So close, we can taste it.
We know those words don't mean much, but nonetheless, we're leaps and bounds closer to releasing.
Obviously this is not where we thought we'd be. All we can say at this point is that we are still relatively new at this, and bound to make mistakes. Granted, this isn't a mistake we ourselves thought we'd make, but here we are.
We've got things lined up so the same won't happen with Episode 3 (getting more people to split the work load, learning when to when to keep our mouths shut about release dates... etc). But first, we've gotta get Episode 2 out. No one wants the game out more than we do, and that's the truth.
And so, in the meantime, here's some more development Q&A!
Vaygren Development Q&A #2
Any plans on (main) character customization?
For future games, maybe, but not for Lustful Temptations. Any visual changes would pose a big challenge to making the sprites & CGs match up (not impossible, but a lot of work), and any changes such as name, etc, would require multiple takes of every voice line (again, not impossible, but a lot of work and a lot more assets to deal with).
What are some of the inspiration sources that went into this project?
Lot's and lots of hentai and anime from the 90s and early 2000s. Angel Blade, La Blue Girl, Bible Black, The Slayers, Tenchi Muyo, etc. We like new anime too, but those eras were the shows that really introduced us to anime, and still stick with us.
Do you guys already have an ending for LT?
Yeah, the entire game was written and planned out years ago. There are a few parts in some of the latter episodes that we want to expand on and slightly rework, but the majority of the story is the same as when we started.
How were you guys so wrong on the release date?
Hubris. Overestimating how fast we can do things. Underestimating the amount of work. Lots of reasons that all combined to make this big mess, but the biggest mistake was announcing a release date before we really had a handle on how long production would take.
Are all 6 eps technically done in terms of early CG drafts, or did you decide to go Episode by Episode?
All the game CGs up until the final episode are at least rough sketched, many are basically finished (as far as the art goes, they still need some final cleanup and exported properly so the game can deal with eye blinks and lipflaps, etc). This also doesn't include any CGs that we decide are needed to smooth out the visual pacing of the game.
I know you used to have more comics and animations relating to Vaygren on gumroad. Will we be able to buy those again?
We are working on getting a new storefront up. We'll post an update on steam once the store launches, so people that are interested in more Vaygren content (comics, animations, etc) can check them out!
Near the end of development, will you go back to previous episodes to rework and polish them?
Yes, in places where it makes sense. We already know at least 2 places in Episode 1 that we want to rework/improve, but that's low on the priority list right now.
How much will our choices matter in later episodes?
Although your choices won't change the outcome of the overarching story, they WILLunlock additional scenes and events that Nyx will experience, focused on her relationships with her team.
Is steam censoring the game in anyway?
Only in the sense that if you go to the game page while logged out, it looks like you've hit an error page because their age gate page just looks like an error >_<. We've gotten so many messages from people telling us that the steam page is broken. Please fix this steam.
But as for anything else, we already knew the general ground rules of what Steam would and wouldn't allow when we started planning the game, so we made sure the content would all be within Steam's limits of acceptability.
Are you happy with how the game looks and plays currently?
Absolutely.
We love the look and feel of the game. Sometimes even we forget we're playing a game and feel like we're just watching an anime, and that really is the vibe we were shooting for.
The game is currently a bit more resource intensive than we'd like, though, so we are constantly trying to find ways to optimize things behind the scenes.
How big will the game be at the end?
Each episodes is roughly the same length, give or take (it evens out between a few of them). So assuming players are actually reading the dialog, and depending on how fast you read/click… between 6 and 9 hours.
Are you planning to have changes of perspective of events on the series?
Yes, but they will be very minor in the main game. We've tossed around the idea of doing some DLC after the main game is complete showing some events from the perspectives of other characters, but whether or not we end up deciding to do that is still up in the air.
Are you guys planning on a sequel?
At the very least, we do plan on more games that take place in the world of Vaygren. Whether or not any of those will be a direct sequel remains to be seen.
Will this upset my ancestors?
Well, that really depends on your ancestors… but probably.
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That's it for now, so back to finishing Episode 2!
If you've got any questions you'd like to see answered, whether it's about game development or Vaygren lore, drop them in the comments below or shoot us a message on Discord, and it might get mentioned in the next Q&A post!
As usual, back to the game dev mines.