Welcome to the Developer Diary thread for Honor Bound! This is a standalone school game that takes place three years after the end of Royal Affairs, with a brand new player character - but instead of attending a school, you’re guarding it.
The story so far: I started working on this game in March 2023. I submitted the first draft in July 2024, which is around 540,000 words across 12 chapters; I sent the final draft to copyedit at the end of September 2024 at around 600,000 words.
Play Chapter 1-3 here! If you have a minute, I would dearly love to hear what you think of it, either here or on the anonymous feedback survey.
Honor Bound contains optional steamy encounters which should be discussed in more detail over here.
I also post (roughly) fortnightly progress updates here.
Update Log
August 2024
- August 21: Private beta update 1
- August 14: Private beta begins, public demo amended to Chapter 1-3
July 2024
- July 5: Fixed Dashingdon error due to checkpoint incompatibility
- July 4: Fixed a branch of Chapter 7 Korzha scene flowing into another, fixed Chapter 7 description continuity, typo fixes, added option for cane use when skipping chapters
- July 2: Chapter 7 and lots of earlier edits
June 2024
- June 26: added scenes, expansions, and tweaks (Patreon)
- June 4: Chapter 7 added (Patreon)
May 2024
- May 9: One of the Fiore romantic scene branches in Chapter 6 no longer crashes into Matia’s
- May 8 (2): Matia’s Chapter 3 campfire conversation no longer repeats line about going to bed, continuity correction for Raffi’s Chapter 5 conversation after returning from the trip, various typo fixes
- May 8 (1): Korzha romantic scene no longer crashes into Matia’s, Savarel steamy scene no longer repeats a section, various typo fixes
- May 7: Chapter 6 added
April 2024
- April 26: fix to Chapter 5 repeated Raffi dialogue
- April 8: expanded a Chapter 6 scene (Patreon), typo fix (all)
- April 2: Chapter 6 (Patreon), minor quiz and previous-game reminder fixes (all)
March 2024
- March 27: various added options and tweaks, and quiz fix
- March 12: re-fixed chapter skip bug introduced in last update
- March 10: various bugfixes and edits
- March 7: Chapter 5 romantic scene with Matia no longer triggers if you’re not in a romance; saying no to hanging out with Denario in Chapter 5 no longer leads to hanging out; Chapter 3 campfire scene with Matia should not result in repeated description of leaving to go to a tent; typo fixes
- March 6: chapter skip fixes and clarity, worldstate quiz fixes
- March 5: chapter skip/quiz and stat page fixes, clarified Korzha romance-end options, typo fixes
- March 5: Chapter 5 added
February 2024
- February 25: fixed variable bug (Patreon)
- February 24: added some options to choices in Chapter 5 (Patreon)
- February 21: typo fix, broken command fix (itch), obscure gender randomisation fix
- February 20: minor fixes and tweaks including more conversation with Fiore if the PC is trans, and updated Royal Affairs quiz and references to reflect the RA expanded epilogue
- February 6: Chapter 5 (Patreon), minor tweaks including dog additions
January 2024
- January 2: Chapter 4 (public)
December 2023
- December 18: minor fixes and tweaks
- December 6: chapter skip fixes to Korzha addressing the PC and to some flirt/romance setting (public and Patreon), added more responses to stress for PCs and NPCs (public and Patreon), added a couple of Chapter 4 dialogue options (Patreon)
- December 5: Chapter 4 (Patreon), polish and tweaks to Chapter 1-3, added more achievements, added option to tailor your character and early actions to skip to later chapters (all)
November 2023
- November 9: recursion error and falling out of choice options fix (tentative); more substantial edits to anatomy and intimate scene descriptions
- November 8: minor fixes and tweaks; lore addition to Chapter 2; some tweaks to intimate scene descriptions
- November 7: Chapter 3 (public), various tweaks to earlier chapters including adjusted health thresholds (it is more likely that you’ll feel pain to a degree that bothers you)
October 2023
- October 3: Chapter 3 (Patreon), minor Chapter 2 tweaks (public)
September 2023
- September 22: minor tweaks and stat page fixes
- September 6: minor tweaks, added options, and fixes
- September 5: Chapter 2 (public); minor Chapter 1 and stat page tweaks
August 2023
- August 29: minor fixes
- August 14: minor fixes and tweaks
- August 1: Chapter 2 (Patreon)
July 2023
- July 19: Chapter 1 scene tweak
- July 18: Royal Affairs continuity fix
- July 12: fixed recursion error
- July 10: fixes, additions, clarifications, tweaks to intro quiz, Royal Affairs continuity fix
- July 5: minor fixes and tweaks
- July 4: Chapter 1 (public)
June 2023
- June 6: Chapter 1 (Patreon)
As a sneak peek before the first chapter went up, I made a short prologue which takes place several months before the start of the game. It isn’t part of the demo or full game, but instead is a little introduction to your MC, their situation, and the setting. Play the prologue here!
You’re a promising officer in the Teranese military, a force which has not seen major engagement in decades but which holds vast influence. Thanks to an injury, you’re no longer in the field. Thanks to the… complicated circumstances of that injury, you’ve been quietly reassigned.
Now you’re to be the bodyguard to the child of a famous scientist who is attending a wilderness boarding school for the children of the richest and most powerful figures of Teran society.
According to your mentor, it’s an easy assignment. The school sits close to your own hometown, so you’ll be familiar with the area; you can recover your health and get your career back on track. What could go wrong?
Bond with those around you or impress with aloof competence. Be a kind, trusted confidante to your charge, or a strict, stern caretaker. Work hard for glowing reports from your charge, your military superiors, or the Headteacher to get your life back on track - or risk it all as you uncover secrets that put you and everyone around you in peril.
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Play as male, female, or non-binary; cis or trans; gay, straight, or bisexual; asexual and/or aromantic; allosexual and/or alloromantic; monogamous or polyamorous
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Play a junior officer in your 20s, a mid-ranking officer in your 30s, or a senior officer in your 40s
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Befriend or romance a severe military officer, a bold, easygoing outdoors expert, a determined and overworked priest, an earnest but airheaded fellow bodyguard, or the anxious, serious widowed parent of your charge
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Shape the school life of your teenage charge: encourage her to make friends or sabotage her rivals, let her slack off or push her to achieve
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Protect the school, town, and your charge from natural disasters and criminals, or use chaos to further your agendas. Build a warm community, stand apart to focus on yourself, or push tensions higher in a place where gossip is rife
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Negotiate a cushy promotion, or open other doors, through heroic or devious actions. Or become such a disaster that only bandits will give you the time of day
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Unearth and thwart shadowy schemes, or enact them yourself for your own ends
This tightly-knit desert boarding school is a sanctuary for artists and scientists of the future to flourish. But as danger closes in, how far will you go for your ambitions, your commanders, and your country?
Setting
Setting Notes:
Teran is an archipelago far to the west of Westerlin with a generally warm climate that varies between semi-arid plains, mountain ranges, temperate rainforests, and subtropical jungles. Unlike other powerful countries nearby, Teran is run by a President and Parliament. The President recognises individuals with the title Honored or the higher level title Esteemed. These titles are awarded for exceptional achievements contributing to the public good.
The Teranese Military is a hugely important influence in Teran, regardless of who the President is. For centuries Teran has had mandatory two years’ military service known as Teranese Service for almost everyone aged between ages 18-20 which involves basic training and assignment across the Teranese islands or the mainland. The army has not been involved in a major operation for around fifty years.
The Church of Teran is polytheistic and worships a large number of deities representing abstract concepts and elements of the natural world (eg. Elene is the deity of the sun, Alvir is the deity of protection, etc). Tenets include valuing personal ambition and striving, wonder and curiosity, and harmonic unity.
Unlike some other countries in the Creme de la Creme world, polyamorous marriages are legally supported.
Major Befriendable and Romanceable Characters
Major Befriendable and Romanceable Characters:
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Honored Fiore Roldan (35): a serious-minded, protective widowed single parent (gender-selectable: trans man (he/him), trans woman (she/her), transfem (they/them)
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Captain Varenn Korzha (41): a severe military officer and science teacher who does not suffer fools gladly (gender-selectable: cis man (he/him), cis woman (she/her), agender (they/them)
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Matia Frasada (44): a brash, outgoing former explorer turned supplies manager (gender-selectable: trans man (he/him), trans woman (she/her), genderqueer (they/them)
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Raffi Claudian (25): an easily-led but physically competent bodyguard from a private company (gender-selectable: cis man (he/him), cis woman (she/her), transmasc (they/them)
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Savarel Lopes (28): a warm, principled field medic turned priest with a stubborn streak (gender-selectable: cis man (he/him), cis woman (she/her), agender (they/them)
Polyamory-related spoilers
Each character can be romanced monogamously, and in addition:
- Matia and Korzha can be romanced in a poly triad
- Fiore and Savarel can be romanced in a poly triad
- Raffi can be romanced in an open relationship, but is not compatible with the other major characters except Denario (in some cases)
- Savarel and Denario can be romanced in a poly V
- You can cheat on some romanceable characters with Denario
Other Characters
Other Characters:
Students:
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Catarina Roldan (14, she/her): an ambitious, tenacious young teenager with a flair for math; your charge
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Simone Morarre (14, she/her): a keen, chatty science enthusiast, daughter of a famous actor
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Andie Malone (13, they/them): a quiet, shy student originally from a farm, on a music scholarship
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Pietro Landris (13, he/him): a languid, glamorous layabout from a financial family
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Viola de Luca (14, she/her): the stormy, silent child of coffee-export magnates
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Elian Rodriguez (14, they/them): an aspiring illustrator and grandchild of military heroes
Teachers:
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Kass Quintal (50s, she/her): Headteacher of Ozera School, and famed sculptor; married to Doria
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Doria Quintal (60s, she/her): Deputy Head and music teacher at Ozera School; married to Kass
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Diego (30s, he/him): Fine Art teacher, did very badly in Teranese Service
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Henriette (20s, she/her): Maths teacher, ambitious and intense; originally from Westerlin
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Tibor (50s, he/him): Fibre Arts teacher, flamboyant and eccentric
In Town:
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Mayor Abril Tedesco (40s, they/them): Mayor of Elene’s Prospect
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Sheriff Beniam Ruiz (50s, he/him): sheriff of Elene’s Prospect
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Honored Lidia Dimir (40s, she/her): local dignitary and owner of a manor house on the edge of town
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Giorgia and Roland Frasada (80s, she/her and he/him respectively): Matia’s parents
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Dr Altomare (50s, they/them): the town doctor
Elsewhere:
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Denario Vecoli (the same age as the PC, he/him): a childhood friend of yours, now in a tricky spot
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Field Marshal Mathilde Alva (60s, she/her): your grandboss and mentor
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Field Marshal Izan Mandriotti (60s, he/him): colleague and friend of Alva
Timeline
Some historical events are yet to be added, such as the events surrounding Revekah Vasile’s imprisonment in Westerlin, but here is a selection of important recent events in the Creme de la Creme universe:
1761: Honor Bound starts
1758: Princess Josiane of Westerlin gets engaged to Lady Yael Forster
1757: Zaledo gains universal suffrage
1757: Royal Affairs PC starts attending Archambault Academy
1756: Fiore Roldan awarded Honored title
1755: Noblesse Oblige PC moves to the Isle of Teteriuk
1755: Rosario del Quiros marries Potentate Darian of Jezhan or the Creme de la Creme PC
1753: Creme de la Creme PC starts attending Gallatin College
1751: Ozera School founded
1747: Catarina Roldan born
1746: King Georges of Westerlin dies
1744: Prince Oliver of Westerlin born
1739/40: Royal Affairs PC and other Royal Affairs students born
1736: Queen Estell III crowned
1735: Princess Josiane of Westerlin born
1735/6: Creme de la Creme PC and other Creme de la Creme students born; Raffi Claudian born
1734: Emil/Emily/Emile Karson born
1733: Noblesse Oblige PC, Pascha Boroi, Tomi Danelak, Savarel Lopes born
1730: Rys Nectaria born
1726-1729: Dahaikan Secession
1726: Fiore Roldan born
1720: Varenn Korzha born
1717: Matia Frasada born
1712: Queen Estell of Westerlin, King Georges of Westerlin, Fabien de Cadaret born
1652: Timothy Linwood attempts to assassinate King Gian of Westerlin, leading to the Linwood-Philippe exiles
1485: Teranese Revolution and formation of the Church of Teran
FAQ
For more general FAQs, please check this post.
How was my character injured?
You can choose the circumstances of your injury, what part of your body was injured, and what went wrong on your last assignment. In total there are 18 unique situations in which your injury happened!
What are the age brackets I can play?
The youngest bracket is 25-29 inclusive. The middle is 30-39 inclusive. The oldest is 40-49 inclusive. Befriendable and romanceable characters, as well as other characters in the game, will have variations in behaviour and dialogue based on your age bracket.
Are the romances restricted by age?
No, you can romance characters regardless of your and their ages. The biggest age gaps are between the youngest MC and Matia (widest possible gap 19 years) and the oldest MC and Raffi (widest possible gap 24 years).
What characters from previous games in the series will appear?
I have made plans for some character appearances and have already written some references to the characters and events in previous games. While the game is in progress I’m remaining cagey about exactly who will show up because it’s a delicate juggling act between feeling natural (especially since it’s a different country) and giving players exciting moments of seeing characters they like onscreen or discussed.
It’s really felt like going on holiday to “travel” to a different part of the setting after two games set in Westerlin.
