Extended Writing Update + some content release dates

(some alpha demo spoilers in here if you haven't played it yet, FYI. Scroll to the bottom for dates + this week's preview)

I feel like I finally hit my stride again this week - and gosh, it's such a relief lol. I made a good dent in the second half of chapter 9's... 4th... rewrite? Idk, I've lost count on this demon chapter. Point is, we're making headway. I went through and played the alpha again with fresh eyes to start with, and it was really helpful. I noticed a couple things:

• I like how it plays, but I think it's a little linear. That's okay, because sometimes we do have to get the player somewhere (in this case, the base). But I want to find a way to balance having some variety in the second half with the whole "this chapter needs finishing, like, yesterday."

• There are a few quirks I want to fix, like making it clear that a decent amount of ground was covered from the time MC and their partner first see the caves, till when they see the magic.

The steps I've taken ended up being:

• Offer a choice on what order to explore the base in. There's a couple different areas, and it's not that big of a time-sink to just offer a choice and write some connecting paragraphs to take MC from spot to spot. It makes it feel way more interactive, but isn't going to add another month of writing to this chapter.

• It's killing me to ignore these for now, but the whole point of an alpha is that we don't spend time on stuff like this. I'll fix it for the beta, but I've gotta be full speed ahead with writing or I'll get bogged down in the details.

That was mostly how I spent my week in terms of writing. This weekend I took a tiny break to work on the map again, which was really nice. While I have a deep and unending love of art, I'm not an artist and typically really dislike making art 😅 But something about this is different, idk. I'm having a nice time even though it's really difficult at times since I don't have any skills to pull from. Funny how that worked out, and I'll take it!

I'm still hoping to get two updates to the alpha in this month, and if not, there will definitely be two in June (it just depends on how fast I write). The first update will come on the 20th. The RO bonus stories will begin releasing next week, each one on Friday (17th, 24th, 31st). I'm planning a rotating schedule for them. So, I'll roll a die to determine whose story will release first/second/third, and then change the order so every RO gets a turn releasing first as time goes on.

I think that covers everything! Here's this week's preview:

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I don't know if warning {herHimThem} would make it any better. Is there any way to prepare for that kind of shock? But I'm not going to let {herHimThem} walk into that chamber without an idea of what lies within.

"Keo, wait a minute..."