BBBen
patreon
Update - 23 May 2016
🕑 Added 2016-05-23 01:08:39 +0000 UTC tl;dr - The Iku sex scene is nearly finished so next alpha of PAL is coming soon; I reached the goal for Let Me Out so I've started work on that; I now need a new goal!It's been a big and busy week, so I'm keeping the below points brief. Also, I've changed the update numbering to dates, because that seems a little more logical to me.
This week's image
This will be part of the next alpha version, for good reason. I made this image this week to feature at the start of the Iku sex scene! I like the emotion of this picture: she's nervous, but ready to be ravished.
Good news about Phinn
To update you, Phinn (designer of some of the graphics for PAL and many of the graphics in Super PAC) is still not going to be able to continue to contribute graphics to PAL, but his health is getting better and it looks like he's no longer in life-threatening territory. He's now going through recovery, which is tough on him but it is good to know that at least he will recover.
Reached the goal for Let Me Out!
I think my next public update this month (that is, the monthly update that I release to everyone, including non-patrons) will be an announcement for Let Me Out starting production. I hadn't really touched that project much before I reached the fundraising goal, but now that it's been passed I decided to start work on it and I think it's been going pretty well so far. I'll show some pics from it soon as well.
Next alpha release
I want to release the next alpha version of PAL before starting any work on Let Me Out. At some point LMO will probably distract me for a couple of weeks but I don't want to delay PAL much at all - I'm hoping just to add in some more productive time in my schedule. If not then obviously PAL is the main project, LMO is the side project, and I think Stupid Cupid needs to take a back seat for a while.
Anyway, I think I'll be putting out a new alpha quite soon - hopefully before the next weekly update. I am currently in the process of testing the current version.
Weekly progress
If you're wondering what I was doing this week I worked on programming the Iku sex scene some more, obviously, since that's the main new feature of the next alpha. It's largely finished now, although there are still a few placeholder scenes left as with all the sex scenes.
As usual I did some other general graphics work as well, and as I noted above I worked on developing Let Me Out. I've been working some more on getting the images down, as well as planning out the plot, features and endings. I've had help brainstorming ideas from fellow AIF author Archer Fifteen, who was very interested in the 'conversation simulator' game genre idea when I released Let Me Out and wants to make his own variation on that style of game. That makes him a good candidate to offer suggestions and feedback on my plans for LMO.
I need a new goal
I suppose now that I've reached the Let Me Out goal I need to set up another one. I don't want it to be anything unrealistic, but I'd also like it to be something that people might be interested in. Any suggestions?
Comments? Leave them below, I'll appreciate it!
Comments
BBBen
I really appreciate it. :) I will say that my philosophy is to always improve my games each time I make one, and I also always want to challenge myself (otherwise it becomes boring). I have some ideas for future games that I think would be potentially great, but I don't quite have a final plan for them yet.
Rex
Like I said somethings are expected only in a game like Pal (people expect at least the same quality in newer big games), if you create a game like you have said all changes, but I cannot comment something I don't know. In any case my words are only personal thoughts, you can decide what you agree and what not. Personally I think I will continue to support you until you will be on Patreon (finances permitting).
BBBen
If I was hiring a programmer it wouldn't be for an ADRIFT game; I'd probably want someone who could do things I don't have the skill to do myself (which might make it more expensive, of course). I also feel increasingly comfortable with the graphics, so I'm not troubled by that part. Still, the main issue there is I just don't know quite what a good way to organise that would be; one day I imagine I will at least try to plan it out, however. As for the pledges, I have to say I didn't mean to promise that I would do threesome scenes for all major future games. I can't really be sure whether it would suit the design for games that haven't been designed yet, nor are future games necessarily going to be the same level of challenge as the previous ones, even if they are Pervert Action games. I have an idea for a game, for example, that is probably larger than PAL without any threesome scenes, while PAL is currently considerably larger than PAF. I'm not trying to cheap out on it or anything, I just mean to say that the games I have in mind might be substantial challenges because of different design structures and won't necessarily suit the same objectives.
Rex
Lastly I think that waiting the new game to have new inspirations is a good idea but remember that, at this pledges level, some rewards are expected to be present in all the big games like threesome or special victory suite (that I think it's also great for 50$ patrons), in the case you would have to raise the bar like the madness to have more threesome combinations or to put one or two foursome besides the threesome. Naturally all this discussion are valid only for a PA style, if the game is so particular that threesome and victory suite are incredible demanding new goals would have much more sense.
Rex
For hiring a new programmer you would have to change completely the prospective, thinking to share an adrift game would be complicated, it had to something like he program completely the short games, in which you create only the writing and the graphic, so you could release more short games or if you want to create something in rpgmaker or renpy he would do all the programming. under your directive. The same would have to be in the graphic part, for example Phinn is a great artist, more expert of you, but a bit sacrificed trying to have your style (above all with the iray I prefer your images and it's better to have more homogeneity possible). Different thing would be give all the images part of the game to him (like crossworld series with moe realistic style or a new game). Naturally as you said, having a paid helper would need an increase in pledges, even as side job and would mean find something with you know you can work well and will create your games and not his games.
BBBen
True, good points. I do want to avoid having goals that are much higher than my current pledge total, though. I feel it looks greedy or unrealistic, and it's not very encouraging for patrons when the goal won't be reached very soon. I will consider all these ideas, though. I think it will be a little easier, too, when I have a new game on the slate and I can suggest new features as goals. For the moment I feel PAL is pretty much locked in (apart from tweaking here and there and some victory suite content) and I just need to get it completed.
Rex
It depends also how much is the goal, 2000 is not 1500 or 1250, you can also promise more animations (but i doubt are needed) or something as more sex scenes for each characters (but those depends by the game' story, victory suite scenes are already a solution), if you would be sure of patrons tastes you could promise more if a particular kink, but your patrons I think are much variegate.
BBBen
They're all interesting ideas; super graphics rigs are very expensive but I think my current setup is fine for now. As for the quitting the day job thing I've thought about that, of course. I feel like it's a little hard to explain where I am with that - I'm in a position where some of my work is really easy and not very time consuming so it would be a bad idea to quit completely unless I had a really high income off game design; I would be able to potentially wind back my work to a lower level, but that doesn't make for a very interesting Patreon goal (not least because it's so vague). I'd love to hire a programmer but it's hard to know how to manage that in my current work model; if I had someone in mind as a potential programmer it might be a different matter but I'm not sure how I would work with someone new right now, so I'm reluctant to go out on a limb with that. Plus it would cost a lot so the goal would have to be quite high. Finally the Crossworlds series - well, I'd like to do that at some point so that's a good idea, but I also don't want to add anything to the schedule until at least Let Me Out is finished. Anyway, thanks for the food for thought, I'll chew all those over for a while.
Rex
I hadn't understood Phinn was so bad, I'm happy he is healing. For goal it's difficult, depend on you, possibilities : buying a second pc or upgrading the graphic card for swifter rendering (more than one top cards can cost more than one pc), I will quit my work (but I have always thought that this a life's choice), hiring someone part time, upgrading old crossworld series.
