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IMPORTANT - March Left Hand Magic Focus Poll
🕑 Added 2023-03-06 11:13:46 +0000 UTCSeriously guys, gals and others, I know this poll is a bit wordy, but it's going to have a MAJOR impact on development going forward. Please take the time to read and vote. I've opened this up to ALL PATRONS this time, specifically to get as much input as I can get.
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So...I have a little bit of a conundrum here. And the little bit is kinda a lie. More like I've got a somewhat major issue to sort out -_-. Specifically, I've hit a point where I've modified my original design work for Left Hand Magic enough to cause...issues. Most of you that have been around for a while are aware that I have a tendency to go 'Oh, I could do this cool extra thing!' pretty often. Which is how the design drift in any of my games occurs. Honestly, that's not that unusual. The same thing happens even to large professional productions, who had whole teams dedicated to keeping them on track. Features get added or removed, characters change, etc.
In this instance, the problem is that I...massively upgraded the Threesome Routes from what they were originally intended to be. Originally, they had been intended as fun extras you could do as variety. Possibly not even in a first play through. A way, in addition to the harem route that will eventually go into the game, of adding divergent options. Of giving the player some agency in how things played out.
But I altered that when I decided to grow them into their own, full-featured routes. I don't really regret that choice. I think it will make the game better overall, particularly with how popular those routes are proving to be. Unfortunately, it's also put the early-game sort of...off-kilter. Specifically, it's caused the early routes to not make sense. Doing, say, two full-submissive routes and in the process somehow unlocking a dominant threesome combination...is just flat illogical. It's also what's actively occurring in the, for example, the Arianna x Talia x MC route. Arianna is the dom in her route. Talia is the dom in her route as well. Somehow that unlocks the MC being a...switch? Despite having near zero Dom Points?
That leaves me with two choices. Either I simply remove the Dom/Sub points system from the game, making the entire game a little bit more linear. Or else, alternatively...I have to add a fair bit of earlier-game content in order to make the route choices make sense. Some alternative or extra scenes, for example, where you could be dominant with Arianna. Or even ambush Talia in a way that result in you domming her for a single scene.
All of which is very possible...but sort of a headache inducing mess. I'd need to spend some serious time just trying to map out how to add the right options and where to add them to. With the most likely options being fleshed-out weekend options, or more early-week weekday options. Technically, it would make the game larger in the long run...but it would also bring forward progress to a major slowdown while I sorted it out.
Which...is why I'm making the decision the subject of the poll this time time.
First: To be clear, the PRIMARY focus of this month's Left Hand Magic build will be the continue making more Week 4 content for the remaining girls. Period. However, the secondary priority is what you will be voting on. And the options are thus:
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Remove the Dom/Sub Point System: This will require only minimal surgery to the game, but it will result in a more linear, more traditional, Visual Novel format. There will still be some choices here and there, but (as with most Visual Novels) those choices will basically only alter individual scenes, rather than having much impact on the story. Immediately, it will result in more content for Week 4, moving the story forward quicker. In the long run, the game will give slightly less agency to the play in favor of storytelling needs. Given the nature of the different routes and how they shape your character, there will still be plenty of variety. But not quite as much.
Fix the Early Game Content: This option is the more work intensive one for me. I'll need to spend a few days dissecting where I can add content (and content of what type) to make things workable. Then I'll need to follow through on that plan. Some amount of Week 4 content will still be made, but at least a few of the scenes for this build will be shunted to making a start on fixing the early game issues. And that would remain the case for at least one or two more builds beyond this one. This will significantly slow the overall progress on the game's story, but broaden the things you can do in the early game. A game with more variety/choice/agency...but one that may take several months longer than I originally planned for to finish development. Possibly as long as an additional half a year.
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As you can see, there are pros and cons here. And I...legitimately don't know which is the better option. This is a case where I simply don't know what my general audience values more. Which is precisely why I'm leaving it up to you! Please take time to consider...and please vote! This will have a MAJOR impact on how the game develops going forward.
Comments
Novus
Honestly, that would be nice for me :-). But I don't want to do it at the cost of the game not being as fun for the people playing it!
Hnnah
I say go for the easier option! Remove the points system and focus on finishing this game. You can implement it again - with all the stuff you've learned - into your next game.
