Did Not Expect That To Happen...

In case you're also a follower of the devblog as well as a follower of the Patreon, note that today the same information from this post is going into the devblog, so you really only need to read one.

Yesterday, a voice from Harem Collector's past actually got in touch with me- Clara Middleton, formerly credited as PeaSea, who made most of the unique music tracks in HC, basically all the tracks you can collect on CD.

She didn't come with her hat out or anything like that, but rather to make amends and explain why she worked so sporadically and then vanished way back when.

Turns out, back when Clara was operating as PeaSea, Clara was a man. And not just a man, but a married man. Whatever you may think about transgendered people or PeaSea specifically, I'm sure you'd agree that going through such a fundamental change in your life and then finding out that your wife isn't suddenly going to be gay for you and then having what I'm sure was a spectacularly messy divorce isn't exactly great for getting your largely self-motivated contract work done. For the simple reason that Clara doesn't actually know me, was going through an obviously stressful period, and couldn't handle it if I actually turned out to be a massive douchebag, she never worked up the nerve to actually contact me about it until most of the dust had settled.

So, for now, the only thing that this changes for now is how her work is going to be credited- she's using her new meatspace name because all the people that would have have a problem with her working on a hentai game have already had a problem with her transitioning.

Clara might end up doing some work that ends up in the game. I know that having an official composer is a far-off Patreon goal, but for now, I'm giving her a wishlist of a few things I think HC ought to have, and if she produces something I like it'll get put in the game and she'll receive fair compensation for it. I'm under no obligation to pay her up front this way, so if things get hectic again and she can't get things done for whatever reason, it's not going to disrupt progress on the game.

Music acquired in this way is probably going to end up as some kind of tier preview but will probably be sporadic. It also will be low-key enough that it's not going to disrupt other aspects of the art budget- if I don't have the dosh at the time to buy a music track I'll just wait until I do, eating only into my personal end of the Patreon take. This is all assuming she even produces anything, and while I'm hoping for the best I'm still planning for the worst.

Still, I'm feeling kind of optimistic. I was hoping to get another track or two like "Rescue Me" for the game's opening and closing, and some of Clara's other work like "To The Victor" and "Hard Like Diamonds" really help set the tone for the game. Hopefully this will all work out.

Let me know what you think, especially if you're a patron- if you've got skin in the game I'm always happy to hear from you. If you have any good wishes to give, comment away and I'll pass then on the Clara. I hope everyone' enjoying Iron Waifu so far, and I'll talk to you all later!