Soulspire Direction Poll
Hi all! Thank you to everyone who provided feedback in the previous Soulspire survey. I've come away with some key observations, which I'll briefly share with you below.
Unsurprisingly, people generally like the art and characters and dislike the gameplay. Also unsurprisingly, you all strongly prefer VN-style storytelling with big, epic plots. There have been lots of suggestions about what to do with the gameplay (and with Soulspire as a project) in that survey, so I have come up with three options for you guys to vote on regarding what I should do with Soulspire to improve the pain points and make it a more fun game.
Next, I want to provide some background on Soulspire and my original vision, so you can make an informed decision in the poll. :) Soulspire was originally intended to be a 12-18 month project, so I could learn Blender and cut my teeth on designing proper game mechanics. There are currently about four months of plot content left in my plan for Soulspire, plus additional time at the end for polishing and rebalancing. The Pandawoman and I are expecting our first child at the end of January, so that timeline fits in pretty neatly with life. After Soulspire (and the first few months of being a parent), my plan was to hopefully begin work on Game #3, a big, story-based VN that takes place in a cyberpunk dystopia with emerging magic - kinda similar to Shadowrun, if you're familiar with that game/universe.
All the timelines below are a bit fuzzy because I've heard babies are a lot of work, but as usual, I'll communicate about timelines and such as early and often as I can. :)
Option 1 - Minor Rework
In this scenario, I'll do two more two-month dev cycles to complete plot content, then spend a month or so shaving off the roughest edges of the gameplay loop. That would mean lowering how many times you need to do training, exercise, etc., removing some extra quests, and generally de-grinding the game a bit. That means Soulspire should be completely done and on Steam sometime in March/April 2027.
Option 2 - Big Rework
In this scenario, I'll pause content development and work on completely overhauling the game. Most of the gameplay will be removed, making the game much more linear. The reverse training mechanics will still be there, but basically all stats and almost all quests will be purged. I don't have a timeline for how long this might take because I've never done it before, but I imagine it would take around two months to completely recode the game, add in bridging content, etc. I would then do two more two-month dev cycles to finish up the game's content. That means Soulspire would (hopefully) be completely done and on Steam around April/May 2027.
Option 3 - Nuclear Option (cancel Soulspire)
Enough people mentioned this in the poll that I feel (reluctantly) compelled to offer this option. I could put Soulspire on the back burner and immediately begin work on Game #3 (the cyberpunk + magic dystopia VN). Soulspire rework and development would continue in the background during my free time and it would eventually be completed, but IDK when that would be (hopefully late 2027?). Truthfully, I'm not a big fan of this option; starting a new project right before having a baby seems like a recipe for disaster. However, if there is an overwhelming desire from patrons to ditch Soulspire, I will seriously consider it.
Comments (6)
I think it is really healthy to squeeze in a small game after PoP. Like a palate cleanser, or the way a musician plays an etude, a piece intended as a practice or warmup. Don't spend too much time adjusting Soulspire to our comments. Also: congratulations! Have our first child was such a fun time, I am actually envious of you!
You could implement cheats to go around the gameplay issue or to make it easier for some requirements 馃
I support the minor rework and recognize that a baby coming is one of the most important RL events in a couple's lives and respect the time and dedication required (ie - the rework must slow down when the baby is born or before depending on whether or not your bride is having some difficulty with the last trimester of the pregnancy). Please continue with periodic dev logs, even if they are short due to RL happenings! Thanks for sharing the poll results.
Maybe just do a minor rework and get started on game 3 sooner. A balance of games
Have to say; I kind of wish you would have continued PoP <== an all time favorite
Yeah, I understand that. Honestly, I told the story I wanted to tell, so stretching it out further would have just meant lower-quality/less thought-out content. All good things must end. :) I'm glad you enjoyed PoP so much, though!