And I appreciate your response--and that you even responded--which shows me that you actually care about your game. And I totally understand your time constraints. As a potential backer, I can easily overlook long delays in updates, but those updates would have to be phenomenal, or at least solid.
But I want to be very specific about what I mean by phenomenal--I would NOT expect all-around perfection. One of your earlier updates, I think it was v 0.20, I found phenomenal just because of the scene with Ivy. Hot as heck, and it surprised me with how far it went. It escalated beyond what I expected, especially for such an early update. And I was left wanting more, not less, of her character. In general, I think developers postpone full-on intercourse way too late; it's as if they follow some unspoken rule that first you have to start with kissing, then move on to grinding, then blowjobs, etc. Boring. Cool, maybe I'll come back in a few years. With that scene with Ivy so early on, you basically told me anything could happen--wicked fresh!
For this update, the scene with Val allllmost crossed into being phenomenal, as did the scene with Piper. But I want to be specific here: it's not that each and every scene HAS to escalate beyond the first sexual act. Blowjobs or whatever can stand on their own. The frustration, to me, is that within Val's and Piper's scenes, you create the promise of something more--and then don't deliver; this just stripped away all the momentum of the scenes. In other words, if you know a scene is going to be only a blowjob, commit to it fully and leave it there. Starting with one thing and promising more is like dangling some ultimate forbidden fruit after an already awesome meal and then pulling it away last second. All inertia stops. Goddamn it, you had me expecting dessert! Lulz....
I know I'm splitting hairs here, and I hope it all makes sense, but I think it's important. Why? Because the scenes themselves are the backbone of any adult game like this, and if they are solid, much else becomes forgivable in the game. In other words, the UI/navigation doesn't need to be perfect; dialogue doesn't need to be perfect; the story doesn't need to be worthy of the Pulitzer Prize (though, imo, a solid story greatly adds to a game's power). I'll navigate a whole host of dialogue choices till my head is about to explode as long as the payoff is worth it, and then leave happy.
So, my ultimate recommendation, I guess, is to play to your strengths, and I'd argue those are beautiful renders, a compelling story, and a talent for creating hot scenes. You don't need overly complicated gameplay or dialogue choices to propel the story forward. I also think your dialogue is totally fine--all the characters come off as unique.
But if you don't want to turn your game into a straight novel that can be simply clicked through, I'd opt for maybe a task-orientated game or more mini-game elements, where the MC gains favor with the other characters after doing the tasks or winning the mini-games. I actually like some grind--as long as the way forward is clear. On the other hand, having a dialogue-choice game always leaves me confused and backtracking. They often force secondary playthroughs, as the dialogue choices often hurt your favor with one character while you gain with the other. I'd rather see everything on the first playthrough.
Aren't Ivy's points about gaining trust? Piper's, stamina? Val's, love? Maybe you could come up with little mini-games that reflect those themes and give those points to the MC when he wins each game or round. Then, when the MC gains enough points for a specific character, he gains access to the next part or section of that character's story. He could even gain access to specific dialogue choices that lead to him getting what he wants from the other characters, whether leverage, affinity, or further scenes.
Anyways, I'll stop talking now, but I hope it helps. I think this game has tremendous potential, and as I said, I think you're extremely talented in all the rendering stuff.
