- When are you planning to finish this?
I’ve estimated two to three years for completion.
- How big is it?
There are seven primary characters who feature inexitricably in the main story, as well as another nine or ten secondary ones. I estimate the final game will have approximately half a million words.
- Isn’t that overly ambitious?
I have written over half a million words of porn alone in the last two years, as well as hundreds of thousands more words for narrative-driven non-porn games–and all of that as a side hustle. My full-time day job employs both project management skills and extreme discipline, and both have served me well in my hobbies. I have plenty of experience with slavishly devoting all my free time to a project for many years in order to achieve my goals, and I feel confident that I am up to the task of completing “Lord of the Manor”.
- If your Patreon dries up, will the game be over?
I will be injecting capital of my own to complete the game to my desired level of quality, with or without Patreon. Without Patreon, it will simply take longer and will be without nice-to-haves like custom UI or music. Patreon also allows me to get feedback on what people like or want, allowing me to better tailor the final experience.
- Can I play it when it’s finished?
It will be generally available some time after completion, yes.
- What does “African-inspired” mean?
Well, I live in Africa, and Africa is–generally speaking–barely represented in creative works of any genre. The furry fandom is somewhat better by virtue of often using African species, but even then, it’s typically the big & already famous ones.
I want to see some of the lesser-known species get their time to shine, and I want them to do so in a context appropriate to where they’re from. “Lord of the Manor” is set in a mythical African country, featuring almost entirely African species, and draws on both my own life experiences living here as well as the distinct flavour of African mythology to produce a combination I am certain has not been done before. I think it gives the project a unique feel which can only enhance the quality of the final product.
- Art? Music? Sound?
All of these are planned to be included, yes. I’m aware most VNs work on these things in lockstep, chapter by chapter, but that’s not the most efficient way unless you have multiple people who can each work on one thing exclusively and always sync up their deadlines. That is not the case for this project. Thus, I’l focusing on writing the game first, and the art and other parts will be added at a later date.