VN Ren'Py Where It All Began [Ch. 3 Full] [Oceanlab]

[5p1der]

half a year no update. Dead game?

Look ocean is working hard on this game and to top that he's also working on another game which is fantastic so this type of behavior is not acceptable just be a good person like the rest of us and wait for the update

 

[KeiNineX]

I believe that Ocean is under heavy stress right now and situation like this your negative feedbacks won't help him or you. Don't bother him and us such pointless messages. Everyone in this thread knows that he is working hard for his game and trying to give us best experience possible. Just be patient.

But he essentially got himself into this situation. He chose to work on 2 games simultaniously, he is reworking one of those games, he is massively improving render quality, now he is adding these huge cinematics that are not really that necessary while doing all this work by himself (I think). Now I´m not trying to hate on him by any means, I really enjoy WIAB and I love Summer´s Gone but maybe he has bitten off more than he can chew with all this work.

 

[yihman1]

But he essentially got himself into this situation. He chose to work on 2 games simultaniously, he is reworking one of those games, he is massively improving render quality, now he is adding these huge cinematics that are not really that necessary while doing all this work by himself (I think). Now I´m not trying to hate on him by any means, I really enjoy WIAB and I love Summer´s Gone but maybe he has bitten off more than he can chew with all this work.

Different people work in different ways. It's his time to spend how he chooses. Personally I don't like working on more than a single game at any one time for the reasons you have stated. I have heard similar complaints before when a game is not being rapidly developed. It's something several people like to complain about, but it doesn't make any sense to me for the following reason:

Nobody would complain if a developer has a wife and kids and likes to spend time with them away from developing a game.

Nobody would complain if a developer is getting a higher education attending college taking time away from game development.

Nobody would complain if a developer is working a normal job on the side to pay the bills.

Yet, a lot of folks make a fuss if a game developer works on more than 1 game at a time?

 

[hellomate1]

Different people work in different ways. It's his time to spend how he chooses. Personally I don't like working on more than a single game at any one time for the reasons you have stated. I have heard similar complaints before when a game is not being rapidly developed. It's something several people like to complain about, but it doesn't make any sense to me for the following reason:

Nobody would complain if a developer has a wife and kids and likes to spend time with them away from developing a game.

Nobody would complain if a developer is getting a higher education attending college taking time away from game development.

Nobody would complain if a developer is working a normal job on the side to pay the bills.

Yet, a lot of folks make a fuss if a game developer works on more than 1 game at a time?

Don't forget that game development, even on an indie level, is a process that can take YEARS. And CG filmmaking, which shares a fair bit of similarity with the creation process of visual novels, can also take a very long time. And those have teams of hundreds of people working on them.

An indie project with one person working on it should be expected to take a long time to complete. And many don't seem to appreciate all of the behind the scenes happenings as you mention.

The lack of patience is killer, and it's definitely an added stress on the developer. All the complaining will do is cause the update to take longer.


Source: I work in the entertainment industry, from video games to film/television.

 

[Euron13]

Personally, I’ve come to expect that at some point there probably will be some big drastic change coming to the development of WIAB and Summer’s Gone. What that will look like or whether it’ll be positive or negative...I can’t say. But right now I don’t think anyone, either the Dev or the people who follow the two games are particularly happy.

 

[Englen]

Personally, I’ve come to expect that at some point there probably will be some big drastic change coming to the development of WIAB and Summer’s Gone. What that will look like or whether it’ll be positive or negative...I can’t say. But right now I don’t think anyone, either the Dev or the people who follow the two games are particularly happy.

its already been announced that after WIAB 0.6 and Summers Gone 0.3 he will start to release half chapters beginning with the WIAB 0.1-0.4 rework which will now be released in 2 parts instead of 1.

 

[Pitrik]

I don’t think anyone, either the Dev or the people who follow the two games are particularly happy.

Speak for you

 

[Euron13]

its already been announced that after WIAB 0.6 and Summers Gone 0.3 he will start to release half chapters beginning with the WIAB 0.1-0.4 rework which will now be released in 2 parts instead of 1.

I mean, maybe that’ll be the thing that turns it around, but I suspect that there’s going to be a bigger shake up to the whole approach.

Speak for you

I’m pretty sure you’d be happier with more frequent updates

 

[Englen]

I mean, maybe that’ll be the thing that turns it around, but I suspect that there’s going to be a bigger shake up to the whole approach.

He 100% wont compromise his quality if thats what you are referering to.

 

[Mr. Vargas]

But he essentially got himself into this situation. He chose to work on 2 games simultaniously, he is reworking one of those games, he is massively improving render quality, now he is adding these huge cinematics that are not really that necessary while doing all this work by himself (I think). Now I´m not trying to hate on him by any means, I really enjoy WIAB and I love Summer´s Gone but maybe he has bitten off more than he can chew with all this work.

I get your point. But he is improving render quality mostly for us. Because he thinks we deserve better. About those animations; clearly he thinks that it's necessary for his artistic vision. This is his game, he is the director, screen writer etc. He thinks those animations will add some flavour to his game.

Don't get me wrong, I agree with you about he is working on two games simultaneously. He might be overwhelmed at some point. But our negative feedbacks won't help this situation at all. It will make this situation worse for him and also for us.

As an artist myself, I believe that all the artists need some space while working. Most of us here not even supporting him on Patreon. At least we have to let him do his work peacefully.

 

[Euron13]

He 100% wont compromise his quality if thats what you are referering to.

I wasn’t suggesting as much, though that’s a rather nebulous statement when quality is subjective.

What I was referring to was the possibility that he’ll restructure the multi-chapter multi-season format of the games into something more manageable for his style and method.

 

[Deleted member 327695]

I would prefer to work on one game at the time. I like to finish a task before I start another, otherwise, things tend to get messy.

But I can't put one of the games on hold. That's like admitting defeat, or so it feels to me.

Even tho developing two games does bring some negativity with it, it also gives me something I would not want to miss ever again.. Variety.
The constant change of faces is wonderful. I never get bored and it always excites me to work on the other game again. It's like an extra boost of motivation.

People get angry and I hear constant nagging. I can deal with that.

But he essentially got himself into this situation. He chose to work on 2 games simultaniously, he is reworking one of those games, he is massively improving render quality, now he is adding these huge cinematics that are not really that necessary while doing all this work by himself (I think).

True. The cinematics might not be worth the time investment from a player's perspective.
But they are for me.


I always try to improve, I always try to bring things to a new level. It's what keeps me going. I get happy when I discover something new and I can't wait to implement it into the game.

Of course, I could have stayed with Iray and not switched to Octane, I could've stopped watching hours and hours of Lightroom, Photoshop, Premiere, After Effects, Inkscape, Materialize, Blender tutorials and instead settled with what little I knew.
I could've prevented many negative feelings from all the setbacks I experienced over the last year. All the frustration that comes with trying to improve, if I had just stayed where I was 8 months ago.

But I don't settle for "Average".
I know that many people don't care that much about the visuals as long as they're not totally crap.

I did announce to do half-chapter releases to counter the "Quality-Time ratio" and this should fix a lot of problems.

But in the end, I don't owe anything to anyone. People can nag and insult me as much as they want, it doesn't affect me anymore and it won't speed up the development either.
There are a lot of games on this site to take a person's mind off a devs development schedule.

My games are long and my goal is to be a long time developer. I don't plan on burning out in the next 1-2 years because of a bad Work-Life balance. So many games are already abandoned because of this and many will follow.
And containing a healthy balance is one of my top priorities and this does take some time away from actively developing but it makes sure my games won't end up abandoned.

 

[5p1der]

But in the end, I don't owe anything to anyone. People can nag and insult me as much as they want, it doesn't affect me anymore and it won't speed up the development either.
There are a lot of games on this site to take a person's mind off a devs development schedule.

That's what people need to understand nagging and complaining won't do any good but cheering will do some good on the mind of the person who's developing the game and let's be honest it's worth the wait for me i don't know about everyone but I appreciate what you do and you mindset on the quality of the work.

 

[yihman1]

I would prefer to work on one game at the time. I like to finish a task before I start another, otherwise, things tend to get messy.

But I can't put one of the games on hold. That's like admitting defeat, or so it feels to me.

Even tho developing two games does bring some negativity with it, it also gives me something I would not want to miss ever again.. Variety.
The constant change of faces is wonderful. I never get bored and it always excites me to work on the other game again. It's like an extra boost of motivation.

People get angry and I hear constant nagging. I can deal with that.




True. The cinematics might not be worth the time investment from a player's perspective.
But they are for me.


I always try to improve, I always try to bring things to a new level. It's what keeps me going. I get happy when I discover something new and I can't wait to implement it into the game.

Of course, I could have stayed with Iray and not switched to Octane, I could've stopped watching hours and hours of Lightroom, Photoshop, Premiere, After Effects, Inkscape, Materialize, Blender tutorials and instead settled with what little I knew.
I could've prevented many negative feelings from all the setbacks I experienced over the last year. All the frustration that comes with trying to improve, if I had just stayed where I was 8 months ago.

But I don't settle for "Average".
I know that many people don't care that much about the visuals as long as they're not totally crap.

I did announce to do half-chapter releases to counter the "Quality-Time ratio" and this should fix a lot of problems.

But in the end, I don't owe anything to anyone. People can nag and insult me as much as they want, it doesn't affect me anymore and it won't speed up the development either.
There are a lot of games on this site to take a person's mind off a devs development schedule.

My games are long and my goal is to be a long time developer. I don't plan on burning out in the next 1-2 years because of a bad Work-Life balance. So many games are already abandoned because of this and many will follow.
And containing a healthy balance is one of my top priorities and this does take some time away from actively developing but it makes sure my games won't end up abandoned.

We game developers can be arogant like fighter pilots in a sense where many think they are the ace of aces, but it should never be a competition vs other develpers but always improving ourselves, and learning from the success and failure of others when possible.

Putting a game on hold is by no means a defeat, it's unclear where you got such an idea. Also pragmatically, it's a matter of "defacto vs dejure" on hold status. Defacto being in fact and dejure being on paper. "on hold" tag or no "on hold" tag long time frames between releases always gives the same effect of an "on hold" status tag or no tag. Denile is not just a river in Africa. You are not going to lose or gain respect for putting a game on hold.

Working on another game is in a way is a little bit like a non monogymous relationship. Everyone loves variety. Who wouldn't want a sexy blonde, brunette, and redhead to play with at his leasure? At the same time such actions always takes some efforts away from other relationships in the same sense a slave can not serve two masters. One could argue that a parent doesn't love her second child any less than the first or even her third, but at the same time a kid with a dozen siblings can't help but sometimes feel "replaceable".

I enjoy playing Where it all began, and it is indeed an interesting and original story with great visuals. You are great at making games, just remember to manage scope creep as it has to be so much more overwhelming when working on multiple games with multiple storylines, (but the same effect could also be true of a highly advanced project such as GGGB.)

Keep at it, looking forward to the update when it gets here. I miss that raccoon

 

[davethewizard]

Working on another game is in a way is a little bit like a non monogymous relationship. Everyone loves variety. Who wouldn't want a sexy blonde, brunette, and redhead to play with at his leasure? At the same time such actions always takes some efforts away from other relationships in the same sense a slave can not serve two masters.

dammit, now you're going to kick off 30 pages of unintelligible screeching about ntr

 

[mommysboiii]

I never understand the ntr hate I mean sure if you are not into that ok but if its optional its like playing a singleplayer rpg and be a mage main and always complain that the warrio exist,even if you are not playing him,but you want to take him away from the players that enjoy him.

 

[Abhai]

dammit, now you're going to kick off 30 pages of unintelligible screeching about ntr

I never understand the ntr hate I mean sure if you are not into that ok but if its optional its like playing a singleplayer rpg and be a mage main and always complain that the warrio exist,even if you are not playing him,but you want to take him away from the players that enjoy him.

and there is the first ntr-fish already.
congarts

 

[Game Bond]

I would prefer to work on one game at the time. I like to finish a task before I start another, otherwise, things tend to get messy.

But I can't put one of the games on hold. That's like admitting defeat, or so it feels to me.

Even tho developing two games does bring some negativity with it, it also gives me something I would not want to miss ever again.. Variety.
The constant change of faces is wonderful. I never get bored and it always excites me to work on the other game again. It's like an extra boost of motivation.

People get angry and I hear constant nagging. I can deal with that.




True. The cinematics might not be worth the time investment from a player's perspective.
But they are for me.


I always try to improve, I always try to bring things to a new level. It's what keeps me going. I get happy when I discover something new and I can't wait to implement it into the game.

Of course, I could have stayed with Iray and not switched to Octane, I could've stopped watching hours and hours of Lightroom, Photoshop, Premiere, After Effects, Inkscape, Materialize, Blender tutorials and instead settled with what little I knew.
I could've prevented many negative feelings from all the setbacks I experienced over the last year. All the frustration that comes with trying to improve, if I had just stayed where I was 8 months ago.

But I don't settle for "Average".
I know that many people don't care that much about the visuals as long as they're not totally crap.

I did announce to do half-chapter releases to counter the "Quality-Time ratio" and this should fix a lot of problems.

But in the end, I don't owe anything to anyone. People can nag and insult me as much as they want, it doesn't affect me anymore and it won't speed up the development either.
There are a lot of games on this site to take a person's mind off a devs development schedule.

My games are long and my goal is to be a long time developer. I don't plan on burning out in the next 1-2 years because of a bad Work-Life balance. So many games are already abandoned because of this and many will follow.
And containing a healthy balance is one of my top priorities and this does take some time away from actively developing but it makes sure my games won't end up abandoned.

That's dedication right there!

 

[Aerys_the_mad]

I would prefer to work on one game at the time. I like to finish a task before I start another, otherwise, things tend to get messy.

But I can't put one of the games on hold. That's like admitting defeat, or so it feels to me.

Even tho developing two games does bring some negativity with it, it also gives me something I would not want to miss ever again.. Variety.
The constant change of faces is wonderful. I never get bored and it always excites me to work on the other game again. It's like an extra boost of motivation.

People get angry and I hear constant nagging. I can deal with that.




True. The cinematics might not be worth the time investment from a player's perspective.
But they are for me.


I always try to improve, I always try to bring things to a new level. It's what keeps me going. I get happy when I discover something new and I can't wait to implement it into the game.

Of course, I could have stayed with Iray and not switched to Octane, I could've stopped watching hours and hours of Lightroom, Photoshop, Premiere, After Effects, Inkscape, Materialize, Blender tutorials and instead settled with what little I knew.
I could've prevented many negative feelings from all the setbacks I experienced over the last year. All the frustration that comes with trying to improve, if I had just stayed where I was 8 months ago.

But I don't settle for "Average".
I know that many people don't care that much about the visuals as long as they're not totally crap.

I did announce to do half-chapter releases to counter the "Quality-Time ratio" and this should fix a lot of problems.

But in the end, I don't owe anything to anyone. People can nag and insult me as much as they want, it doesn't affect me anymore and it won't speed up the development either.
There are a lot of games on this site to take a person's mind off a devs development schedule.

My games are long and my goal is to be a long time developer. I don't plan on burning out in the next 1-2 years because of a bad Work-Life balance. So many games are already abandoned because of this and many will follow.
And containing a healthy balance is one of my top priorities and this does take some time away from actively developing but it makes sure my games won't end up abandoned.

Keep up the good work man. The quality boost is easy to see in this game as it progresses. Summer's gone is great, too.

 

[Salami Pasta]

Nice game, enjoyed playing so far.
Oceanlab some feedback in the attachment (just stuff I noticed while playing).