Adding more characters & side jobs was probably easier than sticking with a limited number of regular linear plots & taking them forward. It's a known cure for writer's block but it can get out of hand. I play a couple of other games, one of which has 8 characters. Updates for this have virtually stopped & fans are saying this might be because of too many characters!?! I forget the exact number but AWAM has over 70.
Whether it's 70 characters or 8, I think it's really important for writers to write something fun. I look at some of the games that are story-first and struggle with development cycles, and I think a large reason for their struggles are the plodding nature of the story. I think there's a slavish devotion to a strictly linear structure, event 1- event 2- event 3, so on. I imagine the thinking is something like:
"Before I show this really fun scene, I need to have a couple scenes of buildup, and they need to be spread out. So I won't get to the fun scene for three more updates."
And I get it, you don't want to rush anything. But I think there's an underappreciated problem with this approach: it can get boring. At some point "slow and deliberate" becomes "plodding". I'm all for believable stories, I've spent too much time in this thread discussing story structure to throw all of that away, but stories also need to be entertaining. If a writer is struggling with writers block, and can't make the story progress, it could be (in part) because they're bored. But they're so committed to the plodding nature of the story that they can't see the problem.
"Ok, so the LI needs three scenes with the MC before they can make out. And then another two scenes before they can see a boob. Then that will be some conflict, and until that's settled there won't be any more sexual situations. That should probably take four scenes. Then we get a release when they finally have oral sex but get interrupted before they finish."
I'm just making that scenario up, but it seems very plausible to me. On paper such a structure may make sense. It's slow, shows progression and escalation, and keeps the audience on the edge of their seat. But, in reality, it means there are nine scenes of buildup and only three minor with payoff, all of which takes years to develop. Not only does this get frustrating for the audience, but I'm sure it gets tiresome for the writer.
"Brevity is the soul of wit" isn't always true, but it wouldn't hurt for more writers to keep it in mind. Sometimes it's good to prioritize fun and entertainment over slavish devotion to linear story progression. None of us here want every scene to be filled with sex, that would ruin the game. But scenes need to be fun and punchy, we don't need filler just because it helps set up a scene down the road in two years. We need stories that build momentum and effectively ride that momentum. We need more good stories that aren't afraid to be punchy and pull the trigger on great content. Too many good devs are struggling to complete their games and I think that's because they have voted themselves with their own storytelling.