Houses of Hearts
Hi! With Season 1's conclusion, I am now looking ahead and focusing on the sequel.
First: I want the next season to be much better than the first—it has to be if I want to pursue a full-time goal.
Now I'm nearing the end of the initial planning and drafting phase. There are a ton of ideas I wish to explore; however, how many of those ideas are feasible remains to be seen. Ideas are only good if they can be sufficiently actualized, no matter how great they sound at the start.
I've decided on three new primary shoot-type characters/partners for the sequel.
Helena Storm, Karly Summers, and Elsa Rose—three unfortunate individuals who found themselves trapped in the clutches of Asmodeus' hands. You will meet them upon Season Two's first release, but not all the characters will instantly begin a scene with you. Due to the nature of the story, some characters aren't instantly available and must be convinced that you are the right partner for them.
The exact mechanics of Houses of Hearts will be explained further in future posts. While the ideas are there, I am still unsure how much of it is reasonable for a solo developer with limited time to achieve. I have spent too many sleepless days just to get through season one alone, and I would love to avoid having to do that in the future.
One of the ideas is the ability to redo past scenes with the current, updated character compatibility; for example, the first time you did a shoot with Character A, she wouldn't accept, or respond well to a specific action, which changes when you did the scene when they are closer to you. Perhaps you can change the premise of the scene itself, and establish different scenarios with the same scene; basically roleplaying, but you get to choose what roles to play. As compatibility grows, you'll get access to different scenes with each character, too.
I also planned for a skill-system, where characters might not be able to do certain acts at the start, then become better as the story progresses. Remnants of this system are inside Game of Heart's code, but l realized I never had enough time to implement it.
Those fit the loop of Season Two's story; which was to attain the highest possible rating with each scene and climb Asmodeus' ranking system. A scene wouldn't be as good as it could be at the start, but that changes once you grow closer to each character.
However, the amount of work needed to accomplish all that with all the scenes and all the characters is... tremendous—too much for a regular guy who, at best, could work this project for two, maybe four hours a day, if I remove some sleep from the equation.
The easiest fix is to stop working my current job and treat this as my full-time job... but that isn't viable yet. I have faith that I'll be in that position this year, but I can't take the leap of faith unless I'm already at that spot.
I sincerely hope I can achieve this goal soon.
That being said, your support has been more than incredible, and I'm happy that you all enjoyed season one as much as you did. It wasn't a perfect product, but as a creator, I always, always, strive to be better.
Thank you for your time!
Comments (20)
🔥💯👍
this definitly goes rare games that I didnt skip... that good it was!! and I agree it didnt feel rushed at all...
Take your time, the last thing you or we want to happen is a game that's not polished enough to be considered a "sequel" when the 1st Season already set the hype and things to come with House of Hearts.
Honestly, even though you say you rushed releases, the game didn't actually feel rushed (to me). If you make this kind of great content while rushing on a side-gig, I can't begin to imagine what you'll do with a more consistent focus! The ending made me shed a tear, I totally loved it. Can't wait to see what comes with House of Hearts.
I really did enjoy the journey of this game. Thank you so much for this incredible experience and the emotional ending that really resonated with me. It was a journey I'll never forget.
Any plans for Steam?
Love your game!! Season 1 final was really top notch and you definitely put in lot a work in the last few scenes with the visuals and writing heading towards S2. Looking forward to see what you cook up. It’s a shame you have this is side gig (for now). Hope you get more supporters, your game is truly unique. Best of luck to you.
I really wish u can work on this full time since its the best game i have ever played bar none
Season 1 was great, good luck with the next season and I hope you get more, well deserved attention and support.
It sounds like you have some great ideas for S2, and with more LIs. That's never wrong 😁 Your idea for getting more advanced scenes as you get to know a girl better, appears to be a very difficult task in a semi-linear AVN. It's a more common mechanic in sandbox AVNs imo, and I am not sure you want to go there. Looking forward to seeing what you come up with, and keep up the great work you do!
加油
I truly enjoyed the 1st season, keep up the good work :)
Good morning As you say, I wish it were easier. We hope that this year you can dedicate yourself 100% to your game. Sometimes I find it strange that you don't have more support, unlike other, more average VNs. At least your game makes an effort to balance all aspects, not just the +18 scenes.
Totally agree - should have more support. Increasing my support now...
I don't know how I feel about possibly repeating a scene mechanic, not only would it add time for you, I feel like the story could get a little stuck and feel like it would be repeating some stuff instead of moving forward. I just rather feel like their is progression, but will love game either way. Either way I am excited to explore season 2, might be able to throw a little support, depending my own financial problems work itself out. But very excited, and hopefully we can save that one character sooner than we think, you know who and doesn't take too long for her to re enter the story Also, I do plan on probably subbing at 6 dollar tier for like one month for support, but saw on forum there is a variable bug in ch.3, attraction path, dude said he realyed to you, will that be fixed, cause I am hesitant to want to pay/play knowing that it could possibly mess up my run. Hopefully you see this and can respond.
OOO, I like this potential season 2 you laid out! Sounds great, and love the ambition! THE MODELS ON THE PICTURE LOOK HOT! That lady with the red hair looks so fine! Thought, I completely understand and see your perspective on why you are cautious and pragmatic about it. Like you said, it's a tremendous amount of work and being realistic about the specific conditions/financial requirement needed is completely understandable! Especially if you want to do this full-time! So yeah, I'm excited to see this game/series grow, and I will be a long time supporter!
Your work is incredible and I would like to see as much as you can *reasonably* produce. Please don't deprive yourself of rest and keep a good work/life balance. I will be here for the long term.
Same main character.
Have u put your game on oppaiman.com yet its a good place to advertise
Is main character remains same from first season or it got changed as well?