Hello All,
Sorry for the long time between announcements, but for those not reading the forums there was a little discussion about when will something new be coming out for It's A Wipe!?! The answer is eventually. I am interested in getting back to doing some more video work, but it is going to take some time to come out with something new with real substance to it. To that end, I would be interested in hearing people's feedback before I get heavily invested in the next release.
The three basic ideas I'm thinking about are: a sequel to It's A Wipe!, a more serious take on fantasy guild management, or a smaller expansion to It's A Wipe! Here's my take on the pros and cons of the different options:
It's A Wipe 2! - I'm starting with this, because it is what I'm leaning towards at the time of this posting. A sequel in my mind would allow for redoing some components of the game to try to improve them, while still keeping the general theme and letting players carry forward their guilds. I feel like the combat system could use a bit of a revamp to allow for new mechanics and a bit more player interaction. The cons would be that it would be a decent investment of both time and money to get done. The original game was done with an intentionally simple design and still took quite a while to complete. But, there is the original to use as a reference and to build upon.
A Serious Fantasy Guild Management Game - This has most of the same cons as doing a sequel, just with the added disadvantage that there would not really be any continuation of guilds from the original. However, it would allow for a change in tone that I would not be comfortable doing in a sequel. This is something that I want to do eventually, even if it is not the next project.
An It's A Wipe! Expansion - The third option would be to do additional content to the existing game. A big pro to this option is that it would likely take the least time to make. The real difficulty would be in coming up with novel fights that don't rehash existing mechanics, without really retooling the combat system. That's why I'm leaning on a sequel rather than additional content for the original. I did spend a good bit of time adding player made raids as a feature, which has not seemed to see much use from what I can tell. At least no one's uploaded anything to the Workshop or let me know that anything isn't working with it.
So, let me know your thoughts! What would you be interested in seeing? What do people think about Kickstarter funding? The original was done out of pocket, since I did not want to waste time trying to fund raise when I could be coding. Though, that might have hurt the art budget.
I also wanted to mention the Steam Awards that they are doing currently and encourage people to go vote. It does not have to be for this game, though I would appreciate it. But, go out there and give indy games some love :veryhappyraider: