You're welcome. I think there's value in engaging on these kinds of forums both in nuggets of useful constructive feedback and also some basic fan engagement. Plus I think a lot of times with the Patreon model if you consistently put out quality content then people can 'vote' with their dollars to let you know as an artist that they enjoy what you're giving and that you should continue to do so. That's pretty much how it is with my own Patreon account and those I support. Like I suppose I could just purely pirate content and save my cup of coffee or take-out meal for the month but if I've got disposable income that I use for entertainment, why not put it to the things I actually like?
I know Selecta has his own feelings on the matter which I also understand given he's the main creator and I think it's often underestimated how much time goes into these kinds of endeavors and how much it is kind of a labor of love to produce stuff like this. That and the general negativity can be a times very demotivating to a creator if it's too constant. I benefit because in one sense I am a layer removed because I'm both a superfan and also have the corollary benefit of trying to help out in growing the brand.
And if people find this kind of approach appealing, then I plan to apply it to other NPCs over time using the same kind of polling option(s) that we've been employing. I don't have a strong feeling for Carole's storyline but I think Amber Baldwin as the Corporate Counsel is another great example of potentially benefiting from the expansion of her Demotion Event. Both in the aspect of being able to 'blackmail' her' with the knowledge you possess first and maybe also a storyline later when she's back under Malcom's thumb at Perkins Geary.
That said, I would ask if it's possible to give us approximately a 30 day lead-time before the leak occurs. No one owes us anything per se but having something drop right when it's released can be off-putting.
But to answer your question, my plan and proposal was mainly to expand existing content instead of creating an alternate path. With Susan Granger, my theme was 'Assistant to the CSG Manager', similar to Corporate Raider 2. So basically, she'll be the Player's first 'Secretary' (a mini-Debbie) before Debbie is brought onboard. Gameplay wise, I think it's just to give some more slowburn narrative that Players seem to enjoy with our NPCs. I think it fits the overall themes because Susan's general incompetence in the workplace can be sharply highlighted and the Player can get the feel of 'upgrading' his Girl Friday to a superior one at the appropriate time.
From there, I also think it makes sense then why she (Susan) is so desperate and amenable later on to Alexis' advances with this kind of expanded storyline.
And "Going Global" is basically the idea for additional brand new locations a Player can go to and start the same process all over as they did in Zenith but with a new cast & potentially new theme (like a Studio City for a Hollywood fell or a Capital City for more of political cloak and dagger). We'll see how things shape up over the next year with the influx of Patreons but there's some definite aspirations to take things higher with the base game itself.
Sorry for the late response.
The Susan stuff sounds cool, it does feel like she deserves more focus post-defeat given her significance to the early game. I'd say Tracy also could use more focus, since it feels like she kind of falls to the wayside despite being the players stepping stone to the big leagues. It may be because she opens so many other departments that she ends up just feeling like one of many by that point in the game without feeling as distinct as some others (especially since her model looks a lot like Susan's, meaning they may blur a bit in the players mind). It makes being able to marry her so much later feel like it comes out of nowhere. Like you said, people like the in-depth narratives for the characters, it makes them feel like better prizes when you beat them, so maybe lock some of the bigger departments behind specific events at specific thresholds you have to meet with her? It's been a minute, but aren't those introductions currently just based on Power level? Apologies if I'm remembering that wrong, but unlocking the new departments one by one, then achieving something there that lets you continue to work on Tracy, thus unlocking the next department, might make her feel more important to the game while making players feel less overwhelmed by getting access to them more quickly. Might also help create a more defined Mid-game That's just off the top of my head though, feel free to ignore it if it's not how you guys see things going.
The Amber expansion would also be welcome, she definitely could use that extra content while she's still around, and Malcolm feels like the type to want to humiliate her by making her "entertain" his most important clients (such as the player). At the moment it feels like she acclimates to being his trophy a bit too quickly.
Honestly something that seems like an "easy" (or just relatively simple) addition that could make things feel more fleshed out would be repeatable sex events for all of the girls when they reach an "endstate". Some already have them, but a lot don't, or you have to lose access to them to progress the story. Many characters feel like they just end at a certain point without it necessarily feeling like their content is done, which for many I assume is actually the case, so this might just be the result of playing a game that's still in progress.
The additional cities sounds interesting, not sure what the story would be since in-universe you would be known already as the CEO of a major global corporation, so it's not like you can just show up as a faceless intern again without it being weird. But that seems like a long way off anyway, plus there still seems like so much that could be done within the existing frame work. Then again, if Selecta wants to work on something different to keep the creative juices flowing and keep from burning out, then that might be for the best.
Sorry for the ramblings, not many people on dev teams show up on here willing to talk shop as it were.