1- What was the root cause of you making this game? not the most recent, but like the butterfly effect cause. 2- how long do you think youll make the novel? cause i know id pay arm and leg for this to go on forever basically, and for now 3- Do you have a "most canon" route? or if not, which route do you support the most
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To briefly answer 1:
First Crete got on Athens' bad side in the 700s BC or before, and many things were written to make Crete sound unsavoury. Then around the 600s BC, Stesichorus wrote the Geryoneis. Then around the 500s BC, Sappho wrote many poems. Then in the 1800s AD, George Frederick Watts painted the minotaur. Then in the 1930s, Pablo Picasso made The Vollard Suite. Then in the 1940s, Jorge Luis Borges wrote The House Of Asterion. Then in the 1980s, Toni Morrison wrote Beloved. Then in the 1990s, Anne Carson wrote Autobiography Of Red. And then in the 2000s, a bunch of weirdos made Morenatsu.
Then we all variously found these things and then started Minotaur Hotel.
Since Kangarube already answered the first question:
2. I don't know how long it'll take to finish the game. Last year I made the estimate that it'd take me two years to write the rest of Minotaur Hotel, and I guess that estimate was true for the assumptions we had back then but since then I've had to put on many hats. Wattson is a great programmer but there are some tasks that only someone with a deep understanding of the characters and their introspection can do, like picking their expressions, and under our current structure that falls to me.
I'm hoping that once Chapter 21 is finished (written, edited, implemented) I'll be able to pin down a real estimate of how long it'll take to finish the game.
That said, after Minotaur Hotel is done I intend on writing more stories set in the same universe. I already have two games on the outlining stage. A few years ago Alpha0 told me that Minotaur Hotel was my Disco Elysium and I guess that's true, this is an universe I wouldn't mind working on for many, many years.
So, if you want me to keep going, buckle up. You're gonna get what you want. I don't plan on stopping anytime soon.
3. There's no "most canon" route, and "routes" don't really describe how MH works, but if I had to pick what set of actions lead to the playthrough I find the richest it'd be:
1. Figure out all of Argos' puzzles and translate the pages of the Argoi's diary. figure out who he is before Chapter 18.
2. Take every opportunity to associate Jean with Hermes -- make the toast to Hermes in front of him, and name yourself as "Hermes" on his phone.
3. In the Hinterlands, complete the skinless god quest and take Pedro to the pond, then follow the trail to the shed.
4. Optional: In other playthroughs explore the expanded hinterlands for more magical realism shenanigans, and visit the Small Cabin in Chapter 20.
5. Optional, but highly recommended: Prioritize hanging out with the staff over Asterion's translation project. Go for as many hangouts as possible with your favorite characters.
The first 3 points activate what we internally call "Detective Mode", which triggers some unique moments and lines. I consider that to be the most literary playthrough style, it provides more insight on some key aspects of things.