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Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Progress report and some random thoughts


Since my last post, not much has changed content-wise. I'm done with the whole engine wrap-up, so all the insignificant technical stuff and the last handful of features (checkpoints, image-form dialogs) are finished. I also did a lot of under the hood work, since some bugs I thought I've fixed long ago popped back up after I finally had the chance to test the game on systems different than the one I work on. These were bugs associated with the sound extension I was using, and after some days of trying to fix them while desperately struggling to cling to OGG files, I finally had to bend over and revert to WAVs and the awful GM sound system. What's left for me to do before I can release the final demo is basically add a few more random dialogs (should be finished today), find a guy to translate the readme file to japanese (if you know someone who's still good but cheaper than 0.12$/word, I'd really appreciate it if you'd post his contact information), and draw all the graphical content for stage two.

Speaking of poor time management--I wanted to have the whole game ready for a mid-july release, and I doubt I'll even have the last demo up by then. I kept up to schedule only until the avalanche of bug reports started when I made the first demo public. Fixing parts of the code, then rewriting from scratch, only to have to fix it again--that was a huge bite taken out of the time I had reserved for the game's development . I'm still financially set only for the next two months or so, with no sign of any contracts heading my way anytime soon, so I'll really have to release the game in whatever form I'll have it in by the end of august. This basically means that I have to cut down the workload, and because I'm doing everything myself, I can only do that by scratching things off the todo list without implementing them. That, or implement everything without polish, which is basically a trend in hentai games, but it's against my ideology as a designer, so I'll keep the content to a minimum and stick to my usual routine of overthinking and polishing the shit out of every detail--hard numbers, once the game is up for sell, will show whether this concept also works with hentai games (which is very new to me, so let's call this game an experiment). The gameplay sticks out on its own already, so I don't think I have to make the box as overcomplicated as I planned to. That being said, stuff like story elements, cutscenes, climax sprites being able to stand on their own (the ones in the demo were initially only placeholders, but it seems they're staying) won't make it into the final cut.

10 comments:

  1. Consistent, English, high quality work is, in my opinion, invariably superior to any other set of design principles within the context of h-games. You have released two animations of tiny sprite characters having sex, and that was enough for me to bookmark your site and check it every day.

    Clumsy, lazy h-games are numerous and readily available. Stuff like this, like Eroico and Kurovadis, are exceedingly rare and can develop a cult following just by virtue of being some of the only stuff out there.

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    1. Good pep talk--thanks.

      Nevertheless, even though the project has its own kinda unique feel to it, I still fear it will go unnoticed for the sheer fact that it's not a metroidvania. In other words--using anything but a rehashed to death but proven concept can only go either awesomely right or terribly wrong, at least in terms of sales.

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  2. just tried the game and i love and hate it, it is insanely hard (and not in the good way) the spider women keep on getting in my way on the 2nd lvl,

    there needs to be a way to struggle to get out of the spiders grip faster or something but aside from that,

    the music is great (altho i don't like the sounds the spiders make) and the gameplay (really hard but) is very good

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    1. Thanks for trying it out!

      I should've mentioned that every stage will have its own enemy that moves differently (the spider lady is meant only for the first stage). The next demo has a checkpoint system in place, so the game will get nintendo-hard only if you're going for the last two NO MISS gallery entries.

      Also, which sounds are you talking about? Like during the rape?

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    2. the sounds they make normally (idle/walking) they sound a bit 'man-ish" if you know what i meant by it

      but that does explane the lava enemy thing altho i think with the lava you won't have time to enjoy it (if you know what i mean wink wink ;) ) maybe instead a spear trap on some (but not all) of the floors? (like stand there to much and they will come up) just a idea anyways

      if the problem (lava+spiders) is going to be fixed like you said then i will come back to this one (i just got here from "datanony" and saw your game and thought it was already done XD) but thank you for reading and responding to my message (not alot of people do that sadly)

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    3. I was kinda hoping you'd mean those. I thought of that too at first, but my voice actress convinced me they sound more oldish rather than manish. Either way--I don't like them either, and since somebody other than me mentioned it, I'll go ahead and remove them.

      You could also just take your time with the enemies in the gallery. And I'm really at a phase where I only have to draw stage graphics to have the game finished, so I won't be implementing any new gameplay features.

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    4. lol i see well glad we agree XD and they were just more of just ideas

      oh and i just hope i don't piss off your VA (or get her pissed off at you as well lol^^|| )

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  3. Might I recommend putting down a tab somewhere that gives a quick summary of what the game is along with some screenshots so that people can know if they're interested or not in it without having to dig through all the blog posts or downloading the game?

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    1. Seems a little arbitrary now that the game will be hitting dlsite later this month, and because the vast majority of my audience comes from the lok and ulmf forums where you basically see screens and a description before you end up on this blog. It's a good suggestion, though, so I'll hold that thought for any future projects.

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    2. I mentioned it because I got here through links on other blogs, which give no information.

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