- Jan 25, 2023
- 106
- 210
Yes, besides the three routes thing, nothing else about the scope is properly explained. This is why I asked about flowchart, the simple fact of being able to make one down already means it is not absurd. From the current presentation alone, it is trivial to assume the scope is the giant math mess I've shown earlier.
Burnout is not related to the scope, actually. It is related to the burden on your body. If you think of the brain as a water tank, then burnout happens when you're draining more water from it than it currently replenishes ─ it'll be forewarned by stress once it is reaching low levels, and actual burnout happens when it is mostly dry. Then the body will impose a restriction to replenish the "tank", we call that restriction as burnout. The restriction may be limited to a single project, or may also cover everything you do. (And no, the body doesn't asks for your input).
Also worth noting that burnout can evolve into depression and anxiety. Letting go of the "sinks" during burnout stage is almost required to avoid this evolution, and depression by itself can remove the "labor of love" argument rather forcefully (and if the body has to sacrifice your happiness to keep you alive, it'll likely do so). This is one of the reasons why devs abandon games once they burn out.
Also, as I said earlier ─ if the brain was a water tank, then it is replenishing a bit when you sleep, eat, rest, make physical activities, etc. improving the lifestyle tends to push burnout away and is effective even if burnout actually happens. But ultimately, the issue is never how fast it is replenishing itself but how much you're taking from it. Only you can assess if you're taking more than you can replenish, and only you can adjust your pacing accordingly. You are the limit.
I think you replied yourself earlier, hence the two quotes here (second one now out of context). Try to pretend you forgot everything about the game. Read the OP, play the game for 15~30 minutes, then take a glance at Patreon posts (as a non-subscriber, meaning only the first 100 characters from each post). What scope do you think the project have?
"All of the main girls have 3 routes" "You can absolutely mix and match and have different girls on different routes, and some combinations will cause" "if you're totally uninterested in a character" "However, all combinations are technically possible""Solo routes are planned to be supported" ─ This alone from the first 3 minutes in game already throw the estimate to a minimum of 2,000 combinations.
Of course, you could just say "try to find special combinations" instead of "some combinations will cause", and other key wording to impress the actual scope (e.g. "However, all combinations are [...] some just harder [...]" -> "While all combinations are [...] some are harder [...]"; and "Solo routes are planned, [...]" -> "It is planned to allow you to pursue a single girl [...]") but this is difficult to nail down and require some time. Ah, also, "Once you have your route locked in [...]" -> "Once a girl had her route locked in [...]" ─ this helps to maintain the scope of keyword "route" to the girls, and not to the story itself.
It's ultimately a marketability concern ("presentation"). If you don't care then that's fine. But keep in mind people don't know anything until you tell them, and they'll happily infer anything you don't. Right now, you impress a gigantic scope, specially by using the keyword "route". I left in the second spoiler some nitpicking I personally would use, although you could do a pretty good job limiting by just adding an extra dialog box differentiating girl routes with game route(s), or just adding to dev notes how many endings are planned.
Anyway, I'm not here to lecture you, nor to tell you how to live your life or develop your game (and if I were doing any of those, then I would also be charging for it). Stormside has potential and I wish to see it completed, and it won't do any favor if the developer burns out or runs out of money (assuming you're working on this full time, it's not said but I have this impression from the numbers). Throwing my two cents about scope is what I can contribute to you right now.
Peace and out.
