What now, what next, where to?
The Roommate (latterly subtitled "Inheritance") was my first attempt at a visual novel. It was a huge learning experience and there were plenty of mistakes and missteps along the way, necessitating various fixes to avoid breaking saved games. I've also pissed a significant number of people off at times and I've been working to move some of the more contentious content into a free "DLC" that I plan to make available to those that want it.
It's also an ongoing story, and by definition never "complete" so the game inevitably grows with each build. Switching from PNG to WEBP helped but after a lot of thought, I decided to end the current game at the end of the first three months of game time and transition to a sequel or continuation game. Episode 2, if you will.
It gives me a chance at something of a fresh start, incorporating the lessons learned from the first game. I also plan to polish the original with a view to releasing it on Steam and there will be further builds made available as things go forward.
My main focus, however, will be on "Revelations", the next phase of The Roommate saga. There are a number of unresolved plot threads to be further explored and resolved, others that have only been hinted at and a lot more besides.
The primary audience for the game is me - it's a labour of love and I replay it endlessly, often finding myself tweaking dialogue that's been in place for years - I know my ''ongoing improvements" are a thorn in the side of modders, not that I'm losing any sleep over that!
Having said that, it's nice to know that so many of you are passionate about the game and I do listen to and act on feedback, even if it's not always as quickly as I'd like.
So come along for the ride as we press onward, I promise it won't be boring!
Comments (9)
I agree with Kevin about steering your own course and especially his point that writing a literary novel you would be (healthily, in my opinion) inclined to be far more single-minded. I'm a pretty staunch believer that "too many cooks spoil the broth" and, in this context at least, I can appreciate just how difficult it must be for you to figure out what proportion of your overall audience the loudest and most opinionated voices actually represent. So I believe that a creator needs to be strong enough to feel free to write his, her, their or its story with minimal, if any, outside influence. Of course, I can see and appreciate some valid arguments to the contrary, but, nevertheless, in the grand scheme of producing a top-notch AVN like "Roommate: Inheritance" this is how I feel about it.
I think what you have described is a very positive move for your game. It gives a number of advantages that 'plowing' on wouldn't, e.g. polishing ch1 for steam without worrying about future conflicts. Ensuring that any ch1 dlc doesn't break any scripts or choices within ch1. I look forward to ch1 being completed, and also what the future holds for our hero in ch2. One comment in your post that stood out for me, quote ”The primary audience for the game is me". unquote. Too many times I have seen game designers/writers crumble under the weight of their audiences demands. If you were authoring a novel, you wouldn't change it for an audience. I see no difference in distinction between writing a novel or writing a game with choices. I applaud your stance and pray you are able to continue with your vision as you see it.
Contentious content? I'm guessing you are taking about all the "darker" content that turns some people off?
You have a good plan, I wish you the power to make it happen! 💞
I have really enjoyed this story and can't wait for the next chapter to begin. I have played through many times trying different thing and have not been disappointed once. I look forward to seeing where you take the girls next! 😁
There have been some developments promised with some of the girls, Mallory, Lois, and some from the cult below LOL. I am hoping those won't be abandoned in "Revelations." Meanwhile, I do know how exhausting it is to get distracted by all the different branches occurring and some characters, who should play a more pivotal role, Kira, Kara, Kari, et al, for example get moved to the periphery. I congratulate you on deciding to rein things in.
This is one of my favorite games and although I do agree with the op, I'm hoping you are in this for the long haul. You are a seasoned pro at writing, so I'm trusting that will carry you through. Selfishly, I've made Kari and Lois my main love interests and want to see the harem start coming together, but with those two as the top GFs. However, lead on and we will follow!
Can't speak for anyone but myself. Greatly appreciate the hard work and dedication that's gone in to the game thus far and look forward to what you do moving forward. That being said, I do hope that the game becomes a little more focused moving forward. Not on any one particular character or kink/fetish or plot thread. It just seems as though the scope has continually expanded over the course of the years of development and there's seemingly no way you'll be able to resolve all of these stories in a meaningful way without you being at this for a LOOOOOONG time (or simply giving up and leaving many of the threads unresolved). Any one of the main story threads in this game (the sisters, the office drama/relationship with Lois and Kiki, the underground cult/harem, etc.) would be enough to fill an entire visual novel. Trying to satisfy all of those stories just seems like an impossible task at this point. More than anything, I fear that you'll end up in a situation where the amount of work just seems too daunting and the game will just be abandoned. Just something to consider. Congrats on completing "Episode 1".
I'll address some of these concerns/comments in more depth in a future post, but abandoning the game is something I couldn't begin to contemplate!