Saturday Devlog (June 22) (Patreon)

Hi everyone! I hope you're having a pleasant weekend.

My apologies for the missed update last week! I faced considerable difficulties in writing some parts of the update, specifically in the scenes where Yu becomes the central character. One of the goals of the rewrites for them is to soften their approach to the player a bit, such that there could be more of an arc to the romance rather than Yu being at 100 right out the gate. At the same time, however, it wouldn't be Yu if they weren't forward and flirtatious! It turns out that striking that balance is a trickier feat in writing than it had seemed in the storyboard, which caused a significant amount of rewrites for Yu's scenes. This is further exacerbated by the fact that the setting of the festival feels rather more romantic than I had expected going in! In the end, I'm happy with what I have for Yu's scenes, and it's time to work on other parts of the update.

Speaking of, on the whole, progress is proceeding apace. The update currently stands at 15k words, though what I currently have is also still undergoing some edits. In particular, I have a very vivid image of what the night festival looks like in my head, and I want to make sure that the ambiance is well-communicated in the prose without being too indulgent. Restraint, I'm learning, is a rather difficult art to master!

On the art side of things, the artist I had originally asked to do one of the features has said that they will not be able to fulfill the deadline on account on some personal issues. Luckily, Yesa--who is one of AMR's regular artists pre-hiatus!--has agreed to take on the project instead, on top of the work that she's already done for June's monthly features (which she has already finished!). Which is to say--all is well on the art front, despite a bit of a hiccup along the way.

Following this devlog, I will also be uploading sneak peeks of the update. On account of last week's missed update, it will be a double feature, focusing on different elements/sections of the festival.

I will be returning later today to respond to respond to comments and messages. Thank you for your patience in the meantime, and as always, thank you for supporting the development of A Mage Reborn!