ename144

Engaged Member
Sep 20, 2018
3,199
13,337
HAH! You're funny.

The first half is always the hardest and takes the longest to do. I have to create the new environments, design new characters, route out the flow of the chapter, realize that it's stupid and do 40% of it over, write the first several scenes to get the ball rolling, have the beta testers ruin my hopes and dreams, and finally pose! As I get closer to ending the game (Only two chapters left), it gets even more difficult as I work to ensure each branch/path has sufficient content.

Once I get to the halfway point, everything gets MUCH faster. It's pure writing and posing (with the beta testers still ruining my day throughout).

As of right now, overall, I'd put the update at about 25% to 30% done. This is one of the downsides (and upsides!) of the size of my updates. They are massive, as you know, and with the exception of the beta testing, I do it entirely by myself.

Edit: I just want to say, my intention is for BTW to be in a finished state by the holidays this year. Once that's done, I'll immediately start working on "0.5", which will be a prequel to BTW, telling the story of Euchora's past. It'll take place during the final days of the conflict between Alora and Alorine, and give us some history about the main character(s) of BTW.
I'm definitely curious to see how the game will wrap things up in two episodes. On the one hand it still feels like our heroes have only just arrived in Euchora. But on the other hand there aren't that many plot threads to close up, and I respect a game that doesn't draw out the story just for the sake of being longer. Better to end on a strong note and leave us wanting more.


Hey look, I'm an award winning game now!

View attachment 3385715
Congratulations, I think the honor is well earned!
 

Drooskati

Well-Known Member
Game Developer
Jul 15, 2020
1,758
6,745
I'm definitely curious to see how the game will wrap things up in two episodes. On the one hand it still feels like our heroes have only just arrived in Euchora. But on the other hand there aren't that many plot threads to close up, and I respect a game that doesn't draw out the story just for the sake of being longer. Better to end on a strong note and leave us wanting more.
Thanks. I had originally planned to do 12 chapters. That's what I told everyone. But as I got through C8, I came to the realization that I really didn't have a sufficient amount of room to extend it two entire additional chapters. Each of my updates are, on average, over 2 hours worth of content. I could see that if I did the 12 chapters, it would be almost all nonsensical filler content with no meaning or value. I don't want to do that. It would be insulting to the players, the supporters, all of the friends I've made since starting on this road.

The biggest takeaway I have from this is that I've established myself as a capable storyteller. When I started on BTW, I was a complete unknown to the community and the genre. A lot of people start making these games and end up quitting when they don't make a ton of money with their first update, but I stuck with it. It took THREE chapters before I even broke $100/month on Patreon. Even now, slightly over 2 years since Chapter 1 went out, I still haven't broken beyond $800/month heh. Thankfully, Steam makes up for it.

F95 is littered with the corpses of abandoned games. I'm proud of the fact that with my first attempt, having never done any of this before, I can say I was successful. I have an amazing community, an amazing team of people that I can rely on for help/testing/ideas, and, importantly, a future!

One thing I will say is that BTW will end in a way that permits me to do additional content if I ever want to revisit the characters down the road. With that, it needs to be said that the "canon" ending of BTW, which any future content I might decide to do would be based on, is the Good + Harem route. If I were to do it, it would be released as a free update to the existing game. This is completely unrelated to my planned "0.5", which will be a prequel to BTW and tell some of the history of Alora/Alorine/MC and how they are connected.

To wrap this up, I just want to thank all of you. I don't care if you currently support me, have supported me in the past, have bought the game, or you're just a dirty pirate. Every single person who has played and enjoyed BTW, no matter what, I appreciate you. Your words of support, your kindness, your willingness to accept a newbie dev has meant the world to me. While it's wonderful that I can actually make a reasonable living on this, just being able to share my story with each of you has been a dream come true.

Thank you.
 

divingmedic

Well-Known Member
Aug 15, 2023
1,847
2,443
Thanks. I had originally planned to do 12 chapters. That's what I told everyone. But as I got through C8, I came to the realization that I really didn't have a sufficient amount of room to extend it two entire additional chapters. Each of my updates are, on average, over 2 hours worth of content. I could see that if I did the 12 chapters, it would be almost all nonsensical filler content with no meaning or value. I don't want to do that. It would be insulting to the players, the supporters, all of the friends I've made since starting on this road.

The biggest takeaway I have from this is that I've established myself as a capable storyteller. When I started on BTW, I was a complete unknown to the community and the genre. A lot of people start making these games and end up quitting when they don't make a ton of money with their first update, but I stuck with it. It took THREE chapters before I even broke $100/month on Patreon. Even now, slightly over 2 years since Chapter 1 went out, I still haven't broken beyond $800/month heh. Thankfully, Steam makes up for it.

F95 is littered with the corpses of abandoned games. I'm proud of the fact that with my first attempt, having never done any of this before, I can say I was successful. I have an amazing community, an amazing team of people that I can rely on for help/testing/ideas, and, importantly, a future!

One thing I will say is that BTW will end in a way that permits me to do additional content if I ever want to revisit the characters down the road. With that, it needs to be said that the "canon" ending of BTW, which any future content I might decide to do would be based on, is the Good + Harem route. If I were to do it, it would be released as a free update to the existing game. This is completely unrelated to my planned "0.5", which will be a prequel to BTW and tell some of the history of Alora/Alorine/MC and how they are connected.

To wrap this up, I just want to thank all of you. I don't care if you currently support me, have supported me in the past, have bought the game, or you're just a dirty pirate. Every single person who has played and enjoyed BTW, no matter what, I appreciate you. Your words of support, your kindness, your willingness to accept a newbie dev has meant the world to me. While it's wonderful that I can actually make a reasonable living on this, just being able to share my story with each of you has been a dream come true.

Thank you.
You are one of my favorite dev on here. You developed a good relationship with your fan base here. I rarely visit the forum on Steam as you always here. Love your attitude towards your game and your comminity.
 
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Tinez82

Member
Jan 6, 2023
244
331
I'd much rather a dev to take their time to create art that satisfies visually and intellectually. When someone takes the time to pay attention to the small details of their art is when it's much more appreciated. It stands out from the rest when an artist is passionate about their work. I find when devs rush to put out content to cater to impatient consumers is when their work falls short and becomes redundant. So take the time to create art how you invision it that way you yourself are satisfied cause it's impossible to satisfy everyone.
 

RandomGuy99

Well-Known Member
Nov 11, 2018
1,542
2,143
I'd much rather a dev to take their time to create art that satisfies visually and intellectually. When someone takes the time to pay attention to the small details of their art is when it's much more appreciated. It stands out from the rest when an artist is passionate about their work. I find when devs rush to put out content to cater to impatient consumers is when their work falls short and becomes redundant. So take the time to create art how you invision it that way you yourself are satisfied cause it's impossible to satisfy everyone.
i would disagree on this. Some dev release one episode per year due to "better" visuals. People play for AVN for the story and sex scenes. Most dont expect AAA game renders. As long as the story is good and above average/average renders, the game will do well. Take Acquainted as example. best renders but due to release window no body knows if the game is alive or dead. People lose interest and move on. There is too many options today
 

Tinez82

Member
Jan 6, 2023
244
331
i would disagree on this. Some dev release one episode per year due to "better" visuals. People play for AVN for the story and sex scenes. Most dont expect AAA game renders. As long as the story is good and above average/average renders, the game will do well. Take Acquainted as example. best renders but due to release window no body knows if the game is alive or dead. People lose interest and move on. There is too many options today
Yes there are definitely some devs that take advantage of that situation and some just don't work as hard as others. But the devs that can find that balance between rushing to put out content and just straight milking a story. That's the ones that I don't mind taking a lil more time (if necessary) to get better results
 

Knight_of_the_lance

Active Member
Feb 23, 2020
752
1,372
What was the quote already?

Agame can either take more time or forever be shit. or something like that.

Games that produce multiple short update get more attention on the short term, but on the long term the better product will have a better shelf life once finished.
 
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RandomGuy99

Well-Known Member
Nov 11, 2018
1,542
2,143
Yes there are definitely some devs that take advantage of that situation and some just don't work as hard as others. But the devs that can find that balance between rushing to put out content and just straight milking a story. That's the ones that I don't mind taking a lil more time (if necessary) to get better results
IMO, 3,4 months dev time is good enough for decent quality renders. Anything beyond that is the dev delaying or dragging on purpose. If the Dev is single developer, we will probably give him some slack to a max 5 months. Anything beyond that, will garner hate and insult from supporters
 

Dessolos

Conversation Conqueror
Jul 25, 2017
6,069
8,024
IMO, 3,4 months dev time is good enough for decent quality renders. Anything beyond that is the dev delaying or dragging on purpose. If the Dev is single developer, we will probably give him some slack to a max 5 months. Anything beyond that, will garner hate and insult from supporters
I think this would only apply to full time dev's for me. Even then if they are full time as long as there is communication via devlogs explaining what's been going on more than 5 months id be okay with. It would start to feel questionable if it takes like a year unless they explain something happened in a devlog context matters.
 

Tinez82

Member
Jan 6, 2023
244
331
Some devs have a better handle on informing consumers of progress and future content than others also. It's important to keep your fan base engaged and interested. Fans are a lil more understanding of longer update intervals when they are informed and kept in the loop. Gotta advertise and be a salesman for your product to succeed
 

Drooskati

Well-Known Member
Game Developer
Jul 15, 2020
1,758
6,745
I just spent a week scratching my head trying to figure out how to write a scene. The biggest time sink is often in the writing. My updates average about 40,000 to 50,000 words per chapter now. To compare, according to google, the average adult fiction novel has around 80,000 to 100,000 words. I'm basically writing an entire damn novel every 9-10 months heh.

Getting writers block for even a short time is KILLER on productivity. It halts EVERYTHING. When it happens, I'll spend HOURS every day at the computer, starting and erasing things over and over and over again. But eventually, it'll click and I'll suddenly blast through a ton of writing over the course of a single day.

Today is a perfect example. I was seriously struggling with scene 5 of the next update. Have been for a week. But today, it broke. Not only did I get through the entire scene, but I also did almost all of scene 6. Basically managed to write about 15% of the entire update in a single day thanks to a random hit of inspiration.

I know you guys are itching for updates, but trust me, I'm itching to GIVE you updates. It's a daily struggle :p
 
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