Dev diary, sorta (Patreon)
Content
Greetings, Club Detention fans!
First off, I owe you all a huge thank you for your patience and support, and for being pretty kind and cool overall. I know I've been MIA for a couple of months here, and people might have been wondering if I vanished, or when's the next update. Well, I'm very much not dead and working on Club Detention with some fresh energy.
What happened?
The short version? My project manager got a burnout and I in turn got a bit burnt out for covering him - sorry about being gone all this time. I'm back and actively working on the game again.
The long version is, well, long. After the last update, I started working on Emma's storyline. As is tradition, I had some wild ideas and I spent a few weeks writing a complicated new system into the game. Imagine my disappointment when I realized it's not fun. I didn't know how to salvage it, so I decided to work on other content while I let this simmer in my brains. Despite the setback, so far so good.
The problems started when my project manager got a burnout and went on an indefinite sick leave. I had to take over his role in a couple of projects while also doing my own work. This meant I got swamped with work and I either didn't have the time to work on Club Detention or I was too exhausted by the end of the day to do it on my spare time. I don't think I really realized it back then, but I think I got a small burnout from that as well. My project's deadline was pretty set in stone and there was a threat of sanctions if we were to miss it.
We didn't miss the deadline and I started my summer vacation. I had every intention to work hard on Club Detention, and I did for a while. But then I felt the burnout and exhaustion. It didn't help that my wife had jam-packed the vacation with stuff to do, places to be and household renovations to do. I was a bit scared if I would be burnt out after my vacation as well, so I did my best to relax and not think too much about work or Club Detention. This meant I was pretty much off Discord, F95, Patreon, SubscribeStar and Itch. I did feel guilty for not working on it, but I'm pretty sure I would be in a worse spot if I had forced myself to do it (and I think forced content is not good content - it shows if the developer is not into it).
Vacation's over, but it's a bit of a quiet period at my day job right now since most people are on vacation right now. So, nothing's really happening at work, so I've been able to work on Club Detention a lot more now. I still don't know what I'll do about Emma's storyline. I have ideas for sure, but I still need to cook them a bit longer. So, the next update will mainly focus on club content and sprinkle in some smaller events into the world. Like, I really want to add some love for Shirley. I miss her.
TL;DR got a slight burnout after my manager got a burnout - I had my holiday and it seems to have worked its magic and I'm back, baby.
Also, sorry for ghosting everyone for a while back there. I will do my best not to burn out and do it again :D Now, let's talk business and pleasure.
What's next for Club Detention?
When's the next update? Well, tough to say. While the new content is pretty sexy, there isn't as much of it as I'd prefer. I don't like making you guys wait for this long and then deliver a skeleton of an update, so I'll try to crunch some scenes into the game for two weeks and see if it's in a releasable state then. If not, I'll give it another week. But I'm aiming to get things done in two. It's ambitious, but you guys have been waiting a long time, and when I've talked about this on Discord,you guys have been real cool about all of this so far. So, thank you<3
What do you want?
Since Emma isn't getting a big ol' personal treatment yet, is there someone who you'd really like to see in the next update? Let me know! Though not Olivia, please - I have some plans for her soon. So yeah, leave a comment or let me know on Discord.
Again, sorry for being absent and thank you all for your support, for playing and enjoying Club Detention and for being cool cats in general.