Scarlet Hollow (game)

## Scarlet Hollow

Scarlet Hollow is a horror visual novel from Black Tabby Games. The game follows a customizable protagonist as they meet their estranged family for the first time in the titular town. Visiting for their aunt's funeral, they find themselves caught between reconciling with their cousin, Tabitha, and solving a supernatural mystery tied to the town's past.

The first chapter is available for free as a demo.

## Development

### Inspiration

Initial inspiration began during a conversation between the team and a cartoonist buddy about a demon/monster dating simulator. The initial thought was to do a few separate stories that didn't intersect, but over the course of the weekend, the whole story intertwined and the foundations were laid for Scarlet Hollow. The core story beats were already decided since the start of Episode 1's work.

### Release

The game announced its Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign that ran from October 1st, 2020 until October 26th, 2020, successfully raising $81,814 AUD and 2,726 backers.

*Slay the Princess*, another game by Black Tabby Games, was designed a couple months after Chapter 3's development. Its development was designed to slip seamlessly into Scarlet Hollow’s workflow. Pushing themselves to get the Slay the Princess demo out also had the unintended effect of significantly speeding up the development on Scarlet Hollow from the skills and practice they gained through this exercise. A more in depth read of *Slay the Princess's* development can be read on Tony's Blog.

The release date of Chapter 4 was originally delayed from November 22nd to November 30th, but was further delayed to December 2nd and then once more to December 3rd 1pm est.

On January 2023, the price of Scarlet Hollow changed from $19.99 to $24.99. Those who already bought the game were not affected by the price hike.

### Patches

* 4/19 Update Patch Notes
* 3/2 Patch Notes
* 2/8 Patch Notes
* 1/14/23 Patch
* 12/21 Fixes
* 12/18 Fixes
* 12/6 Fixes
* 9/12 Small Patch
* 7/30 Patch
* 7/1 Patch
* 6/26 hotfix
* Hotfix Up
* **Huge Content Update and 20% Off Sale!**
* 4/25 Fixes + Roadmap
* General bug fixes
* Day 2 Fixes
* Scarlet Hollow 12/22 Patch Notes
* Book Smart Balance Patch
* **Scarlet Hollow October 2021 Balance and Content Patch**
* July 19 Patch Notes + Roadmap
* Small Hotfix
* Hotfix and Roadmap

## Contests, Surveys, Etc

### Art Contests

* Scarlet Hollow Episode 3 Fan Art Contest
* Black Tabby Games November Fan Art Competiton: Predictions

### Surveys

* Episode 3 Player Choices Survey and Week in Review!
	+ Results
* Scarlet Hollow October Balance Patch Player Survey!
* Episode 2 Player Choices Survey!
	+ Results

### Other

* First Annual Scarlet Hollow Character Bracket 2022
* Steam Early-Access Wishlist Mini Stretch Goals
* Kickstarter

## Unused Content

* An Inventory menu was initially added when it was thought that there would be more use for items in the game. However the need for items hasn't organically come up in the writing for the game, so the menu was hidden. Only one asset was created for this menu, being the boiled peanuts.
* Story Changes:
	+ The introduction was originally drafted as a typical harbinger situation. The bus stopped at a gas station, where you had a chance to use the bathroom and talk to an ominous clerk who had a few choice things to say about your destination. It was discarded as it felt cliche, extremely boring, and lacked any emotional hook.
	+ A fourth branch was initially in the first draft for Chapter 1, known as the worst possible worldstate, in which players without Powerful Build also had the option to dive for both Gretchen and the flashlight, but if they went for that choice, they would fail horribly — not only would Duke still die, but Gretchen would run off as well.
	+ Originally Chapter 2 would let you stay at the manor and explore, and skip the library with Kaneeka and Stella. However it was abandoned due to time restraints and not being able to make it interesting enough.
	+ The climax of Chapter 2 originally had the decision to venture deeper from Stella rather than Becca escaping further into the mines. Becca and Alexis would stay behind (and presumably Miles), while Zane, Rosalina, and the gang would venture deeper. As the group finds another exit, the mines would start to collapse, prompting the decision to either go back for the other teens or leave. The Street Smart trait would allow the player to convince both groups to go together as a team. This idea was deemed a bit too complicated and not scary enough. Viewing the carving would have also been optional.
	+ Kaneeka was originally going to be able to join the clinic exploration in Chapter 4, if her romance lock was initiated. A script was written for the scenario, and sprites for Kaneeka in the clinic can be found in the game's files, however this content was completely cut.

## Reference

1. ↑ Reddit AMA: Dec 9, 2022
2. ↑ Twitter: Update on Scarlet Hollow Episode 4
3. ↑ Twitter: One more extremely short delay
4. ↑ Twitter: Episode 4 release date finalfinalfinal forrealthistime finalz
5. ↑ Twitter: Dec 17, 2022
6. ↑ Thinking about game balance as part of narrative design (and why you should care): Comment Reply
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 5 rewrites that made Scarlet Hollow a better game
8. ↑ Youtube: Scarlet Hollow + Slay the Princess Q&A Stream with the Devs (w/ phas)