SUPER ALEX - Personal message
Hello friends. This is me, Super Alex, writing to you. It's been a long time since I've made a personal post, but the time has come.
I have been thinking about this text for several days. But to finish it and make a post today I was prompted by an appeal from one of my most loyal subscribers, who supported me since 2017 and decided to cancel the subscription. From now on, I don't want you to stay in the dark, I want you to understand the whole picture of what's going on, and that's why I'm going to tell you about everything that should have been said a long time ago, but these are not the things that everybody would say and certainly not to everyone.
Anyway, jokes aside. For the first time in the history of my work in game creation - the current game development is in a crisis state and on the verge of closure. But let's go over everything in order.
I started the first drafts of Amnesia back in the distant 2019, back then I was working alone. I did everything by myself. I started actively working on the game at the beginning of 2020. It took me about two years to make 4-5 hours of gameplay, 2500 pictures and 200 animations, the numbers are approximate, but somewhere around that. During those two years (2020 and 2021) I had time to work with a couple of Spanish writers and had already stopped writing dialog texts myself. But I still had the job of coming up with the scene design and plot, as well as all the other work. In January 2022, I released the game on STEAM, and got an influx of new money. Some of it I put aside into a security fund, some I spent immediately, and the rest I decided to invest in the project to hire new people and speed up the release of updates. And from about that point on (first half of 2022) my work was divided into 2 parts - working on creating scenes myself and finding new people and delegating the work to them. By the end of 2022, I had a programmer, a writer, and a couple of artists. However, the results were not satisfactory for me, the number of subscribers on PATREON remained around 500 people, as it was at the beginning of that year, but the expenses increased, because now I was no longer alone. Also, at the end of 2022 in Russia there was a very unpleasant political situation with military actions, because of which I decided to move to another country. And here comes the beginning of 2023 and I meet my first creative crisis. I'm in another country, I have new employees helping me create the game, but the number of subscribers is not growing, expenses are increasing, and STEAM revenues are falling. We were living off short but animation-filled scenes (like Alexandra coming to the MC in the morning). But I was already having a hard time creating them.
And then in April 2023, I got lucky. Because an old friend of mine who had just finished her MBA in business management showed up and motivated me with big goals and future accomplishments. All I had to do was build a system, organize a team, build a plan and take action. And I will say that some of those ideas were realized. I got fired up with new goals, she and I started developing the project with renewed vigor and thanks to these actions we had growth between April 2023 and November 2023. In November 2023 we broke the 1000 PATRONS for the first time. Which made me very happy. We already had 10 people on staff. That's 2 writers, 5 artists, a programmer, myself and an assistant helping with all sorts of different tasks. The staff has grown, subscribers have grown, we even had two months when we were able to make an update within 4 weeks. But as income increased, so did expenses. The net profit did not increase. I received exactly the same amount of money as I did a year ago.
Don't get me wrong, I do what I do because of a genuine love for what I do. I'm on fire developing hot games, I love it. Yes, I need a break sometimes, but then I get back into it. And money for me is a measure, an indicator, an indicator of the success of my labor. I believe that if my game doesn't bring in enough money, it means I'm not making a good enough quality game. BUT I WANT TO MAKE A QUALITY GAME, otherwise what's the point?!
The end of 2023. This is where all the fun starts. Based on everything I've described above, I'm making perhaps the most wrong strategic decision of all. The decision was made to improve the game's graphics and make the story more coherent and interesting, and the only way I could do that for me at the time was to remaster the game. Yes, remake all the scenes, rewrite all the text. Change the gameplay itself and introduce all those features that I wanted to see in the game but never got around to. And all of this I wanted to do at once and with the whole game.
It's April 2024. Updates that were released from the end of 2023 to April 2024 were made with a remaster system in mind and these scenes will be included in it. At the same time we were working on remaking old scenes and the remaster was planned for May 2024, but in April I realized that the date of completion of all work on the remaster was not even on the horizon. In the process, we found ourselves overestimating what we could do. Since the game was already quite large in content, and the efficiency of the team was getting lower and lower, the hired artists, highly motivated at the beginning of their work, were losing their former fervor, productivity was falling and I didn't have the tools to fix it, or rather I thought I didn't have the tools. But there was no turning back, what had been done could not be changed, because all these months we were making renders with new locations and updated story in mind.
In the same month we decided to focus all our energies on creating only the remaster. Which meant that no new updates were expected for a long time. We would not be able to cope with such a financial burden and in order to have as much time as possible to work on the remaster in full and without layoffs, we decided to release 3 more updates using the scenes written and made for the Free Roams of the pre-remaster version of the game, which will not be included in the remaster. That's why the last three updates had scenes with no story progress or hot animated stuff in them except for the main character mostly jerking off, since that's what they were created for originally in the pre-remaster version (Free Roam events).
Also in April 2024 I decided to leave the project to reduce the financial burden and not to take money out of the project, so by this time we have already started to spend the very reserve that I had set aside from the money from STEAM. I was focusing my energy on short-term earnings. Now it doesn't matter what I did, what matters is that I wasn't involved in the project from May 2024 to August 2024, and all my functions were delegated.
As of September, I'm back on the project, but I'm not back as I was before. After a year or so since I made the decision to expand the team, I finally realized that being on the front lines creating images and managing people are completely different functions requiring completely different skills, which I naturally didn't possess. And I can't say that right now I know everything I need to know, but I can definitely say that every day I'm getting more experienced in this sense. Since August 2024 I've been actively pursuing my studies in management, just like I did with Unity and C#. If before all my attention was focused on how to make a render or animation better and more beautiful (which I am quite good at doing), now my attention is focused on improving the efficiency of the whole team and since I am very capable in learning, I am sure that I will be able to do it well.
Let me summarize briefly.
When the team started to expand rapidly (now our team consists of 10 people together with me) I was looking for solutions that can make the game even better, since the updates did not bring the desired result in terms of subscriber growth. And I found nothing but to try to improve the visuals even more and fix the problems in the story. But I didn't realize the root of the problem at the time and tried to improve the visuals instead of focusing on increasing the volume and releasing regular updates - exactly what you really want. It was a strategic mistake to start doing a remaster and now we got what we got.
I don't have a "load" button to roll back all the work as if nothing happened all this time. But I do have the ability to tell it like it is. And also what I'm going to do now, so that you have a real idea of what state the game is in.
My current tasks are to actualize all the processes and work done, to bring all the scenes and renders prepared for the remaster into a single structure. Distribute the remaining work and finish the missing scenes as quickly as possible. Release the first build of the remaster as soon as possible. Basically, putting out fires I would say.
My strategic tasks are to continue active training in business process management. Systematize the work of the team. Establish effective communication. Build a solid operational structure. Reduce costs and increase efficiency. Accelerate the release of updates to regular monthly updates.
It's important to say that all those problems that have been going on for so long are not a problem of my attitude to the game - it's a problem of work organization. Managing my own processes is one thing, but managing other people is quite another. But I can't afford to work alone, because I have a lot of ideas that I would like to show to the world, show to you and for that I need a strong team. And the skills to manage it.
Thank you to everyone who has been with me all this time. Now we are going through a big organizational change in our team, which will affect the future results of our work. It will probably change the composition of our subscribers as well. However, I intend to see this game through to the end, and I have an action plan on how to do that.
I'll be sharing more detailed steps in future posts, and I'll also start showing you the work I've already done. Because now you know everything you should and more.
With my biggest thanks to you. Super Alex.
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Привет друзья. Это пишу вам Я, Супер Алекс. Давно я не делал личных обращений. Но время пришло.
Этот текст я продумывал уже несколько дней. Но закончить его и сделать пост именно сегодня меня побудило обращение от одного из моих самых верных подписчиков, кто поддерживал меня еще с 2017 года и решил отменить подписку. Отныне, я не хочу чтобы вы оставались в неведении, я хочу чтобы вы понимали всю картину происходящего целиком, и поэтому я расскажу сейчас вам обо всем том, о чем стоило бы вам поведать уже давно, но такое, как мне кажется рассказывают не все и далеко не всем.
Итак. Шутки в сторону. Впервые за всю историю моей работы в создании игр - текущая разработка игры находится в кризисном состоянии и на грани закрытия. Но давайте обо всем по порядку.
Первые наброски амнезии я начал еще в далеком 2019 году, тогда я работал только один. Делал все сам. Активную работу над игрой я начал в начале 2020 года. Около двух лет мне понадобилось, чтобы сделать геймплея на 4-5 часов, 2500 картинок и 200 анимаций, цифры примерные, но где то около того. За эти два года (2020 и 2021) я успел поработать с парой испанских писателей и уже прекратил писать тексты диалогов самостоятельно. Но на мне все еще оставалась работа по придумыванию фабул и сюжета, а также вся остальная работа. В январе 2022 года я выпустил игру на STEAM, и получил приток новых денег. Часть я отложил в фонд безопасности, часть сразу потратил, а остальную часть я решил вложить в проект, чтобы нанять новых сотрудников и ускорить выпуск обновлений. И примерно начиная с этого момента (первая половина 2022) моя работа разделилась на 2 части - работа самому над созданием сцен и поиск новых сотрудников и делегирование работы им. К концу 2022 года у меня уже был программист, писатель, пара художников. Но результаты не были для меня удовлетворительными, количество подписчиков на PATREON оставалось в районе 500 человек, как и в начале года, а вот расходы увеличились, потому что теперь я уже был не один. Так же в конце 2022 года в России случилось крайне неприятная политическая ситуация с военными действия, вследствие которой я принял решение переезжать в другую страну. И вот наступает начало 2023 года и я встречаю свой первый творческий кризис. Я в другой стране, у меня есть новые сотрудники, которые помогают мне создавать игру, но количество подписчиков не растет, расходы увеличиваются, а доходы со STEAM падают. Мы жили за счет коротких но наполненных анимациями сцен (по типу Александры которая приходит к ГГ по утрам). Но мне было уже сложно создавать их.
И вот в апреле 2023 года, мне повезло. Потому что появилась моя старая подруга, которая только что закончила MBA по управлению бизнесом и смотивировала меня большими целями и будущими достижениями. Все что от меня требовалось, построить систему, организовать команду, выстроить план и действовать. И я скажу, что часть этих идей была реализована. Я загорелся новыми целями, мы с ней начали развивать проект с новой силой и благодаря этим действиям в период с апреля 2023 и до ноября 2023 года у нас был рост. В ноябре 2023 мы впервые перебили отметку в 1000 патронов. Что очень меня порадовало. В штате уже было 10 человек. Это 2 писателя, 5 художников, программист, Я и помощник помогающий по всяким разным задачам. Штат вырос, подписчики выросли, мы даже два месяца смогли сделали обновление с интервалом в 4 недели. Но с увеличением дохода, увеличился и расход. Чистая прибыль не увеличивалась. Я получал своих денег ровно столько же, сколько и год назад.
Поймите меня правильно, я делаю то, что я делаю из-за искренней любви к своему делу. Я горю разработкой горячих игр, я люблю это. Да, мне иногда нужен перерыв, но затем я снова возвращаюсь к этому. А деньги для меня являются мерой, индикатором, показателем успешности моего труда. Я считаю, что если моя игра приносит недостаточно денег - это означает, что я делаю недостаточно качественную игру. НО Я ХОЧУ ДЕЛАТЬ КАЧЕСТВЕННУЮ ИГРУ иначе зачем это все?!
Конец 2023 года. Все самое интересное начинается именно отсюда. На основе всего что я описал выше я принимаю возможно самое не верное стратегическое решение из всех возможных. Было принято решение улучшить графику игры и сделать сюжет более последовательным и интересным, и единственным способом как это можно было сделать для меня на тот период - это сделать ремастер. Да, переделать все сцены, переписать текст. Изменить сам геймплей и ввести все те функции, которые я хотел видеть в игре, но до которых не доходили руки. И все это я хотел сделать сразу и со всей игрой.
Наступает апрель 2024 года. Обновления которые выходили с конца 2023 до апреля 2024 делались уже с учетом новых вводных по ремастеру и эти сцены попадут в него. Параллельно велась работа по переделкам старых сцен и ремастер планировался в мае 2024, но уже в апреле я понимал, что даты окончания всех работ по ремастеру еще не было видно даже на горизонте. В процессе мы столкнулись с тем что мы переоценили свои возможности. Так как игра уже была достаточно большой по контенту, а эффективность команды становилась все ниже, нанятые художники мотивированные в начале их работы теряли былой запал, производительность падала и у меня не было инструментов как то исправить это, или точнее я думал, что инструментов не было. Но обратного пути уже не было, то что было сделано уже не изменить, так как все эти месяцы мы делали картинки с учетом новых локаций и обновленного сюжета.
В этот же месяц мы решаем сосредоточить все свои силы на создание только лишь ремастера. А это значит, что новых обновлений не будет предвидится еще долгое время. Мы бы не справились с такой финансовой нагрузкой и чтобы у нас было как можно больше времени работать над ремастером в полном составе и без сокращений штата сотрудников было принято решение использовать сцены написанные и сделанные для ФриРумов ДОРЕМАСТЕРОВСКОЙ версии игры, которые не попадут в Ремастер, чтобы выпустить еще 3 обновления. Именно поэтому последние три обновления это были сцены похожие на фриром так они так и задумывались изначально (до ремастера), именно поэтому в них нет ничего кроме дрочки главного героя и нет движения в сюжете.
Также в апреле 2024 года я принимаю решение покинуть проект, чтобы так же уменьшить финансовую нагрузку и не вытаскивать деньги из проект, так к этому времени мы уже начали тратить тот самый резерв, который я отложил еще с денег от STEAM. Я сосредотачиваю свои силы на краткосрочном заработке. Сейчас не важно, что я делал, важно то, что я не занимался проектом с мая 2024 по август 2024 года, а все мои функции были делегированы.
Начиная с сентября я снова в проекте, но я вернулся не тем кем был прежде. За этот год с небольшим, как я принял решение расширять команду я наконец-то понял, что быть на передовой создавая картинки и управлять людьми это совершенно разные функции требующие совершенно разных навыков, которыми я естественно не обладал. И я не могу сказать, что прямо сейчас я знаю все что нужно, но я точно могу сказать что с каждым днем я становлюсь опытнее в этом смысле, с августа 2024 я активно взялся за свое обучение именно в управлении, как в свое время я взялся за изучение unity и C#. Если раньше все мое внимание было сосредоточено на том как сделать картинку или анимацию более качественной и красивой (а это у меня очень хорошо получается делать) то сейчас мое внимание направлено на улучшение эффективности всей команды в целом и так как я очень способный в обучении то уверен, что и это у меня получится сделать хорошо.
Давайте я подведу краткий итог.
Когда команда начала стремительно расширяться (сейчас наша команда состоит из 10 человек вместе со мной) я загорелся поиском решений которые смогут сделать игру еще лучше, так как обновления не приносили желанного результата по росту подписчиков. И я не нашел ничего кроме как попытаться еще сильнее улучшить визуальную составляющую и исправить проблемы в сюжете. Но я тогда не понимал корня проблемы и пытался и улучшить картинку, вместо того чтобы сосредоточить силы на увеличение объема и регулярный выпуск обновлений - именно того чего вы на самом деле хотите. Была совершена стратегическая ошибка начать делать ремастер и сейчас мы получили то, что получили.
У меня нет кнопки загрузки игры чтобы откатить прогресс как будто бы ничего не происходило все это время. Но у меня есть возможность сказать все как есть. И так же то что я собираюсь делать сейчас, чтобы у вас были реальные представления о том в каком состоянии находится игра.
Мои текущие задачи - актуализировать все процессы и сделанную работу, свести все приготовленные для ремастера сцены и картинки в единую структуру. Распределить оставшуюся работу и максимально быстро доделать недостающие сцены. Выпустить первый билд ремастера как можно раньше. Тушить пожары я бы сказал.
Мои стратегические задачи - продолжать активное обучение по управлению бизнес процессами. Систематизировать работу команды. Наладить эффективное взаимодействие. Построить надежную структуру функционирования. Сократить расходы и повысить эффективность. Ускорить выпуск обновления до регулярных ежемесячных.
Имею важным сообщить, что все те проблемы что уже тянутся так давно - это не проблема моего отношения к игре - это проблема организации работы. Управлять своими процессами это одно, а управлять другими людьми это совсем другое. Но я не могу позволить себе работать в одиночку, потому что очень много идей есть у меня, которые я хотел бы показать миру, а для этого мне нужна сильная команда. И навыки, чтобы ей управлять.
Благодарю всех кто был все это время о мной, сейчас в нашей команде происходят сильные организационные изменения, которые повлияют на будущие результаты работы. Вероятно это изменит и состав наших подписчиков. Но я намерен довести эту игру до конца. И у меня есть план действий как это сделать.
Более подробные шаги я буду рассказывать в следующих постах, а также начну показывать вам уже сделанную работу. Потому что теперь вы знаете все, что должны и даже больше.
С большим уважением к вам. Super Alex.
Comments (22)
This game has a lot of promise and I think you are starting to lose patrons just because the story and characters seem to be at a standstill and have been for a while. People in general want a decent story at least with character development and some spicy scenes, but all of that lately has been gone. I think once you start progressing the game in the right direction again things will turn around, but i would not do a remaster right now because that's going backwards and not forwards like everyone really wants. I would suggest doing a remaster after you finish the game and do add on or changes while you developed it this will keep people interested in the remaster because of the changes and we will not feel like we are starting all the way back over which would cause a lot of people including myself to lose interest. The animations and renders are top notch, but without character development and a story that is progressing it really means nothing. I really hope the next few updates start to get things going again it would be sad to see a game with so much time invested, and potential be abandoned for any reason...
Stop the extra thing develop more interesting scene in the main game. right now i dont care the extra payment anymore if the main story and scene not has enough interest.
That's the plan
My thoughts. Do not attempt to Remaster the game once a significant amount of development has taken place unless you have the resources to do it without harming current update development and received income. I have seen a couple of developers fall into this trap with adverse consequences. My advice wait until the game is complete, Decide at the outset the structure of the game whether an open world sandbox or linear visual novel and stick to it. Either type of game can be successful if done well. Updates can be large or small, delivered quickly or slowly, provided the content is compelling and progresses the various strands of the story. In each case you need to keep the patrons updated regularly and should provide an interesting render from the coming update to keep people interested. If you do not have the funds to purchase new assets such as locations, characters, objects etc, use those you already have in interesting an unusual ways. Do not feel the need to include animations in each update or to focus on providing more elaborate sex scenes each update as sex for sex sake can become boring. Refrain from updates that focus exclusively on the MC and one other character unless absolutely necessary. You need to surprise the patrons, keep them interested and stimulate their imaginations and this can be best achieved by delivering updates which include a few scenarios with different main and side characters. These scenarios do not need to be long but should either drive the main stories forward or be interesting one off events. In managing your team they need to be challenged, supported and given interesting tasks which stimulate them. Listen to their ideas and find time to oversee what they are working on and to discover how best to utilise them.
Hi Alex. I respect you as a man of integrity. It has been clear to me for the past year that there have been some major developmental issues with the game. I myself have posted previously what I hoped were taken as constructive criticisms. Everybody in life makes decisions which do not have the best consequences but these should be taken as a learning exercise. You as a developer are not alone in making such errors as there are plenty on Patreon who have made the same kinds of mistakes. What is true is that by and large patrons are an understanding bunch of people who will put up with delays and continue to support you through your issues (just look at developer Xenorav) if you provide a good story and compelling characters and content. and provide regular updates with interesting preview renders
Thank you for your honest and open words. I will continue to support the game and look forward to finishing it at some point. The quality of the pictures of Amnesia is the reference for me so far!
Hi SuperAlex Having been a sporadic supporter, typically subscribing just once or twice a year for updates, I genuinely hope you can turn things around. As a show of my support, I’ve decided to subscribe for the next year. I really appreciate your honesty and straightforwardness in sharing the challenges you've faced; that level of transparency is both rare and admirable. I hope my small contribution helps alleviate some of the financial pressure and serves as a vote of confidence in your vision for the game.
I saw notification and right after that your message. Im very appreciate you
A wonderful good morning @Alex! I've just had your post translated into German and read it and I think I can understand you. Of course, on the one hand, a country in unrest is a huge problem. I know I'm just a small fish with my subscription and would of course like to see a lot more etc., but I'll be honest, I'm a Patron member on I think 3 or 4 and unfortunately you just can't put as much into everything as you'd like. But when I started playing your game, I was just fascinated by it. On the one hand, it was great that it was in German, which is a huge reason for me to play it. Then your graphic quality is really great. The plot and the interaction of the characters is really great. It's not just a stupid click on the next page, it's just fun to actually read and enjoy the plot. The only thing is that the story has really been stuck for the last few months and nothing has happened. Just the huge basement and the construction site that's been there for a really long time. I've often thought to myself that I should keep paying even if it's only €5 but for nothing... but I still hope that new content will come out that can't be played through in just an hour. So I'll stick with you and I really hope that you get everything back on track and that the game really comes to life and that something new comes out regularly. Regards, Christian
Bonjour Super Alex , je pensai bien que vous aviez des problèmes , je vous encourage dans la persévérance d'aller vers l'avant , car vous le mériter . Merci pour votre lettre , c'est claire . Je ne suis pas créateur , mais troupe de marine Parachutistes, étant un chef , j'ai appris que commander des hommes ou des femmes , qu'il fallait mettre un point sur commander c'est prévoir ( bien sur dans les jobs qui sont très différents du mien) Il faut tout prévoir et vous l'avez fait , reste à voir les points négatives , puis vous mettre dans le positive des actions. Cordialement Mr Bosco Robert.
I've been a fan of this game since I found it a few years back, and when I found your previous work I officially became a fan of yours. Been subbed for a hot minute and I look forward to see whats in the future. Hopefully more Alexandra haha
I've enjoyed the game every step of the way and I understand video game development, it takes time and something what you want to do doesn't pan out so you have to change plans that makes updates slower to release and thats okay. Making a great and fun game is important and yes you'll get some pissed off fans but the true fans know that it'll be worth it. I'm excited to see what you have in store and shall continue to support you and your future endeavors
Alex, sincerely it wasn't ever my intention to sow discord. My bad on that one and I probably generalized. To put a clearer perspective on what I've should have been referring to, it seems like there is an ongoing culture with creators ''milking'' their audience and this reflect distinctively and negatively on several forums ( A wife and Mother, Indecent desire, etc.. to name a few popular one, sorry for the free advertising lol ). With certainty my friend, I knew it was not your case and something was happening behind the scenes beyond your own will. Credits due, you actively stay in touch and posts on your page, only a fool wouldn't notice the importance you dedicate to your project. I'm a perfectionist irl and I tend to think we can relate on this aspect, a gifted burden. I've been working for my employer since 2014 and for a fact, he know I'm reliable to provide accurate and structurally correct data to base himself upon future clients presentations/ decisions. But once again, my quality sometimes feel like a burden to my own expense because it does consume more time and efforts. Has we get older ( 34 ) we certainly do not have the same will or energy we used to, that's just how life goes right. But it's a process and has we speak rn, I'm still actively working to find my balance throughout all of it. You love what you do and I love what I do, now it's about finding our own new approach from here. This mindset got into place when my boss did noticed something was off at some point and to my own surprise he didn't negatively point it out, he simply praised all of what I've accomplished so far before, insisted about how important it is for me to find an healthy balance so I can commit to my personal life as well. I remember him telling me ; Il faut travailler pour vivre, il ne faut pas vivre pour travailler ( doesn't translate well in English lol ). My point is that you've also made your proof amongst the community, you've accomplished a lot and we all know what you and your team are capable of. It takes courage to explains what you've written and on a positive note it's a character traits that show perseverance and surely make you stand out of the rest my friend, especially given all of the political/ financial situation happening in the world right now. It's a taboo subject but rest assured many of us can't afford the same lifestyle has we used to, things have changed over the years based from the decisions of affluent peoples, things we can't control but in any case it's important to remind ourselves it shouldn't be detrimental or considered has a setback to our life goals. I believe it's a new opportunity to experiment and use it has a lever to achieve better. Once again, despise everything I'm confident you'll be able to slowly but surely find your balance, then surprise us once again. We'll be here bro. Don't let what I've said hinder your mind, I'm still a believer. Sending productive vibes, stay safe !
Thank you! Your words send me chills down my spine
I'd say that there are several major problems with Amnesia and how things are going 1) development is too long We've seen many updates that don't make anything progress in the core story line (MC's past, building the basement) There are also many questions about main protagonists (Alexandra, Elena and Kate). Having fans service is good but needing several updates to learn about Kate's problem or to simply fix a smartphone, it's way too long. 2) Fan-service vs story ratio unbalanced It's a Visual Novel, which means that the story is quite important (else, we should just take some porn movie). You should think more in the line 1 teaser scene, 2 or 3 intermediate sex scenes, 1 "ending" scene and optionally 1 "prologue" scene. This would lead to a somewhat shorter gameplay but it could be expanded by developing more side characters (making them a full-fledged arc). Animations take time and disc space, the fan service slow down the story development and ends up being quite repetitive. 3) Too many questions and loose ends With the story taking long (months/years), you may add that there are so many loose ends that you've to take track of, making some of the details being blurred by time. - Alexandra's work - Alexandra's coworker - Alexandra's sister and her daughter - Rei (since her home is on the map...) - That strange couple met at the mall - ... With the time going on, I don't even remind the name of some characters !!! What you have is what is called a "feature creep" : you want to add more and more resulting in the development taking more and more time and in the end, losing the interest of the people. The refactoring is one such feature-creep. Keep in mind that no program will ever be perfect and that the perception will be darkened by the long development time to get small updates with only a few scene. You should really plan the whole development : - make a list of all arcs (amnesia, alexandra, elena, kate, basement, ...) and loose ends - plan a roadmap which helps resolving these. Keep in mind that some arcs may be exclusive (you need to make choices) and as the game is out, you need to already make the branching and make each branch progress - plan a VERY LIMITED number of animated scenes (including sex scenes) and insert them in the roadmap - make content updates with very few new graphics (mostly story lines), in your roadmap, it should be like 2 contents without graphics followed by one with graphics, graphics being created/rendered during the development of the 2 first contents updates, allowing shorter update interval. The initial idea was very good. There were many opening done... then it started stalling... You really need to be back on the main track (some of the sex-scenes may even need to be transferred to a "bonus section" in order to keep some homogeneity. it's only my two cent...
Thank you for such a detailed response, I appreciate it
Hi SuperAlex, im so glad that you took the time to write out this post in extreme detail and it really does go a long way in solidifying the belief i already had in your project. I will be returning to monthly subscription for a while in hopes i can do my very small part in helping during this transitional time. Im glad you were so open and honest and im looking forward to the future
Thank you! I hope you will like what is coming
Thanks your your transparency. Having been with our own startup and witnessed our own mistakes firsthand: wasted resources, wrong products, hired people that did not share our vision, lost valuable clients…but then, you keep reading and you keep learning, you reflect from your mistakes, and you are honest with those you trust to get feedback, you make a comeback and ultimately, you excel in your industry. You have a good product, and releasing consistent updates is a vital point in growing the business. I don’t see much benefit about remastering images as they are already great, but I do see some of the biggest names in the adult VN industry releasing updates consistently like clockwork, even though they have a poorer game than yours in my opinion. I have cut down my support on this site from dozens to a handful of games left and yours remain one of the top on the list as you know: because I like and have faith in this project. Wishing you the very best and looking forward to seeing the changes! 🥰
Thank you 🙏🏼 that’s very important to understand that I’m not alone
You have a very good game in development. I think it is a project worth finishing. I wish you success, and I plan to continue supporting and following your progress.
Thank you, I promise more news will be coming soon