Yeah, definitely. I understand where you're coming from, because it is a lot of investment that you could put into the game instead. It would indeed be a viable option once everything is finished or when you feel that you're at the place to put it on steam. Take your time with it, though as there is no rush at all! It takes time to create work that you love and that you're satisfied with and we are happy to wait for you! Also, it can be hard to put it on steam if you're not making much profit off it, because all of the money is coming out of your own pocket! We are lucky enough to have been able to play it on the first place on here either way! I personally think the amount of characters are lovely. It certainly does take a fair amount of work, but for us players it is quite exciting :D Remember to do what you want to and you're the creator of it, so you get the final say on what to do with it! As long as you are satisfied and comfortable with the situation - that's what matters. Whether it be on here or on steam, the only thing that matters is that we're able to play it in the first place. Not a moment has gone by where I wasn't excited over this project, since I have always enjoyed the works that you have created. Please do take your time in finishing this project or with putting it on steam( if it is something that you find that you want to do or is a viable option for you - there is nothing that you *have* to do at all!)! ^^ Good things take time after all :)
Yeah, I used to sorta work on my projects as though they were the only thing in my life x3 and that just wasn't healthy at all, haha. I kept making myself ill doing that, spending like 12+ hours a day staring at my screen working away (which my family always thought was insane considering I wasn't being paid for any of it xD) so now I'm changing the way I work on them in general to be much more casual so that I can make more time to do other things instead of working on my project stuff obsessively.
But yeah, I've heard it's really easy for stuff to get buried on Steam if it's not promoted really well, so I feel like I'd struggle a lot in that department with how little I use social media >.< It seems a bit worrying to give them $100 to have my game on there if it's just gonna be buried and unfindable >.< I've heard talk of their algorithms and stuff being heavily reliant on getting people to give good reviews and things if you want your game to be visible, and I really don't like pestering people to review my stuff.
As you say, it doesn't seem particularly beneficial to indie devs who don't expect to make profit from a project. I love itch because you're free to just put your stuff out there without having to spend anything first.
When I do finally get the next update out, I'll also be sure to make it so that there is a demo that can be downloaded for free, while keeping the $2 donation option open to fund development and that will contain all the currently available content :3 I just can't really do that with the version that's out now cos there's not enough content to make a demo when it's so short that it practically is a demo x3
That's really sweet of you to say all that, and I really appreciate the support and encouragement :3 As you say, doing whatever you're comfortable with is the best way to go, especially when it's a hobby project because as soon as you start doing stuff you're not comfortable with, or the work becomes a chore, it's like you've then managed to kill off your hobby, and that's not good x3 Better to try and keep it as fun and stress-free as possible :3
But yeah, I'll plod along at my own weird pace, sometimes it'll speed up when I get tunnel vision and don't do anything else like during jams xD and sometimes it'll slow down like recently when I've been feeling exhausted and not had my heart in it x3 either way, I'll keep going and get there in the end, and once stuff is released, it'll be there for anyone who fancies playing it :3