Hey everyone, another Patch notes for Crimson Prison ReLaunch!

All the errors in Crimson Prison have been fixed, and all additional events have been added! 🔥 Among them, several scenes in both battles (Grisselette and Zinnia) and there will be revealed the past of Grisselette, Arzu, and Goliath. Not to raise expectations too much, but I really feel like you’re going to love them!

BUGS FIXED:

• Bugged notification box (now notifications can be clicked to remove them if they get stuck on the screen).

• Final quest talking to Charly fixed— this was preventing the game from being fully completed, now Crimson Prison can be completed with no issues!

• Someone made the interesting observation that having the skill tree unlocked so late in the game kind of sucked. So, the decision was made to make the skill tree available starting from Day 2, while only unlocking Zinnia's stat branch during the final mission of the game!

• CGI added for jobs with and withouth Zinnia depending the time of the day.

• CGI videos of the Aristocrat first sex scene were replaced, too. (Can't put the images here, cause they have pure NSFW.) However, the new videos are much better!

EVENTS ADDED:

THE GOLIATH — JINDAI

I'll be honest, Goliath's story wasn’t entirely clear to me at first. But in the end, I think I came up with a solid story for a character as raw and visceral as Tanioku Jindai is. However, due to Patreon’s guidelines and stuff, several aspects of his story had to be censored or totally removed... I know, that sucks. I’ll reveal those details after the update releases to avoid spoilers.

THE DROWZY SERENADER — ARZU

Now, about Arzu... what can I even say? Before passing judgment, please read this FULL. Arzu, in Crimson Prison (along with Anna from TSSC) might be considered one of the first characters in my projects with a strong emphasis on inclusivity. And before anyone jumps to conclusions, hear me out.

As you know, I’ve always aimed to include all kinds of characters in my projects. (For now, there are no LGBTQ+ characters— nothing "radical," and I don’t plan on adding any for the time being.) But Arzu’s case is special.

Designing and writing this character made me reflect a lot. I feel like she represents the first real instance of inclusion in my games.

But let me make something very clear: My reason for including diverse characters in my projects is NOT and NEVER WILL BE to pander to an audience or align with a particular community. That will never happen.

My reason for adding characters like Arzu and Anna is simple: At the end of the day, we are all people. We are all human beings with different strengths and flaws. Making one character among hundreds unique is just a way to make them feel more human.

Inclusion isn’t just about being gay, lesbian, or trans, or whatever— it also includes skin color, nationality (which I’ve explored before), and disabilities like hearing, visual, or cognitive impairments. Anna is a clear example... with poor execution. When I started writing TSSC, I had no clue how to write a blind character, and I think that showed. But I’ve learned from my mistakes, and now I’m trying again with Arzu.

I repeat: This won’t be a forced or radical approach. I want this to feel natural, not like something thrown in just for the sake of it. Once the update is out, if you like this character, or if you think I messed up, overlooked something, or lacked research, please let me know.

I won’t reveal Arzu’s “condition” right now. In fact, it’s not openly stated in the game either— just hinted at. But deep down, I feel like Arzu was a really fun character to create. She has a lot of personality... (I guess) and I ended up getting really attached to her. I hope you all like her as much as I did.

Now, about The Shadow Keeper — Grisselette…

Grisselette’s story was the clearest in my mind from the start. I had it well thought out, but I never got the chance to write it or include it in the game due to time constraints.

If possible, I’d like to add an event featuring Clarissa and Silvie so players can get to know them better before Grisselette’s fight. But I’m not sure how to fit it in since, as I originally planned the game, they don’t really become relevant until later.

Many changes shaped this young woman’s story before it finally became what it is today. Grisselette is a character that not only my past self related to (perhaps even a little bit of my present self), but also one I consider deeply relatable… at least for some.

She embodies a constant struggle between what you believe is right and what others dictate as the correct choice. But does it really matter what others say? One way or another, you have to act. The weight of making decisions and anxiously hoping you’ve chosen the right one—because if you haven’t, the consequences could be devastating…

COMPLICITY EVENTS:

Three Complicity events (NSFW Loops) will be added to unlock in this update: Miwa, Kathryn, and Merumi.

Lastly, a personal update…

For the past few months, I’ve been feeling pretty exhausted. Maybe even overwhelmed. Since I started developing Two Sides of the Same Coin four years ago, I’ve never stopped working on it, almost every single day.

Considering I also have other ocassional jobs with passive income (on top of these projects), I haven’t been able to fully support myself as a visual novel developer. In short: I’m putting in a ton of time for very little financial return, and burnout is hitting me harder and harder.

So, I’ve made a decision. As you know, weekends are already my busiest days with my other job, so I wasn’t working on game development during that time. Starting now, I’ll work on TSSC and Crimson Prison over the weekends, and I’ll take Tuesdays as my rest day.

I’ll still be active on Discord and might post updates on Patreon, but I need to start enforcing at least one proper rest day for myself. In all these years of development, I can count on both hands the number of true rest days I’ve had. And lately, I’ve been feeling more drained than ever.

It’s tough, though. Over the years, I’ve built this routine of working on both games nearly all day, every day— no matter what, even when I’ve had issues like De Quervain’s tenosynovitis or lower back pain (lumbago). But if I want to avoid severe damage to my physical and mental health, I have to take a break.

Thanks for reading, and sorry for the long post. Good night. I love you, guys!