Quest Failed: Chapter Two - Dev Log #148

Hiya there, people! Long time no see! I hope I haven't kept anybody worrying as a result of my silence, and apologise for the recent disruption in dev logs as of late. The closer we get to the completion of Chapter Two, the more difficult I find it is to find things to discuss without spoiling too much--and try to keep you as up to date on the status of the pending alpha builds as they come along.

Which brings me to the next part of this post--the alpha build itself. I held off on posting until the end of the month, just in case I was able to get everything done in time and upload it--but right now, it's looking as though I'm going to need just a tiny bit more time to get everything ready for this particularly meaty build, of which I apologise for immensely. It's never been my intention to mislead people on the status of it, or promise things in order to hype people up to pledge for the tier and then under-deliver. I think I just bit off a tiny bit more than I could chew for this particular build, in my desire to have as content packed a build as I could. A lot of this stems from a very elaborate action sequence that's taking some extra time to script just right, along with a lot of character sprites I have to swap between and organise. Which doesn't sound TOO bad at first, but then when you factor in having to change multiple sets of poses, eyes, eyebrows and mouths (that are all separate layers) on several characters at a time--between every line (of which there's plenty) very quickly do things descend into insanity and I find myself buried around a mountain of code. Factoring in all of the management with the h-scenes too (that can get just as complex with over 70+ layers in some cases, that shift poses every other line) I've really had my work cut out for me here, and I've felt nothing but endless frustration in knowing that I'm letting people down.

On the bright side, though, it's my hope that this delay will result in being able to get more scenes voiced straight out of the door, as right now only a few of the new ones are--and I'm hoping I can coordinate with the VAs to get everything sorted in a timely manner, as this particular build has lots of voiced parts, both in h-scenes, and out, to really hammer in the more dramatic story moments that take place here! So, maybe it isn't ALL doom and gloom!

Writing has been another part that I'm progressing with and wrapping things up scene by scene. I suppose I've hinted to it before, but a lot of this stuff is really important. Stuff I've been planning since before even Chapter One's release. There's some key turning points in the story, and I've been absolutely agonising over the scenes and trying to get them as perfect as I can. This has resulted in a couple of small re-writes here and there when I feel like I've written myself into a corner, but ultimately nothing dramatic. My typical process is--if I feel I've written myself into something far too complicated, or trying far too hard to express a certain idea, I usually delete the line and write it out in a far more streamlined manner, where sometimes simplicity ends up conveying far more than even the fanciest words fresh out of the thesaurus ever could.

I won't lie, though, this desire for 'perfection' has been quite stressful. Because I know 'perfection' doesn't necessarily exist, and that nothing is ever TRULY going to be perfect. That's something a creator just has to accept. And, well...some creators accept that more readily than others. I'm under no delusions that I'm creating some kind of magnum opus, or grand masterpiece, though. Ultimately, I know I'm writing a very niche, smutty game that just so happens to have a fun storyline alongside the copious amounts of sex. And the fact that so many of you seem to like this means far more to me than I think you could ever possibly understand.

Don't get me wrong, though, I'm not devaluing QF by labelling it as a 'smutty game with a story'. Far from it. I still take immense pride in the work I'm doing here--and even if it isn't some kind of literary work for the ages, my desire to create the best story, and best characters I can is still shining through. I've always taken everything I create quite seriously, even if the subject matter can sometimes be quite goofy. I like to think I've created characters with depth to them; a story with many layers to it, and overarching mystery that leaves you thinking as you go from story beat to story beat--teasing JUST enough to keep things going, while also not revealing my hand all in one go. Because how fun would that be, if you were told absolutely everything in one long exposition scene?

That said though, this particular set of events I've been creating are probably where the QF story opens up the most, and so many questions that lingered will finally be answered. Which...well, brings me back to that stressful part!

Have you ever read a story, or played a game, where the story absolutely fascinated you, and you couldn't wait to see where it went, as all of the mysteries just kept piling up, and it seemed like it was leading somewhere AMAZING, and then...well...just kind of fizzles out at the end with a pretty flat conclusion? I know I have. Many times over. And often find myself thinking, "wait--that was it?!"

I really don't want people to think that Chapter Two. I want it to end on a high note. An exciting one. I want people to be absolutely PUMPED that everything they just witnessed really took place--and feel satisfied that all of their potential ideas/theories had come to pass, or, even better, had been spun on their head and thrown for an absolutely wild loop! Essentially, not just meeting expectations, but SHATTERING them. A lofty goal to be sure, but I feel like Chapter Two can make it happen, if I stick the landing. And given I feel as stable as a pigeon that had just been hurled through the sky by a bashful, tomboy of a dragon--I do feel an immense challenge ahead of me to stick that landing. At the very least, I want to hope I don't slam into a wall and end up a heap of mangled pigeon mush.

...Where was I going with this? Well--I guess you get the general idea, right? The closer I get to completing Chapter Two, the more nervous I'm becoming. Even if it's a crippling weight on my shoulders of my own design--where all of you have been so kind, wonderful and patient. I'm doing my best not to get complacent, or to 'phone it in'. Quest Failed has been a passion project I've been able to work on for a few years now because of you guys--but at the same time, I do have expectations to meet, and can't take TOO long on it. So I'm doing my best to shake up my mindset, and not letting myself get stuck on the smaller things.

I apologise for this dev log being more of a personal blog than an outright update on the game's status--and hope it wasn't too serious! But in a way, it's somewhat liberating to get down some of these thoughts that have been swirling around in my head and put them into a more tangible form. I promise there won't be too many of these in the future, and that we'll go back to our fluffier dev logs as scheduled, soon--but if you DO like these slightly more personal glimpses into development, and what I'm thinking personally at any given time, let me know. I never did quite get into a proper 'format' for these, after all. Every dev log has been something new, whether it's a deluge of images, or just a large lore piece. I hope they've all been interesting in at least SOME small way for people, and provide a glimpse into different aspects of the game's development!

I realise this is getting quite long, though, so I'll try to sum up the status of the game in a slightly more condensed format:

- The next Chapter Two alpha build isn't quite done yet. I need a bit more time due to the added complexities that have arisen, and hope I can add in more voiced parts as a result of this delay. I apologise, once more.

- Anyone that has pledged for the alpha tier, in the last month or two I believe, will still be able to use their existing link for next month whether they're a part of the alpha tier next month or not, as I never want anyone to think I'm delaying alpha builds and stringing people along for extra money.

- The next dev log should hopefully have some more pretty images to look at, and be a bit more light-hearted than this more serious stream of consciousness blog.

I believe that about sums it up! But if you have any questions or feel I might not have touched upon a certain thing you were still curious about, don't hesitate to reach out, and I'll get back to you in a super timely manner.

Once more, I'm really sorry the alpha build has been stretched out another month. I can't apologise enough. I feel awful, and this is the kind of thing that eats away at me while I'm in bed. ;~; My ambition got the better of me for this build and I didn't want to cut any of the exciting moments short, so I think things will really  benefit from it all, even if it takes a bit longer to complete, and puts us that much closer to Chapter Two's total completion.

No more doom and gloom, though. Let's look towards a brighter future--and I'll try to be a bit more attentive to dev logs, as I know a lack of activity can probably make some people nervous. Have no fear, though--a lack of activity never means I've vanished, or that Chapter Two is cancelled or anything. It usually means the complete opposite, where I'm so engrossed in my work that the days just seem to melt away.

Until next time, and thank you so much for your continued support!