Every episode progresses the story further. This isn't an open-ended project where content gets slapped on to extend its duration. I'm working toward the end of my pre-planned story, and I do it in big chunks. Every episode is mapped out in advance, I already know the big events of every remaining episode in the game, so they can't be made smaller. One way to make smaller updates would be to split an episode into more updates, but here are the problems with that:
- More updates mean less content over time; as I have to do more release and after-release work, I get less time for content creation.
- This would require me to work in chronological order with every episode, which I never do. Releasing the first part before the second or third part would limit my creativity, as everything that is released is set in stone. If I wanted to go back and put in more details or flesh out earlier parts of the episode, I couldn't because it would be released. I would miss out on viewing the episode as a whole, instead of working on smaller parts of this whole - sacrificing the overall quality per episode.
- The amount of content would be different depending on the branch you'd play; resulting in i.e., that a Sage player would get less content than a Jill player or similar due to branching content.
- The code isn't structured in a way that allows this, and more game-breaking bugs and unloadable saves would happen, causing more stress for me and frustration for you.
Packaging the updates into a singular, well-thought-out big episode is the concept I've done since episode 1 and will continue to do for the game's duration. Yes, the size has grown with each episode so far, and Halloween is one of the top 3 episodes I have wanted to create for this game since the beginning, so it was extra hard for me to limit my creativity with this one (which you will see come release).
Based on my answer, the question I would like to ask you to reflect on in return is the following:
Do you think it's worth cutting planned content from the game altogether to bring an update faster, i.e. cutting out content for side girls, removing a lot of lewd scenes and romantic interactions, skipping side stories, and just keeping canon story and main girls' stories?
If your answer to this question is yes, we don't share the same mindset.
It's frustrating to wait, but one day, this game will be done, and I won't return to it. I may not even continue developing games after this game; I can't know that for sure; but I'm committed to seeing this one through. When it's complete, I want to know that I did EVERYTHING I planned to do and did it in the way I wanted. If I look back at this game thinking, "players made me rush this game", I would hate myself for letting me get affected, and I would hate the game.
I hope episodes 10-12 are smaller than episode 9, without sacrificing content, and I constantly try to work smarter. But I won't be releasing at a much faster schedule than this. If this bothers you, my recommendation would be to stop supporting me and the game between releases or even altogether. I'd hate to receive donations from patrons who aren't satisfied, and I've always favored transparency and honesty. I will still work on this project even if I have zero patrons. This game is my passion.
