What Comes Next

Alright, it's time for me to lay out my thinking about what will come after TLS is finished. I've been considering this since almost the beginning of the project, but I've held off getting into it because I didn't want to jump the gun. I'll start this off as a $10 thread and eventually either make a new one or open it up to other tiers.

This thread isn't about making a concrete decision or starting a project. I'll start working on my next project before TLS is finished, but not this far before. Instead, this is about weighing all the issues at hand so that I can begin gathering and improving the core ideas that will be behind my next project. I find my ideas need time to mature, so I want to start that process early.

My core goal: I'd like my next project to be a step up from TLS. That doesn't mean bigger, longer, or more characters... it just means that I want to use what I've gained since I started TLS. Now I have a budget higher than zero dollars and hopefully I've grown as a writer over the course of the project, so I should be able to do something with those.

So what does that mean in practical terms? There are several critical choices that could be interpreted as improvements but also bring along with them constraints. Considering how much of an impact they'd have on the project, we should get into the choices as I see them.

Choice #1: Engine

Basically, do I use RPG Maker again or something else? For most purposes, the difference between VX Ace and MV isn't actually huge, so I'll ignore that question for now. I'd probably use MV in the future, though.

Using RPG Maker has advantages, such as the fact that I'm experienced with it. Perhaps the more important advantage is that I can make content with the engine mostly on my own. Though coders have made great contributions to TLS, I'm not reliant on them for the development. You've probably seen several projects that were delayed when a coder didn't come through with key pieces or went AWOL.

Here's the major disadvantage of RPG Maker: there's a stigma attached to it that's essentially impossible to overcome. I've spoken to devs who spent $25k on custom assets and they still get a lot of complaints about "stock RPG Maker assets". I don't think this limitation is necessarily a dealbreaker, but I do think it's true that using the engine will automatically restrict the potential audience.

On a more abstract level, I'd feel a certain degree of repetition using it again for a huge project. Obviously I can do new plot/characters, but there are serious limits to what I could do regarding all the combat mechanics. I know some people would like "TLS but with a different story" but I'm not sure how I'd feel about that.

One alternative is Ren'Py, which I already know. It has the advantage of being able to create an experience that feels wholly unique without an AAA indie budget. However, I don't think it's a good engine for creating a truly complex experience. It's better suited for projects that are mostly linear, simply branching, or linear but force the player to jump through some clicking hoops. I like VNs but probably wouldn't want to make one as a core project.

I've considered using SRPG Studio for a side project, since a strategy RPG would be a fun change of pace. So far it strikes me as really only being suited for a Fire Emblem clone with a lot of hard restrictions, however, so I don't know if it would work for a long term project.

The obvious alternative is to use a higher powered engine, but it has the core drawback of not allowing solo development as I mentioned. Even if I took some time off to learn the system well, I wouldn't be able to develop at the same pace I have with TLS. I've dipped my toe in this with DStP, which has taught me some about the difficulties of developing this way.

This choice is the least abstract, yet it carries with it a massive number of consequences for my future work. I'm curious what people think, either regarding the paths I gave or disagreeing with that framing of them.

Choice #2: NSFW Content

So... this is kind of a big question: whether my next project would be SFW or NSFW. I'm curious what people think in general, but let me lay out what I feel the considerations are.

There's the obvious fact that so many people are playing just for the story/gameplay instead of the adult aspects. Based on messages received, I know that there are a lot of people who will never try TLS because it's an adult game. Likewise, I get a lot of messages from people who might actually like the porn aspects, but don't think that a high degree of plot/gameplay is compatible with adult games.

Though I've done the best I can with TLS, there are a few assumptions built into the design that I think are limitations. I expected more insecurity, so there aren't many good male characters. I expected the female characters to be viewed as waifu/fetish collection instead of taken seriously as characters, so there are honestly more than I think is ideal. In theory, I could build a new game with better assumptions.

But the truth is that I'm a lot less optimistic about the subgenre than I was several years ago. I came in with a massive number of ideas for different adult games, but I've come to think that the wider audience would just find them insincere because they're looking for a relatively narrow band of experience. I worry that my work in the field would be like trying to innovate in romance novels: fundamentally misguided, because the audience is looking to consume a fungible product.

One note: choosing a SFW major project wouldn't mean never doing any other NSFW projects. Though I intend to scale back side projects once OEA and DStP are finished, I could still do work in the NSFW field if I had ideas I wanted to pursue.

Though I expected to have more to write here, it honestly comes down to those core issues. I really wonder how people will react, so please give thoughts.

Choice #3: Themes

I'm not sure what kind of input I'm looking for here, I just didn't want this post to be all about trade-offs and difficult decisions. One fun aspect of starting on a new project is getting to choose new core themes and approaches.

For example, I've long thought that it would be fun to create a game that explores an entire life instead of an entire world. By that, I mean that you'd get to follow the characters from a young age through multiple stages of life. Instead of choices impacting a huge area, you'd see them have more nuanced impacts over time. I already try to do some of this with TLS, but there's a lot more character development you can do with a longer timeframe.

(Imagine, for example, character portraits that permanently change not only over time, but based on past decisions. Say you make a decision that results in someone being injured: they get a permanent scar on their portrait, and their behavior changes. Not as a simple variable, but an issue that would change their interactions in more complex ways. This would be challenging, but it'd be a challenge that would interest me.)

There's part of me that's inspired to do a game set in the world of The Brightest Shadow, though that would raise issues with NSFW/SFW divides and my pen names. I think I'm less likely to actually go in this direction, but it's on my mind often.

I have dozens of directions I could potentially go, but most are just potentials. They'd need a lot more thought to deepen into a project that would retain my interest for years, which is why I want to think more about them before I actually move.

Choice #4: Interim Project?

This choice is different from the others, but I've often considered doing a shorter game in between TLS and my next major project. Creatively it would feel a bit rough (though hardly impossible) to go directly from an extended project to another years-long game. 

Plus, I know the new game will be immediately compared to TLS, but a few basic updates can't compare with what I've built over years. A different project to cool off might be good. If I did decide to use a new engine, it would also let me learn a bit, encounter beginner mistakes, and have a better sense for what I could do with a broader scope.

I don't have any specific project I want to pursue, though. Part of me would love to do another Crimson Gray, but overall I have mixed feelings. My idea for the sequel involved seriously addressing sex in an adult relationship and I just don't think the audience is there for it. Hypothetically I could skip CG2 to get to CG3, since it would include Lizzie and John's kids. I want to write them and that game could be SFW, but that has its own issues.

I suspect people would be positively inclined toward an Ouroboros-style experiment (not the same mechanic, just something else experimental). I have some inklings of other concepts I think are neat, but none are fully mature yet.

Anyway

Those are the main thoughts on my mind as I consider the far future. There's still a lot of TLS left, and I look forward to resolving all the story arcs I've been holding for so long. When that finally does happen, however, I hope that I have a clear vision through all the above issues.