Nothing stopping an aspiring dev from just copying some of the story/character beats, it's not like the previous dev can stop you lmao.
I think someone mentinoed it before, but this game itself and its story are pretty much done for as far as copying or succeeding it go.
And considering both this game and Lessons in Love, you'd need a pretty specific set of conditions to fulfill all the criteria of making these stories, not letting it consume you, and releasing it at a relatively fast (or at least not a glacial
(maybe this is just me being spoiled by LiL even with the current breaks)) pace while keeping a surprisingly rare medium standard of quality.
I mean, the clones I like have pretty inconsistent and irregular release schedules, and the meh ones pretty much focus more on the sex aspect, with the story existing, but working more as a hook for the sex
(not that the sex aspect in itself is bad).