FIRST POST-HIATUS WRITING UPDATE WOOHOOO [not a chapter update]. Also I need y'alls help!!
over the past years of total and utter silence with this project gone through a never-ending hiatus, I have gotten alotta more confident(yay) yet no-where to put these skills of mine into, as my struggle in real life right now is the fact that I can’t find a proper game design job where I can flourish - I decided to try and keep said skills sharp and fresh by writing stories. so here we are again. I have been quite busy rewriting and re-defining the overarching story, and I cannot wait to have everyone see the eventual endings.
the chapter is going to be a BIG one. I am at 91k words, fully written out and basically done aside from one (1) path remaining. WOOHOOOO NEARLY THERE 
running towards the finish line, hence the teaser. Anyway –
***Feedback form! Help me reach the finish line!!***
I need your help c: for anyone who still has their saves or new players who have reached the end of chapter 8, I like to know what your stats are! I require this for proper balancing in chapter 9 as this is the chapter where the story gets split into many paths depending on some of those questions. Thank you in advance!!
*** What can you expect from the next update, coming up SOON?***
- 91k wordcount so far (total, all branches, excluding code)
- 19k words for one single run
- Romance lock-ins with Ash and Ha
- consequences of your past major decisions/Character personality traits starting to finally catch up by taking the players onto whole different branches and locations altogether.
- trigger warnings: implied mental and physical torture, determined character deaths
- Some additional flashback sequences across chapters 6, 7 and 8 to see things from companions’ POVs
- The story of RBU is dark. This game has a dozen “bad” endings planned, but it only has one ultimate “good” ending for each individual character/MC and the main story in general. It’s not for just the sake of drama and shock value, as I want this game to reach a very specific plot point which effect will be taken away if everything ended in a too-good-to-be-true way. Just a gentle warning!
- main story lock-in!! Coded out some branches already for the next chapters. Chapter 10 will be the end of part 2, and part 3 will be more of a 2-chapter endgame with a chapter dedicated to an epilogue afterward. So we are really getting close to the end if I keep this up, and will stop updating the public link once reaching part 3. Will be making an announcement for private betas by then probably, but that’d be like… when I am on my deathbed at the age of 92, most likely.
- I really hope you guys will be enjoying the absurdly long chapter. Did a few bold moves regarding the direction the story is going towards which I had been planning and iterating for since the very start of RBU regarding final revelations, hoping some puzzle pieces will be satisfyingly falling into place.
RBU is really about regret and acceptance regarding our decisions and mistakes, and how different types of people deal with it (badly)… so there are no “good” or “bad” endings or choices, really. BUT there is always a “worse” and “worst” so beware :')
***Looking for a paid/voluntary editor!!***
To help with the reconstruction of weird sentences, taking out grammar mistakes, eliminating the bad spelling, and bonking teenage-firefly on the head for her bad storytelling. plus points if you could help with the phasing even, perhaps like some kind of a beta reader- yet not too focused on it right now, as I'm just wanting to make the old chapters flow nicer.- shoot me a message if you want to help out! Either as a private message here, or over at my tumblr, or shoot me a DM! as I am @fireflyy on the COG discord server.
- For the sake of consistency, I am hoping to get help from one available editor for now. so please do let me know of your experiences if you are wanting to help out!!
- You shall be credited within RBU’s main screen
anyway- See you all soon <3 and a happy new year!! The next update will be the actual new chapter update, soon. Welcome back to old readers, and hello to the new ones. please grab a mug of hot cocoa, don’t mind the weirdly phased chapter 3 written by teenage me, say hello to Mona Lisa the bobble-head, go play clue with the celestial creature brooding in the dark corner there, and enjoy your stay.