crushstation

Status Report

Hey guys! I’m sorry this report is so late. The truth is that I’m really struggling with the writing at the moment. I don’t know what to say except that I’m sorry it’s taking so long.

I’m working on it full time every day to get it ready for testing and release. The problem has been that what I’ve been producing has felt boring and I fucking hated it. (And myself 😭😭😭) I was really worried that I actually couldn’t pull off another barmaid shift a...

[1.21] Skinnying down the episode

Hey guys! I'm sorry for being quiet here, and on Discord. I've been struggling with the writing in this episode, and it wasn't clear to me last weekend how to fix it.

For story reasons, we need to send the heroine back into the club for a barmaid shift. My idea to spice it up was to do something cool with wardrobe, and give her an excuse to wear some hot gothy fuck-me boots for a shift.

2024-02-25 16:58:39 +0000 UTC View Post

Deep in a scene

Hey guys! Sorry for being quiet, I’ve been deep in a scene.

Sometimes writing feels fast and easy, sometimes everything's difficult and it feels like a slog. This scene has definitely been a slog, requiring sacrifices of much blood, toil, tears and sweat just to get it to a rough first draft standard.

I was tempted just to cut it, but I’m glad I pushed through instead: it’s feeling really hot now. 🔥 I’ve finally got it nearly ready for testing by some h...

[1.21] Prototyping [8/15 complete]

Hi guys! Just a quick update, as I’ve been very busy prototyping more scenes. It’s hard to talk about without spoilers, but:

• A scene that wasn’t working got simplified and rewritten
• A new scene, with two NPCs you’ll be seeing more of, got added (and completed)
• A key scene got some big changes from the outline

I always have to adapt and make changes like this during the process; no battle plan survives contact with the enemy. O...

[1.21] Prototyping (5/14 complete)

Hey guys! I had another good, solid week of writing. I added two more scenes to the prototype build, (so that’s now 5 in total, of 14 planned), and nearly finished the third. I increased the number of lines in the code from 2209 to 4355.

NPC deep dives
This week, I spent some time working on detailed NPC backgrounds. (This is the kind of work that doesn’t add to the word count, but is absolutely necessary for the story to feel real.)  When I've go...

[1.21] Work started on the new episode

Hi guys! This week, I started production on episode 1.21 of Female Agent.

After the glam date with Kolya, and the empowering, action-packed Christmas episode, we need to get our heroine out of combat boots, back into heels, and back into the Hard Cock Cafe for a shift. (This is both for pacing reasons, and to insert a setup scene that’s required now for the upcoming side quest, “Booth Babe”).

I had an outline for a club night prepped and ready to go; with the addition of a h...

Zero Kate Thirty debrief

Zero Kate Thirty, the standalone Christmas mini-episode, is available here.

I feel like my aim’s been a little off in the past couple of episodes. Reflecting on it, I think I’ve (unwittingly) made the mistake of trying to write episodes you guys will like instead of writing episodes I want to play.

This came from a good place – I love and appreciate ...

Zero Kate Thirty

Hi guys! Lovely Victoria and I have been working on a small Christmas present for you all.

It was ready on the 24th, but I know that the period after Christmas can sometimes be an anti-climax, so I kindly held it back until now.*

Please enjoy a short standalone mini-episode: Zero Kate Thirty.

-Crush 🦀 ...

10 Dec Dev Report

Hey guys! Sorry for the lack of reporting, but it hasn’t meant a lack of work.

Reflecting on the release of 1.20…I feel like my aim has been off in the past couple of episodes. So instead of doing what I wanted to do – which was jump immediately into production of episode 1.21 – I decided to devote some time and energy on story planning, both for the next two side quests (Big Mac and Booth Babe), and the heroine’s overall story more broadly.

I did some deep dives into NP...

Episode 1.20.1 available to everyone!

(This is the free version.  If you're a patron, get the enhanced version here.)

Hi guys!  Here's episode 1.20.1, "White Russian".

This general release is a little late, because I was trying to improve the sex scene.  Honestly, I don't think it came out as the big improvement I was excited about, and I feel meh about it – but do let me know what you thin...

Episode 1.20.1P available to Recruits+!

Hi guys!  This is the (late) general release for episode 1.20.1P, "White Russian".

I tried to improve the sex scene by adding some new decision points.  Honestly, I don't think it came out as the big improvement I was excited about, and I feel meh about it – but do let me know what you think, here and on Discord.

🦀 ❤️

Online ve...

[1.20] Public release is running late

Hi guys!  I aimed to drop the general release version today.  But I'm editing something to try and improve it (based on Early Access feedback), and it's not quite ready to release.  It'll be ready very shortly.

In the meantime, I've opened up the Early Access version to Recruits, so you guys can play it now if you want!

What am I changing?
F...

Episode 1.20 "White Russian" early access

Happy Halloween, Analysts+!  Attached is the early access version of episode 1.20, "White Russian".

I wanted more time to edit, but everybody told me that I overedited the last episode, so...here you go.  Is it hot?  Do you like it?  How could it be better?  

Please let me know, here and on Discord!  🤞🏻😬🤞🏻

2023-10-31 20:42:14 +0000 UTC View Post

[1.20] Final week

Hey guys!  Last week, our illustrator lovely Victoria finished with the episode art.  It looks amazing!  We've coded most of it into the new episode.  (I always love it when you can play through with the actual art, it makes the episode feel real.)

We're doing a couple of new things with layers in this episode, and a few of the assets need to be tweaked to make every scene work properly.  Victoria is working on that, and expects to be finished d...

[1.20] Neaaarly ready

Hey guys!  Here's an update on the task list:

We're just beavering away.  Our illustrator lovely Victoria has finished most of the art (which is looking stunning 😮).

Every time I'm in the code I see things I want to edit!  But I'll restrain myself and just push it out as soon as the critical tasks are done.

[1.20] Nailing down the details

Hey guys!  Working on the finickity final things before this episode can be released.  Here's a peek at my to-do list:

Some of the contributor suggestions are seriously greta and will improve the ep.  But I'm going to prioritise getting the critical stuff done, then I'll thread in as many contributor suggestions as I can (without delaying the release too long). 2023-10-09 09:42:21 +0000 UTC View Post

[1.20] Short report

Hey guys!  Short report, because everything's moving smoothly: I'm working on edits, our illustrator lovely Victoria is working on art.

I had lots of good feedback from story testers!  Their suggestions are helping me punch up various moments.  But generally, everybody seems to like the new episode!  I hope you guys will too 🤞🏻😬🤞🏻

Okay, that's seriously the whole report.  I'm gonna get back to the word mines and dig out some...

[1.20] Prototype fully playable

Hi guys!  Yesterday I finished building the episode prototype in the game engine.  A basic version of White Russian is now playable, start to finish!

I made some changes based on tester feedback from the previous week, adding in a new scene between scenes 7 & 8 on the outline (thanks Behbeh and XG), and two more scenes that just came out while I was writing.

The prototype is now out to story testers for more feedback, and I'...

[1.20] One step back, two steps forward

Hi guys! This week I had to do some rewriting, based on feedback of last week's prototype. As well as being our illustrator, lovely Victoria is also involved in story planning, and she pointed out some characterisation problems that needed to be fixed.

I was a little bit annoyed with her when she pointed it out – mainly because I knew she was right. The same issue had been gnawing at me, too, but I was trying to ignore it because I'm trying to get this episode rattled...

[1.20] Rapid prototyping

Hey guys!  Work on episode 1.20, "White Russian", is going well.

This episode is a lot less complex than the last one.  It's a side quest featuring Kate's (optional) date with Kolya, the broody Russian guy she met in the skybar in the early part of Girls' Night Out.

It's fully plotted, and I'm currently building a prototype version in the game engine.  About the first half of the episode is now playable, and some of our lovely testers have given useful feedback on h...

Characterising Kate

Back in the early days of Female Agent, 59 players told me how they liked to play their heroine (called "Kate" in internal dev discussions, for convenience).

Four broad archetypes emerged:

WAIF (dutiful, resilient) - 41%

• A survivor, capable of stoically withstanding hardship
• She can take anything the mission throws at her
• The "good girl" heroine – she embodies feminine traits like demureness, acceptance, complian...
  2023-09-03 16:20:02 +0000 UTC View Post

Episode 1.19.1 available to everyone!

(This is the free version.  If you're a patron, get the enhanced version here.)

Hi guys!  Here's episode 1.19.1P, "The New Girl".

This was a controversial episode, receiving by far the most negative criticism of any episode of Female Agent. I made some scene edits based on the feedback, but be warned this episode missed the mark for a lot of ...

Episode 1.19.1P available to Recruits+!

Greetings Recruit!  Here's episode 1.19.1P, "The New Girl".

This was a controversial episode, receiving by far the most negative criticism of any episode of Female Agent. I made some scene edits based on the feedback, but be warned this episode missed the mark for a lot of people.

Please let me know your thoughts – positive or negative – so I can take them into account in future episodes.  Hit me up here or on Discor...

[1.19] Feedback

Hi guys! Before the new episode released, I said I’d need feedback from the community. I certainly got it. 😔

This episode received by far the most negative criticism of any episode of Female Agent. So that’s obviously an indicator that I made mistakes this time.

The criticisms were mainly (but not entirely) in two areas:

• It took too long to produce
• The characterisation of the heroine didn’t feel consistent with some of her earlier sce...
  2023-08-21 08:01:30 +0000 UTC View Post

Episode 1.19 "The New Girl" early access

Greetings Analysts+!  Attached is the early access version of episode 1.19, "The New Girl".

I'm sorry this took so long; the writing was challenging for a number of reasons, which we'll discuss over the next few weeks.  I have a plan to improve things.

In the meantime, please let me know your feedback, here and on Discord.  What works in this episode?  Is it hot?  What could be better?

2023-08-13 18:47:27 +0000 UTC View Post

Soon™

I was trying to get it ready for today, but it's 1700 and I still have lots to do. 😭

What the fuck is going on?

On Discord yesterday, I wrote that I feel like I've kind of "levelled up" somehow in the writing of this episode.  I've just got this incredible energy to dive into the things I've glossed over in the past, really think about them in detail, and pull out the things that make them sexy.

Example (mild spoilers): yesterday ...

[1.19] Nearly there...

Hey guys!  I desperately wanted to release by today, but it's still not quite done.  Sorry.

I put in about 80 more hours last week, and was able to achieve the following:

• Reworked the ending scenes so they flow better
• Coded in the new episode art
• Punched up several scenes and made them way better

I need more time punching up.  Like I wrote in the Discord yesterday:

2023-07-31 07:42:39 +0000 UTC View Post

[1.19] Still not quite ready...

Hi guys!  Editing is going great but I need a little more time before it's ready to go out.

I'm going through scenes and lifting them up with better description, pacing and dialogue.  Everything I touch is getting much hotter and more interesting, so I know I need to keep doing it.

I was bitching to the contributor Behbeh about how long it's taking, and she said "there's a lot more psychological honesty in this episode."  S...

[1.19] Still polishing...

Hi guys!  I wanted it to be ready, but I'm still working on a few scenes.

If I release it now it'll be shit but if I can just take the time it needs to make these scenes work then I'm sure you'll love it.

I'm working on it flat out every day, and believe me nobody wants this episode to be over more than this humble crab.

Release will be Soon™, okay I'm getting back to work

[1.19] Almost there...

Hi guys!  It's almost but not quite ready.  I've been working hard every day, punching up dialogue and description.

It's infuriating that I need to do so much editing, but it improves the episode so much.  I'm working through adding new dialogue branches, tweaking the pacing on the "spicy" scenes so we get to savour what makes them hot, tightening up the "story" scenes so they're pacy and interesting.

Our illustrator lovely Victoria...