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Houses of Hearts
🕑 Added 2025-03-24 10:16:21 +0000 UTCHi! 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
Nicola Lahaie
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.
Alireza Shafi’i
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.
