Devblog 3# : Focussing effort.


https://www.patreon.com/posts/66122760 [POLL LINK]

Hello there !

Today is a good say for a new Devblog and a poll !

I've got a lot going in my plate lately, and I've got to focus my efforts on something.

Over the last 3 month, Patreon growth has been close to null, I think in 3 month I've got 3 new patrons, and I have to be honest, it takes it's toll on the moral.

Of course I'm not the best dev out here, hell far from it I'd say that due to my shaky release sizes and unpredictable releases it might be hard for someone to sit here and say "Yeah I'll hand that french lad a few bucks each month for being inconsistant."

Honestly you as a content creator when you notice these major drops, you can't help but feel a bit depressed by the crushing reality that you might not have the safest of incomes be it for a handfull of month, or for the rest of your dev career.

So I feel like it's a good time to interact directly with my community.

What do my players want to see from me.

Faster releases ?

Bigger releases ?

Perhaps more infos about Project Jericho ?

Hell how about a Project Jericho Alpha followed by a public build down in reasonable delay ?

Or perhaps you'd prefer having a bit more art like the one I did a few days back while waiting for a public release ?

Honestly, I want you guys to enjoy my work, I want people to feel satisfied when they pledge, or when they talk about my projects, and while I've not always been the best fella to talk about, I feel like it's never too late to fix the broken pots and get back to it.

So I ask you fancy fella from the Stronk brotherhood, what is it you'd prefer seeing from me.

On the other end of the spectrum I also want to know if I disappointed you.

Or to rephrase it, what could I improve, I know that I could first and foremost post regular and sizeable stuff, but I'm the kind of lad that works a lot from positive reinforcement, people encouraging me is what pushes me to my workstation, it is what pushes me to work instead of watching the same Revengeance Status for the 12th time.

Anything that you feel could be good feedback, I want to hear it good or bad.

I'll open up a poll and check the result every now and then to get myself an idea of what I should focus in the coming weeks.

You can vote for multiple option and from there I'll ladder everything up and make a list of priorities.

Take care brothers and have an amazing week !

And thank you once again for being an amazing community.

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Comments

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(1 edit) (+2)

So I recently (as in like 2 days ago) discovered your game and I really love it. It's fantastic. You're asking for criticism and feedback, so I'll give it.


Cast: You have a fantastic cast of core characters touching on all sorts of key elements, making it so there's something for everyone, it's great. I do want to warn however about growing the cast too much. This makes it difficult to keep track, not just for players, but for you as well. Having too many moving pieces could lead to you being overwhelmed, because you might feel you're neglecting important characters or members of the fanbase being jealous because their favorite waifu isn't getting enough attention. Nothing wrong with cameos and if the community loves them giving them a second appearance, like the nurse for example I think was handled very well. She's hot and you want her, but you know she's just icing on the cake. If you can handle a massive cast that's great and the players will appreciate it, but if you can't don't be afraid to leave some characters as secondary rather than including everyone in the main harem.


Pacing/Decisions: Personally, I have no complaints here. I came for a good time, not to break the Da Vinci Code. Make a few decisions, bask in the results for a few minutes, make another decision. It's nice. I like it. Could there be more? Sure. But the game isn't finished. Also, only having a small number of options (2-3) is very good for not having choice paralysis and the choices are well labeled so as to not have some sort of confusion as to what they imply. And when you do give more options (4+) they aren't mutually exclusive, so it's less about "which choice is right" as is it "which scenes to I want to have play out". It's very nice. I can tell you're making a VN you want to play.


Consistency/Quality: This game is consistently inconsistent. Which is great. You didn't set out to make something serious, you set out for memes, anime and fap. It works. You do 4th wall breaks very well and I enjoy it. And when you referenced Hero's Harem Guild it surprised in a good way, especially since I actually got that reference (I actually found out about your game in their Discord, glad I checked it out). Keep doing you. Also the quality is good and fairly consistent, which is nice and key to making things feel right. Unless the goal is to subvert expectations and all. Which you manage to do quite well. Like the scene in your... "office". The animation changed but you handled it well. If I can make one suggestion though, it's be careful with moving cameras. Sometimes it can be good, but in other cases it can be distracted. Typically a VN doesn't have much actual camera movement, so be very careful and intentional when you do it. Lou's scene for example I think it was a mistake, or at the very least the camera movement should've been much slower. But if you're going to have an explosion or an earthquake or something, then that's a fantastic time for it. But generally speaking, use it sparingly if at all. I'm glad you haven't used it much (in fact, Lou's scene might be the only time you did, as I don't have another coming to mind).


Going forward: Continue with what you have going. I like it. I like the direction. Continue to give us the good and evil choices. Be careful when introducing things that you aren't making a headache for yourself. Unless you really want it, but be VERY careful when doing this and maybe prepare it thoroughly before implementing; nothing wrong with working on a whole side character or something that you may or may not release and wait until you're almost done to decide that you're releasing them. It'll keep you from putting yourself in a tight spot and be a pleasant surprise for the community when you release a new character with 4 chapters of content. Or multiple characters. Just uh... don't get so carried away with secret side projects that may or may not become real that we don't get some sort of news.

As for the actual content, I expect at least one scene (not necessarily sexual but preferably as well) for each of the characters in the main cast per chapter. At present, I (definitely biased by my own perception) see Elise, Vanessa, Chumee, Lou & Himia as the global main characters. Ophelia and Mine at present seem more like secondary characters who were primary in early chapters, although maybe that's just because I haven't seen them much in the most recent chapter. But it's fine if this is the case. Allow yourself a main cast with a changing secondary cast. Secondary cast characters can fade in and out, play some cameos, have your "Hinata/Orihime" (I think I just revealed my age) type character that shows up, is important for a while, fades away, and returns for a later arc. And if you feel bad because fans haven't seen their favorite in a while then have a beach episode or something. Have everyone go to the bar, get smashed and the player retire with their character(s) of choice. Since you don't plan on doing any NTR, do what you want (unless you change you mind on the NTR thing, then please don't). We like your content and believe in whatever your vision is. Because we've seen what you've made so far.

For the actual plot? I expect we'll face the Bear. I expect some sort of revelation of Athael's intents. Will we agree with him? Will he be the guy we love to hate? Will he decide that now it's time for his redemption arc and he'll become Hokage? I don't know. And I'm pretty sure you don't either, but whatever it is I'm sure I'll enjoy it. Or cringe at how much of a trope it is and that this is now the third time I've read this in a VN/manga/whatever. I also expect something with Helirios - honestly, I think he's mostly alive somewhere, maybe his whole consciousness downloaded into a book somewhere along with his wife just so Elise can have them back. Who knows. You do what you do. The community will speculate. Maybe we'll inspire you. Maybe I already have. Will the breeding sex MC has been having with all the girls actually get them pregnant one day? Well, Chumee isn't pregnant yet, so I guess not, but then again, I haven't seen Mine yet. Wait, does she have a litter of 12 kittens? She has a litter of 12 kittens doesn't she? Actually, that'd be really funny if she had a dozen kittens when we first meet her in this chapter, except they're kittens that she found and adopted. Then the obligatory "do you want me to have a dozen kittens" scene happens. I could seriously get behind that. Heck, have it be that Ophelia found the cats, and Ophelia mentions "how about WE have twelve kittens" and the first actual threesome happens. Which reminds me, I want a Lou+Himia+MC+1 foursome to happen. It's been hinted at and I REALLY want it. I don't really care who the 4th is. But this is the foursome I want the most. I want it more than Chumee+sisters, if only because I've been teased about it.


Anyways, I suppose that's enough. I don't want to write a novel. I'm sure you don't want an essay. But maybe you do. In any case, if you like this comment, feel free to reply to it. Maybe I'll leave another. I should probably prepare for my test tomorrow though. Continue your great work, I look forward to what comes next. And I'll definitely be checking out your Patreon soon.

(+1)

Wow that was definitely an amazing wall of feedback friend, I personnaly thank you a lot for it.

It's the kind of feedback that really helps get an idea of what people really enjoy, when you dev you tend to not really see eye to eye with your project as you already know what's going to happen, or how things are working out, so having a detailed eye on the outside is most definitly welcomed !

I'll read that post again for my coming devblog that will pretty much summarize my decisions related to the feedback I recieved thank you once again and have a great time I hope I'll keep you entertained through Tales of Unity's future and end and perhaps Project Jericho's beginning !

(+1)

I'll be honest I like seeing new content at least every 2-3 months. I like your game. It's fun. The story is good and I have grown attached to the characters but I don't contribute to games that don't have regular updates. I'll be honest again I like the story I like the girls but I'm here for the adult content as well. Gotta have that or you won't keep my interest. I hope you'll continue to work on the game. I'm lookng forward to seeing what happens next! You've got a good game here don't give up on it. 

(+4)

personally, it's less about frequent patches and more just updates on where development is at. i think most people just want to know development isnt dead.

(+4)

i'm still with you, just gotta watch my money

Hello, you should check Corrupted Kingdom on Itch, that game has weekly updates. Maybe the answer you're looking for is there.

What does one thing has to do with the other? Honest question.

The poll asks if we prefer big updates or quicker updates.