AI Image REWORK - Delays and Details

Alright, there's been a long bit of silence on itch from me. I kept up with writing status updates on other places, but I can see that lots of new people find Restored Deity on here, so I'll make a dedicated update on here as well.

Reworked AI Images + Rethinking Chapter 1

This used to be a solo project, but I was always considering having a second person on board to help with the AI-generated images. Earlier this month I talked with Legion, some of whose previous work you can check out on his DeviantArt. We got together and worked out a basic outline for Steffanie's growth throughout the 4 Chapters. I'm glad to collaborate with him for the rest of Restored Deity's development!

In terms of additions to the story, I also decided to make the nights of Chapter 1 more detailed after reading some of the survey responses. That way, Steffanie's early Slow Growth is more coherent rather than just being a waiting room for when the B I G stuff happens. In its essence this game will still stay super linear, but I'm seeing with these additions of further dialogues/scenarios I'm adding that it's (for my standards) a pretty granular look at Steffanie's character and how she'll develop. I can't say I've ever done something like this before, so it's quite an undertaking so far.

Delays

As I mentioned, the collab sort of just happened in the middle of an already started project, so there were some formalities left to handle. It's obviously really great to split the work to be more efficient, and I believe that this will be for the game's benefit in the long run. To make sure the art stays consistent and nothing unexpected gets in the way, I decided that the AI images should all be done before the next version 0.2 update (meaning full Chapter 1) is released.

As a rough estimate, the AI images are planned to be done on the 21st of October, which makes the public release the 28th, 7 days later. Wow! Still a month to go! Sounds pretty bad if I put it like that, but I hope to have more than Chapter 1 done by then in terms of writing and coding.
(If you paid attention, this isn't the first time I make a hopeful promise like that)

Keeping Up With Our Progress

A basic overview can be found on this Public Checklist. It covers all the content and fixes planned for 0.2, and I update it whenever progress is made. More detailed previews, such as currently finished AI images and planned scenarios/scripts are part of the Patreon benefits. I could also tell you to go on Discord or DeviantArt, because I'm likelier to post anywhere on there before writing another Devlog, OR you could also do it like 90% of people and just forget about this game for a month. That's a cool trick to make waiting less boring!!

(Does itch even give notifications for Devlog updates? How does anyone find these...?)

For real though, it's cool to see people still stumble upon this game and play it. I'm thankful for everyone showing interest, and I wish there was already more to show for. Thank you for reading, and see you next time!