DevBlog: Romance Milestone reached!

Hey everyone,

I would like to begin by sincerely thanking everyone for your amazing support - both our long-term supporters that helped build the foundation of this project, as well as the numerous newcomers that have helped propel us to this milestone - we would never be here without all of you! It is honestly so incredible and amazing to see this project grow and we are so happy to be part of it and to feel that our vision is something that resonates with you.

In this DevBlog, I will do my best to outline what the Romance Milestone is and answer questions regarding where we're at and how we plan to implement it going forward.

What is the Romance Milestone?

In the original scope of the project, we tried to keep complex relationship building to Elise and Felicia, with the rest of the cast getting varying levels of depth and options. This was a decision purely based on scope management - we didn't want to bite off more than we can chew, based on the resources we had.

Now that we're here, having built a solid foundation of game mechanics and being backed with your support - we feel confident that we can produce the writing complexity and art assets required to support a more diverse spectrum of Romance options, each with their own branches and extra content.

Who will be included in the expanded system?

We are still in the process of prototyping what the new story branches will be and how they might affect the rest of the plot, so the list isn't definitive yet. That being said, we are looking at at least 2 male options - most likely Lavius and Ionut, and considering what approaches are possible for characters like The Werewolf, who don't have a whole lot of dialogue going for them in Chapter 1.

How will the Romance system tie in with other plot mechanics?

We are always thinking long term, so you can expect a deep level of integration, starting from simple bonus scenes and dialogues to whole new story branches and changes to how the plot progresses and what is the final outcome for Alex at the end of the story.

When and how will the Romance system be implemented?

As with all the other systems, we will be taking a granular approach, starting with simple new options and plugging in more and more content as the system is being developed. We are careful to plan ahead and make sure that any new mechanics are woven in a non-disruptive way to our current production pipeline. This means that we will take at least 2 months of behind-the-scenes pre-production before we start dropping the new Romance content in, after which it will become interlocked with our regular schedule.

In other words, you can expect a similar implementation to our previous milestone of art upgrade - it took us a moment to organize everything, but we are now producing a steady stream of new scenes and background art with each patch.

How is this going to affect the current project roadmap?

The roadmap for 2021 remains on track and we are still aiming to deliver Chapter 2 by the end of the year, in a state that is playable, enjoyable, and able to be completed. 

After that, our next step will be to give it the level of polish and variety that Chapter 1 does - this is for early 2022. In this phase, we will fill out Chapter 2 with more side content, trait-unlockable scenes and alternate paths based on previous choices. This is where the Romance system will really kick in and we are planning to take at least 3 extra months to make sure that all of these new choices from Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 create a cohesive continuity of the plot. We are aiming to build your personalized story as Alex, where everything happens differently and you get the experience the full consequences of all of your choices up to that point.

Will I be able to influence how Romance is implemented?

Absolutely! We are always listening to feedback and will be posting a number of polls to gather player opinion on various aspects of all the new things we are working on. Apart from participating in surveys, please do not hesitate to leave us comments either here or on Discord, we read everything!

BONUS Part: What's the status of the Servitude implementation from last survey, and how will this tie in with Romance?

The results from last survey are strongly influencing how we approach this trait. There was a clear winner with the "Pleasure of Giving", but also some debate and strong support for forming a bond. In this context, we will be dropping the least popular option - acts of service - as it seems to already be overlapping with submissive somewhat. 

We are working on a somewhat hybrid approach, where Servitude will be highlighted by doing things for others and not for your own pleasure - while still having something special that shows the connection to the character. We are also exploring options to integrate this with the Romance system more closely. We are actively working on it, but it will not be ready for this patch. (You can however expect some substantial Sabrina content - more at the end of the month!)