SailingShellsGames

The feeling of rewriting like 75% of Keo's ch 10 romance interaction:

It feels so good. I hated the original so much omg 😂 I had to write it bad before I could write it good, which is my least favorite part of being a writer. I'm almost done with it and i​t's way more in-character and way less cheesy now, thankfully. I don't know if I'll wind up rewriting it again after beta feedback comes in, but for now I'm at least no longer embarrassed to be seen with it. Can you tell I...

I was reading through another project I started ages ago...

I needed something to reset my mind after staring at Leas for too long. I've hit a point with one scene where I need "fresh eyes" on it to be able to tell if it's improved enough. So I took 10 minutes and read through a project I've tentatively named "Something Wild." I started it like... half a year ago, I think? And I think I'll be working on it for the next 20 years 😂 But I like this scene outline from it, and I thought I'd share it here for anyone interested in some bonus side-project ...

Extended Writing Update

I'm equal parts pleased and frustrated with progress this week. On the good side of things, chapter 10 is very close to beta-ready, in about a third of the time it took me to do chapter 9! (Which makes sense, given that chapter 9 has 3 separate routes) On the frustrated side, I wanted to be done with chapter 10 today 😅 I'm hopeful I'll finish it this week though, so all's well.

The thing that's taking longer is revising the Keo romance scene in chapter 10. I realize I'm my own...

The evolution of the breakup options has been interesting to me.

I've been cutting a bunch out in this round of edits - much to my dismay, since I really liked writing them. But I'm reminding myself this is a romance game so being pelted with "would you like to break up" at every critical juncture is overkill 😂

I think I just like the idea of having that freedom to choose each step of the way, plus the characters breaking up in different contexts is really interesting for me to explore as a writer.

I can tell there's going to be an uneven a...

Upcoming content: End of July - August

Some news 😀 (Scroll to the bottom for TLDR)

The beta demo of Leas: City of the Sun will release in August (exact date TDB). It will include the entire game! So 2 chapters instead of 1 this update, plus a bunch of bug fixes, edits, and additions.

Like all betas, it may change slightly based on feedback from testers, but the final versio...

Shoutout to chapter 10 for being so well-prepped for beta already

I started working on it today and I'm already 3/4 done 🤯

With regards to chapter 9...

IT'S DONE IT'S DONE IT'S DONE

I'm so relieved T_T

Now on to chapters 10-13...

Rin apologizes so much more to a romanced MC and it cracks me up 😂

Just like in casual conversation. Rin's still their rude self but they'll temper it. Like: "Look, I'm sorry (nickname for MC), but we don't have time for this." 

Instead of: "Am I the only one who gets that we don't have time for this shit?"

I think it's cute 😆 They show their affection for MC & crew in other ways in the friendship route, but they're a lot softer with a romanced MC. It's funny the things you pick up when you're editing.

Extended Writing Update

Chapter 9's pre-beta edits are so close to done T_T I've got 1/3 of the final route left to do, and I'm hoping to get it finished this week. I've fixed so much of it, including some bugs I found and it's just overall so much cleaner now. I'm breathing a sigh of relief over it. I reworked a lot of small things that together add up to a much better chapter and narrative. The ROs are noticeably more useful in the mission, and I tie in what happened with the assassin in a more natur...

2nd chapter 9 route pre-beta edits? Done.

 One more to goooo 🎉

Monthly Extra - Keo Bonus Story (nonbinary Keo)

“Crystals for Viara, a new medicine box for Tiane, weird Dalusinian coffee beans for Sena... I think that’s everything,” I say, turning to Keo. Or at least, I would be if they were still next to me.

“Keo?” I frown, slinging my bag over my shoulder and turning in a slow circle, the chill air of the night market sending a little shiver up my spine as a breeze blows through. I smile sli...

Monthly Extra - Keo Bonus Story: Presents (female Keo)

“Crystals for Viara, a new medicine box for Tiane, weird Dalusinian coffee beans for Sena... I think that’s everything,” I say, turning to Keo. Or at least, I would be if she were still next to me.

“Keo?” I frown, slinging my bag over my shoulder and turning in a slow circle, the chill air of the night market sending a little shiver up my spine as a breeze blows through. I smile slig...

Monthly Extra - Keo Bonus Story: Presents (male Keo)

“Crystals for Viara, a new medicine box for Tiane, weird Dalusinian coffee beans for Sena... I think that’s everything,” I say, turning to Keo. Or at least, I would be if he were still next to me.

“Keo?” I frown, slinging my bag over my shoulder and turning in a slow circle, the chill air of the night market sending a little shiver up my spine as a breeze blows through. I smile sligh...

Just finished ch9's beta-prep for the first route + all shared scenes!

Featuring: me, reading certain things and wondering what kind of fugue-state I was in to have written that:

~ Some fun facts about Leas' side characters ~

• MC's friend Sena, who runs the cafe MC likes, wanted to be a Den agent when she was little. Now, she's relieved she didn't end up doing it. She's a homebody and prefers not to leave her neighborhood often, let alone go past the city's walls.

• Wren's sister Clover is the family member Wren complains about most often. She is also Wren's favorite relative.

• Mara met her wife Liadra in the wilds. They were both on assignment out there at the same time and campe...

  2024-07-15 16:34:24 +0000 UTC View Post

Extended Writing Update (Leas + Flashpoint)

I'm pushing my way through prepping chapter 9 for the beta! Given that it's got three separate routes + is a long chapter to begin with, it's taking longer than half the previous chapters combined >_< 

But, I'm on track to clear the first route by the end of today 🎉 I decided to do Wren's first this time. It starts just a little differently from Keo's and Rin's, and my main challenge (in addition to regular revisions) was to figure out how to incorporate the same hint of w...

Every time I release an alpha

Every time I release an alpha I have this weird moment I have to budget time for, after it's all uploaded and seems to be working right.

And then I sit there, and stare at the screen for about twenty minutes.

😭 It's like pushing the big red button in the movies 😂

Anyway, I hope you guys like this new chapter. I'm so happy to be sharing it with you ~ ❤️ It's been feeling like the night before a birthday lately, being this close to the beta.

The July Alpha Demo is live!

It includes:

• The newest chapter

• A rework of most of chapter 8 (minus the hangouts at the beginning, which will come later). I changed a lot of phrasing, and found and fixed some narrative errors where events were being referred to that had been removed from the story (oops! such is writing lol).

~ You can play it ...

A snippet from chapter 11 before it releases tomorrow ~

I'm doing final edits/testing today and this made me laugh 😂

---

It's a good thing, too - Keo's practically wrestling the man through the door.

"Incoming," Rin calls lightly, kicking the door shut from ${rin_hisHerTheir} perch, then hopping down. (rin_heSheThey) eye(s_r) Keo sharply. "Subtle. Real subtle."

 "I warned you I could not fool him," Keo throws a hand up, looking harried. "I do not believe anyone heard the struggle, on...