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Fall-ing into plans! Total Progress Report - August 2023
🕑 Added 2023-08-10 23:02:31 +0000 UTCWith the release of The Capture Games underway and my brain starting to repair itself from the final week of development plus all of the marketing and jumping through hoops, it's time to take a step back. I'm a thinky person and I've been thinky-ing a lot about the next steps.
The release of this fresh type of game did well on itchio, with the first week of sales second to the original Victoria's Body. We'll see how well it does on Steam, but it things go well, between that and the Summer Sale from last month, I should be able to recover from the sales drought back in May/June.
I have a lot on my mind, so I'm excited to share a lot of my ambitions and ideas with you all here today.
The Capture Games
There's the V1.1 that I want to do to fix a rare soft-lock bug before I branch it off for the Steam version. I also plan to add some tweaks that player's suggested and might add some more stuff. I'm thinking about putting the extensibility of my 1337 code skills to the test and adding another area or two for the Forest and Cliffs.
I might clean up some early code to see if it's possible to tweak the whole "hunter catching you from the top of a bridge." Someone on tfgamessite also suggested a mode where you are perma-transformed, which I think is a really fun idea that might actually be possible to do... might...
I think I'll work on it in earnest next week. I've needed a bit of a break from actually working on things in engine, so this week + weekend should give me the time I need to rest and recharge.
Lustfall - Update 9... and in general
I've been thinking a lot about Lustfall because it's important and means a lot to me, but progress has slowed significantly since the initial release in 2020. Lustfall's updates cost as much to make PER UPDATE as any other single game I've produced. With the pandemic and rampant inflation, the artists I could rely on have raised their prices, making it harder to keep the same budget expectations.
I would very much like to drop everything once The Capture Games is on Steam (and DLSite I guess) and focus 100% of my attention on Lustfall. I feel pressured now that Update 9 is coming up and I am no longer several updates ahead on development. The anime has finally caught up with the manga, so to speak!
So, why don't I just buckle down? The answer, as boring (and frustrating) as it is, comes down to money.
Commissions are getting more expensive, and rent is merciless. In all of these years of consistent updates and posting here on and on itch, we've not reached the level of support that those "man moves into aunts mansion with hot cousins and bangs everyone" harem visual novels... and that's perfectly fine. The just means that I have to resort to other methods to make ends meet, such as making games like Victoria's Body and Damsels of Vice. After some poor months without a new game, that means there's not a lot for commissioning Lustfall art happens, which slows things down. I don't like that. :/
I'm also in a spot where I can't really charge for admission, because of all the art from the various artists I commission. I would need to get in contact with everyone (including those that I can't seem to find anymore) and get their blessing to outright sell it, since they were originally commissioned for a free game.
So where does that leave us? Barring an unexpected uptick in monthly support, we can either continue waiting, with months or even a year between these last few updates (assuming none of the games I make in that time flop), OR we can do something wacky wild...
KICKSTARTER?! INDIEGOGO?!
My plan is to get upfront cash for the rest of the Lustfall art as it currently stands in the game. With the averages from the last few updates both in lust magic art and the extras, I can safely give a base price that people can pledge without risk if we don't hit the goal. I like the fact that it's non-risk for you all.
With Kickstarter/Indiegogo fees factored in, I expect the goal to be around 4-5k USD to finish things off. Anything extra will go towards stretch goals, including more Game Over CGs (each one averages around $200, for those curious). That would be included in the free game. 100% lewds and story at no cost to anyone.
Exceeding the goal, I want to make an enhanced version of the game. It would be the exact same content as the free version, but for Kickstarters, Subscribers, and itchio fans that have paid a specific price (if would be retroactive, so most of you would get it even if you never looked at the kickstarter), there would be a whole overhaul of visuals and combat mechanics.
Among other things, I would want a system where you learn skills from trinkets by getting AP in battle while they're equipped. I want to add visuals like in Damsels of Vice for each of the characters and side effects (so if Gwen was Blinded, when it was her turn you would see her picture but with a blindfold). I would also rework how side effects are applied, and completely rework each character's skillset. I want to flex my vastly improved development and RPG Maker skills to bring Lustfall up to the same standards as my more recent games.
I think this is the best, fair way to provide something extra for those who have supported Lustfall directly over the years, without stepping on anyone toes.
Woah, that was a lot... Let's move on.
The next game: "Hanaja's Body 2 in One" vs "Damsels of Vice 3: Vice Justice"
So, I've been thinking a lot about my next project. The OG plan was that the next Body game would be out, and I have some naughty things in mind... HOWEVER, I've also been thinking non-stop about Damsels 3.
Even though Damsels is not that popular, I still want to do another one. I have a good idea of the plot (play as Dr. Vice in this one) and I've been thinking about how to change up the game mechanics a bit. I think the HP 0 => Bimbo mechanic has run it's course and hatched an idea just this morning for what I will call the Hostile Horny system.
The more you and the enemies use direct attacks, the more the meter leans towards Hostile. The more lewd and naughty attacks used by you and the enemies, the more it leans towards Horny. The idea is that the position of the meter influences what happens in the battle, including what the attacks the you/enemies use, and how these attacks are affected.
Hanaja's Body 2 in One, on the other hand, will feature a new kind of TF system, also involving a pendulum type meter. You will go between Transformation A, 1/2 Transformation A and Transformation B, and Transformation B. Each one opening up different attacks and skills in and outside of battle.
For that, I also want to do something similar to Genshin Impact's elemental reaction system, where attacking with two different transformation (element) types cause some sort of powerful or unique thing to happen in battle like a debuff or big damage.
I'll probably focus on Hanaja's Body 2 in One first, since I know fans have been waiting patiently for another one. In the meantime, I think I'll work on getting the Hanaja's Body art pack up on Gumroad and hope that enough things will fall into place so that I can finish up Lustfall, at least on my end!
That's enough of a brain dump. I've been writing this for over an hour so I think it's time we all get back to it! Thanks again for all of the support and I would love to hear any and all feedback you have about this either here or on the discord! :)
Stay kinky~
