Extended Writing Update

This week I took a bit of a breather since I didn't do that during the holidays - I still wrote, but at a much more enjoyable pace. I took some time to engage a bit more with the world around me and draw some inspiration from the winter snow and the magic of this season. Everything I came up with is more relevant to the middle of the game, but it'll pay off when that time comes around! As for my current chapter stuff, I've been filling in some areas and doing the much-needed work on fleshing out scenes. Specifically the existing alpha needs some more descriptions between dialogue to make things feel more natural and rich. It's got the basics and I could leave it as-is, but I like things so much better when I have the time to characterize the scene. Even something as little as describing the scent MC smells when taking a bite of food makes me feel like the scene is more alive. And while I'm trying hard not to fall into the Perfectionist Pit, I do think there's a lot to be said for this type of editing.

I had to make some tweaks also to the choice where MC tells us whether their hair has changed between games. I realized I hadn't coded things properly for the bald option so while it was meant to be in the last demo, it'll actually debut this month instead. It's a small choice but one I really like for the way I was able to integrate it into the scene. You can have this lovely little moment of connection with Viara during it. The side characters of Den Zarel aren't the main focus of the game but I enjoy it so much when I can throw in those moments. It leaves me feeling like MC's grounded in the world and has a life beyond the ROs and main plot. Same goes for the family moments. One thing I'd like to start including more is the ability to have a more tense relationship with Viara and Tiane. Nothing antagonistic because, quite honestly, I don't have time to write that when there's already 'tense' (or in some cases outright antagonistic) options for MC's parent, Adaan, Nakon, and eventually all three ROs. But one thing I notice about myself as a player is that I like to have a choice, so I'm doing my best to make a game that gives as much choices as I can handle while writing such a large plot. Hopefully it works!

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Oh, right, I remember ruefully that I'm a public figure, now. "If our Head needs me before then, I'll be at the Archives."