Games by JimD Newsletter – Game Updates, Free Update
Welcome to my 102nd newsletter!
It has been a busy month for me with my full-time job at a university, which has added quite a bit of stress. I don’t make enough from my games to make writing a full-time endeavor, but I certainly appreciate the extra money I make from something I’m so passionate about. Most of my nights and weekends are spent writing and coding games. I don’t see that stopping anytime soon.
I’m still working on the free update for Zombie Exodus: Safe Haven, Part 4. For those of you who have played through the first new prologues, are you enjoying them? My plan is to keep going with the free update for at least the next 4-5 months.
Stronghold is also taking up a few weeks each month, and I realize I underestimated how much time the game will take. I’m adding so much that I’m only getting through a chapter every two months. I’m not complaining about the added word count, because I think it will make the game much stronger. But I have to reevaluate when I can send in the game to Hosted Games. I’m aiming to finish by September.
In this newsletter, I will review my development plans, as I do every month. Let's get started.
Zombie Exodus: Safe Haven, Part 4
The free update is now at 27,000 words, and I have extended it by 8,000 words so far this month. New prologues have been created for teenager bank robber, teenager laborer, and teenager con artist. This month I am working on teenager movie star and a general prologue in which your character goes to a funeral. I’m also going to start adding new sections to account for age across other prologue scenes. For example, how will people react to a police officer who is a senior citizen? Or a college student in their 30s? I plan to go through each scene of the game and make adjustments based on age.
After tackling age, I plan to go back through and add many quality-of-life improvements. All the following are planned:
Add new content for the military, hacker, and teenager storylines.
Trips that you can take with Lopez to hunt down the Forest Rats and to go back to Nightfall for the first time with Monica and Anders.
Update the first election for a group leader (chapter 5) to include a way to influence the vote.
Add new items to the trade hub.
Add new special options for specific group members to help at the junkyard. For example, certain people can install solar panels, assist with scavenging trips, and more.
Add new content for challenges.
Provide better menus for selecting items during scavenging.
And of course, chapter 18, a visit from the Silverthorne Militia.
These are just some of the things I will be adding.
Zombie Exodus: Stronghold
Stronghold is up to 296,000 words, 29,000 more than last month. I’m in the middle of finishing chapter 9, which includes a battle between a large Stronghold security team and a swarm of zombies. The group can get involved or keep heading on towards Zone 3.
A few people have provided feedback that they wish there were more customization options when creating the main character. Things like hair color, eye color, and other features bring the main character to life. I usually add these if I feel that I can use those variables in the story. For example, when can characters reflect on your hairstyle? Is the race of the main character important? I’m still working out those details, and I take all feedback seriously. There’s a good chance I will be adding new customization options to the game.
Another piece of feedback recently suggested that the main character's mutations occur too late in the story. They would draw the player in more if the mutations started much sooner after infection. I like the idea that they pop up later in the story, but I concede that 50% of the game is already over by the time you get your first mutation. This is another case where I have to weigh the value of going back to recode mutations from earlier against the added work and time required for the final product.
I really appreciate all feedback, and I tried to incorporate as much as I could into the story. If you have feedback or even criticism of any of my games, don’t hesitate to reach out to me.
Comments (6)
I noticed that in the prologue to the military carrer that there is a Milford that you meet BUT AFAIK there isn't any mention to the twins that the MC met their relative and told them her fate.
Can Kelly win the first election if we influence torward her?
New prologues are a nifty addition, the idea being done did raise a question for me, though. So obviously they'll be different, but will the differences only be in the prologues themselves or will other reactions to the character further in the story change as well? Will other characters interact with ours differently? Will relationships have other interactions?
I'm a bit fuzzy on if this is already in Part 4 or not, but will there b an option in the Tasks sections to make contact with to make trades with the trainyard group (if you don't kill them), the meusem (if they don't get wiped out by the Red Mambas), and the Silverthrones (if you don't attack them and/or rob them)? The trainyard and meusem group could also be asked to join the alliance the player can make.
How do you feel about making Rachel/Jamie's decision of recruiting or not at the end of part 3 something we can influence them on? It'd be nice to be able to social check your way into getting the group members you want when you're not the leader but I can fully understand those decisions being locked in
That's on my bigger list. Lots of players want that