For those that missed the previous devlog, please be aware that the v0.7 release of Perfect Pitch will be the last of 2023. The special devlog you're currently reading is geared more towards the folks who care to hear from the dev about the unique circumstances surrounding the next release. 

If you don't care, all you need to know is that the game isn't dead— I'm just busy making the next update. 

---------------

If you're caught up after seven releases of Perfect Pitch, then I'd like to thank you for taking the time to play this game and get invested in the characters. I won't turn this into a teary-eyed Oscars acceptance speech, but it is cool to know that the stories told within the game matter to the people who read them. 

Creative writing was never a hobby of mine, but now it's safe to say it is that and more. Not only does writing come first in the order of operations for event creation, but writing organic dialogue and authentic character interactions receive several hours of dialing in for every single event. Whether that will come across in the game for players is, of course, subjective. But it's also secondary compared to the fun I have building the events in the first place.

And speaking of fun, since the beginning of Perfect Pitch's development I've been itching to capture one particular musical experience with a high degree of personal relevance— The topic explored in v0.8 is something I've been wanting to attempt for a very, very long time. As of this devlog's writing, months of preparatory work have been done behind the scenes for this new and sizeable update, and there is still much work to be done.

If you've enjoyed what you've played so far, regardless of whether you're all caught up, I ask that you trust and indulge me in what will feel to you like a hiatus, which in reality is anything but. Not only do I feel strongly about the subject matter to be covered next, but also the way in which it's covered. I'm having a lot of fun working on this considerably large update behind the scenes.

Perfect Pitch will not see another release until at least 2024, and this isn't a January 1st kind of situation either. In fact, I hesitate to even provide an estimated date. I'll be transparent that this update is going to tax me, especially as I work to juggle it along with gainful employment and a normal life outside of the game. And in the interest of preserving my dedication to developing this game, as well as keeping burnout at bay, I'm going to take all the time I need to pull this off— for myself if nothing else.

In the meantime, feel free to check in on the dev in this devlog or on the game's main page. I still plan to check things periodically and advertise ongoing signs of life if folks are interested in that sort of thing. Otherwise, just like always, I'll go into hiding for the next long stretch until this seriously big update can get out of the door.

Listen to some good music, everyone. Happy to give recommendations.

See you all next year.

--- Updated:  2 January 2024---

Hello and a very happy new year.

Given the unusually lengthy development timeframe of the next release, I thought that some additional news and signs of life for Perfect Pitch might be welcome this time of year. It also serves as a convenient opportunity for me to continue managing expectations.

So, how's the update coming along? In short, it's going very well. The amount of content completed in the period of time since July 2023 when this dev log was first published is substantial. Faster than any other release by a per-event measurement. Even so, the number, average length, and complexity of those events in v0.8 dwarfs those which came before it.

Here is a concrete example to put the difference into perspective without needing to resort to spoilers:

V0.4 featured Lily in a main event series within the Niedermeyer house. This update to the main event series came at a cost of about 50 megabytes of data. And on average, a new release of Perfect Pitch comes out to around 100 - 150mb of new data.

As it stands today, the V0.8 release, which will also be a continuation of the main event series, comprises about 1.5 gigabytes of new data. I expect this number to either double or triple by the time the next update goes live.

Those who have been around for a while know that I am not in the business of offering specific dates and timelines for releases. That's still true. However, I do want to be clear that, for all the great work done so far, the next release is still miles away.

"Not Dead; Just Busy"— I chose the title of this log carefully. It has always been my personal policy to communicate frankly and transparently, without pigeonholing myself into release windows or offering meaningful spoilers. That remains my policy.

So, with that in mind, go ahead and count out this spring, summer, and probably fall, too. I won't even go as far as to promise a 2024 release. There's simply too much work remaining for the update to come out any sooner. I'm proud of what I've completed thus far, and I wouldn't have it in me to do a rush job on the rest of it.

Hopefully this addendum offers some assurance that this project is very much alive, well, and being treated with the utmost care. As a player myself, I wish that more authors would adopt that mindset.

In the meantime, here are a few randomly selected renders from the upcoming release. Here's to a year of steady and quality development.