Jeez, have I really not updated the blog since August? Damn….
So, the last few weeks, I lost the battle against depression really badly. It became all I could do to manage incoming assets (sex scene artwork, music, sprites, etc) and picking away at the game whenever I could. That’s why all through September I didn’t stream except to discharge my obligation to backers, and why the blog fell by the wayside. I don’t know if I necessarily feel better at this point, but I’m trying to push myself to come out swinging this month.
So one of the things I’d like to do if offer an apology to all fans of Harem Collector. Some of you hanging out on Discord may recall that there were a few times in the last couple months where I said something along the lines of, “I don’t know why you all are here” or “I don’t understand people keep coming back”. Setting aside our relationship as creator and audience for a moment, that’s a terrible thing to say about anyone’s fandom, and I’m sorry for disparaging your tastes like that. But also, it must be a terribly disheartening thing to hear from the creator of something you enjoy. I am tremendously privileged to have such a passionate and devoted fanbase for my my work, so I wanted to say, thank you for continuing to enjoy HC even though I sometimes disparage my own efforts. I will try better in the future to have the same level of faith in my own efforts that you all do.
Anyway, work on the game is ongoing, as ever. I’m very excited to finally implement the “How are you?” chat option for almost all harem girls. With the new update, you will be able to ask most harem girls (some of the more unusual girls will need a bit more work) how they’re feeling, and gauge their happiness level as well as get a hint towards which one of their happiness values is lowest. Equally exciting is the return of new music tracks for the game. Clara has only completed two new tracks so far, one for “sensitive” sex scenes and the other for dungeons which are themed around the criminal element, but I personally feel they’re awesome tracks and I hope you’ll enjoy them as well.
This upcoming update also marks the end of the “Save the Elves” questline and the additional of a certain elven MILF to the harem. I know people are excited about this, and while I don’t know if the Dark Laboratory is on the same level as Hell and the wedding, I hope it will be warmly received nonetheless.
Finally, one final thing I’d like to broach. I have recently been approached by a certain fan of the game who happens to Asian, who challenged me on certain aspects of how Chimei has been implemented in the game, and made me think about the degree to which I’ve fetishized Chimei’s other-ness, particular in comparison to other characters in the game who are foreign to the Middle Kingdom. I’ve taken my time digesting what they had to say, and I’ve decided on what I feel to be the most appropriate action. Following the release of version 1.0 of Harem Collector, our first major update following that will feature a broad update of Chimei and how she is portrayed, including a revision of all her dialogue so she’s speaking the same language as the rest of the cast. Most of the jokes revolving around cultural misunderstandings between characters will remain, and which characters Chimei forms close relationships with will remain intact. Even if you’re the sort of person to dismiss cultural sensitivity issues like this, I hope you’ll agree that changing Chimei’s dialogue will make her a more fully-formed and interesting part of the cast, on the same level as the rest of the characters you love.
I guess that’s it for now. Thank you very much for your patience, sticking with us through all this time. I hope you find our little project to still be worthy of your attention and support, and I look forward to hearing what you think of the latest update soon.