Games by JimD Newsletter – Game Updates, Free Update

Welcome to my 101st newsletter!

I’m excited to report that I’m working on the free update for Zombie Exodus: Safe Haven, Part 4, and it feels amazing to get started again. I will describe what I have planned for the free update below, but I’m already enjoying going back to the start of the game and building content. So far, I’m working on new prologue stories, and I’ll explain later in this newsletter what you can expect.

Stronghold development is still going strong, and I finished chapter 8. It might take longer to finish than originally estimated. My original hope was to finish by June, but I’ve been adding so much more content than was originally published on StoryLoom that the chapters keep getting longer and longer. It’s better for the overall game, but it takes time to write and edit.

In this newsletter, I will review my development plans, as I do every month. Let's get started.

Zombie Exodus: Safe Haven, Part 4

Part 4 was released on February 5th, and I’ve already started on the free update.

The free update is now to 11,000 words.

So far, I have written three prologues. Why are you back to writing prologues, you might ask? I coded the age customization, which lets you choose your character's age. Other characters in the story will now reference your age. I also had to think long and hard about the new combinations of age and professions that you can be.

Here is a table showing which professions are possible at each age.

Five professions (bank robber, con artist, hacker, laborer, and movie star) are available in every age bracket from 16 to 65.

The teenage bracket is the strictest in the whole system. Only those five professions make the cut, which makes sense. A 16-year-old can run a con, hack a system, work a labor job, or have landed a film career through sheer luck and looks. They cannot be a cop, a doctor, a nurse, or a soldier. The game isn't letting you pretend otherwise. These are paths defined by personality and circumstance rather than credentials or a physical prime. A teenager can run a con. A 60-year-old can still hack a system. The world does not card you for those.

College age opens the door to the physical professions: infantry, medic, MMA fighter, and wrestler. But that window does not stay open. All four close again at middle age. You can play a 40-year-old active infantry soldier in this game. You cannot play a 41-year-old one.  Based on my research, there are few infantry soldiers in their 40s or older.

Commander is the most restricted profession on the high end. It doesn't unlock until 30, and it stays available through senior. That tracks: you don't command anyone at 22, and a 60-year-old with that background is entirely believable.

The senior bracket, 55 to 65, is more generous than you might expect. Twelve out of nineteen professions remain available. The cuts are targeted, mostly the physical combat roles, rather than a broad sweep that would make older characters feel like a lesser choice.

So far, I have written prologues for teenage bank robbers, teenage laborers, and teenage con artists. I’m adding teenage movie star next. The teenage hacker can use the regular hacker prologue because it fits for any age. However, I will be adjusting content in the future so that age is addressed in many scenes across the entire game.

I will be working on the free update until it is finished, and I’m hoping to have it ready in six months. At that point, Choice of Games wants to do a full beta. I’m also going to publish betas of new content on the twenty-fifth of every month for patrons who subscribe at the Adviser level or above. That means for the foreseeable future, you will have access to test Safe Haven and Stronghold.

Zombie Exodus: Stronghold

Stronghold is up to 267,000 words, 37,000 more than last month. I have finished chapter 8, the largest chapter in the game. I have also listened to feedback and decided to rewrite parts to heighten the story's seriousness and horror. Some of you felt it was far too comedic for the setting and plot, and I agreed. This is supposed to be a dark story when the main character is on a timeline to survive. Even though a momentary break to add comedic relief works in even the darkest stories, Stronghold was getting too light. In the next demo update, you will be able to see rewrites of chapters 1 and 2. I will continue fixing earlier parts of the story while finishing it.

My original plan was to be finished by June, but it seems unlikely. I’m only about 60% finished with the main storyline, and I am adding lots of new side stories and just introduced mutation mechanics. My new goal is to finish by September of this year. I will keep you updated on that timeline.

Until next month, thank you for all your support!