State of the Hobbyist

This post has been inspired by a discussion on Chief's twitter .  While I wish everyone else on the scene the best of luck and respect the decisions they made in going about their projects, I'm going to explain what made me come up with the design decisions on my current project.

My experience working in teams -- with the exception of ATP Projects and Tall Tales Productions -- has been less than stellar.  Likewise with buying commissions -- it's not the quality of the commissions per se since they're worth it if I were just buying to support artists -- it's the whole hassle of the system.  I have also learned rather painfully not to dedicate too much time to a project if the IP isn't mine, since the producer can just quit leaving me with some expense and a lot of wasted time.

Maybe the good force of the universe is telling me to stay as a hobbyist.  So I'm not going to invest any money anymore -- besides maybe buying a software package or two.

Elspeth's Garden is on hiatus, but is not shelved, due to me trying to figure out how better work on it so it won't just die when it's released out there.

In the meantime, I'm working on Indisputable Sovereignty a politically-motivated satirical jet-combat ero dating sim with the following glorious 2006-era specifications (since there's no way I can make a pretty HD resolution VN by myself):

*brilliant 800x480 resolution for 3rd-world smartphones
*large blocky text for maximum readability
*Altogether 2006-inspired NVL design with filtered photos
*Nintendo 3DS-inspired super minimalistic GUI, ADV dialogue, and menu-based gameplay system

I had commissioned just enough assets to give me a headstart (like, way back in 2013), it was kinda costly for me but in hindsight just asking for character sheets and 3D models helps in a long way since I can just photoshop or render my way to create the final graphics. (For all the rest, there's filtered photos!)  The lower resolution really does go a long way in masking the amateur-ness of it all.

I'm finding that just going ahead making it a full-blown eroge has inspired me so much, since this decision just flipped a switch in my brain that nothing is held sacred, so that really made me let out a tidal wave of writing all sorts of politically-motivated satire.  Even if it were to make its way to 2014's Worst Ofs or Something Awful, it would actually make me happy since it would have made its mark on the world -- since this is me writing my heart out.

On the other hand the part of the problem with Elspeth's Garden is that since it's a team effort, I have to respect the contributors so I can't make similarly risky decisions, that's why I'm biding my time with it.

So back to Indisputable Sovereignty (and other stories), I'm really stuffing it feature rich with full length scenes, I aim to make it at least 4 hours in play so it will really stick with you (that's the problem with 30-minute nanoreno games, they can be so pretty but they still have to be really impactful).  I'm also stuffing it with some kinetic novels I wrote in the past couple of years.

In other news, right now I'm still trying to become an expert in the Unity3D engine ever since getting into it in 2011, but this time I'll try to do programming by myself.  It's sort of necessary as well for professional advancement.  As far as releasing anything it will strictly be for hobby purposes just like cooking just for yourself or your family -- there is absolutely no way I can release a quality 3D game even if I paid money for the art assets -- there's just too many ways a 3D game can just break apart during gameplay it's not even funny. Forget about Old Home Labyrinth it won't pass muster in today's environment.  But it's kinda amazing how the random dungeon system there is EXACTLY the same layout as in Conception II, an excellent game.  Man.