Chapter One releasing soon! (3 weeks or less!)

Hi guys!

So, it’s been a thrilling three months! We’re on track to reach the next major goal in Transformation Wonderland’s development: Chapter One finishing Early Access!

A quick reminder for those who are new or those who missed it, after the Early Access stage is complete:

• The story/gameplay for Chapter One is all implemented.
• All transformations are implemented in either animatic or rough animation form.
• All post-animation stills are implemented in either coloured or sketched form.
• Maps and interactable objects required to play through the story are implemented, but textures are not final and maps are not yet fully decorated.

I didn’t expect it, but it’s possible the demo will hit 2000 downloads by the time Chapter One Early Access is complete. Incredible! 

A bit ago I asked on Patreon if there was any interest in  a Steam version of the game, and the votes were about 60-30% in favour of yes.

And that got me thinking! This game is an expensive endeavour because of all of the animations involved. The animation alone would cost $120,000-$240,000 – I’d want to hire animators for a minimum of $30/hr.

Currently I’m estimating the game’s earnings potential (profit for me, so after all fees) to be anywhere from $500 - $10k, because I have genuinely no clue if and how well the success of the demo will translate to the actual game.

And Steam does throw a wrench in the works with profit being 40-50% lower compared to Itch. On Itch I’m expecting to get about $12 per game sold, compared to $6 on Steam.

I’m a first time game dev, so the way I see it, anything could happen! But realistically, I don’t see the game making a $250k investment back. 20-40k games sold…

Dare to dream, huh? Haha.  I think this game is a bit too "hardcore" in the fetish dept. to make it as a meme game, though, so it will likely stay within its niche. And that's fine!

Currently the purpose of the Patreon and commissions I do still is to support myself while I solo dev the game (100%, from the code to the art), but I’d love to be able to hire folks later down the line.

That being said, I’m considering something that might get me some extra income – something I hadn’t considered before.

What if I released the game as soon as it finishes Early Access, but limited updates in-between chapters to Patreon?

I’d release Chapter One to both Itch and Patreon, and then all content updates until Chapter Two is done will be Patreon-exclusive.

It will be just Itch for a while, as I think before it’s ready for Steam, the demo needs to be “complete” – as in, it will need music, completed animation and completed stills.

That’s to prevent from people getting the wrong idea. On Itch I get the feeling the community knows what’s up, but on Steam the audience is a lot bigger and there’s a lot more “normies”, so to say.

So, what does this mean?

• By July 28^th, Transformation Wonderland Chapter One (Early-Access) will release to Patreon and Itch.io
  • This version will probably include stock placeholder music, or continue to be silent for the time being.
• Development will continue onwards to Chapter Two!
  • Content updates will be Patreon exclusive until the chapter’s complete. Bugfixes will be available on Itch as well.
  • Chapter Two will NOT cost extra money and be released as a free update in December*. *If I manage to stay on schedule.
  • Updates for Chapter Two could be slower than Chapter One, as I anticipate a “single gameplay loop” to be longer than Chapter One’s. And not all of them will include Witch Edith!
• By the end of Early Access development, estimated December 2026, a “fully complete” demo will be available on Steam, along with the full game’s Early Access release on there.

I hope you’re as excited for this upcoming release as I am! :D A definitive release date will follow, but currently  it’s “July 28^th or sooner”.

And if you’re curious about Chapter Two & can’t wait six months to play, you’re always welcome to join the Patreon! 😉