Update:
After brainstorming a bit about the ideas for the shorter game, I've come to a decision.
The original idea I had for a shorter game way back in December was to just port Goblinboy's camp game (school dreams 1) to Ren'py but literally, anyone can really do it and I'd rather do that as a way to refresh myself once I finish LoI. So just now, I was wondering about creating School Dreams 4, a fan-made sequel to Goblinboy but I wanted to make at least a little money out of the game so it wouldn't make sense to build off of Goblinboy's work- who released all of his games for free.
So now, the ideas that I developed while brainstorming for SD 4 will be used to create a Lord of Imagination spin-off named
Loose Ends (the title is tentative.) In it you will play as Hiroshi Urakiri, a Japanese exchange student in the US who has recently discovered that he has been showing some strange powers. He and Blake Maxwell, a quintessential college jock, try to figure out how their respective powers work. The only thing you both know is that the more sex you have, the more your powers grow.
The game is going to be similar to School Dreams, Pervert Action series, and Battle of the bulges on the surface. I am thinking it should take around 2-3 months to complete. It all depends on how well my rendering skills progress and how quickly I finish the script. The reason I am making this game is that there are a few ideas that I wanted to implement in LoI that I simply didn't get the chance to. Plus, I wanted to explore a few aspects of Darklight that I couldn't in LoI because MC is literally the chosen one.
Challenges: The game will be difficult to write, I can see that right away. The main ending I have in mind might end up being disappointing and it will be difficult to make the MC likable as he'll be just so bitter. And the subversion of a popular porn game trope I have in mind HAS to work for this game to work which, again, will be hard. It's easy to create an obvious, predictable story like LoI where most players can get a good idea of what to expect. There's a reason why game of thrones season 8 and the last Jedi are so widely hated pieces of media. They both try and in my humble opinion, fail to create a satisfyingly subversive piece of art.
TL;DR: A LoI spin-off named Loose Ends is on the way.
I checked out the Being a DIK fanart thread that has a list of assets used for the characters and Zoe (The MC's ex girlfriend) uses this asset which I think might be what is used for Olivia
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I could be wrong though since I haven't played this game since the non-NTR update and only went with the screenshots in the OP.
Yeah, this image looks particularly convincing:
Well, I hope that's the last shitty situation you'll have to face while working on this game, because I honestly believe that the huge improvement in it's writing was the main reason it even got that far into developement. The initial release was just another game with above average renders and writing that was... let's just call it "immature", so that I don't offent anyone.
I think it would be best if you could find someone to help you out with the renders, so that you don't burn yourself out (there are a lot of people who are quite competent with DAZ, but can't write shit...), but I know that if you don't want to set up a Patreon, SubscribeStar or whatever, that would be difficult, so I'll just wish you luck in this new learning experience with DAZ!
In the end of the day, this might be a blesssing in disguise. Your former partner doesn't seem to be the most "cooperative" person, so now you'll at least have the freedom to do what you think best for the game.
Maybe I will start looking for an artist as well but honestly, the problem is that I simply can't pay one. Besides, I'd rather just make sure that I can carry on the game on my own first. So that were the new artist to leave for whatever reason it wouldn't be a huge problem.
So I'm not a lawyer but I have had to repeatedly deal with IP issues throughout my career and (sadly) the fees I've paid my lawyer have made his firm the number one IP experts in my state. He always thanks me for paying him to open an entirely unexpected revenue source... LOL
If you didn't sign any letter of agreement or contract about ownership of your work, you own it. Even if you did if no method of compensation was involved he'd be hard pressed to find a judge who'd restrict your use of your work. From what I've read here it seems that he owns the "imagery" and you own the story.
I unsolicited advice is this.
Take the advice of others about creating a less complex game as a learning experience. Use the knowledge you'll gain to assess the work require to complete LOI. Then if you're determined to complete the game, create your own imagery (which if you create it without using his actual images as your starting point can pretty much duplicate the look) and finish the story. Were I in your shoes I wouldn't worry about a long gap before I picked up this game. Far more important to become comfortable with all the non-literary skills that will be required. Only when you've learned the scope of the task before you can you determine how to proceed. Don't be surprised if you determine you need to pull in other talents.
This is a great game. I wish you every success.
Oh and save all communications like the exchange you shared. Lawyers will find them fascinating and are unlikely to ever let them come before a judge. LOL
Well, I doubt he'll actually try stopping me from continuing the game. Most likely, he'll delete the Patreon account, the subscribestar and discord and be done with it. It's that easy. Though I'd be curious to see if he close the Patreon before this month's payout cycle or not. Besides, even if he did have a case which he doesn't, he'd have a hard time into bullying me into doing anything at all just as I can't do anything about him kicking me out of the Patreon as I live half a globe away. The question has never really been about if HE CAN do something but how I CAN justify starting a Patreon without anything to show. Maybe I will plug my Patreon eventually but not before I have something finished to show.
It's a real shame. This game was having such great potential. I wished you good luck in your new projects.
PS: If you finally decide to reserve your new version of LOI for when you are more experienced to the software, and for this you need to create a short game to improve your experience in those software, but you don't have an idea for the plot of that hypothetical short game of yours, I offer you any of the ideas I exposed in a thread whose link is in my signature, if you're interested. I personally didn't think of them for short games, but any of those ideas could be adapted for a short game.
Although I am 95 percent sure of what I'm about to do with the game, I'll be sure to check the thread out.
I did want to ask, what are the paths that you are planning on developing, and what's the one that's going to get canned? I assume it probably has something to do with the resist, submit or fight back choice that occurs, since it seems like the perfect choice to split off from. Personally I'd like to there to be a submission (submit) path and a domination (fight back) path where you are the one in control. For the sub and dom players, respectfully. The resist option makes the most sense to get canned, since it's the weird middle ground choice that doesn't really go far enough for the two types of players. Just my opinion, though.
I'll be doing away with the NTR path for the reasons I explained earlier here somewhere.
