Welcome to September, my friends! Hard to believe we're already getting into autumn and the end of the year will be here before we know it! I hope everyone is doing well and looking forward to another productive month. :3

Monster Boyfriend

Proud to announce I made a lot of progress on Chapter Two last month! However, I've made a lot of changes and additions to the script (not surprising), so I'm not entirely sure if I'll be able to complete the full chapter in time for October, but at the very least I'm fairly confident I can have the script itself finished before Halloween, so I can share it in Early Access on my Patreon if not on Oct 1st, then sometime next month (hopefully) and add whatever missing assets in a later update as soon I finish all the artwork for it.

The demo is pretty much all ready for it's public release as planned. Though I do want to mention, even though the demo features the first chapter of Monster Boyfriend, I am planning on making some changes to chapter one for the final release. Specifically I'm planning on moving the NSFW scenes at the end of  chapter one (demo version) to the end of chapter two instead. Mostly because I feel the romance, especially the physical more spicy side moves a little too fast. So this will help slow it down. However I do plan on keeping the NSFW scenes in the demo, so that players can have a sampling of what those might be like as it might help them decide if they're interested in purchasing the full release or not.

I plan on mentioning all this again in a devlog on Monster Boyfriend's project page as well. Since this is my first commercial (pay to play) game, I want to make sure I'm being completely transparent. So for those who plan on downloading the demo, just keep in mind it is very much still a WIP and will likely go through not only these changes but future updates as well as I continuing working on the full release.

Structure of my Otomes

While we're on the topic, I'd also like to take some time to talk about the planned structure of both Monster Boyfriend and Pure in Heart as well, as my way of presenting the story is different than your typical otome. Most otomes have what's called a "common route"that serves as the introduction of the story and characters before branching off into individual stories that follow whatever love interest the player chooses. However, this is NOT the structure I plan on using in my own otome projects.

Instead my otomes will have a single main plot that will be the same regardless of which love interest you choose. Though you will still have some special scenes that will branch off depending on which love interest you choose, these scenes will eventually merge together again to follow along the main storyline. In this way, you can view the full story with just a single playthrough, but there will still be new scenes and stories to discover depending on which romance you choose in order to encourage replayability. Naturally this makes the structure / outline more complex as it's constantly branching off and reemerging multiple times. For example, in addition to the mainstory, there are three special scenes you'll get to share with your monster boyfriend in the second chapter: two of them being sfw and one nsfw.

Why write it this way? I want my stories to be more than just a story of falling in love. In addition to being a story of romance, they're also stories of friendships and self discovery. The characters are not defined solely by their relationships. They each have their own goals which you can help them achieve regardless of whether you're dating them or not. This also allows me to include the option of playing through the game without choosing a love interest. So if people want to enjoy the stories of friendship without the romance, that is a possibility.

Of course, these two projects are still in their early development phases and far from being complete, so there is a chance I may change my mind at some point should I decide this structure is too unnecessarily complex. But at least for now, this is my plan. Once again, I'll be sure to post a devlog explaining this as I do think it's something worth bringing to the player's attention, so they have some idea of what to expect going in since my way of doing otomes may be a bit different than a veteran player's expectations.

Patreon Price Reduction

Another change that has already been implemented starting today is a change in prices over on my Patreon. Both tiers had their prices reduced by half, so that you can now become a hatchling member for only $2 and a dragon member for just $5! Why the sudden change? Honestly, I haven't been posting as often on Patreon as I originally planned. When I first created my Patreon roughly a year ago, I intended to post at least once a week, if not more. Though since then, my life has gotten a lot busier after becoming a homeowner, getting into selling at conventions again, and other real life obligations that I've prioritized over Patreon. Most of the reason I haven't been uploading often is the majority of my "work time" goes into making visual novels as opposed to advertising them. So while I am at least able to consistently upload my Patreon Exclusives once per month as promised, outside of those exclusives, I've only been uploading maybe once or twice a month.

Therefore since I'm only posting about half as often as I originally planned, it's only fair that I charge half as much as well. I will try my best to be more consistent and organized with my posting going forward. Perhaps choosing a set day to upload and making posts in advance, so that I can schedule them for the chosen day. In the meantime, until I become more reliable and active with posting content I will keep the reduced prices. And I'll be sure to warn a month in advance before increasing them again (if I ever decide to do so).

That being said, if you've ever considered becoming a member on Patreon, now is the most opportune time to do so, as the tiers are 50% off and sometime next month you can expect to see Chapter Two of Monster Boyfriend being released into early access ~

Of course, even if you are unable to afford becoming a paid member, you can still join my Patreon as a free member.  I do occasionally upload some freebie posts on there as well, so what have you got to lose? ;)

Thanks so much for reading and your continued support! Let's all keep working hard towards our goals this month as we all prepare for the spooky season ~ One of my favorite times of the year! ♥ ^o^