Games with branching paths are a bear to develop and test.
You can say that again!
I knew it was ambitious from the start, but that was the game I wanted to make and I'm sticking to my decision. It has a lot of branches, and I'm not willing to half-ass any of the paths. I'm doing this to give the best experience I can for those who can appreciate it.
And for those that have never done any game development, or are considering doing it, let's count some things...
I have written more than 300K words, rendered more than 2.3K images, created a lot code with paths that matter. The time invested writing, rendering, developing and testing combined are more than 5.000 hours (in two years). If I had a second job working at Macdonald's as a sandwich maker at 10$/hour, and working my ass everyday (like I have for this game) I would've made 50.000$.
And I wouldn't have needed any of the skills a game developer has (writing dialogue, creating believable characters, writing code, rendering 3D scenes, and making 2D artwork for the game etc.). In Macdonald's I would just need to show up, not think much, do my shift and leave.
At this point, the game has made approximately 2K$ in two years. compared to the 50K$ investment (in sweat equity), it's obvious that I'm not going to get my investment back. And I'm not doing it for the money.
This means that, this game will remain a hobby for me. I'll keep doing it as long as it remains fun for me. And to define fun. Fun for me is receiving support on Patreon and SS, receiving kind comments, good ratings, and general appreciation for my creation.
If that means that updates are slow, so be it. If that means that people will not appreciate the length of the game and the branches, so be it.
It is what it is. All that matters is that I'm proud of my creation