Weekly Update - 8 January 2024

Hey everyone.

This week has been very interesting to me, in terms of FoA. It's the first full week I've spent in the rewriting process, and I've learned a lot about how this needs to go and how long it takes to realistically rewrite a scene or chapter.

So. The good news is, I'm generally quite satisfied with the changes I've been making, and the various preparations I made last month are keeping me organized and efficient. I also think I've got a pretty good workflow going, though I may tweak a few things over the coming weeks and see how it goes.

Also in good news, I have finished the rework of the prologue and the first third or so of Chapter One. I'm debating a few scene deletions and the like in the latter half, to streamline the process and make the 'didn't go to the party' branch of things a little simpler. My Changelog so far looks like this:

Prologue

• Added character creator + backstory context
• Implemented Trait System
• Implemented new personality system
• Added an option for specifying that the PC is either poly or aromantic
• Simplified Hermes backstory choice to three options with the most difference
• Added a tracked variable for PC’s initial impression of the marriage
• Added an initial variable for the tone of PC’s relationship with Demeter
• Neatened touch aversion options
• Touched up various exchanges for character + dialogue reasons
• Completely rewrote the choice block where the PC reacts to Zeus’s commentary on their wardrobe/appearance
• Added an option for the PC to be frightened upon initially meeting Hades
• Now tracking whether PC has an immediate crush on Hades (from the name choice block)

Word Count: 11279 —> 17673 (+7971 Character Creation)

Chapter One

• Fleshed out and altered the party scenes with Hades and Hermes.
• Redid farewell scene with household NPC (Pholos, Mystis, etc)
• Touched up Demeter’s farewell for consistency

To be frank, these early chapters are probably going to need a lot of work, something I'm realizing as I go back and read some of the early writing. I've rewritten a lot more than I thought I would already, and this is before any of the brand-new scenes I'm planning on come into play.

The good news about this is, I really think FoA is going to be a substantially-changed, much better game by the time I'm done. The bad news is, I'm probably not going to be finished with these rewrites by my initial estimate of March 1. I'm not sure how much longer it will take, because it really depends on how well the changes continue to flow. My work days have really been stretching as I try to power through these early chapters and figure out how to do all of this most efficiently. But I'm optimistic that this will be worth it in the end, and I'm looking forward to seeing what you all make of the changes.

I'll be back next week with another update; hopefully at least news that I'm working on Chapter Two!