Updates and Priorities (Patreon)

$10 people, now is your chance to have an impact on my workflow! Some of you explicitly say you don't want that, but even if so, keep reading for some updates on various things.

Regarding Steam

I had hoped that I could tell you guys that I had a release date, but sadly, I still don't. The bug on Steam's end did get fixed, but that just means I'm awaiting approval again. In theory I should have an answer by now, but last time it took longer than they said before the rejection. -_-

Releases are awkward, because they involve periods of inactivity that can be abruptly interrupted by an urgent task. It makes it very difficult to do core creative work, though of course I still do what I can. But the nature of the schedule leads me to spend time on miscellaneous tasks, like setting up the fanart, or on projects like the following:

1) Programming Fiddling

I am not really a programmer, but I do occasionally try to stretch myself and learn more. I doubt anything functional will come of my fiddling this time, but I have been trying new things. Hopefully they will allow me to keep improving the quality level of my games. I do have a concept for a simple casual game that I think is kind of interesting. Maybe something will come of it eventually.

2) Once Ever After

This was previewed last year (link if you missed it). For all 2017 this was in the awkward position of the details not being as fully baked as I'd like, but I prioritized it below other things. Recently I have put some decent time into this and that is no longer the case.

A whole lot of gameplay is done now, and I no longer have concerns about the minor details of scenes I'll be commissioning. Because Crescentia has higher priorities, it will probably take a long time to finish all the other art, so this project will not be released any time soon. However, I'm kind of on a roll and part of me wants to keep working. More on that later.

3) Crimson Gray 1.5, Maybe

I don't know when or if I'll ever do a proper sequel to Crimson Gray, but I have still been thinking about the characters. I have an idea for a mini-VN... a visual novella, if you will. It would follow up on the story and show an important time in the lives of the characters without being a true sequel. I think the ideas I have are worth writing, but I feel this is an awkward product overall.

The concept: two years after the canon end, John and Lizzie are in college. Lizzie is still paranoid about KoiTec, so they haven't gotten officially married. Also, something is about to happen that will shift the alternate history further from ours and have an impact on their lives. The story wouldn't have any dramatic confrontations, it'd be a personal story about the two of them growing closer together.

Also, it'd be from Lizzie's POV! I have always wanted to do this, but it wouldn't have been appropriate in the first game. Hopefully I can make this as fun for readers as I think it could be.

As a story, I have a clear idea what this is. As something I'd release, not sure. I don't think it will stand well alone. I don't think it should be appended to CG, because it's a new story with a new central purpose. I'm thinking of making it some kind of DLC for CG? Not sure, input welcome.

Anyway, Priorities 

To be clear, I'm not going to launch into anything new before I create more TLS. I do want to put Ouroboros up on Steam sometime, but right now I am sick of Steam. Won't even think about it until I've taken a break to be more creation-focused.

However, I'm kind of torn between putting more work into Once Ever After or setting it aside to focus on TLS. I have a pretty strong desire to do both: I'm missing TLS a lot, but I'm also on a roll with OEA and it would feel really good to have a first draft of the game. However, barring quick developments in cloning, I don't think I can do both.

So yeah, that's my current dilemma; thoughts are welcome. Feedback on anything, really. I know people have varying opinions about where I should place my focus, but I can promise you that I'm always working. I love what I do, it's just a question of where best to apply my limited energy.