Development Update - 10 Dec 2020

Happy Holiday season, fans of "In Her Own Hands"!

We are very sorry to have been silent for so long. 

The delay will be worth it, though. 

When we first set out to do our version 0.4.0 update, we intended just to bring the different paths together, intersecting so that each one would also acknowledge progress in other paths, as well as a few other minor adjustments to the game infrastructure. Once we got into the coding, however, we realized that we wanted to upgrade several other aspects of the gameplay and add several new features. Rather than spreading these changes across several future versions--which would have the unfortunate side effect of making games saves unworkable from version to version--we decided to do them all at once.

For you, this means a much larger, more comprehensive, and greatly improved version 0.4.0 of In Her Own Hands. We have decided, because of the delays, to combine what was originally planned as versions 0.4.0 and 0.5.0, as well as new, unplanned content, into the next update.

Here are some of the new/updated features that we have already incorporated into the game:

• New element to the story/plot, introducing a new conflict that may lead to a "bad ending" if not managed properly.
• Completely new, dynamic cell phone functions (incorporating the old text message system and social media).
• New progress tracker, including hints for major events to move forward on each path and alerts to end of current path content.
• Completely revamped interface for sex scenes (currently prototyped in one scene for later incorporation into all scenes), maintaining the quality of the writing while introducing more player control and variability.
• Completely updated statistics systems, improving both transparency and game logic.
• Further refinements to the wardrobe system.
• Ability to "quick-travel" from the map screen (energy and time still expended).
• Full interactivity in several locations previously introduced (but not previously interactive).
• Various aesthetic upgrades.

There are still a few more features that we are working on, as well as the new content originally planned for version 0.5.0. We will start posting more details about some of these upgrades prior to release.

Barring any future unexpected delays, we anticipate release at least a week or two before Christmas. Hopefully you will be as excited about these new changes as we are. We appreciate your patience and could not continue our work on the game without your support.

Enjoy!

~ Surprise & Delight