sierralee
patreon
Five Years of TLS
🕑 Added 2019-11-22 23:58:46 +0000 UTC(Brief paragraph of business: the newest public version is now available on the blog and Steam. This will also be your weekly update, as I won't have anything particularly notable to say in just a couple days.)
Five years ago today, I posted the first version of TLS (though at that time it was TLF). That's a long time. It isn't hyperbolic to say that this game changed my life, so I'm going to share some discursive thoughts for the occasion.
Quitting Your Day Job
It's cheesy to say you've always wanted to make games, but I have spike-filled level designs scribbled on homework to back it up. I went through phases where I wanted to write books, make games, and other specifics, but I've always wanted to have a creative career. Given the way the world works, that's a rough dream.
Prior to and during the early development of TLS, I was making a lot of attempts. I had a job and a half, but both of those had periods of time where I was stuck in an office with a computer. I aggressively tried some of everything, hoping that something would take off so that I could forge a creative career for myself.
One alternate path I attempted was writing romance novels. You're not going to get the pseudonym for those from me, because I didn't do much work I was proud of. I put very little effort into them and didn't really believe in the final product... and yet they found success. Much more success than other games and projects that I cared about much more. As you can imagine, this made me pretty cynical.
Fortunately, TLS started to gain momentum in a way that other projects hadn't. Those of you who have been around for a long time remember that it was a very slow build, not overnight success, but I found it encouraging to have people respond to something I cared about. This little RPG has grown until I could build a career on it, including being able to explore some other creative paths. The alternate reality version of me that unhappily churned out romance novels has grown fainter and fainter, though I have to say that I was relieved when Street Cultivation finally broke my sales records in romance.
I'm extremely grateful to all of you for this. I assure you, I'm not wasting your investment in me. The number of events that could prevent me from completing TLS is growing smaller and I believe that I've built a foundation for a creative career.
Thoughts on Long Games
I've always been fascinated by long games, if you'll allow me a tangent. When I was younger, I remember hearing that White Knight Chronicles was supposed to have 100 hours of gameplay. Now, if you played it, you know that WKC was a bog standard 20 hour jRPG with 80 hours of optional MMO grind at the end. But before it came out, I didn't know that, and I found myself trying to think about what kind of story would actually require 100 hours.
TLS is one answer to that. The exact gametime will vary from person to person, but I've done my best to create a satisfying lengthy experience. One of the strengths of RPGs is that they can sustain long gametimes better, due to switching between combat/social/administrative elements. I hope the final product gives the player the sense that they've participated in a massive story and decided the fate of nations (beyond defeating World Destroyer Guy).
Way back at the beginning, I wasn't sure that could be sustained. Some old fans will remember that the early releases didn't have the first chapter title - I didn't want to come off as naively overambitious.
Five years later, the overall shape of the story is clear. There's still a substantial amount of content remaining, but we're much closer to the end than the beginning. As I've always promised, TLS will have a definitive ending that I intend to make satisfying for all those who have invested so much time in the game. I might revisit the world/characters in the future, but TLS will be a comprehensive experience.
Please look forward to The Last Sovereign 2: Sovereign Harder.
Enthusiasm for the Future
You probably know of creators who grew tired of their own work or lost their enthusiasm, from Arthur Conan Doyle to recent examples on Patreon. There are those who draw near the end of a project and are sick of it.
That's never happened for me with TLS. Now, no job is constant puppies and rainbows. A lot of days my work involves discipline and sometimes I just need to sit down and do some element I don't like. Sometimes it takes a little while for me to get all my TLS thoughts loaded up and make effective progress.
Enthusiasm does change over the course of a project, of course. At the beginning I had five entire chapters of plot to think about and plot points or characters I was still nailing down. The closer we get toward the end, the smaller the remaining creative space is for me. If TLS was a shorter project I might push hard to flesh out the final moments, but since there's still substantial work remaining, I need to pace myself. I appreciate your patience as I've explored books, visual novels, and other projects to keep my creative energies high.
But even considering all that, in the end I always reach a state where I love working on TLS, whether it's writing character interactions or balancing another section's mechanics. I've done my best to create the type of game/story I enjoy, and I enjoy working on it as well. This career continues to be a pleasure, so once again, thank you.
Comments
Sierra Lee
I didn't have a Patreon at the beginning, but the site had been founded. It certainly wasn't what it was now. In any case, LoK was one of the few sites I posted on from the very beginning, so I'm glad I kept you with me so long. ^-^
sakkra83
Is it already 5 years? I remember playing the very first alpha..... found the post in the legend of Krystal Forum..... That was before patreon was a thing, wasn't it?
Sierra Lee
Thank you for the kind words! I'm glad to hear that you've enjoyed my work so much. ^-^
C R
Currently, my TLS save that I've had for quite a while is up to 95 (almost 96) hours. So bravo on making a long game. More than that, bravo on making a long game that, for me, has ZERO boring parts. None. Nada. Zip. Zilch. From combat that isn't too grindy to great humor and stories, to devious political intrigue. I'm loving it all.
Lamsey
I did so too. It won't win, obviously, but I'm having a hard time imagining Valve not doing anything with the data.
Nathan Phoenix
I just nominated TLS for best-story on the Steam awards if anyone want to jump on the bandwagon
Barissia
I can't believe it's been that long, but wow, if you are committed to making a second iteration of TLS or a similarly lengthed game the time will fly by just as fast :)
JJS
I honestly suspect ginasta is going to go after the goddesses themselves, she's in a delicate state and at the end of chapter 4 she realized that as a simple tool doing the will of her "masters" shes going to take out her rage on the goddesses.
Sierra Lee
He has a new line for Chapter 5! But it's suppressed during this visit for cutscene reasons.
DukeLeto7
Late 0.47 criticism... Whatever happened to "Fuck Off Guy" at the entrance to Stineford? I miss him.
Sierra Lee
Whether you've been around a long time or since yesterday, I'm grateful for your support!
Te Tule
Not a long time supporter discovered your work about 2 years ago and Ive got to say I'm loving it the detail in the decisions are amazing havent played the newer releases waiting for it to finish before I play it again but I'm really looking forward to it and hope to continue to support your development of work if its anywhere near the quality of TLS Keep up the good work love the game and You hahaha
Sierra Lee
Ah, you mean the door! Yes, it seems like Aka's comment should no longer occur after so long.
Sierra Lee
I have the impression that people's experience with write-to-market work really varies. Personally I feel like I have a subgenre-specific buffer that's slowly worn down by work I don't care about: while it's there, I can churn out material fairly easily, but once it's gone, it doesn't come back and the process starts really grating on my soul. For me, how much I have to interact with a community and how I feel about that community also has an impact. I don't think that should be taken as any more than my two cents, though, since people vary considerably in creative processes. Best of luck in making your own projects and choices work for you!
Edward Culham
A little nitpick, the houses in the slums still refer to things that happened before chapter 4 began with the closing of the bottom warehouse and Aka says the church has done something useful.
Desertopa
I'm more than a little curious about your old romance works, even if I don't expect to actually enjoy something you stand behind so little as a writer. I've spent a fair amount of time lately contemplating whether, or to what extent, to try and make money with creative work that doesn't align with my own interests as a creator, and I'm interested in how you found the experience. (My other project I've brought up before which does align with my own interests is still in progress, but going slower than I'd like, but I'm looking forward to when I'll have more to say about it.)
Sierra Lee
You'll find out eventually!
Sierra Lee
I am really sorry to tell you that I was joking with that sentence. While I might create other projects in the same world, the ending will be definitive and there will be no TLS2.
Seil
> <i>Please look forward to The Last Sovereign 2: Sovereign Harder.</i> itshappening.gif Jokes aside. I remember playing the very first public version. "And then you die." This moment right there i recognized the promise of greatness. And you delivered. And then Janine, Sarai and Riala discuss The Plan happened. That was great. P.S. Are we getting that small house we were promised?
DankPotatoes
I prefer the title The Last Sovereign 2: Arclentian Boogaloo. All jokes aside though, thanks for all of your hard work Sierra. Your work ethic is almost terrifying. I doubt i would find a harder working person on all of Patreon, even i went through every single content creator.
Secular Reason
I see TLS 2 and my soul has an orgasm.
DankPotatoes
I was personally hooked on the line "But I'll be damned if i let this world fall apart, just because i wanted to get my dick wet"
Quiet Stranger
It has been my sincere pleasure to follow you on this long, strange journey across sexual parodies and deconstructed RPG tropes. I look forward to another five years of it.
Cannali
The idea of TLS getting a sequel ever just blew my mind. Like I hadn't even considered the possibility and it makes me so happy that its on the table and could happen.
Retromancer
I think I started playing the game somewhere in either Chap 1 or 2, but I found it amazing. The slow build of word of mouth support doesn't surprise me at all, nor does the fact that it now can support you in other projects. It has epic storytelling plus excellent humor plus erotic content delivered by a committed creator who doesn't miss deadlines or fail to communicate with her supporters - you are a pretty unique creator
Sierra Lee
There's still all of Chapter 5 left, and chapters are long! All the pieces are on the board now, so you'll start seeing them come together in climactic ways.
Sierra Lee
This is a good question. The upcoming update isn't a huge one, so a month doesn't seem unreasonable to finish. On the other hand, I usually don't post updates around Christmas or New Years because I've found many patrons are busy. That means either rushing or waiting longer than necessary. I may set aside some time to try to finish another objective before the end of the year.
WaxerRed
I'm not sure TLS will ever end for me. I know there will come a day when we vanquish the last villain, have one final send off orgy, and get that last sweet sweet SWEET iteration of Pron, (I'll cry the hardest when that comes) but when that curtain closes I know that the very first thing I do after seeing the credits, is to open up the menu and hit New Game. TLS is one of the games that I know a decade after it's finale, I'll boot it up it again. Perhaps just for a bit of fun, or maybe I'll wake up in a cold sweat and realize I just thought of a route that lets me save an extra few pron. And when I do TLS has so many little hidden corners and secrets, be it in unique scenes for playing a certain way, or random NPC bank guards who really want to talk. So that even long after it's ended, and I've played through the game to completion twenty times, there will be something new to discover on the twenty first.
JJS
I feel like that far more has to be done for this game to come to a close. The stuff with tanaurak, the anak, esthera and of course the goddesses.
Zodiark69
I wanna say you're joking on the sequel, but honestly, I would love it if you actually did make one. TLS is legit an amazing game, and I'm kinda sad it'll be coming to a close. D:
JJS
Will we see the new update for aram/eustrin before or during 2020
Sierra Lee
Haha, I've always intended to do a sequel joke, but back when it was TLF I was thinking of subtitling it "Fuck Bugaloo".
Sierra Lee
I never got to play Rogue Galaxy, but now that you reminded me of it, I might have to put it on my list. Trails has been on my list for a while, I just need to find time for it.
Sierra Lee
Best of luck to you! I still think a fair degree of cynicism is warranted, but that shouldn't stop you from making the effort.
Taium
We all know your pseudonym was Sara Lee. Your cynical attitude led you to just rip off the bread brand.
Sqw4l
"Please look forward to The Last Sovereign 2: Sovereign harder" Well now I'm wishing you had kept the title as 'The Last Fucklord' purely so the sequel could've been subtitled 'Fuck Harder.'
Tim
Honestly, I absolutely love the long from that TLS has taken. Definitely the most hours I've put into the main story of a game, and it's not even completed yet. Probably my favorite RPG! You absolutely deserve the success you've had so far, and I hope your career continues to grow in the future. Thank you for the story you've given us, and I'm really looking forward to the conclusion! P.S. The Last Sovereign 2: Sovereign Harder will now stay on my wishlist forever
Belgaesh
I played WKC and it was quite mediocre, Rogue Galaxy by the same company was much better. Now if you are looking for long games you have to try Legend of Heroes by Nihom Falcom, their Trails series is a masterpiece.
EG Douglas
"Please look forward to The Last Sovereign 2: Sovereign Harder." You've said it now, we're going to hold you to it. And then, future sequels: Sovereign with a Vengeance, The Sovereign Strikes Back, Sovereign and Harem's Excellent Adventure, and Half Life 3. As someone who has the intent to have a creative career but is weighed down by, in no small part, an excess of cynicism, you are one of the examples that gives me hope maybe it can work out if I actually make myself try. I'm really glad for the success you've found and it's entirely deserved. I look forward to continuing to follow your efforts into the future.
aosdh
I for one am looking forward to The Last Sovereign™ Sovereign Harder: Electric Boogaloo®
John Smith
Let me be the first to say that we love your work and we feel the effort you have put into TLS. For me personally, I was hooked on your first from the first chapter and when Simon refuses to take advantage of Aka; saying something along the lines of "I refuse to act in this way" that it was going to be special. It felt so different to other HRPGs and as the game grew bigger, you deconstructed HRPG tropes and rebuilt a world when they could actually exist and not just an excuse for porn. Now I barely care for it and I care more about the storyline and how we can influence the fate of nations via politics. I look forward to more TLS and can't wait to see how it ends
