A retrospective and the future

Hi all! I mentioned a few times over the last couple months that once the update was out, I'd talk about Chapter 2's development and what my thoughts are about how future updates will be rolled out. I didn't want to talk about this until now, as much of it has to do with details about Chapter 2, and I didn't want to give spoilers. Now that the dust has settled, I can finally talk about things openly.

There will be Chapter 2 spoilers below. If you haven't played v0.06.X yet, for whatever reason, don't read further until you've done so!

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I'll do this in a mock Q&A, because why not.

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Q: Why did Chapter 2 take so long to develop, and why didn't you just release it in halves like you initially said you would?

A: If you go back to early Chapter 2 development days, you'll see that Chapter 2 was supposed to be called "Bathed in Neon", and that v0.06.0 would be the first half of that chapter. At the time, I thought I could do the first half in ~500 renders and ~15,000 words (about half of what it eventually became). Further, the plan for the second half (the club) would be a similar quantity, and this is what the chapter title would be referring to.

The character arc for Jenny in the first half was always supposed to be what it was — she starts the arc reeling from what happened at the beach with Paige and Ashley, and she ends the arc with a newfound sense of determination that nothing will stop her from shedding her old mentality, because her recent experiences were too exhilarating and eye-opening for her to leave behind.

But I severely underestimated how long the chapter would have to be to actually get her chapter arc from start to finish in a believable way, and I underestimated the effort that some of the scenes would take to write and render (especially since I was still with my RTX 3070 at the time). This chapter was something of a transformation for her, and I had to rewrite several sections to be sure I could include all of the breadcrumbs that will pay off in later chapters. So I had to turn this first half into a full chapter.

In lengthening her arc, I realized that releasing just its first half was not going to cut it as a major release. It's a slow burn at first, as she reckons with the events at the beach, her feelings for Paige, Paige's rejection, and her general unease at finally accepting her desires. Only in the second half does she open up, and the pace picks up again as she meets with Julie. I felt that cutting that arc in half would have been a disservice to the VN as a whole, and to all of your enjoyment of the chapter.

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Q: So what's next? How are you accounting for that underestimation moving forward, and why doesn't the above concern about cutting chapter arcs in half apply?

A: Great question! Next up is the actual first half of Chapter 3, actually titled "Bathed in Neon". Now that Jenny's hesitation/anxiety has diminished somewhat (not entirely, of course), I have more freedom in structure and pacing. Chapter 3 is a pretty monumental effort, so I am committing to half-chapter releases for it to make sure you don't need to wait anywhere near as long as before, and I have a solid plan to make sure both halves have substance and move the story forward. The midway point will feel like a natural place to stop.

As to how I'm so sure my estimates are better this time around, I think I've learned through the experience of developing the first three releases that I need to double my initial intuitive estimates to get close to the real figures.  And that's what I've done here.

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Q: How's Chapter 3 development going?

A: I thought I might take a short break before starting, but I can't help myself! Storyboarding is basically done. I am elbows deep in preparing the environment(s). Most of Chapter 3 takes place in Audrey's club, so I am painstakingly preparing it for all the planned scenes. It's starting to look great, and IMO it's a unique environment I haven't seen in an AVN before. I'm modeling significant parts of it from scratch, since the story in Chapter 3 requires many custom assets to really pull it off. I think it's going to be the best chapter yet! Of course I would say that, but I really do think so. I've been thinking about this chapter for a long time, and in many ways it's going to be a turning point in Jenny's story.

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Closing thoughts:

Regarding bonus renders — I'm going to post a few polls in the coming days. The first will be Jenny's co-star, and the second will be for the location it will be in. The options will be limited to previous locations, and the character will be limited to one of the girls Jenny has already had "actual" scenes with: Paige, Ashley, Julie. Sapphire patrons will get to suggest outfits/props/positions. This is the first time I'm trying out weighted polling, so please bear with me this time around!

I'm excited to see how this VN continues to take shape; I have so many ideas I want to properly flesh out for you all to see. After about a year, to see the hard work starting to pay off (especially in a niche like this) is truly wonderful.

Thank you all for supporting me, I really couldn't do any of it without you!

<3 TessaXYZ