VN Ren'Py Jezebel [Development Thread] - Episode 1 Released!

[Mr. Pengo]

Status Update #14 - April 13, 2025

Animation - 1 Remaining
Art - 100% Finished
Background Art - 100% Finished
GUI - 100% Finished
Music - 100% Finished
Screens - 4 Remaining
Writing - 100% Finished

That "Screens" section should be at at least 3 Remaining status by next week...if not 1 Remaining...so a lot more progress was made this week than it might first appear. I will do my best to get the game out in April, as I am super excited to show it to people, but if it ends up being an early May release, well, at least I never made any promises lol. I was up late last night doing some final touches and implementing some of my favourite scenes from Episode 1 into the game proper with CGs and Animations. I've noticed that a lot of AVNs only get really spicy after the first few updates, but safe to say I'm quite proud of how intense things get right out the gate in this first release. I'm thinking I'll have to make some sort of scene guide, as some of the NSFW scenes being possible is dependent on your choices.

As with last week, please enjoy more random screenshots.

Spoiler: Screenshots

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[Mr. Pengo]

Status Update #15 - April 20, 2025

• Animation - 1 Remaining
• Art - 100% Finished
• Background Art - 100% Finished
• GUI - 100% Finished
• Music - 100% Finished
• Screens - 4 Remaining
• Writing - 100% Finished

I said in an earlier status update that I didn't see any issues preventing an April relase; well, that's unfortunately changed. There have been some snags with setting up the screens, and I've just discovered one of my animations is using a different colour palette than the CG it is based on for some reason . Last week, I said that I never guarenteed the game would come out in April. Well, this week I shall instead 100% guarentee a May release date. This is a promise both to myself, and to anyone who cares enough to be disappointed it's not coming in April.

I've completed all the work I can on the first episode, so I continue to work on the episode 2 script and recieve new art assets. Yesterday, I recieved the new sketches for a major character being introduced in episode 2 who has existed exclusively in my head for the close to two years this game has been in the works, which is a weird feeling.

More random screenshots for you this week. I'm thinking I'll do something a bit different in terms of a preview next time.

Spoiler: Images

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[SaucedUpD]

patiently waiting, this seems like its gonna be a great vn just off of everything I'm seeing in here, stay at it !!

 

[Mr. Pengo]

patiently waiting, this seems like its gonna be a great vn just off of everything I'm seeing in here, stay at it !!

Thanks so much hopefully it meets your expectations! Can't wait to get it out myself.

 

[Mr. Pengo]

Status Update #16 - April 20, 2025

• Animation - 1 Remaining
• Art - 100% Finished
• Background Art - 100% Finished
• GUI - 100% Finished
• Music - 100% Finished
• Screens - 3.5 Remaining
• Writing - 100% Finished

Another week, another less than inspiring progress report, but it's all part of the process. Why does it say 3.5 screens remaining, you ask? That would be because both of the coders I've been working with haven't been able to implement the Encyclopaedia screen properly; a fully functional version exists at the moment, but it still isn't good enough, and so I'm going to have to find a third person. This time, I'm gonna make sure it's someone who is an absolute expert at Ren'Py so that I can make sure I meet the promised May release date. My hope is that enough progress is made by next week that I can flirt with the idea of giving an official release date, or at least a window.

This time, rather than post screenshots as I usually do, I'd like to share with you the family insignias/sigils for each of the major noble houses of Rosegate. They are as follows:

Bosque - The Shield

Calder - The Bow

Devereux - The Dagger

Fellner - The Griffin

Ivavenko - The Lotus

Nikitin - The Trident

Quinza - The Spear

Van der Valde - The Axe

~

Despite the fact that Devereux is the main family and their sigil will be used as a logo for the game, I must admit that Nikitin and Ivavenko are my personal favourites. Don't they just look clean as hell?

Spoiler: Images

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[Mr. Pengo]

Status Update #17 (May 4) - Release Date Announcement


We have officially graduated from the "progress report" stage of the first status update cycle, and entered the pre-release stage. Episode 1 - Repatriation will be releasing on May 25, 2025~! I am so stoked to finally get it out and see what people think. I am proud of what I've created, and I hope lots of people will be able to vibe with it. The first bonus animated NSFW scene will be releasing within a month of Episode 1 on my Patreon for Matriarch tier members, and then on the same day every month after that. This week's image is, fittingly, the official poster for the first episode!

 

[Mr. Pengo]

Status Update #18 - May 11, 2025


Now that I don't have a handy checklist to post in these updates, they feel a bit more directionless. Luckily, we are only two weeks out from the release date, so I'll have a lot more to talk about very soon! I have no interest in being anything but totally transparent about the game's progress, so I will be posting these status updates every week even if I have nothing interesting to say at all!

In all seriousness, I'd like to take this opportunity give a few details about the release. As I said last week, the game will drop (for PC, Mac, and Android) on May 25th: on Patreon, for Serf-tier patrons, and on

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, as a pay-what-you-want title. I'll be putting it up here on F95Zone for free as well. Future releases will be paid, but I plan to keep Episode 1 this way indefinitely so that anyone who wants to try it out, can! However, I also aim to create a lot of original content for patrons only so that the subscription will still be worth it. Finally, I'm also going to get to work on seeing about a Steam release as soon as the game is out on the aformentioned sites.

For this week's preview, please enjoy the map of Rosegate in HQ.

 

[Mr. Pengo]

Status Update #19 - May 18, 2025

I've been hit with another mild snag this week, sad to say. I'm starting to think those additional screens that need to be coded in are cursed, because my newest collaborator suddenly pulled out due to family issues. I've already gone ahead and found a replacement, but this does mean that, worst case scenario, the game's release will have to be pushed back a week to June 1st. I will do my best to get it out next week as promised, and it is still very possible that it launches on the 25th, but I only intend to release it once it's ready. It's very frustrating to be potentially going back on my word due to forces outside of my control, but luckily this shouldn't be happening again once the foundations of the game's user interface have been programmed in successfully and I can effectively work solo.

For this week's preview, I've focused on some of the game's excellent background art. I'm extremely happy with how these pieces turned out!

Spoiler: Images

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[Mr. Pengo]

Release Date Update!

Just a quick follow up on the last status update. I am very pleased to announce that, as a result of my pulling back-to-back all nighters, the original release date of May 25th is still a go! In just a few days, episode 1 of Jezebel will be live! I'm so excited to get it out into the world...I hope you will share my enthusiasm once you've played it!

 

[Mr. Pengo]

Status Update #20 - June 1st, 2025

A huge thank you to everybody who played Episode 1 of Jezebel in its first week! By the by, in case anyone missed it, the Android version is now live as well! There are some issues with the UI at present, but I'm working to get them resolved ASAP. The actual game works perfectly well.

Going into game development totally blind with no prior reputation as a writer can be a very solipsistic experience; the entire time I was making the first episode, it was almost like the game both didn’t exist, and did exist but was possibly terrible. It’s wonderful to see the positive reception and to know that neither of those things appear to be true! The game hasn’t exploded overnight or anything, nor did I expect it to, but from what I have gathered the people who liked it really liked it, which is a great sign for the prospect of growing its fanbase in the future! A special shoutout to anyone who subscribed to the Patreon, and to anyone who gave it a positive review on sites like

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or F95Zone! Both of those things are so vital when it comes to getting this thing off the ground early on!

That being said, on the other end of the spectrum, I suddenly understand why every creative type seems to have an intense “fuck the haters” mentality now. I didn’t receive too much in the way of negative feedback (negative, that is...not constructive!), but some that I did was reaaaallly dumb. On one hand, I’m extremely pro-criticism and always have been; on the other, I’m not sure the point of negative criticism is for it to reach the creator its directed toward, so much as it is literally everyone else. I view it as a sort of collective exercise in understanding what makes things good, and what makes things bad, like a prosecutor and defense attorney working together to find the truth. I’m worried that, if I were to read negative reviews in the future, I’d eventually run into one that I didn’t think was dumb…one that would shake me and make me go “damn, they have a point”, maybe even make me want to alter my fundamental vision for the game. As such, I don’t think I’ll be doing so going forward.

As for the further development of the game, anyone who is invested can continue to look forward to these progress reports every week! I plan on previewing episode 2 as I make it as well as being as transparent as I can about where I’m at with things. Further bonus scenes are going to be released once a month for Matriarch-tier Patrons…I’m thinking the first one will be out June 25th. It’s taking a bit longer than I would have liked because it features a new character I only just got the artwork for, but I hope it will be worth the wait. It’s also going to canonically take place during the events of episode 2…if the player considers it canon at all. Every bonus scene is going to be Schrodinger’s canon; whether it takes place during the events of your Jezebel save is completely up to you!

I know this post is getting obnoxiously long, but I would like to share what I’ve actually been up to! I’m starting the process of getting the game onto Steam, and I have been writing Episode 2 every single day. I have a unique opportunity here, as writing Duvessa is so much fun that I rarely get burned out. I can 95% guarantee that the second episode will be out within 2025 and, depending on its success, I’ll hopefully be able to release at least three more in the year 2026.

That’s all for this week! Thank you for playing, and thanks to anyone who put up with all of my ramblings and read the whole thing! The picture attached is the very first sketch of Duvessa, aka the first bit of art ever produced for the game!

 

[rocoloco1]

This is so good! Can't wait to play this one!