I don't know how good is WIAB (maybe I'll get a bad rap for saying what I'm going to say), because I haven't played it, but in my opinion Ocean should focus on SG and cancel WIAB, it would release chapters faster, it would have more support, and it would do better economically, WIAB in the end is a drag.
Imagine having two children... One, always exceeding expectations, high grades, and the promise to visit an Elite-University one day.
The second child is much slower, there are many children that outclass it and it needs some sort of special care.
It's being treated like an outcast by some people, etc.
And now people come to you and say "Get rid of Child 2 to fully focus on Child 1. It has more promise anyways."
These games aren't just ways to make a living and some pretty art here and there... I care about them and it doesn't matter if WiAB's a financially dead end.
Its development speed and quality of assets might be affected by it. But I'll never abandon said "Child."
And if people don't want to support or play the games because of it that's totally fine.
Spoiler, basketball game with no stakes is neither of those things.
What makes you think the Basketball game in Chapter 3x5 was filler?
Let's recall some events that occurred there and might play a role again:
- The coaches, the first team, and others(?) saw MC play.
- The choice to meet up with Nia.
- The confrontation with Zara and Nadia.
- Some foreshadowing for at least three characters.
- Bilbo's side story introduction.
And there's much much more if we take the Warm-up before the game into account. (First real interaction with Sasha, Layla mentioning the yoga class, etc.)
And many people might see the TBT session as a filler.
All I'm saying is... Keep an eye open for the underlying issues and how they might affect a certain character. (Try to view a scene from the eyes of another character. Which can be tricky because the player is missing crucial info.)
My game is focused on long-term rewards. Not instant. (The difference between what you want now and what you really want.)
And a story about healing can't solely rely on "Relationships and girls".
It's about slowly building a secure fundament that even if MC and Girl X would break up, he wouldn't just fall back into the hole.
He's building a new life.
Please just keep in mind... There are tons of things already being foreshadowed that might sound like 'unnecessary' info but as soon as everything falls into place... You'll change your mind about some scenes being filler.
You said it yourself. A game this large and with such update schedule should not be in its introductory stage
Who says that?
You have games where the introduction is 2min long and 10 minutes later you're balls deep in the "Landlady".
And there are games like mine, where the introduction takes a while because you've got to introduce stuff and add depth.
SG has left the introduction with Chapter 3.
Every dev should have the freedom to decide that for himself.
If the Intro is 15min, fine cool.
If it's 5 Chapters... Also cool, as long as the dev is aware of its cons.
And I'm aware that many people will stop following the game due to its length/size and current update cycle.
That's okay, I wish those guys/girls the best and maybe they'll find back when the game's in a much more advanced state.
Tldr; size of update is not about renders, animations or amount of text - it is about delivering emotional value and feeling of story progression and character development. Without them it is the best written and most beautifully animated filler episode that no one will even watch, cause who is watching fillers?
I totally agree with this, though.
Quality > Quantity
But building character relationships, etc. is a way of driving the plot forward.
Just give it some time and you'll see how all those strings start connecting.
