SailingShellsGames
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Extended Writing Update
🕑 Added 2024-08-12 00:23:59 +0000 UTCThis was such a weird week/weekend writing-wise ð Send help. I got really burnt out and also ate something I shouldn't have by accident, so I've been sort of sick for a few days. And yet somehow despite all that chapter 12 is both beta-prepped and playtested! Ironic, given that I was planning to do playtesting at the end, so technically it's out of order but hey I'll take it - it's less work for me later!
Funny story, how that happened. I hit a wall with editing and was just reading the same paragraphs in my editor over and over without really processing them. Eventually I just said okay y'know what, let's go back to basics. I used to edit while playtesting (and eventually got burnt out doing that, lol) so let me try it again. And very much like a change of scenery - it worked!
The last thing I ended up doing for the chapter ended up being the most interesting part of editing. Having an optional character who's deeply tied to what's going on is a tricky balance, I'm finding. I don't want to devote so much time to it that I create a whole alternate story (because the series is meant to be 3 games long and if I do that in book 1 heaven only knows how complicated books 2 and 3 will be). But I also want it to feel like a meaningful decision that he's there. So I did my best to make each moment he's mentioned impactful in some way, and I think it works really well. The player still gets a solid experience in either scenario, but it's flavored differently enough to matter to the narrative (and possibly to MC's long-term feelings about one of the choices they can make in chapter 12).
So, yeah, it's coming along nicely :) I start working on chapter 13 tomorrow, and after that it's my list of final to-do items + playtesting. I don't have a definite beta release date yet but I'll post it as soon as I do. One thing I'm doing as well is releasing the beta here a little earlier than I release it to beta testers (or even start the process of recruiting people to test). I figure I can take a couple of days to prep what feedback questions I want to ask, to make the beta-request-post on the forum pretty so hopefully a few people actually sign up, and all that good stuff. If worse comes to worst, though, I do have a few friends who are testing for me regardless, so never fear, the game will definitely pass its beta stage and get submitted to Hosted Games ^_^
In non-Leas news, I haven't written anything more for Flashpoint, but I've been pleasantly surprised to find that despite almost everything about it changing from back when I first had the idea, it's still really drawing me in. Maybe if it does well in the jam I'll pitch it to Choice of Games as a standalone romance-thriller game! With Leas remaining my top priority, of course ;) I couldn't get away from the fae if I tried, and I wouldn't have it any other way ð
Here's this week's preview:
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With the magic around us I can close my eyes and feel the human's hands as they sink into the earth, taste the salt in the air they breathed, and I know the way their smile began always at the right corner of their mouth.
