Honor Bound Newsflash: June 23

Well, it's been a couple of weeks of working hard on Chapter 3! I've now completed the first draft, done some playtesting (both of Chapter 3 and the earlier chapters), and have got a solid outline for Chapter 4. Next week I'm going to start coding Chapter 4. It was quite a challenge to get this next chapter clear in my head, because it's a big departure from the events and tone of the earlier ones, but it's feeling more concrete now.

Chapter 3 is very branchy, very character-focused, and has a lot of early-stage friendship and romance developments in it! There are also some very steamy scenes for those players who want to move fast with a couple of the romance interests. They're much more detailed than the ones in the other games (even than Noblesse Oblige, which was a significant step up in detail compared to my other ones) and I feel proud of them. I won't share it out of context to save my blushes, but I hope folks find them fun once they're in the demo.

I will say that if you're interested in writing kissing (or more), Passion and Play by Michelle Clough is absolutely fantastic. It's pricey, but you can also find free talks by the author and from her and others on this subject; at some point I will write up how the book's helped me understand my characters and keep them varied - not just in those scenes but across the board when thinking about how they flirt, what kinds of MC behaviour they respond most affectionately to, and so on.

Here's a song from my playlist that I've been listening to while writing!

Current wordcount: 136147

Fortnight's wordcount: 19547

Average playthrough wordcount: 34144 (these three chapters are now pretty much the equivalent of Noblesse Oblige in total size and playthrough! whew! This is what happens when I'm working on something almost-full-time and I'm feeling confident about what I'm doing!)

Behind the scenes:

I read Filthy Animals by Brandon Taylor this fortnight and it was great and gritty by turns. I now have The Late Americans ordered from the library and will be a little lost once I've consumed it.

Sneak peek:

From Chapter 3:

Amid chatter from the students and families, the bus draws up at the campsite. It's upstream of the school and sits by a wide creek, overlooked by a @{(hb_surv > hb_surv_mid) bristlecone pine|} forest of huge, gnarled trees that must be centuries old. Beneath the trees the ground is rocky and uncomfortable-looking, ranging in color from light gray to umber. But beside the creek is a wide plateau of soft grass: better for outdoor sleeping.

While Savarel herds the group of students and their families off the bus, Matia and ${varenn} unload the camping supplies, piling the tents in one section and setting the more delicate cooking equipment in another. They work together with ease, without needing to say much to each other: this must be something they've done a lot since working here.

${varenn} stands in front of the group. The bronze pips on ${var_their} collar gleam in the sunlight. Andie's relative, the young man, straightens up with his hands clasped behind his back, standing to attention.

My favourite bit:

Chapter 3 involves a lot of showing how characters interact with each other, whether that's in a friendly way or bumping up against each other's rough edges. Because of Ozera having such a communal atmosphere, it was important to me to show how the MC involves themselves in the characters' dynamics and relates to the characters in a group setting. One of the characters has said that they think of another as a little sibling that needs to be pushed to do the right thing, which I enjoyed writing a lot!