Status update - wrapping up 0.14 release

Hello all,

A big one as we have a whole sprint to summarize !

I'm wrapping up the next update, artwork is mostly done bar a few adjustments here and there, writing needs to be serialized, but the release will happen next week.

What to expect ?

Well, same as for the previous ones, the aim is still to provide new content in each release hence why I often find myself a bit delayed when I add new features and functionality.

The story will pick up where we left off during the (pool !) party, this time leaving Jade at her shenanigans and focusing on Clem and most importantly, a couple of new characters.

Improving FaceGram

The end goal is clear : making an immersive social media simulator. In the long run, that, of course, means a plethora of content, posts, pictures and information, as well as an organic progression with new stuff being posted as the timeline progresses.

For now though, I need to make sure the app itself is feature complete and provides a sufficient platform to accomodate this.

In this update, the focus was FaceGram. As of now, it's kind of a glorified Clementine profile page and her account must feel kinda lonely in there. I added a couple of profile pages for the current characters (including the new ones, of course) and implemented some interactivity, stuff you would expect to intuitively navigate such an app :

• Clicking profile pictures on comments brings you to the commenter's account

• Accounts being mentioned in posts with their @ handle are highlighted as hyperlinks and can be clicked

• Friend lists expanded : more than being a fake number, they will now contain the actual, existing profiles they are linked to and thus can be searched to find someone, providing a gameplay element to dig up information

On the technical side, that means a bit of a rework for the app, which at the very beginning was not designed with all of these requirements !

ManyFans being very similar in design will probably follow suit.

Regarding project management

I mentioned last release that I would probably give updates regarding the release schedule, truth is, I haven't really made up my mind just yet. I think I'll keep things going as is for now, meaning monthly (-ish) updates, but prone to delays as I'm still figuring things out, reworking the code base here and there, etc. I hope I will be settled soon with a robust enough platform so the process is smoother !

My weakest point by far, however, is still communication. Transparency is absolutely key for me, but the whole communication/marketing side of things is still a burden for me. It's not intuitive, it's not my skillset, and therefore I struggle to accomodate frequent communication updates in my schedule.

It's a fault however, as I do realize that communication and social media management is essential for the project to thrive. That not only means the quantity of posts needs to be way higher, but the quality too. I'll have to find time for an overhaul of my social media, with new artworks, etc. It's a learning process...

As usual, thank you so much for support, bare with me and see you very soon for the next update !