Quest Failed: Chapter Two - Dev Log #147

Hello! We meet again!

How have you all been this July? Keeping cool? Hydrated? Maybe you're in the market for a nice, icy doll that can stay by your side--forever--and keep you chill even during the warmest of days? Such a doll is surprisingly affordable...though...you DO have to put up with the fact that she's prone to very occasionally dabbling in the dark arts and raising an undead army or two that might destroy everything you know and love. But that's a cheap price to pay for keeping cool in THIS heat, right?

Well--bargains aside, I apologise again, as I realise this dev log is delayed by almost a full week--to the point we should have had two dev logs by this point, and hope I haven't given any of you cause for concern! When these momentary gaps in dev logs happen, you should be safe in the knowledge that I'm still away working hard--and be reached out for any potential queries on Discord/Twitter/Email and the like! The last thing I'd want to do is make you feel like I'd vanished or hidden away from view. I'm always here. Watching. Jiiiiii.

So, to quell any fears, I still am working feverishly on the next alpha build--and things have been progressing at a steady rate! It's just that--as I've iterated before--everything I'm currently knee-deep in creating is mega spoilery, to the point I fear it would dramatically decrease your enjoyment of the story if I started blurting out every little detail I've been working on. That relates to both the writing itself, AND all of the accompanying story CGs--of which there are lots!

I understand that's a little silly, though, especially when I'm communicating directly with the very people that are responsible for QF's development, and don't want every subsequent dev log while I'm working on this part to be 'I can't show you, but TRUST me guys it's gonna be REALLY cool'! So, maybe we can look just a tiny bit to the future and see what will happen/what will be worked on past this crucial point in the story.

As mentioned, this large story scene I'm tackling is close to end-game for this Chapter. One of the last, dramatic moments before we transition to a more quiet/peaceful set of events that follow after as a sort of 'cooling down' period, setting the stage for the epilogue and the subsequent events that might happen in the next Chapter.

After this, there's a few stray events that I need to wrap up concerning the individual arcs of some characters, with exciting finales of their own! You can essentially view these events as small stories/vignettes in their own right, that have some degree of conclusion and set things up for future interactions down the road in the subsequent Chapter, much like the big story event, but on a smaller scale.

Some of these events concern some fan-favourite characters, like the lovely Lucille~ I've been having a lot of fun planning out her events in this game, as I felt she was a little under-utilised in Chapter One, and could barely manage to fit in both of her h-scenes without making a decision in whether one or the other happened. As a result, she's been given lots of love in Chapter Two. Even just reaching her is a bit of an elaborate series of events--if you've played the demo, you'll know what I mean--but after that, Matt is free to visit her whenever he pleases. The swamps are a bit of a treacherous place...but they're definitely worth braving for that ssssssultry seductress.

So, for those of you that felt you didn't get your lamia fix in Chapter One--rejoice, for Lucille has quite a lot of CG scenes! And they'll all be a treat to experience, especially with that wonderfully sultry voice she has, that lends an almost...hypnotic charm to some scenes.

Even just stumbling on her bathing can lead to some real shenanigans! Will Matt be able to control himself in the face of such a buxom beauty, glistening wet as she is? Well...probably not. Not if Lucille has anything to say about it. And to think...most of the time characters stumble on someone bathing, it usually results in lots of screaming and a wooden bucket being thrown to the head! Not in this case~ I particularly like the voicework that went into this scene--and hope you will, too. It's Luci at her best!

And this is just one of the scenes you'll be able to experience with her--in between some non-h CG scenes, too that illustrate various sides to her. Hurt your hand during a repair on her house? No problem--lamia saliva is actually VERY good at healing wounds! So, uh...just let her suck all over your fingers. It works. Trust me. It isn't just an excuse for her to get that long, forked tongue slurping all over you! Lucille has a degree. In something. Probably. Maybe she should get her own medical show spin-off, where she cures various things with her tongue. And she wears a cute lab coat, with a clipboard. Ahhh...the spin-off possibilities!

Another fun character to write for, and who has a few events still planned is Claire! Love her or hate her (but how could you?!) she adds a certain, chaotic dynamic to scenes where nothing goes according to plan, and more often than not she makes a mess of whatever it is she'd intended to say or do.

Claire's route is a little less straight-forward to go through, because it's not just simply tied to visiting her and triggering events--but rather, she has something of a 'trust' value that will build up each time you interact with her shop. Whether it's buying or selling--you'll earn a point for each transaction. And once you have enough points--alongside getting more discounts, and higher amounts of gold when selling--she'll feel confident enough to ask for your help in further tasks. Given she's quite apprehensive about leaving the city on her own, given certain...things...that happened last time, she'll want to enlist your aid as a bodyguard of sorts while she sources out some fresh materials/ingredients to sell.

And will things go according to plan, smoothly, and without disaster?

Haha.

...Of course they don't. One can only wonder as to what's going on here in this conveniently cropped CG--but you can be sure it's a result of Claire's--and maybe Matt's--blunder. It isn't anything TOO severe...but, well...the pair of them might have trouble making eye contact for a few days. As if they didn't have problems with it to begin with!

Alongside Lucille and Claire, there's also a few extra loose ends I intend to tie up with Marine and Anna's events--both of which are pretty fun in their own rights, with lots of fun little twists and turns. I won't spoil too much--but let's just say getting close to Marine has its benefits, and isn't quite as dangerous as it might have seemed from the offset. Mostly. And with Anna? Gosh, as someone that started largely as a less important side-character--I can happily say she's been given LOTS of love. And GIVING lots of love, huhu. I have quite a fondness for Venus LeMay's portrayal of her, with that ever so slightly raspy edge to her voice--that lends a kind of...alternative sultriness to it, that you might find in Lucille's voice for example, while following in its own direction. Which really lends to Anna's no nonsense approach to things. She isn't going to lull Matt in with hypnotic words--but rather, she'll be giving him strict orders. Those pants are coming OFF. In other words, we get all kinds of different flavour of 'mature' in QF, which is a wonderful thing!

And of course, we can't forget Ren and Cynthia~ Practically the faces and mascots of Chapter Two!

While a lot of their scenes are 'late game'--and gosh do they build up to such wonderful things--I think people will be generally happy with what the pair of them offer! Both on their own, and...together.

I consider these characters quite special, and didn't want them to just 'give it away' right off the pat. Even someone as flirty as Ren has a TINY bit of a build-up to her first scene. And Cynthia? Well, given she's a touch more reserved, despite that outrageous outfit--hey it's the standard in Rhan, okay--I can happily say fans of her won't be disappointed once they've progressed far enough through the game, and shown her the appropriate amount of love throughout! Because, unlike Ren, Cynthia is someone who simply leaps on Matty on a whim. But, as long as you don't favour Ren too much when given the option, I think you'll be okay! Otherwise, hey, that's what multiple playthroughs are for!

And that's not QUITE everything I want to tackle once this large story part is done--but I think it's a nice taste of it at least, and hopefully this bumper dev log makes up for the recent absences. Of which I gratefully apologise for once more, and hope I can get back on track with things once this alpha is out!

As always, don't hesitate to reach out with potential questions you might have, and I'll be more than happy to answer to the best of my ability.

Thanks as always, and keep being awesome!

Oh, yeah, and look forward to the monthly art piece in a few days--it's something extra spicy~