Progress Report 2021.11.16

Hi friends,

November’s a little bit of a weird month. Fall and winter are very dark and dreary where I live. It’s hard to get anything done when you don’t see the sun for weeks on end and everything is damp (we just had a historic amount of rainfall that was twice as much rain in two days as we normally see in the whole month of November; our area thankfully hasn’t had to be evacuated, but much of the province is wrecked by rain).

I’ve been struggling a lot with seasonal depression, which is not new for me. I have changed my work schedule a little bit to alleviate some of the symptoms and help me concentrate. I am not a morning person (I am barely functional before 9:00am), but getting up early gives me a small window of actually seeing the sun, which helps me work.

November is also a special month because it is the anniversary of Wayfarer’s first demo. I had thought about writing a retrospective post, but I ran out of energy and just wanted to focus on the game’s content instead. Between early drafts, the Patreon launch, and the game’s public launch in September, Wayfarer has like… 4 anniversaries, it’s a bit much. 😅

But the very first demo was released on November 4th last year. I remember it only had the Prologue, the Kane fight, and the Route A Zenaida contract. When I released that demo, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to continuing working on the game. It was completely possible that the whole thing would fizzle out before it really got started and the project would remain as a weird, unfinished sample project in my portfolio. I’m so grateful that has not been the case and that working on this game is now my primary focus and my job. 💗

Game Updates

Chapter 2 Scene 2 is progressing pretty nicely. I’ve finished a major chunk of the section. I keep fiddling with some of the details, so I want to let it sit before I send it off for editing/proofreading, but I’m pretty happy with it. It currently sits at around 34,000 words. If things keep progressing as they are, Scene 2 is likely going to be as long as Scene 1 due to its complexity.

This finished section contains a major conversation between the MC and Aeran which will affect how he reacts to them during the remainder of the chapter (so even if your approval is high, there is still a chance he could go prickly on you). If you did Chapter 1 Route A (accepting Zenaida’s contract), you’ll have an opportunity to snoop on Aeran’s things (a moment that is only available if you go to your apartment in Edgewater on Chapter 1 Route B). The rest of this section covers a bunch of preparations for the gala and the player will have a chance to reset their MC’s hair length.

The next section I’m working on is the gala itself. The gala’s events are split into four smaller sections. I’m using the action point system so the player can control where they go during the gala and in what order. There are four areas: the water gardens, the pavilions, the lyranaeum (which is an amphitheatre hosting a bunch of performances), and the Temple of Lyrana.

Rough draft of the exploration map for this scene.

Each location will server as an introduction to different major characters, some of whom will be the first point of contact for the other factions the MC will deal with throughout the game. Melchior Larkspur (one of the companion characters) is also present at the gala (though I’m not going to say where, you’ll have to find him 😉). You will also have a chance to meet Phaedra Amestris (an aristocrat and a secondary romance character), and both of Zenaida’s parents.

I am tentatively hopeful that I can finish the gala scene by the end of the month, polish it off and add it to the alpha build. It’s too early to pin down an update date, but I am hopeful for either November 29th/30thor December 1st.

Other Patreon Updates

If you haven’t seen it already, I have a poll open about my update schedule for the alpha build. I am trying to get a sense of whether you would prefer shorter (but more frequent) updates or longer (and less frequent updates). The poll is open for all patrons and closes on November 24th!

In addition to finishing Scene 2, I am also working on this month’s bonus content piece and also Chapter 1’s walkthrough. I don’t have a set timeline for releasing the walkthrough as I am working on it in stages.

Thank you all so much for your support! 💕