- Jun 19, 2020
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Kind words, and I appreciate them! Also... a Goliath lover, eh? Don't worry. You'll get your wish soon enough. The game has improved vastly since the version you're playing, with a lot of quality of life updates and some really nice features being added in. Build 2 is going to really elevate what's already there.
Unfortunately, I may end up having to rewrite and reshoot that entire scene. I wasn't aware that the Abandoned Cathedral I was using was the one from Dark Souls, and I'm fairly certain I could face a lawsuit for using it if the game gets big enough that the wrong person notices it. Problem is, I have no idea what to replace it with yet.
But I will say, there's a lot more going on with Gillie than meets the eye. Stay tuned, and I appreciate your patience. Scenes are being finished rather slowly, but I'm hoping to have the next build out before the end of August. Should have six more days of content, Tuesday through Sunday. Really leaned into the feedback that was given on the form (where it made sense) but also started down a couple of story paths that I couldn't ignore.
Game Direction and Build 2 Release Window
Now that I've gotten a handle on exactly how much time I can spend on the game in my current work and life situation, I have a much better idea of how long each update will end up taking. Let's get the important bit out of the way and not clickbait you: I hope to release Build 2 with Chapter 5, which will be 6 in-game days of content, by the end of August. This includes a TON of quality of life adjustments and rewritten patches of both prose and dialogue.
Also coming in the next build is a Phone Messaging system if my feature coder can finish it in time for me to write a specific scene. It will be used a lot more once we get to the Security Arc.
Also, now that I have a feature coder, I want to experiment with game flow a little bit. Not during the Janitor Arc; that portion will remain linear. But when we hit the Security Arc, I want to introduce small, sandbox sections in the same manner that the Final Fantasy 7 Remake did. In their gameplay flow, they had long stretches of linear gameplay punctuated by small pockets of limited sandbox play for a more sidequesty, downtimey feel. With the way World's Crossing is organized, I feel like those downtime segments would be the perfect places to hide secret girls and cool little questlines that don't quite fit into the main story, such as the Harpy's story. She's in no way involved in the main story, but she has a really cool side story if you decide to pursue it.
This means I'd end up organizing the girls into Main Quest Girls and Sidequest Girls. Main Quest Girls would be unmissable content, but Sidequest Girls would be missable and skippable.
What are your thoughts on this approach?
Now that I've gotten a handle on exactly how much time I can spend on the game in my current work and life situation, I have a much better idea of how long each update will end up taking. Let's get the important bit out of the way and not clickbait you: I hope to release Build 2 with Chapter 5, which will be 6 in-game days of content, by the end of August. This includes a TON of quality of life adjustments and rewritten patches of both prose and dialogue.
Also coming in the next build is a Phone Messaging system if my feature coder can finish it in time for me to write a specific scene. It will be used a lot more once we get to the Security Arc.
Also, now that I have a feature coder, I want to experiment with game flow a little bit. Not during the Janitor Arc; that portion will remain linear. But when we hit the Security Arc, I want to introduce small, sandbox sections in the same manner that the Final Fantasy 7 Remake did. In their gameplay flow, they had long stretches of linear gameplay punctuated by small pockets of limited sandbox play for a more sidequesty, downtimey feel. With the way World's Crossing is organized, I feel like those downtime segments would be the perfect places to hide secret girls and cool little questlines that don't quite fit into the main story, such as the Harpy's story. She's in no way involved in the main story, but she has a really cool side story if you decide to pursue it.
This means I'd end up organizing the girls into Main Quest Girls and Sidequest Girls. Main Quest Girls would be unmissable content, but Sidequest Girls would be missable and skippable.
What are your thoughts on this approach?
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Alright, so the whole Undead Burg Abandoned Cathedral issue may not be as big of an issue as I thought. I was playing through Lewd Town Adventures and dude straight up put Nani from Lilo and Stitch in the game. Then you have Once A Porn A Time, which is all Disney characters so...
I think we're good.
I think we're good.
- Nov 24, 2019
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Just don't take anything from Nintendo and you should be fine, actually.
Providing an email and saying you accept DMCA Takedown Notices does the trick most of time =)
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Iiiiiiiiiiinteresting. I may have to do that. Also, big thanks to anyone who rated this thread. Having a high star rating and getting more eyes on the game is super helpful
- Dec 5, 2017
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Please, please dont introduce sandbox elements... dont change a game's gameplay after you hooked players... i would hate to be forced to abandon the game...
You hooked us with a gameplay, dont change it, that is disrespectful to us. Its like introducing NTR in the middle of a story.
I have made a decision to not play sandbox games anymore, they are stupid time sinks made by Devs without ideas to try to make their updates take longer to play.
I hope its not a final decision and you are open to feedback, make a poll (they always go against sandbox for a reason). Please, dont do it, i liked the Goblins too much.
Add side girls like Visual Novels do, with an option on the screen, and not with sandbox elements disrupting the game immersion. Several games have already failed because of this.
Dont disrespect the players that got hooked on your game for being a VN by adding sandbox
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See, what I'm trying to do is find a solution to the most requested thing in the Google Form I'm running- more Lewd Scenes.
Of the 667 people who have been generous enough to provide feedback, nearly half of the players want more lewd scenes in the game. I have 4 planned in the next build, but 4 lewd scenes in a 6 day content update may not be enough. Build 2 (Chapter 5) is still fully linear, as we're still in the Janitor Arc. But I wanted to experiment with short, fully skippable sandbox sections in the Security Arc as a way to include extra lewd events while, say, patrolling the school grounds. Or, you could choose to go "feed the Harpy" again, and after a certain number of times doing that throughout the game, you'll get to see what happens with her (no spoilers). I don't plan on any time or day based, convoluted quest systems. Just "here are some options, go there and stuff happens" kind of sandbox. Up to and including "Continue the Story" option for those who wanna skip the sandbox.
A great example of this that's already implemented in the game is this scene:
It's basically what I intend to do, just... in text rather than in visual form. So perhaps... "sandbox" is the wrong word for it? I dunno what to call it. Areas where you have a bit more freedom of choice. Sidequest Spots where you can take a break from the main story and go have a little fun, and resume the main story whenever you want.
As I said, it would be kind of like the Final Fantasy 7 Remake, which did theirs like this:
So... I dunno what you'd call it. But that was my thought. How do you feel about this, knowing it's fully skippable?
- Dec 5, 2017
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I voted for more Lewd Scenes too, but i didnt vote for sandbox, those are two completely different things. Dont take that way, it doesnt end well.
Changing the gameplay in the middle of your game is NOT good.
The scene that is already implemented with options on the screen is fine, that is not sandbox, it can be an option to have side girls like i told you in my previous message, just dont add maps you have to open, locations you have to visit, clicking on stuff (doors, an arrow to "move", stats you have to raise, specific times of a day you have to wait for, etc)
If it is like the one that is already implemented, then its fine, its still a VN format, just dont make us do things like the ones i listed
- Oct 14, 2019
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Nooooooo none of that. The furthest I was gonna go was to add a map, but it was gonna be a simple as clicking the location and starting a scene immediately. No doors, no keys, no quests, none of that. And then after you're done with that scene, the map will have a checkmark on that location so you know you've completed it. And whenever you're ready, you can click Continue Story to go back into the main story. People have been asking me for more choices, more things for the player to DO. So I thought I'd create like a skippable playground that I could put fun scenes in for you to unlock in the Gallery before moving on with the story. Completely optional.
- Dec 5, 2017
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Usually just the map would be enough for me to leave because i know what comes after, but i like the Goblins too much, so i will give it a try and trust you. If the Goblins werent on the game i would be leaving.
Hope its not a mistake because i liked this game too much
- Apr 2, 2019
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People not into sandboxes will most likely skip your game regardless of implementation details, as juan palote so aptly demonstrated by glossing over each mention of you intending to make it completely optional. Well, haters loss, I'd say. Because there's many a way to build a sandbox and even a choiced based VN fan like yours truly can name a few that cater to their liking. Like Power Vacuum for instance. But the one you may actually want to have a closer look at is Lykanz The Inn, as it's the closest to what you're describing (at least as far as I'm aware):
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Just make sure to avoid making it anything like Indecent Desires. One has to waste absurd amounts of time just moving about, hunting down the events on that one…
- Jun 19, 2020
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This style is less intrusive and cuts down on the monotony of clikc-click-click-click. Most of my favorite games like Mynew Family have segments like this that give you choice while valuing your time without repetitive scenes you end up skipping through. Honestly you had me 100% sold at: "you could choose to go "feed the Harpy" again"
- Oct 14, 2019
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Yeah, there does seem to be a very visceral reaction to anything remotely "sandbox" style. I wouldn't even do it like The Inn. That's too much in my opinion. I basically just want to make the buttons into Image Buttons instead of just text buttons. That's it. Nothing else changes. No stats. No hunting. No gameplay change.
But honestly, seeing the abject horror people seem to exhibit when the mere thought of anything "sandbox" goes near their game is enough to make me reconsider. I do prefer to write things to be linear. And if that's the way the core audience wants it, that makes things much easier on me. I want this to be a game people remember and love, and I don't want to betray the fans.
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See, that was one of my ideas, because the Harpy is actually a secret character that, I thought, could change later depending on how many times you've "fed" her. Feed her enough, and you get to see the rest of her story. Once the variable reaches a certain number, the next time you go to feed her, you'll find that something is different that I don't want to spoil.
I'd really love to do that type of thing for some of the characters, 'cause I even had a character that you could only meet if you died, and she would bring you back. But I can't really do that in any meaningful way with a strictly linear game. If I had a little Sidequest segment here and there, I could give you options like "Go visit Cecilia." Then she'd stab your ass and you'd meet the secret character lol. But the mere mention of anything "sandbox" is enough to make people recoil in horror, so... should I even attempt it? Last thing I wanna do is start losing traction because of a creative experiment.
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The sandbox system wasnt what was going to be optional, the scenes accessed by the sandbox system were. The sandbox system being optional would mean having a way to access those scenes without using the sandbox elements.
And yes, i have been playing games like this for years, so i have enough experience to know where the road ends when sandbox starts getting implemented
The Inn is an example of a game i left as soon as i reached the sandbox element
- Dec 5, 2017
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In my case, i would be ok if they are options like in the Janitor room ones we have had so far. With several options on the screen and a "Continue" button. Because that is not sandbox.
The things that you name that have raised some red flags were the phone and the map and in any other game having those two would just make me move on onto greener pastures.
As i said, the Goblins would probably grant me the will to put up with very low usage of those things.
But like i told the other poster in my previous post, if it ends up being something even remotely close to The Inn, yeah, i would be out very, very fast.
You have a good game so far, you have received plenty of good messages, beware of changing your game too much
- Oct 14, 2019
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I am having a phone made, but that's purely for the text messaging system. Primarily because River is too shy to speak, so I figure she might talk to you via text rather than responding verbally. It'll be kind of like the Phone Flings from Crush Crush. It also opens up things like, say, one of the girls texting you in an emergency because something happened and she's homeless, so of course you could let her stay for a little while whilst she's getting things sorted out. Also, I thought it could be an extra way to insert a little bit more lewd into the game if the girls can send you pics here and there, and you could pull up the phone to look at them anytime you want.
Also, I really appreciate your feedback, Juan. If someone like you is willing to speak up, then there may be hundreds like you that wouldn't, and would simply leave. I think I'm just gonna avoid all things "sandbox" and just add features that will enhance the current gameplay.
- Apr 2, 2019
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Ah, very true. Apologies. Though the rest of my point still stands.
This is just anecdotal evidence and sadly unsuitable to base a decision on. It may be true that developers harm their popularity by switching modes, but this surely also depends on the point in time of game development. Sorting the list of games by weighted rating shows four of the top ten titles to be tagged either
sandox and/or point&click, so it's not like either tag is a surefire way to abandonment. Maybe quite the opposite, seeing as two of said titles actually lead the list… (On a sidenote: very glad that Light of My Life made the top ten – well deserved.)I really do prefer choice-based VNs over sandboxes, but I also enjoy games with nonlinear gameplay elements. Though if those elements are obnoxious and a real hindrance to experiencing the game, then I'd quickly drop said game. In case of The Inn, I felt this didn't apply. So in the end we may be liking the same, just with a different view on when and how certain gameplay elements get in the way of fun.
I'm a little starved for time at the moment so won't go through the top one hundred (by weighted rating) again, but a year ago only a fifth of the games in it contained nonlinear gameplay elements. So staying clear of it should be the better or rather safer choice.
Best of luck and keep it up!