Weekly update #8
Right now, it looks like it’s going to be really close as to whether or not we can get a content update out in the next week. Having said that, I’m going to err on the side of caution and not announce a content update today. In next week’s news update, I’ll announce the update and give information on what it contains. We'll give up a week, but we just don't want to rush this one.
A question did come up this week about stats. I want to give a longer answer as to why there is only one stat in the game, confidence, but you never see a numeric value for it. The main reason is that we want the game to remain focused on the story. On the surface, that may sound laughable considering this is an AVN, but we’re serious about the story. When we first began this project, we were going through and reading comments and reviews on other AVN games as we played those games. We saw a lot people basically asking for more engaging stories. That’s not to say that other AVN’s weren’t engaging because some were, and you could really tell in the reviews that the players appreciated it. So I’m not saying engagement wasn’t there, I’m saying that it was our observation that engaging stories in AVN’s are valued more than people might think at first glance. So we decided we wanted to put typical gameplay mechanics in the backseat and story in the driver’s seat.
So far, we feel we’re getting there. And while we appreciate and encourage all comments on our work, most have center around the story, and I feel they support our original conclusion. That’s not to say that we are not working to continuously improve all aspects of the product because we are.
So there are no stat sheets or inventories because we’re trying to emulate life. We don’t want you to know if you’re winning or losing until the moment you win or lose. That choice on our part is a bit of a risk because that quality of not knowing will either drive a player away from our game or push them closer to the characters. For anyone who is just trying to trigger scenes, this game will be a disappointment. For a player wanting to think about the choices and see how the choices not only shape relationships but in some cases open doors you didn’t know were there, that’s where we’re going. And when the game is finished, there will be a scene where you will know if you won, lost, or in some cases came close to winning.
So if the speed at which we get the new content out is frustrating you, believe me it is frustrating us too. We feel we haven’t had a chance to share the most interesting parts of our story with you yet. So we appreciate your patience, and we appreciate you being here with us during Early Access as we learn and work through these things.
