Good evening!
This month marks the passing of a very important milestone for the development of DATING OF THE FUTURE... As well as the beginning of a new chapter of, um, well, more work, frankly.
The short answer is yes! DATING OF THE FUTURE is, more or less, sort of a little bit, MOSTLY, basically complete.
the long answer is that the game is now fully playable from start to credits. All the writing is complete, all the extra mechanics are fully implemented, and there is no more artwork left for me to make.
From that description, you might assume that the game is, in fact, totally complete. I mean, besides all that stuff, what else IS there to a video game?
Well...
While the writing is complete, there are a few parts here and there that need re-writing, one or two art assets that could do with touching-up, and known bugs that need fixing. Keep in mind that the soundtrack also needs finishing up, the game actually needs testing, no release date has been set, and I'll need to actually have a marketing campaign ready when the time comes.
It's easiest to understand the game's current completion as being at the point where a player could reasonably play through the whole game and not believe that anything is missing. That player would not be getting the full experience, of course. This is really sad for them, and it is my goal to make sure that that person doesn't exist.
By any means necessary.
Hey, so... I need playtesters.
Are you, like... Busy...?
No, no, don't walk away! It'll be paid! And you'll get a free copy of the game, as well as your name in the credits! Uh, and you'll get to fill out a COOL GOOGLE FORM about your thoughts and feelings on the game, including but not limited to demographic data!
Alright, I'll admit, last one is part of the job... But- NO, WAIT! DON'T LEAVE!!! I'LL CHANGE FOR YOU, BABY!
I still haven't worked out the precise details, but if you have the ability to play through a visual novel from start to finish, feel like you're the sort of person who would actually enjoy an experience like DATING OF THE FUTURE (which you probably are, if you're reading this), and you have enough free time to actually do so... You might be the perfect playtester!
Well, if you're interested in playtesting DATING OF THE FUTURE, send me an email at [No longer looking for playtesters! Thank you to everyone who joined!]. Literally all I need is the ability to contact you back, so it doesn't really matter what's in the email... Maybe just tell me which sea creature is your favourite? Yeah, yeah, tell me which sea creature is your favourite.
Don't pick something basic like "shark", okay? Say, like, kitefin shark or ornate wobbegong, or something.
Or... Just don't, I guess. You can just say "Hi".
Um, and make sure you actually email me. I can't guarantee I'll see it if you DM me on one of the squillion platforms I'm on.
When I have a better idea of exactly what the playtesting operation will look like, I'll send you an email back telling you how much you'll be paid, so you can choose whether or not you think it'll be worth your time. No hard feelings if not, obviously.
Regardless of if you decide to playtest, or if you change your mind later, everyone reading this is already doing more than you could possibly know to support me and the game's development! <3
Well, I apologise for the relatively brief update.
As you can tell, a LOT has been happening (and continues to happen!), but as usual very little of it is publicly relevant. I believe that "the game is basically done" and "I need playtesters!" should qualify as publicly relevant, though, which means I get to post about them!
See you next time I have something to say!
-Marina