Frequently Asked Questions
Last updated: 16 December 2019
Is Regency Love available for Android? Will you make it for Android?
Is there a walkthrough or guide for Regency Love?
Have you considered a Kickstarter project?
What kinds of updates do you have in mind for the future?
When will these updates be available?
Will there be any new interactions with Mr Ashcroft, Mr Curtis, or Mr Graham?
Will we be able to romance Lord Sutton?
What is the protagonist’s family history, especially with the brother?
How much did the game cost to make, and how much are you earning?
Are all the numbers you’ve mentioned real? Why would you be willing to share them?
What exactly are your day jobs, and where are you ladies based?
I would like to write a review for Regency Love—could you please give me a promotional code?
Do you have a press kit for Regency Love?
Is there any way I can help with any aspect of Regency Love?
Is Regency Love available for Android? Will you make it for Android?
Unfortunately, making a version of Regency Love for Android would cost somewhere in the six figures, and that’s simply way beyond what we can afford.
Is there a walkthrough or guide for Regency Love?
There is a Wikia dedicated to the game which is run by fans, with the occasional input from us. The forum section of the Wikia is also a great place to chat about the game, and share tips/thoughts/etc, so please feel free to join in the discussions.
Have you considered a Kickstarter/crowdfunding project?
Our first Kickstarter campaign was quite a success! We’ll use what we’ve learnt from this campaign to consider running another campaign for future projects.
What kinds of updates do you have in mind for the future?
For Regency Love, we would love to create more in-app purchases, similar to how we’ve approach Mr Graham’s plot. We certainly have quite a few ideas in mind (including some early drafts of actual conversations), and without spoiling too much, here are some of their initials:
- Mr H L
- Mr T dL
- Mr N S
- Miss ?? (we don’t have a name for her yet, but we want to include a same-sex relationship—much more common in the Regency than you’d think!)
- A gentleman for Mary Earlwood
- A plot revolving around your brother, Christopher
When will these updates be available?
Unfortunately, we can’t really say at the moment. The lack of time is the main issue for us, as we’re making games in our ‘spare time’. On top of the continual work that takes place every time we release something, there is always the mad scramble of the last month or so, which is particularly hard on Melody (our developer). Jenny (our artist) tends to work in bursts, so she needs to block out days or weeks to create all the beautiful artworks, not to mention the time needed for revisions. Finally, Samantha (our writer) does all the blogging and communications on top of all the plotting and writing, which means she has to have enough time to put forth a proposal for the other ladies before there’s any forward movement. We all have our unique strengths, which means we work wonderfully together, but which also means we all need to have the time to focus on our bits, and no one else can step in for the others. So basically, if we have several months every year to work solely on Regency Love, we’d be set!
We know this might be a frustrating and disappointing answer, but again, we must ask for your patience and understanding—the intentions and ideas are certainly there!
Will there be any new interactions with Mr Ashcroft, Mr Curtis, or Mr Graham?
For now, we’d like to direct you to our spin-off novel Lady Lavender, which features all three gentlemen!
Will we be able to romance Lord Sutton?
Again, we’d like to direct you to Lady Lavender, a spin-off novel about Miss Eleanor Ashcroft and Lord Sutton.
As for future games: our lips are sealed for now!
What is the protagonist’s family history, especially with the brother?
Shhh, no spoilers! If we are to take on the project, all will be revealed in the Christopher expansion pack. But rest assured: we’ve not just thrown it in for good measure—we know what’s going on!
At the beginning of the game, you’re posting a letter from your mother addressed to your aunt. What’s the significance of the letter?
Similarly with Christopher, we know exactly what’s in the letter, and where it leads. Initially, Samantha wrote in the opening letter to provide a starting point for one of the other gentlemen, but alas, we didn’t know Regency Love would take so much writing, and there’s just not been an opportunity to expand on it. But again, we definitely know what’s in store!
How much did the game cost to make, and how much are you earning?
The “original” game cost us over AUD$150,000 to make between April 2011 and December 2013. This is an exceedingly generous calculation, based on the (under-estimated) assumptions that Melody (programmer extraordinaire) worked 40 hours a week, and Jenny (artist of awesomeness) and Samantha (writer of everything) worked 20 hours a week. We have also based this calculation on fees of AUD$20/hour (although entry-level freelancing is AUD$30/hour), which, again, is a severe under-estimation (because we really don’t want to know how much money we’ve actually lost by making something we’ve done out of love). So, according to these numbers, the 94 weeks we spent developing Regency Love cost us $150,400.
These numbers don’t include hours spent on admin, any of our overtime and going the extra mile and so on, or any opportunity costs (for example, the hourly rates of our day jobs range from AU$50-250).
The expansion pack, which included Mr Graham’s story, actually took a similar amount of work, even though he was technically “half” of the core game in terms of romanceable options. Samantha wrote an estimated 100,000 words for it (as opposed to the estimated 150,000 words for the original game), Jenny created more cut-scenes than for either Mr Ashcroft or Mr Curtis (sorry, lads!), and Melody worked on several new features (like the Achievements) as well as “parsing” and making sure the conversations worked within the game. We don’t have estimated costs (though Samantha does keep a timesheet—she just doesn’t ever want to look at how many hours she’s put in), and it’s probably better to keep it that way if we’re to consider expanding the game…
After all external expenses were accounted for (web hosting, Apple licences, etc—but not our own fees), in the last Australian financial year (1 July 2014 – 30 June 2015), we each got AUD$2,200.
Are all the numbers you’ve mentioned real? Why would you be willing to share them?
While some of these numbers are (under-)estimations (though Samantha does keep spreadsheets of the work she’s done), we do have analytics, invoices, and statements, and we want to be transparent and straightforward with you because we’re certainly not in this for the big bucks! That being said, it’ll be nice to afford more than peanuts from our Regency Love “earnings” (mmm, peanuts…)!
What exactly are your day jobs, and where are you ladies based?
Jenny is a freelance artist working at a studio, and is currently studying to improve her skills. Melody is a user-experience designer for an online education company. Samantha runs an English tuition school in Sydney, specialising in Shakespeare.
We all live in Sydney, Australia.
I would like to write a review for Regency Love—could you please give me a promotional code?
Certainly—please email samantha at the-domain-of-this-site, and she’ll set you up with a promo code for the core app. However, Apple still doesn’t allow promo codes for in-app purchases, so I’m afraid you might have to purchase the additional plot for yourself.
Do you have a press kit for Regency Love?
Yup, right here!
Do you have a privacy policy?
Here it is. We try to keep things simple and clear.
Is there any way I can help with any aspect of Regency Love?
Yayayayay you’re the best for asking! Please help us spread the word, and ask all your family, friends, neighbours, booksellers, librarians, and cute-people-on-the-bus to check out the game. One of the game’s biggest struggles is making itself known, so if you enjoyed Regency Love and would like to see it grow, please help us recruit some Regency Lovers! We even have some bookmarks you can print out and leave just about anywhere:
If you are a blogger or know any bloggers who might be interested in the game, please consider reviewing Regency Love, or contacting them on our behalf.
If you come across any competitions for games (independent or otherwise), Regency-related topics, feminist contributions, interactive/innovative fiction, or anything else that you think might be relevant, please consider nominating us or contacting Samantha about it.
We’ve also started a Wikia for Regency Love, which is community-based, and on which we won’t be spending much time. We’ve already had some wonderful volunteers contributing to the Wikia, and we would love it if you would continue to help us in creating a wonderful community, both on Wikia and Facebook.
If you’ve enjoyed Regency Love and have a moment to spare, please let us know either through the contact form or by emailing us at ‘contact’ at the-domain-of-this-site. Your words and comments really do mean a lot to us, and we’ve often held impromptu warm-and-gooey chats on WhatsApp when we receive a lovely piece of encouragement, especially on a tough day—after all, we’re primarily doing this out of love, and it’s wonderful to know if you love our world, characters, and stories!
And of course, if you have any rich aunts, or if you yourself are a rich aunt… 😉