel is a Pandora’s Box, releasing all manner of evils, but, one hopes, also secrets Hope somewhere within its stygian depths. 
But I’ll be fucked if I know how to crowdfund a book.
So, if a video game like mine is to possess what I love in storytelling, but doesn’t lose sight of fulfilling gameplay, replayability, robust mechanics, and so on, then I think Siege’s Tone has to be in what is/isn’t said, not to mention the mise en scene; because these two things respect your intelligence, and, more often than not, have something to say, something you didn’t realize you needed to hear.
So my game’s Tone has to be in the words said/unsaid, the decisions made/abandoned; things the player nods their head at when the character, in a position to affect change, places the gun back on the table, then leaves the room.
Sable’s Siege won’t be your typical eroge slop. It’s not porn that’s occasionally a video game. No. It’s a video game that features adult elements. SS won’t possess atonal quirkiness or a bizarre/unrelateable cast of characters. It will, per the game’s circumstance (that of people sheltering within a besieged castle), be a place of extremes—extreme emotions, decisions…compromise. 
There will be a SFW version of Sable’s Siege (it’s actually the only way I can release the game on Steam/Itch without worrying it’ll be delisted the next time the Puritanical Payment Service Mafia eviscerates freedom of expression (the H-patch will be off-platform, so don’t worry)), but whether you play the NSFW or SFW version, I want you to experience two things while playing Sable’s Siege:
This is a video game that possesses adult elements.
This is Voice, Texture, and Tone as I’ve never seen before.
So I’ll get back to it. Back to the grind and, hopefully, create something I’ll be proud of, no matter how Sable’s Siege is received.
As always, thanks for reading, and if you’re on the free tier, consider upping your membership by a buck or two. The sooner I’m able to fund this game, the sooner it’ll be in your hot little hands.

~R.P.