No great revelations to share, this week. I am still working on the second route's versions of the final battle and epilogues, and the various perspective switches necessitate some new content, which the sneak peek is part of. I'll probably finish with the second route ending(s) some time this week, and then I'll start on the third, etc.
2026-01-04 15:39:57 +0000 UTC View Post
Note that, for this week's sneak peek, I went with randomly-chosen variables. For example, Laz will not pawn off his wedding-planning responsibilities to Belvidere if they are dead, you will not have the option of officiating your own wedding if you didn't attend the Fellowship Academy, your spouse will not kiss you if you are aromantic, etc.
It's becoming clear to me that I will not be able to finish writing the first draft of Years before the end of 2025. HOWEVER<...
2025-12-28 14:59:01 +0000 UTC View Post
I'm still working on the epilogues! This week's sneak peek is what happens when the Radicals win, MC1 was sentenced to death for sabotaging the dam, and characters successfully intervened to get them in prison for life rather than being executed. The letter for Lázaro occurs if he hates you. There are other letters for his other relationship values -- I just thought this one was funny!
2025-12-21 14:39:21 +0000 UTC View Post
I have completed the epilogues that occur if you join the Radicals and choose to lose to the Sovereignty. This particular snippet is from MC1's execution. Currently, I am working on the endings that occur if the Radicals win the battle.
2025-12-14 14:44:58 +0000 UTC View Post
Since last week's update, I have completed the entirety of the battle for the route where MC1 joined the Radicals and MC2 joined the Sovereignty. I am currently working on writing the epilogues for this route, and after that I will start on the route where MC1 joined the Sovereignty and MC2 joined the Radicals. What I have written for the epilogues is a little too gruesome for a weekly update (so far I only have what happens if you lose the battle), but I do have the header to share! It is te...
2025-12-07 15:26:40 +0000 UTC View Post
Some more sneak peeks for you, this week! I have finished the part of the battle where you were tied to a tree as MC1 and all the associated outcomes. I'm going to start writing the battle from the perspective of an imprisoned MC1, next.
2025-11-30 15:21:59 +0000 UTC View Post
Some more sneak peeks for you! I am continuing to work on the final battle and epilogue(s).
2025-11-23 16:24:56 +0000 UTC View Post
I have a few sneak peeks for you all, this week! Just as a summary, the final demo of These Reluctant Years was released to the public last week and I am continuing to work on the final battle and epilogue(s).
2025-11-16 15:13:38 +0000 UTC View PostThis is a public announcement.
THE FINAL PUBLIC DEMO OF THESE RELUCTANT YEARS IS NOW ACCESSIBLE.
It includes:
All six chapters of the story up until the final battle.
The battle and epilogue(s) are currently being written and will be accessible to beta testers and those who purchase the final game.
New content is the route in chapter six where both MC1 and MC2 joined the Radicals.
More than 1.5 million wo...
2025-11-12 14:59:52 +0000 UTC View PostA bit of a smaller update, this week. I will start working on the final battle today. Work was somewhat delayed because I had a job to do for a client (I am still open to freelance writing while I'm working on Years).
Also, the final public demo will be accessible by the public this Wednesday.
2025-11-09 15:46:21 +0000 UTC View PostPatrons get exclusive access to story updates one week before the general public.
Link.
In this update, I have:
Completed the final public demo.
Added the route where both MC2 and MC1 joined the Radicals.
New content includes lots of different permutations of depending on who is confronting a saboteur.
I finally finished all of the confrontation permutations! Now, all that I have to write in chapter 6 are the trials of the main characters (if they get caught) and all the other lead-up to the final battle. I don't anticipate it taking very long, so the final version of the demo will probably be uploaded (for patrons first, of course) during the last half of this week or the first half of next week.
The fourth quarter of chapter 6 (where both MC1 and MC2 joined the Radicals) is currentl...
2025-11-02 15:11:35 +0000 UTC View PostNot a terribly long update for you, this week.
I released three quarters of the final public demo last week, and I am still working on the route of chapter 6 where both MC1 and MC2 joined the Radicals. The most time-consuming part by far is imagining all the potential conversations (and, consequently, their responses, and so on) during confrontations between the main characters. All of the potential dialogue changes based on if you are significant others, friends, allies, or enemies. An...
2025-10-26 18:30:44 +0000 UTC View PostThis is a public update announcement. As a reminder, patrons get access to updates one week before the general public.
In this update, I have:
Uploaded three quarters of the final public demo.
Added the route where both MC2 and MC1 joined the Sovereignty.
Fixed various spelling, grammar, and continuity errors (the dam should now properly be built if you failed to destroy it).
Added the ability to choose a significant ot...
2025-10-23 14:12:56 +0000 UTC View PostAccess to half of the final public demo for chapter 6 was given to the public yesterday, and I shared the route where both MC1 and MC2 joined the Sovereignty with my patrons last Thursday. Like every other week I've done this, the public will get to play that route this Thursday.
The final route, where both MC1 and MC2 joined the Radicals, will likely take me a longer to complete than the other parts of chapter 6. I am still able to copy/paste large parts of the narration, but ...
2025-10-19 14:35:24 +0000 UTC View PostThis is a public update announcement. As a reminder, patrons get access to updates one week before the general public.
In this update, I have:
Uploaded one half of the final public demo.
The route where MC1 joined the Sovereignty and MC2 joined the rebellion.
Fixed various spelling, grammar, and continuity errors.
Patrons get exclusive access to story updates one week before the general public.
Link.
In this update, I have:
Completed three-fourths of the final public demo.
Added the route where both MC2 and MC1 joined the Sovereignty.
New content includes interactions between main characters, with things getting especially angsty if MC2 and...
2025-10-17 16:04:12 +0000 UTC View PostThis is a public update announcement. As a reminder, patrons get access to updates one week before the general public.
In this update, I have:
Uploaded one quarter of the final public demo.
The route where MC1 joined the rebellion and MC2 joined the Sovereignty.
Fixed various spelling, grammar, and continuity errors.
Added some additional functionality to the quick start feature, including the ability to have had romanc...
2025-10-11 13:40:22 +0000 UTC View PostPatrons get exclusive access to story updates one week before the general public.
Link.
In this update, I have:
Completed one half of the final public demo.
Added the route where MC2 joined the rebellion and MC1 joined the Sovereignty.
Fixed various spelling, grammar, and continuity errors.
Added some 165...
2025-10-11 13:36:17 +0000 UTC View PostThe public demo part of chapter 6 was released to my patrons on Saturday. Speaking of patrons, we have a new one! I would like to be the first to welcome you, and also extend my thanks for choosing to support me. There's a big backlog of short stories, art, and other things that you've just gained access to, and I hope you enjoy them!
The second route (MC1 with Sovereignty, MC2 with Radicals) is coming along nicely. It's at about 60,000 words, currently. I don't anticipate the next upda...
2025-10-07 17:55:22 +0000 UTC View PostPatrons get exclusive access to story updates one week before the general public.
Link.
In this update, I have:
Completed the public demo version of one quarter of chapter 6.
This is the route where MC1 has joined the Radicals and MC2 joined the Sovereignty.
Fixed various spelling, grammar, etc. errors.
I have completed all of the interactions that can occur if MC1 is confronted by someone while they're trying to sabotage the Radicals' plans. There were a lot of different possibilities (one for if you're romancing them, one if you're friends, another if you're allies, and one more if you're enemies), so it took me a long time to get through them all! I still need to write what happens after MC1 is caught and then the rest of MC2's lead-in to the battle, but I don't think that will t...
2025-09-28 15:53:36 +0000 UTC View Post
Chapter six is coming along well! It's about 47,000 words (including code) at the moment, and will likely be even longer than chapter five just because of the sheer number of permutations that I need to write. I am currently writing some scenarios where MC1 can be interrupted while trying to sabotage the barrier that the Radicals are trying to build in order to dam the mountain pass. Here are some screenshots from one particular path, where MC1 is romancing Laz.
Additionally, I think I ...
2025-09-21 16:43:46 +0000 UTC View Post
Along with some added continuity and bug fixes, I'm still making steady progress on the first route (where MC2 joined the Sovereignty and MC1 did not). Everyone on the Sovereign's side has finally made it through the mountains, but the inexperience of our Mayhew didn't work out so well for many of those following him... The sneak peek screenshot is just after the Sovereign's entourage (including MC2) completed their route through the mountains.
2025-09-15 14:52:06 +0000 UTC View PostNothing very big in this week's update. I commissioned a new artist to draw a picture of Lázaro and uploaded it for patrons to see. I am also working steadily on chapter 6, starting with the route where MC2 joined the Sovereignty and MC1 joined the rebels. If the Sovereign does not trust MC2 (i.e. MC2's sovereigns_favor variable is less than one), then MC2 will spend most of the journey into the Uncharted Territories (to attack the Radicals) under arrest. If MC2 has aided the Sovereign enoug...
2025-09-07 18:56:35 +0000 UTC View Post
I have another piece of commissioned artwork to share! This time, it's Lázaro, again! He was drawn by the wonderful and talented sabh0.
Please support the artist on these other social media platforms.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sabho_ney/
2025-09-03 14:45:06 +0000 UTC View PostThis is a public update announcement. As a reminder, patrons get access to updates one week before the general public.
In this update, I have:
Completed chapter 5.
Added the route where both MC1 and MC2 joined the rebellion.
Fixed various spelling, grammar, and continuity errors.
Added the ability to choose how much favor the player characters have with the Sovereign to the quick start feature.
Realized I...
2025-09-03 14:25:42 +0000 UTC View PostAnother pretty short update, this week. First, I would like to thank the newest patron for joining! Your support means a lot to me! Other than that, I will give the public access to the entirety of chapter 5 this week. I think it's the longest section of anything I've ever written -- the single chapter alone is like both of my other story-games combined in terms of word count. I've started writing chapter 6, and it's also looking like it will be a long one. Perhaps not quite so long ...
2025-08-31 16:47:33 +0000 UTC View PostPatrons get exclusive access to story updates one week before the general public.
Link.
In this update, I have:
Completed chapter 5.
Added the route where both MC1 and MC2 have joined the Radicals.
Fixed various errors.
Added 74,976 words.
This is a public update announcement. As a reminder, patrons get access to updates one week before the general public.
In this update, I have:
Completed three-fourths of the routes for chapter 5.
The new content is the route where both MC1 and MC2 have joined the Sovereignty.
Fixed various spelling, grammar, and continuity errors.
Added 85,499 words.