Happy New Years

Wishing everyone a happy new years and hope you've had a great time during the holidays! My new year was spent at home since we don't have any family here who could watch a toddler while the parents celebrate :*)

I wanted to provide an update on what the plans are for In a Scent.

The goal is to get IaS onto Steam. I was planning on launching it in early access with the release of the 2nd half of Episode 4 and complete Episode 5. However, credit card processors started applying pressure on Steam earlier this year which resulted in new policies and stricter enforcement, the infamous new "Rule 15" . NSFW games are no longer eligible for early access. In addition, certain type of content in these games are outright banned. You may have heard about certain games being pulled from Steam this summer.

My initial thoughts were that IaS does not violate any rules. It's a parody of certain popular genres that teases and skirts around those themes. However, Rule 15 is extremely vague and unclear. Just to be sure, I reached out to Steam support for clarity. After I explained specific scenarios from the story, they said that without a near complete build for them to review and see the context, they can't provide an answer. I asked for assurances that should I fail the review, I'd at least have a chance to rectify any violations rather than the game being outright banned. They could not commit to such assurances. They then provided further context around Rule 15, which made it clear why it's so difficult for them to commit to anything until they review the game themselves.

"For some more clarity around the onboarding rule #15, one rule asserted against Steam was Mastercard’s Rule 5.12.7. It’s only one of 484 pages of rules MasterCard publishes. Under this rule, Mastercard prohibits any transactions that in its sole discretion “may damage the goodwill of the [Mastercard] Corporation or reflect negatively on the [Mastercard] Marks.” In particular, this Rule prohibits:"

The rest of that message can basically be summarized as whatever Mastercard feels is inappropriate. Do you guys normally think about Mastercard when buying a game on Steam? I don't.

MINOR SPOILERS
This puts me in a scary position. IaS is a parody. The incubus powers aren't mind control, they simply help lower inhibitions and nudge people towards what they already wanted to do, without worrying about social consequences. You could also say that about the influence of alcohol, which Mastercard specified is prohibited in NSFW scenarios. Stepmom's are fine, but what about strangers who are delusional and think that the relationship is real? That's a very specific scenario that's not covered by the guidelines. How can I deliver a game without an upfront, fully detailed explanation of every single situation that's potentially in violation without destroying the nuances and excitement of the story?
END OF SPOILERS

So that's where I'm at. Scared of spending another couple of years developing a game that fails Steam's review. Early Access for adult games is now prohibited and I can't submit a build review unless it's near completion. Shoutout to a wonderful dev named Cell who advised me to release IaS in Two Seasons. Pt 2 of Episode 4 is already complete with Episode 5 partially done as well. The game is planned to have 9 episodes in total. This seems the best path forward. I'll submit a Season 1 build which ends on Episode 4 and if it gets approved then Season 2 shouldn't have any issues eventually getting approved as well.

I'm going through and editing anything that gets too close to the gray area, while providing a full explanation of the entire story for the reviewer to understand the full context. Hopefully, this is enough. I've had billing paused since October and will continue pausing it until the next update is released.

Sorry to everyone that's eagerly waiting for an update. Keep your fingers crossed that I get a reviewer with a sense of humor and understands the nuances of a parody.