The game is in no mans land. I agree with you that the 5+ month development cycles aren't the crux of the problem. Instead the problem is that it takes 5+ months and nothing/very little happens. This game lives in the details, so it's going to be really difficult to change the pacing of the game, even if he were to cut everything right to the bone. He doesn't want this game to be nothing but scenes with Dylan, Ellie, and Aiden; and I applaud him for that. It's good to mix the game up and have stories that crisscross one another. It's also good (on paper) that multiple days can go by without seeing a major character, that helps keep things fresh. I recently tried to play a game but quit because literally every scene was with the LI and no one else. After awhile it was just boring that every single conversation had to be so sexually charged. And a lot of game suffer from that. But not AWAM, but it has swung too far in the other direction. We have scenes and characters that are nice but do little but delay progress with the characters we'd rather be spending time with. And since each update covers such a small proportion of the game, and each update takes so long to come out, it's frustrating that everything moves sooooo slowly.
But now I'm just bitching and I don't want to do that. I've mulled over this topic for a long time, and I know we've discussed it to death; but I still think the only way to move the story forward quickly without sacrificing too much of what makes this game unique is to use time jumps. I know it's complicated, and that story lines could get mishandled in the process, but there just doesn't seem to be that much fat to cut. Yeah, you could cut the two side jobs, and that would save a lot of time, but if you start cutting other characters then you're treading on thin ice. I'd rather he cut the two side jobs and then focus on some well positioned time jumps to get the story moving a little. Instead of cutting "fat" he could prioritize and structure the scenes that we're only seeing the important ones. So, for example, Ellie isn't having a shower with Sophia every day- but every time we see her in the morning it is for a shower. We could also consolidate scenes so that something important happens in each one. Right now there are scenes that only add details for the future, but contribute little for titillation or entertainment. If the time jump could eliminate these scenes and consolidate them into other scenes that are simply more entertaining, I think that would be a huge win.
In the end I think no option is great. It's just the nature of how he has structured the game. There is a lot to learn from AWAM about how to structure a slow burn and how to reign in your ambition. I'd really like to make a voyeurism game, but since I don't know DAZ that seems impossible. But anytime I really think about it I find myself really using AWAM as one of the primary guides for what, and what not, to do.
Note- Maybe splitting the game up into seasons would be something that could work. Maybe changing the landmarks would help with expectations and anticipation. Right now most people are frustrated that sex is likely 7+ years away. But what if a season-ending climax could be reached in say 2 years? It wouldn't include sex, but with some restructuring maybe it could be something sexy, dramatic, and attainable. The problem that most of us have is that so much of what this game offers feels unattainable because it's too many years away. But what if a season ending climatic event could be achieved that would act as a pressure relief valve? Maybe setting more short term goals and adding more sexual content than what currently exists would be a good compromise.
Or maybe I'm writing too much.
