All this talk of too many characters, or a story that's too slow, just highlights the no-win scenario for fans of this game. What makes AWAM special (aside from the great art) is that it's a layered story. Too many games only focus in on the main/core characters, and that gets old really quickly. On paper, I think there's good sense behind how the story is paced because, at its best, it provides for a logical progression of Sophia's corruption. I think all of us can agree that we like that her corruption has been a gradual process. And part of that process is that she interacts with a wide cast of characters who all have their role to play in her corruption. It isn't just the same two characters, scene after scene, day after day, update after update. There's a real attempt to make her progress feel organic.
The real problem, the original sin, is that this game is simply too ambitious for one person. Even with diligent planning (which we know he doesn't do), this game cannot be completed in a reasonable time frame. Both the story, and its development, are too slow. Each update takes too long and advances the plot too little to really feel satisfying. But, if he were to cut content, and focus exclusively on the main characters, the game would lose a good deal of what makes it attractive. Sure, in the short-term I think a lot of people would be happy, and he may even make more money, but I think that approach would undermine what makes the game special.
People are tired of the slow burn, the constant delays to development, and the prospect of another decade before there's actual sex. Outside of building a mid-size team to develop the game alongside him, the only solution that would result in faster progress would be to cut content and characters. And while I do agree that cutting some characters/content could improve the game, I don't think it would be too long before you would make cuts that would detract from the game.
The long and short of it is that fans of AWAM are in a no-win situation because the game was not properly scaled to what one person can create in a reasonable timeframe.
