For those that are interested there was a news update yesterday which reads as follow:
My name is Rastamanapool, and it's my fault that some of you didn't like the latest update.
You're probably wondering why this update came out the way it did. Well, there are a number of reasons for that:
- JoeBanks, our lead game designer, temporarily became inactive, and it made the team reassess the current situation with the game, as the plot for future updates was not documented well enough, nor were the script and game ideas in general. Therefore, it was decided to take on board an assistant in the form of a new game designer and screenwriter.
- Since we had a new team member, we decided to venture into a new vision for the project, which was already brewing in the bowels of the IW development team for some time.
- We started thinking about a global plan for updates, wrote out a draft of the plot for many chapters ahead, and began to reorganize into a new work format.
- We now have a long-term update plan (up until the end of the third act), which means we can reduce the chaotic nature of development, and plan ahead for the juiciest and biggest updates possible.
- The latest release was sort of a test, because we could not fully switch to the new development pipeline (format), but we have laid the foundation for further expansion.
- Unfortunately, as it always happens due to purely technical reasons and lack of time, we were not able to implement all the planned ideas. But we plan to implement them with the next version.
Our new work format implies the following development iterations:
- We release the first version of a chapter that has the main plot.
- Then we release an addendum to that chapter, which adds sidequests and interactions with the main and side characters.
- Finally, we polish/fix the newly released chapter, and work on a new chapter in parallel.
Here’s our work plan for the coming year:
- Spring 2021 - Act 2 Chapter 1 - "Mind Games". (already released as version 0.7A)
- A new chapter that heralds global change of the main plot, and is part of a well-planned development and release plan.
- A new story, several mini-games, locations, and new goodies await you.
- A preview without spoilers:
- Trust is pretty hard to build, especially if you're the recently assigned headmaster of Hogwarts. An unexpected truth and the disappearance of one of his students forces Marcus to act in a special way. Who can really be trusted? Does Minerva know how to take revenge?
- Spring-Summer 2021 - Supplement update for Act 2 Chapter 1.
- Four or five sidequests with lewd stuff will be added, available starting from this chapter.
- Summer 2021 - Planned revision of Act 1 Chapters 1-2-3.
- An update to Act 1 Chapters 1, 2, and 3. The plot of these chapters will be adjusted so that everything leads to the events of Act 2 Chapter 1. The basis for new side quests is being created, and there will also be a migration of some of the later game events.
- Summer-autumn 2021 - Supplement update for Act 1 Chapters 1-2-3.
- We will add several long chains of new side quests that begin in Act 1 Chapter 1.
- Autumn 2021 - Act 2 Chapter 2 - "Hidden in the Shadows".
- Continuation of the new story.
- Even though Chapters 4 and 5 in Act 1 will not be adjusted to the new storyline just yet, we'll release a new chapter to prevent stalling of the main plot.
- A preview without spoilers:
- Behind every great wizard lies a great wish. A little investigation leads Marcus to some very unexpected results, intimate photos, and... um, hello, Hagrid?!
- Winter 2021 - Supplement update for Act 2 Chapter 2.
- Several "wild" side quests will be added that are only available starting from this chapter.
- This may also include a Christmas update. If the version comes out earlier, however, the Christmas update will come out separately.
- Winter 2021/Spring 2022 - Planned revamp of Act 1 Chapter 4-5.
- The plot of these chapters will be adjusted so that everything leads to the events of Act 2 Chapter 1.
- In parallel, sidequests for the same chapters will be developed.
- Spring 2022 - Supplement update for Act 1 Chapters 4-5.
- There will be long chains of new side quests added that begin in these chapters. We will also add sequels to side quests that started in earlier chapters.
After reading the plan above, you may have been overwhelmed by the amount of work that needs to be done. But that's just a rough plan. Ultimately, we want to shorten the time between new chapter releases by running parallel content development. We'll do our best to release the newest content as early as possible.
Because we want to speed up the content creation process, we are introducing a new game version release policy, which is primarily aimed at the players who support game development.
Essentially, versions of the game will now consist of two parts, rather than three as before:
1. First, there will be a story part with a focus on continuing the story, which will set the stage for future side-events. This part will also have erotic content in addition to the story. Ideally this will be one full and complete chapter, as was the case in the last release (0.7A).
2. After the story part is released, it will be filled with side-content in the form of mini-games, side quests and other goodies. This part will focus on the development of relationships with students and other characters, and occasionally slightly alter the storyline that was already established in the previous release to support the side activities.
After that, these steps will be repeated again - we add a new chapter to the game, and then it will be filled with side-content. At the same time, we will work on fixing bugs, but having a clearly defined plan should reduce their number compared to previous releases. You could already see this in 0.7A if you compare it with 0.6A.
This type of development cycle will allow us to simultaneously develop the story, moving the story forward each time and filling it with interesting plot twists and intrigue, and at the same time keep the erotic content at the same level as it was before, and often surpass it in the amount and variety.
How will the changes described above affect the availability of the versions? Well, here's how we see the updated release system:
- $20 patrons will get each version asap. No changes here.
- $5 patrons will receive fully finished chapters (story + sidequests). No change here either, since essentially the second version with sidequests is the same as the current "beta" version.
- The public version will be released with a delay of one version. Therefore, it will be released alongside the release of the next story part.
This last change was made because once the second version with side content is released, we will immediately begin work on the next part (next chapter story), which is intended for 20$+ patrons (just like the alpha version in the current format). With the release of this version, the previous completed chapter with story and content will be released publicly. Therefore, those players who financially support the development of the game will always receive content before the rest of the players, same as it is now. However, the frequency of patron-only releases will increase due to the fact that we will not spend time on the public version, but immediately start working on the next version for patrons.
These changes will help focus the team's work on creating new and varied content, without the endless smearing of our resources on a bunch of minor ideas.
And now, we’re back to voting. We are very interested to know how the players perceived the latest alpha version of the game. Did you like this approach to story progression? Was the focus on the storyline too intense compared to previous releases? Did the events in the new chapter seem diverse enough? Let us know by voting below, or by leaving a comment here or on the Discord server!
That's all for now. Thank you for reading to the end. If you have any questions or suggestions, be sure to send them to us by any means convenient to you.
See you later!
