Well, it's been a week since the last status update and I've gotten basically no work done on hell game. that's not great. I've sat down a few times and looked at the TODO file, but every time I open the code files it's like I can feel the energy getting sucked out of my body. That's not great.
Also, while not really working on the twine thing I've also added a fair amount of code to it. (outlined more city events, added a new random encounter in the city, and worked more on restructuring the human squad town siege)
(i also made this but that's not really related to anything else really)
Given the kind of overwhelming positive response the twine game has gotten I'll probably just work on it more? When I compare the slow struggle of working on hell game vs. how I've been making much faster and easier progress on the locust TF twine game, it feels like it would... not really be the best decision to keep slowly slogging away at hell game for marginal gain.
So, I'll be taking a longer break from hell game. I'll still be working on it when I can summon up the interest, since I have some interesting stuff I'm excited to work on for it, but sadly it all requires getting through the huge hump of the current TODO list -- I'm not sure if that's gonna mean working on it for a week for every month of work on the twine, or sneaking in work when I feel up to it, or, what might be most effective personally but least satisfying for everybody waiting for a hell game update, just stop working towards this update entirely and start doing story reorganization. Regardless it's definitely not gonna be particularly regular. Sorry to everybody who's waiting on the next update :(
No issue to me, I like the stuff you write and getting progress in either game is good stuff to me. Don't stress about it imo.
It's a pity that your first project, "potentially" "dead" ...
Well ... I'll wait for the second project ...
p.s. I like both projects ... But I feel full of frustration that your first project doesn't receive proper attention.
I understand some of this, when you start the work on the positive, but you seem to be drained. I'm doing mods for some games ...
It's alright - I understand. Projects die and it's hard to admit it to yourself or others at first. But we both know that to-do list is just gonna look even less attractive with time and that you will, in all probability, keep meaning to get back to hell game development "at some point" for many years to come.
I can't say I'm not more than a little sad to hear that this project is dead, even if you haven't admitted it to yourself yet. But you've proven yourself a capable writer, and I look forward to your next project, :D
Your needs and desires always take priority, xax. And remember: as a non-patron, every day you don't work on Hell Game is a day you give me exactly what you owe me: nothing. :-)
If and when you start updating Hell Game again I'd appreciate an update here, but basically everything you write is interesting to me, so whether it's Hell Game or something else, I have something to look forward to :-)
I've been clear with you on this before, I'm totally obsessed with your new Twine game. I love the tone and characters and creativity and TF and overall concept. It's inspired me to do Camp NaNoWriMo and work on my own Twine game.
Also, that SVG script is hella boss. Reminds me of stuff I've played with a long time ago. Isometric graphics are so much fun. You're so creative. Allow yourself to follow your passions. You'll be so much more productive. Just let us Patrons know that. You're going to work on what you're most passionate about, and if they don't like that, too bad. BTW, we should chat on Discord sometime. And you should open up a Discord chat! :)
i mean, i know a lot of porn games get abandoned and so that's where everybody's minds go to when i talk about taking a break, but like, maybe don't jump all the way to "abandoned forever" _quite_ yet. would you prefer it if i called it "doing story outline and general concept work at a leisurely low-pressure pace, and since it's slow-paced and spoiler-heavy work i probably won't talk about it much because i don't want to give people big expectations" instead of "taking a break"? :V
but expect more twine game stuff for the next update and more hell game stuff at an indefinite point in the future, basically.
(also i have kinda considered a discord server, but that would mean having to do actual moderation work, which is neverrrr fun.)
@Xax, yeah actually that'd be a lot better. It's just that I *particularly* associate "taking a break" with projects dying, because that's generally what you hear before a hobby project dies - the dev finds the work no longer fun or is exhausted but definitely wants to get back to it someday, but somehow "someday" just keeps slipping further and further into the future...
But "doing story outline and general concept work at a leisurely low-pressure pace, and since it's slow-paced and spoiler-heavy work i probably won't talk about it much because i don't want to give people big expectations" sounds much less like the sort of thing you usually read right at the end of a devblog with complete silence afterwards for years.