Hey everyone! I hope you're all doing well.

Since the last few devlogs, I know everyone has been anticipating for another update for the roadmap and a release date etc... So let me catch you all up on what's happened:

First off, we have officially chosen Godot 5 and have a new coder to help us with that! We're now in the process of recreating what we once had, creating mini-games for Jason's route and planning layout changes, and more efficient code. It will definitely take some time, so please bear with us for that. It also takes some time to thoroughly design the mini-games together and have everyone agree on the perfect solutions.

A Tumblr page has been created for Slasher Sim (@slasherdatingsimulator) where occasional updates, art reblogs, and Q&A's will happen. This page is run by multiple dev's, not just me (Noir), so if you have any questions or anything you'd like to share with us, refer to that tumblr and be aware that I might not be the one responding unless you specify. The Twitter account will still be active too, however I think it's mostly going to be focused on updates and maybe answering some questions if they're thrown that way. 

And just an FYI, I know everyone wants to know a release date but please don't keep asking on Q&A's or to our posts. Once we have a definite answer, it will be shared here first when we think the game is ready. We are still a small team so these things take longer than it would with a bigger team, and if something goes in a way we weren't expecting it can very easily sway the release date to another unknown time.

Speaking of bigger teams, the co-director JD and I have decided to create a form for anyone who takes interest in being part of A Slasher Dating Simulator. This form will be open 24/7.  Developer Interest Form

This form is applicable for these positions:

• writer
• editor
• musician/sound designer
• background artist
• character sprite artist
• general sprite artist (such as assets for minigames)
• coders/programmers for Godot

This form will be the new and only way for people to offer any services for Slasher Sim (so that means no, we will no longer be looking in DM's anymore) This will streamline the process for both parties and ensure that no questions are forgotten between different people, it also means interested people can fill out every question in their own time without having to wait for me.

I do want to clarify that filling out the form is not a guarantee that you will be part of the developer team. How this form will essentially work is, JD and myself will take a look at the submissions any time we may be in need of a certain position. Anyone that puts in their submission will be considered, and rest assured no submission will be unseen!

There are some important requirements to being part of the developer team as well which is specified in the form. Our team has regular meetings with different time slots for different time zones. If you aren't able to meet those requirements then you won't be able to join.

Moving on, there's some rather big-ish news related to how slasher sim will be released.

In the BETA, we have the randomised slasher backgrounds and we have the slasher selection screen. This will now be redundant...

A slasher dating simulator will not have all the slashers we promised in one game. Slasher Sim will now be a franchise! This means each slasher will have their own individual titles dedicated to their own stories rather than all in the same game. 

The reason why this has been decided is mainly because each slasher has their own individual plot lines that were never intended to overlap with each other, unlike most dating simulator visual novels.  Y/N will have different origins and goals in different stories, like how in Jason's route game Y/N comes from the city and is looking for a big lifestyle change so they decide to go to Camp Crystal Lake, that goal and origin is gonna have to be different for each story.

Each game's GUI and title will be customised and dedicated to the slasher it focuses on, and because each slasher will be clearly separated, i think this will prevent any disappointment or expectation issues from new players when they find out their favourite slasher isn't available yet.

Another pro is that ratings from each story won't affect every story, so if you really like Jason's, but don't like another slasher's story, your rating/review won't be muddied between them. Yay for accuracy and fairness!

And one of the best things about this change is it means A Slasher Dating Simulator can technically have an unlimited amount of slashers, we won't have to limit it to groups of 6 and we can now release a character on an individual basis when they're ready. Even though it seems like this brings a lot more pressure and expectations, it actually puts a lot more off of our shoulders. Working one at a time will give both devs and players the satisfaction of finishing a full game. When a character's game is released, the whole dev team can take a well deserved break before starting the next game. It definitely will feel better than trying to work on multiple stories at once, muddy thoughts become muddy work. The key is to focus on one thing at a time, I've certainly noticed my motivation issues come from having too much to do at once.

That being said, this itch.io game page probably won't undergo any changes despite this, A Slasher Dating Simulator's Itch.io page will work as the universal update/announcement source for every game that will be part of the franchise, but the individual games will have their own separate game pages.

One last note, we are considering putting up something to help fund the game/dev team, such as a preorder item, so look out for any more news on that! in the mean time, tipping the game or supporting me on the ko-fi membership page is the best way to help out the game. Not only does it let me pay for commission-based devs, it also helps me survive and know people still care about the game!

Thank you to everyone who's supporting me and the game, and thank you to everyone who is still waiting so patiently! I promise that we are aiming to release Jason as soon as possible!