Dev log and Happy Anniversary! November 18th, 2024

Hey guys, it's time for another dev log.

Well, it's been a busy month and through all the hustle and bustle of wrapping up chapter six and continuing work on the very late Halloween special among other side projects, I completely forgot that we missed the anniversary of The East Block! Warning, this is a long one.

Skip the next several paragraphs for the dev log info at the end.

It’s hard to believe it’s been a year since I released the first chapter of this game into the digital ether. At the time, I didn’t expect much—and for a while, that’s exactly what I got. Back then, I had just three followers on Patreon, none of whom interacted with my posts. I even began wondering if they were pity subscribers sent by Patreon itself to encourage me to keep going.

The day I launched Chapter One, I found myself obsessively refreshing both itch and Patreon every thirty minutes, hoping for some sign of activity. But there was nothing—no downloads, no comments, no likes. Secretly, I had dreamed of a smashing success, imagining dozens of people downloading the game and subscribing immediately. I had hoped for a result that exceeded my wildest expectations. Instead, reality hit hard.

Feeling discouraged, I shut down my computer and decided to use the last two hours of free time that day at the gym. Afterward, I met my wife and daughter for a late lunch and some shopping at the mall. As we walked, my wife hooked her arm through mine, pulled me close, and told me she was proud of me. That simple gesture meant the world because, truthfully, the last few years had been rough.

I had transitioned to a new career in IT, expecting it to be better than my previous role in sales, only to find myself regretting the decision more with each passing day. While the income was stable, the work was uninspiring. About a year before starting this project, my wife and I were playing an adult visual novel when she turned to me and said, “You should make one of these.”

My immediate response was disbelief. I didn’t know how to code, work with 3D modeling, or do anything related to game development. It all felt too overwhelming. But that night, she kept bringing it up, brainstorming ideas for the kind of game I could create. The more we talked, the more I began to think, “Maybe this is worth trying.”

I started researching—watching tutorials on Daz Studio, Renpy coding, and post-work techniques. Once I had a foundational understanding of the tools, I installed the software, invested a few hundred dollars in assets, and started experimenting. To my surprise, I quickly fell in love with the process. Bringing ideas to life through cinematic scenes, lighting, shadows, and posing was exhilarating. After a few days, I showed my wife my work, and she was blown away by how quickly I was learning, and so was I.

After months of practice and creating a test visual novel, I felt ready to start working on the real thing. I began on August 1 and finished Chapter One by November 1st. After some polishing, I decided it was ready for release on Patreon.

When we got home from the mall that day, I checked my Patreon again, not expecting much. What I saw left me speechless—37 new patrons! My heart pounded as I read through dozens of comments and messages on the release post. On itch, I had 19 sales, and notifications of new subscribers and purchases kept rolling in. It was one of the biggest highs of my life, and I was overwhelmed with gratitude.

One patron mentioned they found the game through a popular VN forum. Out of curiosity, I checked, and to my surprise, there were already several pages of discussion about it. People were engaging with something I had created. Sure, some hated it, but that’s the nature of any creative work. The support, however, far outweighed the criticism.

Over the next few months, the subscribers kept coming, and I started to see the possibility of recouping the thousands I had invested. Eventually, I broke even and began saving money. More importantly, I realized I could turn this passion project into a sustainable side career.

Fast forward to today: I’m incredibly grateful to all of you for your amazing support. Thanks to you, I’m living a dream I didn’t think was possible. There’s nothing I’d rather be doing than creating this game, and I’m thrilled to think about the future—this is just the beginning.

Thank you for making this journey possible. Now, let’s dive into the dev log!

So, chapter six was a complete success, all things considered. Most people really seemed to enjoy it and I have received very few messages pointing out negative aspects. Having said that, if anyone has criticism or suggestions, please don't hesitate to message me or make a comment on this post. I welcome anything you guys have to say as it can only help with development in the future.

'The Halloween special is coming along great and it should be ready late this week. I apologize for not meeting release dates with this most recent dev cycle. I'll try to do better next time and have more reasonable time lines that I can actually hit.

As for chapter seven of The East Block, I have all the sets built and any new characters finalized and all the characters are dressed up and ready for posing for the scenes. The showcase scene for this chapter will be the beach. There will be a lot going on and a lot of different choices and outcomes will be possible. The other three scenes will be pretty big as well. The Rebecca scene will be pretty intense, and I'm super excited to work on that one. We'll also continue from the cliff hanger of chapter six as well as a scene with Nate coming over to spend some time with Luke and Kathryn. We'll also have one or maybe two smaller scenes to advance the story. This chapter will have full motion video like chapter six did and all chapters going forward will as well.

Anyway, I better end this now as it is getting ridiculously long. See you all in the next one!

Bobby