Ending 2022 with some real talk (Patreon)

This was a short work week! I made some neat progress on p*netration, but I'll cover that in next week's post. Instead, a quick but serious dive into some heavy thoughts about the future of my content, our current stage, etc.

To new patrons: We’re in the middle of an absurdly-long update cycle. Here’s the summary and how to access content.

The state of my content, and the future.

Will anything be playable in 2023?

Yes. Based on how p*netration is going, the engine will be usable in the relatively short term. This year will probably have an explosion of content as the engine starts reaching its potential.

We're at a point where I can start making playable side projects even if this one takes way longer than I think it will. 

Is it worth doing such a big update on this engine? 

I ask this question regularly to ensure I'm keeping the right priorities. There are a lot of indie game projects that fail in this exact stage- engine development before an alpha is released. It's a dangerous place to be. The answer, for me, comes down to scale.

This engine is built to power different kinds of games in this genre. Not just sandbox types, but also single-character focuses with pose progression and stuff, like you'd see in a typical simple flash game. The difference being there's a ton of wayyy more powerful features involved. 

SHF3 is a fairly simple sandbox by design. But it could be pushed so much further with the new engine. Also I can create a lot more projects without having to take months on laying code and groundwork. These are the two big things that keep me excited while working on this.

I suspect Project Maple, the game PussPuss and I started a while ago, may come out before SHF3 just cause it requires fewer features to function. At the start it'll require no new features so I can just attach the SHF3 features it needs and make it work. That simplicity is the ultimate goal for this engine and Maple will be a really good test run of that.

The answer to this big question is basically- I think so, I hope so, and I'll do everything I can to make it worth it.

MLP characters vs non-copyright ponies vs furry.

Anyone who's followed the MLP fandom has seen creators leave one by one to the more lucrative furry sphere. 

My main thoughts are varied and at times contradictory:

• As an mlp fan, seeing the actual characters I know is important to the experience. I know them and their personalities and that's part of the fun.
• As an mlp fan, I also just like ponies and the mlp design in general, independent of any specific characters. I enjoy OCs that I don't know, for example.
• As a furry, I just wanna see uwu stuff in general.
• As a creator, I don't want copyright infringement issues.
• As a creator, I want to make my own designs and IP.
• As a creator, I want to appeal to a modern audience that's no longer getting pulled into the brony sphere.

I want to find a satisfying balance. My current and most dedicated audience is mostly brony, and partly furries that don't care about pony but like the game. I won't betray the fans that have funded this project by suddenly changing everything. 

BUT... I do plan to move away from MLP and into my own distinct IP over time (especially after SHF3). Less issues that way. I love the cutesy MLP style and will probably stick close to it. Where possible, I'll allow players to make custom characters, or install mods that include the MLP characters they want to see in my games.

"Spicy" content.

This section's gonna get censored hard. I'll try to keep it clear while minding my language for TOS reasons.

"Spicy" = problematic things involving implied age, implied unwillingness, implied blood relations. 

I talked about this kind of content extensively near the end of today's stream (timestamp 3:29:00) and laid out my thoughts and plans as directly and clearly as I could. If you want my full thoughts, check them out there.

Basically, I've matured and want to be more mindful of what I put into the world.

I think it's important to be able to have a healthy exploration of these kinds of content, while not being ignorant to their problematic nature (and while obeying TOS). It's too deep and nuanced a topic to satisfyingly cover here, but here's a quick (and incomplete) summary of the stream discussion:

• All my characters will always be clearly shown to be of proper age.
• All characters will be shown to be willingly involved in the game's scenario.
• Smaller body sizes will be an option, as long as it's undeniably clear that this is a character of proper age that is just small (cause size difference is fun).
• I won't be nuking all content that feels controversial. That's not the point. I just want to be proud of what I'm making. My interests and niches are transgressive and fun. So are my community's. There's a way to enjoy those interests responsibly.
• I won't be employing lazy reasoning like "the CMC are 1000 years old in my universe so everything's fine" or "it's fictional so who cares". Taking more responsibility for the impact of my content is important to me.
• My content will abide by the TOS of the platforms it's on. 

Message me your thoughts about this directly instead of leaving them in my comments section please <3

As a reminder, here's the SHF3 release checklist to track my progress!

... and that's all for now! 

Thank you so much for keeping me alive while working on this absurd and wonderful project. Not just that, but being kind and supportive, and still calling me on my BS. Y'all are awesome.