This is mostly speculation on my part, but if I can spur some creative drive or discussion by posting what I think of this game and answer what I imagine to be some issues Alder might be grappling with in their head, then I've served my purpose.
So - What's Alder's situation?
"Long and short of it is that I haven't gotten enough work in to warrant an update, and didn't want to post "there's nothing", but in hindsight that probably only added more uncertainty. I can't promise when next one will drop, as it depends on changing IRL circumstances. Project will remain in charge-per-update as per usual."
I'm going to be honest - a lot of the times there's nothing until there's something. My opinion is: just push whatever you got, and do it all the time. There's people that are hungry for more Netori and Nice Time for Roo, there's people hungry for Gwendy's missing content, there's people that want new characters all the time, and there's people that just want the game to work. There's all types. Get what you got out the door.
Solving The Problem of Focus
FoE isn't particularly focused or special right now. Honestly? I like the dominance and submission mechanics, and I like the transformation mechanics. I think those set the game apart, and should be the core focus. If I were calling the shots, I'd probably just focus on those instead of making so much inclusive content that none of it is ever complete. There's a lot of games, now. I usually advise people to pick the three things their game is about and just plug everything into those three things and SHELF THE REST.
The rest of the game is just the vehicle for the story and the big three things. If it doesn't plug into the big three things? It's extra. It can wait. If it's Dom/sub dynamic? Get it done. If it's transformation content? Get it done. If it's corruption content? Get it done?
If it's some new OC or a new area or a new questchain - what is it doing for the big three things? Otherwise? Extra.
We all know the result of doing otherwise - stuff gets half done and left behind. You lose interest in forcing it to completion.
Organizing Character Content
So what does that mean for FoE? Well, it means we can focus on the characters we already have, we can create meaningful changes in their content, we hand a lot of power and choice over to the user, and we can - best of all - establish limits on what each character has for content.
So, Alder's first task should be - take every character and assign them a tier. 0,1,2,3,4. Uru and characters like her are Tier 0. Maybe Kia is Tier 1. Lago queen, Gwendy, Adrian, Miranda, etc are T2. Sheepgirl, Rosalin, etc are T3.
Now, you have the means to decide who gets how much and not get lost in trying to fulfill everyone's desires to the same standard. You want more content for your T3 favorite? Get in line. T1 Kia Content comes first. If you have work done on Kia and Gwendy and have to choose what to push or finish? Push to do Kia, first.
Selfish Personal Direction
So, here's where I flat out make seflish direction. I'm of the mind that the Big Three Things for this game are the dom/sub dynamics, the transformations I can put onto others, and the corruption dynamics. Everything else is extra or serves to deliver me to that stuff. Otherwise? It's extra. It's not worth pouring hours and hours of work or overhaul or deep complexity into it.
Gwendy and Adrian are probably the most interesting set of things you can do in the game compared to other games right now. Building up Adrian's confidence is actually quite interesting, even if it's currently broken or impossible without cheating. Managing the dynamic between you, Gwendy, and Adrian is interesting. That should be the game. Same can be said for the Lagomorph King and Queen. You can manage the dynamic and transformations through choices and effort. That's pretty fucking cool. This is what this game should be about, IMO.
If Alder and prospective helpers and writers take interest in these things - start with anything bad, and just write it down. Then make it better. One sentence, one line of code at a time. Eventually, small things get larger.
So - What's Alder's situation?
"Long and short of it is that I haven't gotten enough work in to warrant an update, and didn't want to post "there's nothing", but in hindsight that probably only added more uncertainty. I can't promise when next one will drop, as it depends on changing IRL circumstances. Project will remain in charge-per-update as per usual."
I'm going to be honest - a lot of the times there's nothing until there's something. My opinion is: just push whatever you got, and do it all the time. There's people that are hungry for more Netori and Nice Time for Roo, there's people hungry for Gwendy's missing content, there's people that want new characters all the time, and there's people that just want the game to work. There's all types. Get what you got out the door.
Solving The Problem of Focus
FoE isn't particularly focused or special right now. Honestly? I like the dominance and submission mechanics, and I like the transformation mechanics. I think those set the game apart, and should be the core focus. If I were calling the shots, I'd probably just focus on those instead of making so much inclusive content that none of it is ever complete. There's a lot of games, now. I usually advise people to pick the three things their game is about and just plug everything into those three things and SHELF THE REST.
The rest of the game is just the vehicle for the story and the big three things. If it doesn't plug into the big three things? It's extra. It can wait. If it's Dom/sub dynamic? Get it done. If it's transformation content? Get it done. If it's corruption content? Get it done?
If it's some new OC or a new area or a new questchain - what is it doing for the big three things? Otherwise? Extra.
We all know the result of doing otherwise - stuff gets half done and left behind. You lose interest in forcing it to completion.
Organizing Character Content
So what does that mean for FoE? Well, it means we can focus on the characters we already have, we can create meaningful changes in their content, we hand a lot of power and choice over to the user, and we can - best of all - establish limits on what each character has for content.
So, Alder's first task should be - take every character and assign them a tier. 0,1,2,3,4. Uru and characters like her are Tier 0. Maybe Kia is Tier 1. Lago queen, Gwendy, Adrian, Miranda, etc are T2. Sheepgirl, Rosalin, etc are T3.
Now, you have the means to decide who gets how much and not get lost in trying to fulfill everyone's desires to the same standard. You want more content for your T3 favorite? Get in line. T1 Kia Content comes first. If you have work done on Kia and Gwendy and have to choose what to push or finish? Push to do Kia, first.
Selfish Personal Direction
So, here's where I flat out make seflish direction. I'm of the mind that the Big Three Things for this game are the dom/sub dynamics, the transformations I can put onto others, and the corruption dynamics. Everything else is extra or serves to deliver me to that stuff. Otherwise? It's extra. It's not worth pouring hours and hours of work or overhaul or deep complexity into it.
Gwendy and Adrian are probably the most interesting set of things you can do in the game compared to other games right now. Building up Adrian's confidence is actually quite interesting, even if it's currently broken or impossible without cheating. Managing the dynamic between you, Gwendy, and Adrian is interesting. That should be the game. Same can be said for the Lagomorph King and Queen. You can manage the dynamic and transformations through choices and effort. That's pretty fucking cool. This is what this game should be about, IMO.
If Alder and prospective helpers and writers take interest in these things - start with anything bad, and just write it down. Then make it better. One sentence, one line of code at a time. Eventually, small things get larger.
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