Hey guys! Today's writing was much better. After a couple of days feeling stalled, today I felt back on track.
My plan for the sprint was to update the entire prototype. That's not likely to happen now, but now that I'm back in the groove, I feel like I can get it all done if I just extend the sprint by a few days...
...and I've got a feeling that that kind of thinking is the root cause of a lot of the game's slow delivery problems. So I'm going to...
2020-01-15 19:53:19 +0000 UTC
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Hey guys! I finished another writing task today and updated the Trello.
Writing has felt like a real grind for the last couple of days. I've got some thoughts on this that I want to publish – not least about some helpful advice from fans both here in comments and in my DMs – but I'll save that all for the post-sprint reflection post on Friday.
In the meantime I'm just gonn...
2020-01-14 18:40:05 +0000 UTC
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Sorry I missed yesterday's report, I worked right up to the moment I had to go out.
Backlog review
I started today by decamping to a local coffee shop – like a fucking hipster – to review the Big Fucking List. I found that getting away from my normal working environment sparked my creativity – I was able to capture and get down a variety of thoughts about mechanics, scenes, Bangkok, avatar improvements and side quests that have been buzzing aroun...
2020-01-11 19:39:45 +0000 UTC
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Hey guys! I finished section 1 of the wireframe, and updated the Trello. I'll continue with section 2 on the next sprint day, which is tomorrow.
Okay, this is a super quick sprint report because I'm starving. Crab must eat now. See you tomorrow!
2020-01-09 19:52:48 +0000 UTC
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Hey guys! We had another good day on the prototype.
Lara has finished some test code for the Hero Headers. This UI improvement was proposed ages ago by Reila over on F95zone, her idea being that each passage has a full-width header image that conveys a sense of the location:
I've always been excited about this idea, because it reduces the wall of text
2020-01-08 20:50:07 +0000 UTC
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Hey guys! We got the new sprint got off to a good start today.
I set up a new Trello for you to keep tabs on the sprint tasks. You'll see that a couple are completed already: I uploaded some artwork for the status effect icons and the hero headers that we're planning to introduce soon.
Hyneman is ready to add In This Year content to all Lifepath page...
2020-01-06 22:58:27 +0000 UTC
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Okay, guys: here's my plan for the next sprint. Please let me know what you think – I've pushed the start to Monday, so that I can adjust if necessary.
I don't know why iCal has noted that it's the 2nd of January in Scotland. It's the 2nd of January everywhere, right?
Daily Scrum (5 minutes). Every day, I...
2020-01-02 21:09:05 +0000 UTC
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Anatomy of a failed sprint
On Nov 26, a top Agile consultant advised me to start working in two week sprints. We tried the first one in December.
The aim was to release a Beta version of the prototype sex scene to Operators+. Things started well, but near the end of the sprint it became apparent that I wasn't going to hit the target.
What I tried
A massive dose of personal effort, in order to get the target delivere...
2020-01-01 18:24:37 +0000 UTC
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Looking back, I have mixed feelings about this year. On the one hand, we did some great stuff:
- Completely redesigned the avatar, and made her more personalisable and interactive than ever. You can now customise your agent's face and body type, turn her around for a rear view, give her tattoos and piercings, get her hair wet, etc.
- Implemented the Lifepath. You can now create a unique back story and intel...
2019-12-31 22:14:57 +0000 UTC
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Hey everybody! Sorry for being off comms for a few days – I needed a bit of time to get over my bug, and honestly also to clear my head a little. I hope you guys all had a merry Christmas and that you’re excited about 2020. :-)
This is just a quick catch-up post to thank everybody who played the beta and gave their feedback. I read it all, and I think there were some really great insights from the community, which helped guide my thinking over the past few days – thanks.
...
2019-12-29 17:23:29 +0000 UTC
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Sorry for the radio silence over the last few days. I needed a weekend off, but I went down with a bad cold! I don't normally get sick – I need to rest and exercise better next year.
Anyway, I dragged myself out of my pit to fix some bugs reported by Operators+, and add in some placeholder graphics. Attached is the beta version of the new sex scene that I've been threatening you with.
What to expect
It's a test of a new way to do sex scenes....
2019-12-24 19:38:32 +0000 UTC
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Hi guys! I got a (mostly) working version of the new Sex Engine Beta out to Operators+ today. I'll spend the next few days fixing bugs and broken links, and we'll release it generally on Christmas Eve.
I want to set your expectations correctly because I'm not crazy about how it's turned out so far. It feels clunky, and less sexy than I wanted it to be. I think it's going to need to be simplified and edited. But that's why your feedback will...
2019-12-20 18:35:10 +0000 UTC
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Here's a Beta version of the new Sex Engine scene. Sorry this took so long, guys.
There's a lot of placeholder text, and there will be broken links and dead ends I've missed – please post them here or on Discord when you find them.
Let me know your feedback in general. Personally, I'm disappointed with how it's shaping up so far – I don't feel like I've nailed it. It feels too long and complex, with too many decision points.
I've got some idea...
2019-12-20 18:27:15 +0000 UTC
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I've nearly got something working. Playing it through, I'm honestly having doubts that this is the right structure: it might be too complex, too ambitious. It might be better to simplify things in order to speed up production.
Still – you guys can judge it and let me know. We should have a Beta out very soon to Operators+, and we'll release whatever we have to everybody else on Christmas Eve.
Your feedback is gonna be crucial. Update to follow
2019-12-18 19:14:12 +0000 UTC
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Apologies for not reporting over the weekend, everybody. I was grappling with the same problem on both days, and I didn't know where I was it until an hour or so ago.
The challenge was something both basic and profound: how to pace and structure the actual sex act when it happens within the broader sex scene.
My design for this looked fine on paper, but didn't work in the actual prototype. At first it was too complex, but streamlining made it too simple.
I...
2019-12-16 20:29:03 +0000 UTC
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I'm still fucking around with the Operator+ sex scene Beta. I'm sorry for the delay, which is my fault. I've cleared out my weekend to work on the Beta, and I anticipate that the release will be Soon™.
Once that's done, we'll polish it up and release a polished version of the sex scene Beta to everybody on Dec 24th, Christmas Eve.
The Christmas Eve ...
2019-12-13 23:14:09 +0000 UTC
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Sorry guys, it's still not ready. I expect to finish it tomorrow.
The overall plan is still the same: release this Beta to Operators+ ASAP, then release a more polished version on Christmas Eve. Sorry for going long on this bit, please stay tuned for better news tomorrow. :-(
2019-12-12 20:49:57 +0000 UTC
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Sorry, guys, the Operator Beta isn't going to be ready tonight. :-( I expect to release it to Operators+ tomorrow. Apologies for the delay.
2019-12-11 17:59:00 +0000 UTC
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A consultant advised us to trying working in two-week development "sprints". This is our first attempt!
I was excited about progress at the weekend, but right now things are feeling fucking tight. The plan is still to get a beta version of a new Sex Engine out to Operators+ tomorrow, then a general release of the beta out to everybody before Christmas. 🤞🏻
I've been struggling for the last two days with a vague sense of unease about...
2019-12-10 20:22:24 +0000 UTC
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A consultant advised us to trying working in two-week development "sprints". This is our first attempt!
Finished another sprint task today and marked it off the Trello. We've uploaded some new avatar art for a path that involves potentially sexy use of a satin bedsheet.
Things are going well, although I need to get in at least one very productive writing day for the b...
2019-12-09 20:50:21 +0000 UTC
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A consultant advised us to trying working in two-week development "sprints". This is our first attempt!
Moar writing! I was actually hoping to finish the wireframing today, but there's still quite a lot to go. Today was the first day that I felt like I was making good, fast progress, though; it felt like the new writing technique was working for me.
We've finished a couple more of the sprint tasks on the 2019-12-08 20:57:48 +0000 UTC
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A consultant advised us to trying working in two-week development "sprints". This is our first attempt!
I had another writing day today. It's taking me some time to adjust to the new writing technique I mentioned a few days ago; I keep finding that I've slowed right down, and the reason is always that I'm agonising over word choice, when I'm supposed to be just blasting o...
2019-12-07 19:03:04 +0000 UTC
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A consultant advised us to trying working in two-week development "sprints". This is our first attempt!
Hey guys! Things are going really well. The biggest task of the sprint – creating the sex scene – is nearly finished. With 35% of the sprint left, it feels like we're in a good place.
If we can get everything done, here's what the next few weeks look like:
- Wed 11th Release of Beta version of new prototype sex scen...
2019-12-06 22:31:19 +0000 UTC
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Hi guys, sorry for no sprint report today, I've had a little personal thing come up (urgent, but not serious).
Full report tomorrow, just posting this to let you know all's well!
2019-12-05 19:24:32 +0000 UTC
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The open world of Female Agent is intended to be a platform for all kinds of stories and side quests. These will mostly be sexy stories, of course, but they don't all have to be; I believe that side quests that give your agent opportunities to be more than just a porn star will make the sex scenes much sexier.
With that in mind, please enjoy this wireframe version of a planned combat scene that field agents posted to Syria may encounter, known internally as "Zero Kate Thi...
2019-12-04 21:47:42 +0000 UTC
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A consultant advised us to trying working in two-week development "sprints". This is our first attempt!
Halfway through the sprint! I did more work on the wireframe today, which is going well.
That's kind of all there is to report for today; I'll keep working on it in the next sprint day, tomorrow. See you then!
2019-12-04 21:19:06 +0000 UTC
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A consultant advised us to trying working in two-week development "sprints". This is our first attempt!
Today we finished another sprint task, and added ENF* avatar poses into the game! They'll be used in the prototype, and of course can be used in other scenes.
As always, implementing this little feature was more of a pain in the ass than I anticipated. We ended up having to create 114 new avatar art files, and figuring out exactly how to layer the pose...
2019-12-03 18:44:53 +0000 UTC
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Hey guys! Here's a little test of the new ENF (Embarrassed Nude Female) avatar poses that are going to be in the new prototype.
2019-12-03 18:14:51 +0000 UTC
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A consultant advised us to trying working in two-week development "sprints". This is our first attempt!
Hi everybody! I worked more on the "wireframe" of the sex scene today. This is the biggest of the tasks, and it'll take a few days to finish, but I'm excited at how fast and natural the progress feels.
I'm essentially building up the scene using very simple language, e.g.: Max kisses Kate on the balcony. We'll later build that up into mo...
2019-12-01 23:29:07 +0000 UTC
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A consultant advised us to trying working in two-week development "sprints". This is our first attempt!
Hi everybody! This sprint is off to a great start.
You'll see on the Trello that three tasks are now complete. We've created a writer's template for some NPCs we're planning to introduce in the near future; we've updated the Arousal notifications to work with ...
2019-11-30 20:22:04 +0000 UTC
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