- Jun 2, 2018
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This concept has been pitched to me several times and there are a few big issues with it. First I'm not really a big fan of the "it was all just a dream" trop. I don't feel that sort of story leads to a very good player experience. Having major progression with a character only for it to instantly be taken away and say it didn't happen isn't a great feeling in general. If it doesn't have a story impact, why do it? Especially when we are talking about something like pregnancy which is a long term consequence.
The second reason is just as big an issue as the first and that continues to be compatibility with the Unity game. As you touched on (and I've said), this game still needs to be able to work with whatever Ferdafs does. It is easy to forget (and a lot of people seem to overlook it) but this is not a standalone game, this is a remake of an existing, still in progress, game. I have added and enhanced many aspects of it (which muddies the water on what it is), but it isn't it's own thing, and there are lot of limitations on what I can (and am willing to) do with it.
And thirdly, this is not a full time job for me. The main work for this project is meant to happen every few months, adapting new content as it release for the Unity game, not constantly making new content. Yeah, I have been doing (a lot) more (working on stuff when it is fun), but my time is limited and the amount of extra stuff I want to put in is also limited.
kenta16807 beat me to the reply, but is correct. I'm pretty sure Ferdafs is aware of this project by now (I would be shocked if they weren't), but we've had no direct communication about it, which I'm fine with.
The main reason this project isn't monetized is that it feels fucking scummy for me to do that. Yes, I'm putting in a lot of my own time and effort into it, but I'm using someone elses hard work to do a LOT of it. Also, also, once I start getting paid for it, the expectations change (both for me and the players), and I would prefer to keep this something I do for fun, instead of something I have to do for work.
Most of the reasons I very limited additional scenes are either: A) I don't have the art (or art skill) to make the scene, or B) it doesn't fit in the game. And there are a lot of good suggestion from people, that would be amazing content, that sadly, just can't fit in the game the way I want to/feel I need to do it.
If you want to support the project with money, the best way is to give to Ferdafs (via patreon), so they keep making the game (since this one won't continue if the Unity game stops). Think of it as paying the artist/writer of the project directly, and the programmer just does the implementation for free. I know it feels a bit roundabout, but I'm 100% on board with it.
As for non-monetary support, really just being on the forms and interacting means a huge deal to me. I'm continually surprised (in a good way) by the amount of people that have shown how passionate they are about this project. At the moment I'm not looking for more editors or beta testers, but I could still use a good artist to help with additional scenes, as art is often my biggest road block do doing things.
I've noticed that too (as it is something I'd like in more games). The vast majority of games that use pregnancy do it as an end goal, rather than a thing that happens during the game. Pretty much I've only really encountered it as a thing in RPG Maker games, and those games usually are very open ended with no plot around the pregnancy. Or in a small handful of games where they use it as a plot element and jump forward in time after a scene or two.
Again, it is something I want to do here, but there are a lot of challenges to make it work (even more so now that Ferdafs said it isn't in the cards). It may be something I can't add in until the game concludes (at which point I can go back and add it earlier, once I know how much content I have to change/modify to make it work), or I might find a way to work it in once characters reach a certain point in their story.
But again, I don't know when that is. Remember that I am working/writing for something in progress where I don't know where it is going. If I jump the shark too soon, there might be a waterfall in the spot I intend to land, then I would be well and truly fucked.
Also, also, and this part keeps getting overlooked no matter how many times I say it, so I'm not sure why I even bother bringing it up. But I am not an artist. At some point pregnancy is going to require HUGE art modifications (I shudder just thinking about animations), and sadly that is most likely just going to be too difficult for me to be able to do if I have to constantly redraw art.
