Dev Update #32: Important news/Let's talk Time, DLC info, CG WIP Teaser


Hey all and happy Sunday. This update is a pretty important one and will cover the most recent events that have transpired. Please have a read and hope you all understand what's going on!

1) Important Update/News + Time

So we all know things happen in gamedev production, and unfortunately, 1st Degree is plagued by a lot of mishaps and terrible circumstances. I try to keep the hardships out of these updates but I hope it'll make you guys understand a little bit more about why somethings get delayed. My main co-writer, who was writing the DLC, unfortunately has a few health issues that prevent her from working too often at this point and that causes quite a lot of delays. I do try to be reasonable with my team with deadlines and everything, but right now I don't know how possible it is to release the DLC in September. The script for it is unfinished right now because of what I mentioned before. I am pretty sure we can get it finished/coded in September but I don't want to rush something that was supposed to be fun for everyone. I would rather take an extra few weeks to put out a good product rather than hurry to push out an untested product. I want to take an extra few days once it's coded to really test all of the options. If there are errors then that also takes time to fix. So, like I said, I don't want to rush pushing it out at this point. I want to be proud of the products that I release to you guys because I want it to be enjoyable for you. 

On top of the issue with my co-writer, on my end, my tablet is deceased. Like. Screw Huion. As a result, I haven't been able to finish the rest of the sprites because the tablet I purchased was so awful and I couldn't pull a line without having squiggly lines. So--another delay. Great. I am returning it though and purchased a new tablet, so hopefully I can get back to finishing the sprites in about a week.

Now at this point, you may be asking yourself things like 'Well Paradise, why don't you write the script?' The reason being is that I've learned that doing so many jobs puts a big stress on me. I need to delegate a little bit more and take a step back in order to maintain my mental health. 

"So, Paradise, any good news this update?"

Why yes! Through all of the hardships we've been going through with this DLC, I managed to find another writer to finish it up! Please welcome one of my newest co-writers, Foxy, to the team! They will be helping me finish the DLC and who knows, may want to come on for the main game as well. They don't really have any social media aside from a streaming instagram, but they are on our discord! 

That being said, it looks like October is more reasonable for a release to give Foxy the time to finish up the script to the best of their ability. Please excuse all of these delays, I hope you guys understand the hardships we are having to deal with.

2) DLC Info

I keep getting asked about the price for the DLC and other things so please read this section if you have any questions.

Basic info and why we're making it: To be completely honest, because the main game has basically increased by 4x the initial assets, our KS funds are running rather thin. We needed a way to get a little extra money so I can make sure my team is paid, and what better way to do that than give you guys something to enjoy. This is also something meant to take a little bit of stress off of me with the main game. I was getting a little burnt out and needed a break from working on it. The DLC was supposed to help with this because it's just meant to be cute, little dates with the characters. Granted, it won't just be the straight up sex scenes. You will get some story and some choices along the way. They are kind of meant to be after-stories but without including the hardships of the main game.

Price: $10 

Word Count: between 20k-30k, 4 dates--1 for each route

CG/BG Count: 4 r18+ CGs w/ multiple variations, 5 BGs

Available where: itch and probably steam

Who will get it for free: those that paid the $75 tier and higher for the main game KS unless you don't want it (this is an individual project, not a part of the main 1st Degree GAME. The backers that paid for the game initially will still receive the main game when we release it. This DLC is just a bonus.)

3) CG WIP Teaser

Alright here's a little joyous thing I suppose. This is a WIP for one of the dates in the DLC! Can you guess who's doing the do? B^) The basic process is that I receive the sketches for the variations and then bless our CG boi. Shading obviously still has to be added but I think it's kind of fun for you guys to see what the process looks like.

---

Well, that's all for today folks! I hope you guys understand the situation a little bit more and I really am sorry for the delay. I wish everything would run smoothly but that's just life. I'm sure we will have delays in the future but I will make sure to let you guys know what is going on if they do continue later on.

---

4) Questions

1) Would you like to see more WIPs or just fully-shaded teasers?

2) Will you be purchasing the DLC?

3) Would you be interested in watching a stream regarding the process to create the game? For example: streaming sketches, talking about the writing process, CGs, devs playing the game, etc. Let me know!

4) If so, what platform do you prefer?

---

As always, if you have any questions, please send an email to parivalgames@gmail.com

---

Feel free to join our discord! You can chat with me and the other devs, as well as a bunch of other weirdos~ Some previews and CG/Sprite sketches are also posted on our discord! We even occasionally play Cards Against Humanity/Jackbox together and it's always fun with more people!

DISCORD

---

We also now have a website! It's just barely in the works and still pretty bareboned, but it's another place where updates will be posted.

WEBSITE

Get 1st Degree: Murder-Mystery BL/Yaoi VN [UPDATED DEMO]

Comments

Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.

(1 edit) (+1)

Feel free to take your time with the game! I've seen and played games where development was clearly rushed, and the quality and overall game experience certainly seemed to suffer for it. With the promise that has already shown from the demo, I'm really looking forward to the final product, and would rather not see this game fall to a similar fate.

1) Would you like to see more WIPs or just fully-shaded teasers?

I have to agree with user Winterdale, fully-shaded feels like something that should be saved for the actual playing of the game. Not that I don't love what you're showing us, clearly a lot of love and effort has been put into every aspect, including the art. I (personally) would prefer that any fully-shaded art remains a surprise until the game is officially released.

2) Will you be purchasing the DLC?

Absolutely. I'm looking forward to anything that would be able to not only give me more of this content, but allow me to help support the developers. (Unfortunately Patreon and the likes are currently out of my budget, but hopefully I'll soon be able to support you that way as well.)

3) Would you be interested in watching a stream regarding the process to create the game? For example: streaming sketches, talking about the writing process, CGs, devs playing the game, etc. Let me know!

Without a doubt.

4) If so, what platform do you prefer?

YouTube is what I spend the most time on, but I'm aware that they are rather unforgiving when it comes to adult content in any form. Twitch is another platform I tend to use which seems to be slightly better that YouTube in that regard, but they still have restrictions of their own. I'm definitely open to other streaming services though, if those don't work out.

Please, take your time! It won't be good for my conscience if the team suffered in the making of this game, haha. And, everyone agrees that a well-polished game is better than a rushed one. Waiting for a bit longer doesn't hurt ^^

Now, on to answering some questions~

1) Would you like to see more WIPs or just fully-shaded teasers?

Hmm, I feel like fully-shaded CGs and stuff should be a surprise we get to see in the actual product. So yeah, personally, I feel like fully-shaded ones practically counts as spoilers. Could be just me, though. 

2) Will you be purchasing the DLC?

I have the habit of purchasing any side content of media I enjoy, so most likely! It's probably true for most people too, so work extra smart on the main game ^^)b

3) Would you be interested in watching a stream regarding the process to create the game? For example: streaming sketches, talking about the writing process, CGs, devs playing the game, etc. Let me know!

Oh, definitely! That's a great idea! It would be awesome to learn how 1st Degree is made. I'm a budding game developer myself (mainly in the art and writing department), so it'll also help me learn how these things go, haha. 

4) If so, what platform do you prefer?

YouTube! Most people have YouTube, so I think it's the best platform out there for streaming and reaching a wider audience. I found your game through YouTube as well! It was a demo walkthrough. That's saying something, right? 

With all that answered, I wish you all the best with your venture! Be sure to work smart and stay healthy! Cheers! ^v^)/

I also think they're a little spoiler-y, which is why I still don't post full CGs. I think teasers are a great way to show that work is still getting done. It might be nice to do a process image for the art instead.

Unfortunately, Youtube is a stickler with r18+ content so we'd most likely be streaming on picarto for most things and possibly twitch for sfw content. I wish more platforms were open to streaming mature art!

(1 edit)

Yeah, a process image sounds good as well! And right, YouTube isn't exactly okay with mature content. That's a real shame. I've never used Picarto before, so I can't comment much on it. Twitch is pretty good. Thanks for letting me know! I'll be sure to keep an eye on these two platforms for the streams about the game. I'm pretty much in love with the art style, so I'm curious how they're made ^^

EDIT: Followed you on both Picarto and Twitch! They're under Parival, right? Just making sure, since there doesn't seem to be any content on both accounts yet. 

First of all, there's no problem in taking your time! In the end it's better for everyone and it would be a pity if you needed to stress yourself even more than you already do and that's why do it in your pace and I'll gladly wait a bit longer if that means that the game's quality is higher and the team had more fun doing it.

1. I'm okay with both since they both interest me :)

2. yeah!

3. + 4. auf jeden fall! definitely! I think things like that are really interesting and help us understand more of what you have to do to ensure that this game works at its best.  for me personally youtube would be the best

Exactly! It's supposed to be a fun process, but the stress kills us! I'm glad people seem to be okay with waiting a little longer.