Heart Fragment News

Thank you all so much for your patience.

Seriously. I know it has been a long time since the last update, and I acknowledge that the delay in releasing Book Three has been far, far longer than I ever intended.

There have been so many unexpected personal circumstances over the last year that have really impacted my ability to just sit down and write. While I can't go into much detail here, please know that Heart Fragment still means the world to me and I am committed to seeing it through to completion. Things are still in motion, just... small, little bits of manageable motion at a time.

As a reminder of some of the good news:

• Jasper's route is fully written and programmed. We just need to do the beta testing before release.
  
• Natalia's act 1 & act 2 are complete. Only act 3 and her endings are left to write, and progress has been made into act 3.
  
• All of Natalia's CGs are done in both art styles. Jasper's CGs are finished in Style B. The StarxSocial style CGs are also complete, both Jasper and Natalia.
  

That is to say, things are far closer to finished than not finished. So just hang in there a bit more!

Also... What's new in this update? The big one: Dexter finally has a sprite. Woohoo! Most other things are small fixes or file prep for the future, but I hope you all enjoy finally getting to see Dexter in all his glory.

I know the wait has been long and I appreciate everyone who has stuck around. Those who have believed in me all this time are like a pillar that keeps me going.

Thank you. Seriously.

Hello everyone - it sure has been a while, huh?

First, let me apologize that updates are so lacking lately. Unfortunately, the past few months have been a bit of a rollercoaster. The time that should have been for working on Heart Fragment the most was unfortunately addled by some rough life circumstances. I won't go into depth too much, as it'd be a lot to put on everyone, but I want to share that the struggle exists because I believe in transparency while I keep you all updated. I don't want to worry anyone though; I feel like things are finally, hopefully, beginning to improve and I am feeling much more like myself again.

That said, it has not been all bad! There's been a lot of positives as well and as I come out of what felt like a nightmare where I'd lost myself, I'm able to reflect on all the good things that have managed to keep me afloat. I am not going to let these setbacks keep me down forever. I've been pushing through and making progress whenever I can.

The support and patience of everyone during this time of general inactivity is extremely appreciated. I've said before and I'll say it again - the writing, programming, and development aspects of Heart Fragment has been primarily a one-person job, and sometimes that's an awful lot to carry in addition to the life struggles that one has to face. Even so, I'm still deeply passionate about finishing this project no matter what, and I am determined that I will see it through to the end.

Please know that I am not using this as an excuse for any delays or setbacks in progress. I am committed to this game and I am going my best to strike a better work-life balance moving forward. I've historically had a tendency to neglect my health and work for long hours to get things done as quickly as possible, but I am realizing more and more just how damaging that was.

With all that out of the way, let's get some good news in here!

As you know, in terms of story, the only route left to finish is Natalia's. Despite everything, I'm happy to say I've made some progress on it and I can't wait for you all to play it. There's been a lot of hype for Jasper's route that I've seen, but I hope you'll all enjoy Natalia's story too - it is a very complex one with a lot of layers to it, and I think anyone who has played the previous routes will have a fun time picking up all of the little details.

I know it may seem like progress has been slow, and I thank you all once again for your patience and understanding. I am really putting my heart and soul into this project. The enthusiasm and encouragement that I've seen over the last while has been a driving force for me not to give up and my day is always brightened when someone has something positive to say about Heart Fragment. It is like a little spark of hope that keeps me running!

On a final note, I want to leave you all with a little sneak peek into a dream sequence from Natalia's route. I hope this will get you all excited for what's to come! I've rewritten this from ren'py lines to a more novel-like format to make it an easier read.



Until next time, everyone! Thanks again for your continued support. With lots of love,
Casper Swann

A small update just went live. Nothing too fancy!

• A continuity error that slipped through the cracks before was caught by someone in the Discord server and corrected
  
• The common route had a few dialogue updates to more clearly reflect things (example: Gray specifies further on a certain topic if you didn't choose answers that expanded on it previously)
  
• You can now discuss multiple topics with Kay when you talk to him at night in the common route, instead of having to choose just one (:
  
• An error with one of Lana's CGs in Style B has been fixed
  
• An error with one of Clive's CGs in Style A with a male protagonist has been fixed
  
• Voice lines that would get cut off before they finished playing have been fixed
  

As always, thank you all for playing Heart Fragment. Development for Book 3 is coming along fantastically and I can't wait to have more news to share regarding its release this year!

Happy New Year everyone!
You may have noticed that a new update just went up. A few things have been optimized since the last update, and a good chunk of voice acting for Xani that was missing was added both for Book One and Book Two. Lana's route still contains some unvoiced Xani lines, but those will be updated as well at a later date!

Wondering how development on Book Three is going? Well, big progress has been made, that's for sure. A lot of finishing up the writing aspect for Jasper's route is now just revising/editing scenes (act one and two are finished in this regard, focusing on act three) and finishing the second ending.



While most routes have 2 good endings (with the exception of Lana whose ending has more variations than others), I decided Jasper needed to be expanded into 3 good endings. One of these will be available exclusively by completing at least one ending for every other character. Because of that, you could think of it more as a "bonus" ending, but it will be extremely important nonetheless. I hope it will also encourage anyone who hasn't finished the other sections of Heart Fragment to visit them and make progress!



I've gotten to be a bit of a perfectionist with this route and I'm determined to bring it to fruition before moving onto anything else. I will continue working hard and do my best to have a release date update for you guys soon. As it stands, beta testing for Jasper's route is expected for March/April. :)



Hope you're all having a great start to the year!

Hello everyone!

Wait... What do you mean? We are already in August!? That's ridiculous. Time has been going by way too fast for me this year. Every time I look at the calendar, I'm shocked to see how much further along we are.

I come bearing an apology this time. Because of money and time constraints, Heart Fragment Book Three will not be releasing at the end of 2023 as originally intended.

Writing could still be on track for the 2023 release, but I am officially placing a hold on that release until 2024. I cannot take on any personal debt at this time, which would be required to finish Jasper's "Style A" CGs in time. All of the other art is finished - chibis, StarxSocial, Natalia Style A & Style B, and Jasper Style B.

I am very sorry to do this. If Heart Fragment were profitable enough that I could justify taking temporary debt to get the CGs finished for a 2023 release, I absolutely would. But as it is, most months I earn around $100 off Heart Fragment sales, if I am lucky. Sometimes I don't meet the minimum payment threshold on Steam to be able to get paid at all in month for the game. $100 is not even enough to pay for even one CG, let alone what I would need to be able to pay for the full set for Jasper's route.

At this time, I won't be giving any concrete release date for Book Three except that the goal is 2024. This is for the best for me in some regards too, as I can take writing slower now - something I need to do because I am starting college classes next month. I got the amazing news that I was accepted for a grant and can now take a class that I'd otherwise not be able to take due to the financial concerns. So at least it works out in some regards.

Still, I am sorry for letting you all down. I never want to do that. I promise you that Book Three will be coming as soon as is financially possible!

If you backed Heart Fragment on Kickstarter, you will get Early Access to Book Three. This means that you'll be able to play the game as soon as the writing & programming is finished, without the Style A CGs. So for Heart Fragment's amazing backers that made this game possible (I'd be nowhere without them), playing Book Three in 2023 may still be on the table!



I've been off work for the summer holidays due to my regular job being with the school division. Because of that, I've been able to make significant progress on Book Three. Writing for Jasper's route is nearly complete, with all but the final act finished in its first draft of writing. I will need to go back and check for errors and revisions before it is playable, but with every change I make, I feel it is becoming more like my original vision for his route.

Natalia's route has been a bit more challenging and as a result, progress has been slower. I think the payoff will be rewarding, though. I've had to make a lot of changes to the original outline to fit in with the changes made in Jasper's route... but I think this is for the best because they'll help make it more immersive. These revisions have taken more time than I thought (as all creative work seems to do!) but I'm positive that her story will be more captivating and intense as a result.

In terms of the art, most of this was covered above. There's still some progress to be made with Jasper - his StarxSocial and "Style B" CGs are complete, but his "Style A" CGs are still on the back burner. The funds from Kickstarter carried me all the way here though, which is a huge accomplishment. So even though I have to put in my own money, I don't mind for the sake of seeing this story through to the end. A project like Heart Fragment is no small undertaking though, and at the moment I can't afford to put any of my funds towards this. I hope to be able to continue ASAP.

Thank you all so much for your kindness and patience!