Monday Update #101 | Reworking and Renovation
Hey Everyone, the next Monday Update is coming your way. It's too late and I have no apology for it. No, that's a lie I actually do. I'll talk about the reasons after I tell you about everything I did in the past weeks:
What's new?
But this I'll also do in a different format than usual, as I want to explain a few things first or you'll have no idea what I'm talking about. There will be changes coming to Children of Morn. Like I said in my last post, I'm very much determined to listen to feedback and am now taking some serious steps to improve the game. That means:
A rewritten and rerendered prolog.
Changes to Enna as a whole character.
Slight adjustements to the plot, to fit the new prolog and new Enna.
A few changed environments.
And lastly, a new name.
Now let me explain. After looking through a lot of feedback, judging my own perception of the game and listening to my editor, I've identified a few key problems to the game. Enna, the way she is right now, needs to be changed. I'm not talking about completely removing the person she is, but I'm talking about adjusting her to be a lot more interesting and engaging for the player. She's supposed to become a real love interest, and I'm not saying more than that. You'll see in the next update what I did.
Another problem is motivation. Why is the player character doing what he's doing? I'm taking steps to hopefully strengthen his motivation and give him more agency in the plot.
I'm also remaking a few areas and adding a few renders were I felt something was missing or could be explained and emphasized better.
The changes to the plot are small and mainly aim to keep things consistent with the changes. Overall, the plot is staying the same.
And now to the name. This one might be surprising to many of you, or at least to some. But it has come to my attention that the name could become problematic in the future. It might sound silly to some, but simply having the word "children" written in an adult games title can produce problems on various websites and makes the chances of another Steam ban unnecessary high. So even though it is a bit painful, I've decided to change the name of the game with the next version. I've already honed in on a few possible replacements but haven't made the final decision yet. You'll have to wait a while longer until I unveal the name.
Now, when will all of this happen? Hopefully at the end of February. That's the date I'm aiming for with the next release. The release will include the reworked opening of the game + The first section of the first dungeon. Another thing people critizice is how there's very little gameplay apart from the minigames and you're right, I can only tell you to wait. I like my games with gameplay. Like I did in MIST, Children of Morn will also feature quite a lot of it. It only takes time to develop. Children of Morn is a slow burn, I realize slow burns really are slow and I should have probably done it a bit different from the start, but what's done is done and you'll soon get your hands on the actual gameplay of the game so now it doesn't matter anymore either way.
The Renovation:
But, there's a disclaimer on it. I moved to my very first own apartment. Until now I've always lived in flat-shares, but I finally managed to get an apartment where I live. It's not much, but It's still a lot of work to get everything done, especially because I made the stupid decision of building everything on my own. Which I very much enjoy, but it takes a lot of time and effort. I've managed to not let it influence my worktime too much, apart from completely forgetting the monday updates, but moving and the holidays still took a toll on my work. So in the end there might be a delay to the February release. Right now I'm on time and think I can get the update out like I want, we'll see.
That's all from me for today. I whish everyone a great week and you'll hear from me again soon!
Comments (12)
Hadn't played since the initial release, was nice having a good chunk of content to go through, sadly its back to waiting now. Didn't really see much problem with Enna, shes got issues that need to be worked through and secrets that will be fun to unravel, don't think she needs much change she just needs time but should be good either way.
"Descendants of Morn" idk what the story entails as I'm waiting a little longer to give it a shot, but the acronym "DOM" could be useful. Looking forward to giving the game a shot in the near future. If it's got even half the quality of MIST, i'm excited
You're exactly right about the pedo problem. I've tried to point out to other authors when they've had child-like depictions of their characters that they were risking getting banned from Steam and possibly even Patreon. Really, if someone decides to report your game for these issues their default position is the ban hammer. YOU have to prove you're not depicting or even hinting at pedo and neither platform makes it easy to even communicate with them, let alone make your case. Nor will they have any interest in some involved logic as to why that child-looking character isn't actually a child. I think Steam also sees incest the same way so you have to be careful there too. Is worrying about the word "Children" in the title paranoid? Not when it actually has a chance to get you banned. Someone can say, well fuck em, but that's where the money is and no money=no game. I have the tiniest sliver of sympathy for them because they too are trying to avoid getting hammered and don't have the resources to vet every character in every game. Patreon already got threatened with having their access to funds from credit cards (the vast majority of their payday) pulled if they didn't clean things up. But yeah, it could easily be rechristened "Spirits of Morn" or "Disciples of Morn" or "Sorcerers of Morn" or whatever and it will still be a same game.
Yes, it is understandable and kinda impossible to moderate. And I agree, it doesn't matter too much, two years from now no one will remember the old name and it's just too great of a risk. Especially considering that it's really the only risk for this game and it would be a shame to see it banned for that dumb reason.
Congrats for the move! Reading that you're making changes from feedback makes me wonder if some of the mysterious aspects I noticed weren't supposed to be so mysterious lol. Either way, I trust your judgement and refining characters and story is best done earlier so I'm excited to see what the changes are.
I'm taking great care in adjusting her personality in a way that doesn't erase who she is and what she keeps hidden away. If you noticed something, there is a big chance that it was there for a reason and that it will still be important. I'm not creating a new Enna, I'm much more switching around parts of her personality. She stays the same person with the same story. I'm actually taking great care, together with my editor, to ensure that we're dropping clues on purpose and not on accident.
Call me naive but I would have never considered that "children" would cause a problem but then again, I could give a damn about steam. Unfortunately you have to survive or we could loose you as a Dev and for me, that is not an option I would want. I believe that listening one of the most important things you can do, but in the end, still do what you think is right. As much as art should not have to be a compromised, survival is essential. Do what you have to. I can see you have a lot on your plate right now. Congratulations on your new found Independence.
Yeah, Steam is just too big of a player to ignore. Especially since my last game was already banned, so I know they are trigger-happy over there. And thanks, I've never had any big issues with my former flat-mates, but it's good to at least have the option to be alone every once in a while. Also not have my bed two steps from my workplace.
Your own place is a big deal! Grats. <3
It really is : D
I won't comment on the whole name change thing other than admitting I hate platforms like steam precisely bc of bs like that. 'Problematic'... Feh. As for listening to feedback. While it's good to listen to us on some things, don't go too overboard on that front either. Your story n all that. Me personally tho? As long as I get my harem goodness and the same kind of interactions like in MIST, then I'm happy. Line in the sand for me as far as that goes. Best of luck all the same tho.
Don't worry, I'm very conscious about keeping my own idea in tact while looking for improvements and if you're mainly here for a great harem, these changes might actually be in your favor, although it'll obviously still take some time till the girls all gather.