MisterMaya
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Progress update episode 2 - Numbers and plans
🕑 Added 2022-02-19 15:36:10 +0000 UTC
This week was tiring, lots of animations to create, and I'm glad I finished them all.
Everything is created and queueing so I can now focus on some other parts like photoshop, and coding.
My plan is to send the game to my testers on the 27th and, start the release on March the 4th as scheduled.
So far, here are the numbers for this update :
50 animations
Around 1400 static renders (Not everything is rendered yet, so this number may slightly vary)
4000 lines of dialogue
20 choices that will impact the story and lead to different paths
I"d like to talk about this last one.
This second episode is when you truly begin to decide which Li's path you will get on.
Decisions you will take will make you earn OR lose points with the Lis.
I can't get into too much details because I wouldn't want to spoil you, but your choices will be more important than they were in episode 1, even though there will still be minor decisions to take.
I'm still hesitating to add a heartbeat sound effect when you come across one of these important choices, because some are subtle, and that's what I like about my game.
You will sometimes take decisions that seem unimportant when they actually are.
Now, I'd like to talk about future release plan.
First episode of The Entrepreneur was out on October the 17th.
Second will be out on March the 4th.
That's 4 months and a half between these two updates.
I don't like it, it's too much time between these two updates.
Then again, yes, I made a Christmas episode, which drained me out, took some time, and I needed some time to recover after releasing it.
What I learned from this was that people were more interested in the main story rather than non Canon updates.
Also, when I started working on that first episode I was starting from scratch.
Now, I made huge improvements in both my skills but also my workflow thanks to some of you and your suggestions, especially thanks to the help of a certain Kiwi whose name shall remain secret.
All of that brings me to this conclusion:
I should be able to release such big updates every 3 months.
I intend to keep true to this statement, and I believe I can deliver on time.
Anyway, I hope you are all impatient to see what's coming, so here's a picture of every Lis for your eyes.
Have a great week-end,
MisterMaya
Comments
MisterMaya
Thanks a lot :)
MisterMaya
I thing I understand what you mean now. I agree with you, a printable walkthrough allow you to realize the outcome of every decisions you make.
Just know I think your team is still doing an amazing job
Yeah, it was just an idea i was knocking around. It wouldnt work in every game, i was just siting the donut gallery walkthrough as an example of how to format a printable walkthrough. I think the job Scrappy did for you works well as an online walkthrough, it's just not printable and doesnt give much insight into the possibly repercussions of certain choices, but for what it does(highlighting correct choices for certain things), it works well.
MisterMaya
This walkthrough could be a great idea but that would ruin in my opinion the gameplay. I will release a walkthrough as a PDF version because I like that fact that it keeps the game "clean" of "cheats". As for the Donut gallery, I haven't had much occasion to look into that, so whenever I can I definitely will. And as for the confrontational scene, if you try to explore different paths in the same save, the game is designed that at some point, you'll be taken on one path only, regarding once again the amount of point you have with each Li ;)
Another idea I have floating around in my head if you produce a printable walkthrough and not just an online one like the one Scrappy did for you, is to treat it like a database instead of a straight complete decision walkthrough. In other words, the player would select which LI he or she is interested in most and the walkthrough would then highlight the correct choices for that particular character rather than all the characters like virtually every other game's walkthroughs do. You could also have the cad option included as a choice for those people who want to try and "get with" all the characters in the same playthrough, but i would if possible throw in a confrontational scene or two if they choose that option that would be kept secret from them until it happens kinda like a "rotten easter egg" reward for being a right bastard...lol An example of a similar concept is in how the donut gallery walkthrough is setup on MrDots game Sunshine Love. But instead of having it in just screenshotsin order they appear in game for all characters, the LI you choose determins which information is included in the character walkthrough only if that makes sense and wouldn't be too hard for you with your other workload in game.
MisterMaya
I think it's a great idea ;)
Cool beans!!! I think the heartbeat on significant LI choices decisions is a good one, but i think i would limit it to only if it increased the strength of the relationship and maybe no or some other sound effect if the choice decreases the strength of the relationship. This way, the player knows the decision was 1) crucial and 2)either correct or not for their individual goal right away without giving too much away, and allowing them to instantly reverse course if necessary without getting too far along and finding out they screwed up. I mean one of the very first lessons we were taught back in the 1980's when I first began learning about computers was to save early and often, but I know even I sometimes ignore that canon, and I am quite sure I am not the only one. And with the Ren Py system, I have found you can only go back just so far after advancing and sometimes that is frustrating when you haven't saved and make an error on a critical choice and have to replay from your last save.
