A Bit About the PAL Expansion

A new blog post? Crazy!

It's time to talk about the new Pervert Action Legacy expansion that I'm developing alongside BBBen. As some of you know, I did some work on PAL as a text contributor, but in a pretty haphazard, irregular way. This expansion is a little different in that I have specific responsibilities, so it's more like working as part of an actual team. This is the first time I've worked in this way, and going forward, it's probably how I'm going to work on AIF in the future.

So, what's very different and special about this expansion is the scary degree of creative control I'm being given to futz around to my vision. When PAL was just a bunch of ideas in a google doc I had lobbied for a game closer to Nocturnal Illusion in terms of atmosphere. Ultimately, that's not really what PAL became, but I always thought it would be cool to borrow a little more heavily from that source material. So, there's going to be a lot more getting into yourself trouble by poking your head into the wrong places. Maybe into a weird, new subplot?

So the subplot introduces a new set of antagonists bound to make life difficult. If you've already played PAL a bunch of times, they'll provide some welcome complications and change things up a little. If you haven't, don't worry! You'll have plenty of opportunity to tuuuurn baaaack before you make things hard on yourself.

There's a bit more planned other than that. Hiroshi is getting an expanded role, as is Ai. There's going to be Iku/Kimiko threesome scene. And you can molest the maids in new and varied ways. There's other stuff, but some of it's a secret, and some of it we're not 100% sure of yet.

Anyways, it's good to be back.

Progress Report VIII

So, I took a bit of a break this week. And by "break", I mean I didn't fiddle around with the source code like I usually do, but I have still been writing. With the framework pretty much done, the remainder of the work is pretty much is just pounding out the story, events and content. That should take quite a while, so I'm thinking it might be another week before I do some actual coding.

I've been experimenting using Scrivener to plot out AIF. So far, I like it, but I'll blaze this trail a little further before I actually write about it.

No word count estimate this week (most of the writing is in an external document at this point.)

Progress Report VI

I feel a bit confused. The word count jumped up 10,000 words, and I'm not entirely sure where they all came from, especially since I've been mostly working on Simpler AIF this week. It's especially disturbing since I made a resolution to write only 7,000 words per week. Anyways, this is all probably a sign I should slow development down a bit and concentrate on other aspects of my life.

Luckily, I feel pretty close to finishing the framework of the management component. I put in popularity, merchandise and ticket sales, which, along with finances and training, makes up the core management functions. The more interesting and challenging aspect of management (attending to the needs of your players) is up ahead and is really the core part of the game. Hopefully, sometime next month I could actually write an AIF scene.

This means I am pretty close to needing playtesters. Any potential playtesters should be more interested in the management and soccer component of the game at this point, because there is very little in the way of actual AIF.

Summary

It's nice to be close to finishing the managing component. It feels just like a teensy bit more to go. No milestones this week.

Total Word Count: 71084 (up 10247 this week from 60837)

The Acts

Act 1
Design: 100%
Prose: 100%
Internal Polish 25%
External Playtesting 0%

Act 2
Design: 40%
Prose: 10%
Playtesting/Polish: 0%

Act 3
Design: 10%
Prose: 0%
Playtesting/Polish: 0%

Gameplay

Soccer Gameplay

Design 100% Programming 75% Playtesting/Balance 30%

Team Management

Design 100% Programming 65% Playtesting/Balance 0%

In-Game Documentation
Writing 75%

Characters

Recruitable Character 1: Prose 20%, Sex Scenes 0%, Romantic Sub-Plot 0%

Recruitable Character 2: Prose 10%, Sex Scenes 0%,

Recruitable Character 3: Prose 10%, Sex Scenes 0%

Recruitable Character 4: Prose 1%, Sex Scenes 0%

Recruitable Character 5: Prose 1%, Sex Scenes 0%

Recruitable Character 6: Prose 1%, Sex Scenes 0%

Recruitable Character 7: Prose 1%, Sex Scenes 0%

Recruitable Character 8: Prose 1%, Sex Scenes 0%

Recruitable Character 9: Prose 1%, Sex Scenes 0%

Recruitable Character 10: Prose 1%, Sex Scenes 0%

Recruitable Character 11: Prose 1%, Sex Scenes 0%

Recruitable Character 12: Prose 1%, Sex Scenes 0%

Note: all the percentages are estimates.

Meet Your Advisors

"Captain"

"Yes, you'd manage recruitment, training schedules, the finances and resources, and also provide support during our games... There's only one catch. You've got to make your decision right now, at this very spot. You can ask questions, of course, but you will not leave without giving me an answer."

The Latino girl only known as "Captain" is the legendary former manager of the Easton Egrets. No one knows where she came from. No one knows her real name. No one knows why she stepped down. Actually, no one really knows much of anything about her. Speculation abounds, and she deflects any questions with her trademark dry wit.

Captain is your assistant: she accompanies you as you recruit players, she manages the training schedules, she gives you advice on winning games and motivating your team. She's also one of your players, a skilled goalkeeper, and dedicated to boot. Captain is the only character that will never leave the team, although her exact reasons are known only to her.

Melvin

"It depends. Exactly how short are these 'shorts'?"

Melvin is very happy to be your advisor. He's the president of the Egrets Fan Club, you see, and is nothing except a shameless Super Fan: you couldn't catch him outside his green-and-white jersey. His constant interaction with other Egrets fans means he's got his pulse exactly on what people are thinking. And, you'd better listen to him, because without anyone to buy tickets, you're done for!

Melvin is an expert on merchandising, fan events, and stoking up a crowd. Through him, you can hire a cheerleading squad and mascot, set up interviews with the press, do signings, and other things.

Trevor

"The loving embrace of cold hard cash is all I want in life-- it just so happens that my soulless path to wealth and riches happens to coincide with the fate of the... charming Easton Egrets. That's how you can trust me. Let's tolerate each other, but I apologize in advance, 'barely' is really all I can muster."

Trevor is an import from Easton's business school and self-proclaimed "high-functioning" sociopath. Incidentally, he cares little about soccerpeople, but needs the experience and the grades to finally be able to plunder the retirement accounts he's always dreamed of. Trevor is the sort of man who can rub two coins together and make three... and then get a rebate from the IRS for a fourth.

Trevor will advise you on all things related to money. He also handles sponsorship deals, contracts, large purchases and tracks your income. He's constantly on the lookout for business deals and will often come to you with new opportunities.

Progress!

A lot of progress has been made, I've been working on the game pretty much every day. I can't explain it: in my view, there is very little in the world more purifying that deleting loads of your own work. It is like losing 20 pounds. So, I won't say that I am where I was when I restarted, purely in terms of word count I'm about 10,000 words behind, but I do feel like I'm much closer to being into the meat of the game.

The skeleton of day 1 is finished, which is the "set-up" of the game. Only the most basic level of team customization is in, in that you can rename your team now. There won't be a game effect but you will get funny reactions from people if you name your team something weird.

I'm working on the recruitment right now. There are going to be about 12 recruitable characters. I'm not sure how many of those will have romantic sub-plots and interactive scenes... ideally all, but I don't think I'm going to have the time to do all that. In any case, to recruit a character you have to complete a mini-CYOA sequence, and how to get those CYOA sequences to follow properly after the other is the challenge for the moment.

Anyways, that's all for now. It's churning along now, and hopefully I won't be deleting tens of thousands of words again.

Character Profile: Amy

Introducing our first major character...

Amy Ruthers

Height: 5'6"
Weight: 136 lbs.
Skin Tone: Light
Eyes: Green
Hair: Natural blonde, tied back
Birthplace: Richmond, Virginia
Sexuality: Straight
Likes: Animals, cute things, romantic comedies
Dislikes: Crudeness, meanness, scary movies

Hardly anyone could hate Amy, having the reputation of being the sweetest, most innocent person in the entire league. After all, she blushes whenever the subject of sex comes up. Everyone believes she's a virgin but no one has really had the courage to ask, since she tends to make everyone into an older brother or sister, and everyone feels the need to protect Amy... except Captain, who regards Amy as a weak link in an otherwise very strong team.

Out of Amy's many admirers, her most ardent is Erin, who is reduced to a sort of puppy-love every time she sees her. As a result, Erin is often passing the ball to Amy during games and giving Amy credit for wins wherever possible. This has given Amy a reputation of being a better player than she actually is. And something that irritates Captain to no end.

Character Profile: Erin

Introducing our protagonist...

Erin Reilly

Height: 5'9"
Weight: 166 lbs.
Skin Tone: Light
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Shoulder-length brown hair
Birthplace: Easton, New Suffolk
Sexuality: Lesbian
Education: Biology Major
Likes: soccer, girls, comic books
Dislikes: Ricky (captain of Easton University's men's soccer team), studying

Erin has made quite a name for herself recently. She's the champion of the Easton Egrets, having scored the winning goal over their rivals, the Vanderville Valkyries, last season. She's brought an obscure, under-performing team to the pinnacle of college soccer fame. They say Erin is destined for great things in the world of professional woman's soccer. There's just one problem. Erin doesn't want to be a woman. At all.

Erin is sure that his being born into a woman's body is some terrible cosmic mistake. But she's always been too afraid of surgery and hormones, so she accepts it, for now. But things change, and new opportunities arise. When her life as a woman becomes unbearable, she soon receives an offer from an unexpected direction...

Erin's Letter: Progress Update I

ACT STATUS

ACT I: 100% design, 90% written, 0% play-tested.

ACT II: 75% design, 25% written, 0% play-tested.

ACT III: 10% design, 0% written, 0% play-tested.

ACT IV: 10% design, 0% written, 0% play-tested.

CHARACTER STATUS

Major Character I: Path 10%, Sex Scenes 50%

Major Character II: Path 5%, Sex Scenes 0%

Major Character III: Path 5%, Sex Scenes 0%

Minor Character I: Path 75%, Sex Scenes 10%

SEX SCENES

Fully Interactive as Female
Completed: 1 Partial: 0

Partially Interactive as Female
Completed: 0 Partial: 1

Fully Interactive as Male:
Completed: 0 Partial: 2

Partially Interactive as Male
Completed: 0 Partial: 0

SOCCER GAMEPLAY

Tutorial: 90% Complete

Play-offs: 0% Complete

Tournament: 0% Complete