It's easy to give a reasonable estimate of 40 years for AWAM to finish, at the current pace of development. It's amazing how many fans blithely, or philosophically accept this, perhaps in the mistaken dream that they're going to live forever. Many fans, (including me), are not exactly ecstatic about it but a question not so often raised is whether L&P himself will want to continue for this long, pension plan included. I'm guessing not. He's in his 30s & the amount of time people spend in one job has been decreasing for years, especially for younger people. Admittedly, the Dev is not subject to the patterns of work prevalent for the last 40-odd years, with total job insecurity but is it realistic to think that AWAM will still be unfinished in the 2050s? Given the indications followers have already seen, does it really look as though the Dev is motivated to carry on creatively?
Although L&P is resistant to most suggestions, especially from this forum, we now have his own proposal that routes & characters will be axed, or cut short. [We know some already have been]. Maybe there'll be a poll, or polls but we've already heard about Emma. I like her, especially as an LI for Dylan but it seems she's not that popular with most fans & so could be an 'easy' early write out. If the move to speed up, heralded in the last few months, has the same result as every other such previous measure, the need to cut back will only become greater.
I learned a long time ago that there will be the minimum communication necessary, regarding who & what is allowed to lapse. It will be interesting, however, to see how the Dev may choose to sort out the mess he created while attempting to tell too many stories, singlehandedly. There have been a number of suggestions that AWAM should focus solely on the incest & for quite a while, (with more to come), this has been the course steered. Given the fanbase, it seems logical to me. Inevitably, as with any cut-backs anywhere, there will be a lot of disappointment. Focussing on incest is categorically NOT what I would wish, (logical or not) but I'm already disappointed with this game, so it could be my turn to think philosophically & look forward to having the cure for AWAM addiction.
