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As you've probably noticed I've been taking it easy these past few weeks. I was trying to catch up on my real life responsibilities and was trying to focus a bit less on work and "recharge" instead. But we're back in lockdown so I'm stuck here again, but I'm sure most of you know the drill already.
In the 0.12 Extra scene we had a bit of a Halloween theme going and I gave Isabel a new hairstyle. I really liked it and i got some good feedback on it so I'm sticking with it. (The ponytail might make a comeback sometimes but this freshened things up a bit with her) I also gave her a new outfit which I think really accentuates her assets perfectly.
In the last post you guys said you thought the
dressing room was a good idea, so I'm adding it to
0.13 with
Joyce, Isabel and Ruby. I managed to add some spice to it even, so I'm satisfied with those.
I'm working on the rest of the update now and it's going to
release next Saturday, so on the 28th for the Elite tier, and on the last day of November for the General and Extra releases.
Please keep in mind this is going to be a small update (although with some sexy animations) so keep your expectations in line with that.
I thought doing a Q&A would be a good idea for a while now and I received good questions on Discord form you guys so I'm going to answer them now. There are quire a few so I'll try to keep it at least somewhat short.
1. About the progress of Midnight Paradise - If 100% means full, completely ready game, what %-number would it be at the moment?
It's hard to say. I know I'd be satisfied if I could finish it by the end of next year. I guess that places it somewhere around 65-70%
2. Are you having any vibes of getting sick of creating MP, or are you still enjoying it as much as you were when you started the project?
The beginning was extra stressful due to the engine fiasco and it felt like I'm always working from behind and anything I do is just not cutting it. With the last update I reached a place where it will be more fun working on it in the future, but I'm also exhausted, that's why it's gonna be nice to work on something else a bit before returning to MP early next year.
3. How happy have you been with MP this far? Is there anything that you think "I should've done this instead of that" or "maybe I shouldn't have done it like that but do this instead"?
There are a lot of things that should have been different. I wanted to do less renders and more sprite like conversations - so I'd only render the scenes that actually count and not have to do tons of images just for conversations. But it turned out differently and it's fine. I also wanted to do more game mechanics and a more robust sandbox experience, but the plot would have suffered (it's not advancing nearly as fast as DoD). I probably bit off more than I could chew and I think it's okay to admit and realize that and make changes to the initial ideas instead of trying to force them to work out. Overall I'm happy with MP, but I could add so many things to make me truly satisfied with it, so I probably will add content even after the story is completed.
4. You have an exact date for your surprise project you are working on while taking time off from MP, so is this something that you have already been working on alongside with MP or are you just sure you're getting the project done by that day? In other words, is it going to be "big" or smaller one?
I probably have to work my ass off to meet that date, but I'll try anyway. It's gonna be big in terms of advancement for me but I probably can't tell you more without spoiling the surprise. I plan to reveal it in the near future.
5. How many renders roughly is 0.13 update going to include?
Not nearly as much as 0.12
6. Do you feel that 0.13 update is less stressing update for you than the other ones when you know, that it will be smaller one and you will be taking time off after it, or is it the other way around?
It's relaxing because it's the first update I'm dealing with in a different way. I have the usual scene list I make that could be done and implemented. The list is much bigger than what's actually going into the release. Basically I told myself I'm going to take it easy this time and however many scenes I can do comfortable without rushing is what's gonna make it in and I'm not going to try to cram everything in. It's a weird feeling but I'm more relaxed overall. It is half of my actual time off; after this I'm going to slowly ramp up the speed again working on the
other thing.
7. What have you learned making DoD and MP that you would do differently if you were making DoD again?
I learned that I shouldn't obsess over how every single image looks. MP looks SO MUCH better compared to DoD and people still like DoD a lot. I should spend less time on individual images and try to progress the stories faster. What I would do differently making DoD? Probably nothing.
8. Your latest post mentioned that you wanted to add some things you felt got sidelined due to focusing on other elements. Do you find it easier or more difficult to write and make scenes in a more sandbox style game than a straight visual novel?
Sandbox is harder because I don't control the pacing as much. I have to watch out not to mention events that the player might not have completed yet. It's also harder to add scenes where the MC has a monologue to reflect on the events. MP is in a weird spot with the sandbox VN hybrid thing.
9. What are the kind of changes you’ve had to make, both good and bad, in switching gameplay formats?
The story can feel more disjointed in MP because you don't get the scenes in a fully linear way as in DoD. I feel like that hurt the story progression so far in MP.
How the scenes are handled is a big change. I coded DoD by myself aside from the 3 minigame parts. This time the coding is more advanced and I can't do it alone in a timely manner. It's a weird feeling, knowing that I can't just do everything myself if shit hits the fan.
Another big change is not because of the format change but having Connor as an MC with a face is very different than the faceless MC in DoD. A lot more work, but overall a good experience.
10. I’m sure that being an adult game means you have to kind of juggle between the sexual content and telling the story you want tell. How do you personally handle that, or is it more just something you feel at as it goes?
When making DoD I had it easy, the story progression intertwined with the sexual content so I could do both comfortably and I never felt "forced" to add erotic scenes just for the sake of having them in the update. It's a lot different with MP, because it's not obvious at this point in the story how the adult content with the ladies are connected to the main story yet. It'll all make sense in the end, but until then it's a bit of a struggle to find the perfect balance.
11. Also how does your relationship with your audience factor into it since I know it can often be the case that players just wanna get right to sex scenes but can also appreciate the story.
I listen to feedback but ultimately I do what I feel like is best for the game. I know the story until the end, but the players don't. I always have the finished game in mind, as a whole, and from my experience the players focus on the individual updates more. My personal preference comes into play here as well when it comes to the sex scenes. I think the journey is better than the destination most of the time. I think that's what differentiates adult games from regular adult videos.
12. What do you feel are the benefits/downsides to the kind of schedule you keep for updates?
My schedule has been all over the place for MP. The monthly releases has its pros and cons. With a linear VN the monthly releases are perfect. You get X amount of scenes done and that's as far the story goes in that update. With MP I always have to juggle with scenes for different characters and whenever game mechanics get involved that takes up a lot of time. But still, the aim is monthly because that forces me to add main story content into each update, and I want to progress that as fast as possible to be able to finish the game sooner.
13. I know some devs prefer regular content on usually a monthly basis while others like doing big chunks with longer wait times. How does yours effect your creative output? Does it keep you on your toes and/or is it tiring?
Monthly is tiring and it feels like a rush. It's feeling like you're always late whatever you do. Doing the "big chunk" way is bad because when you look at the scene list it can be very overwhelming, seeing just how much you have to do. Then it adds a lot of pressure, so I think doing smaller bits work better, at least for me. Another reason to aim for monthly updates.
14. Is there a possibility of Harem ending?
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
15. Do you think you'd ever go back to visual novels after experiencing creating a sandbox game?
What I would do is do another sandbox type but on a much smaller scale with a lot less characters and some fun mechanics. At least that's what I've learned from MP.
16. Do you have another game you already got on or some ideas for your next game after midnight paradise and also how far to the complete game?
I have a few ideas. What I'm sure about is that before I'd take on a larger project again I'm going to do smaller ones. I feel like spending 9-12 months on a project from start to finish is the sweet spot.
17. Which character do you like the most in each of the game respectively?
In DoD probably Jenna (but Tracy's arc was the most satisfying to make). In MP it's flavor of the month. I really like the three main girls, but so far probably Ruby.
Whew, that was longer than I expected. It was actually fun doing this so I'll do it again sometime if you guys have some questions.
And as always, thank you for you amazing support!
-Dr Sin
