So I noticed a couple of people asking if my site is abandoned. A completely reasonable question, since I haven’t really said anything since February.
The answer is sort of, yeah, probably. But it’s not because I don’t want to keep writing spanking games. I keep messing around with different gaming ideas, and then stalling out before they get anywhere, most of them before I even put pencil to paper.
The problem is that fundamentally, RPGs and RPG combat are my true love. So any efforts to do anything else, generally just don’t hold my attention for very long. Writing CYOA and nothing but CYOA can get very monotonous for me, especially when I try to add gamification elements to it. This is what happened to the Cat Burglar game I was working on, as well as Samantha Stone.
One nice thing about Scarlet Moon was that I was able to bounce between the combat and the writing, so there was usually some part of the game I was in the mood to work on. The combat mechanics also gave me a nice way of tying in some character development into the CYOA part, so that even if there weren’t a whole lot of impactful choices in the fiction, players could at least influence how their character developed.
However, RPG combat is *difficult* and it can very easily get quite complex. Plus, of course I have yet to find any game engines that can handle a mix of CYOA and RPG combat well (all efforts I’ve seen in something like Twine have felt awkward to play, and very complicated to code, meanwhile RPGMaker is *terrible* at handling walls of text). So I have to roll my own. But UI’s are *hard*, and time consuming and I’m terrible at them. Meanwhile, real life is just getting more and more demanding as I get older.
So if I did write another game, it’d probably just be on the terminal, and most people don’t really go for that. Second, of course I’d need to figure out some RPG combat mechanics that can be fun, but also easy to work with. Scarlet Moon’s were fun, but rather difficult to work with.
So, yeah. I’ll keep maintaining the site of course, and I’m sure I’ll keep fiddling with stuff in the background, but who knows if and when I’ll ever make something else. But if I do, I’ll post both here and animeotk!
Thank you for the update.
I can understand your feeling, tons of ideas, little time to put on paper or no time or felling to work them.
That’s where we can help. We as your fans, both on here and animeotk.
First:
You have a section on this site, “Other stuff” –> “Eye of the brainstorm” where you can put all your ideas, big or little. So you can free your head for the clutter, let the ideas rest and then see what happens. Maybe you get to improve them, maybe some of us can help you with them. Or maybe they just stay there but at least you are free.
Just give us an head up when you update that page, is a little hidden right now.
Second:
Play different RPGs! While a game like Baldur’s Gate 3 could maybe scratch your RPG combat itch as a player, there are interesting RPG projects you could think as a developer too.
I’m thinking of “Pen & Paper” games in particular. Why? Well, no need to program an UI and all that stuff, so you can concentrate on the writing and meat of the game.
There are some RPG solo games like Colostle (I didn’t play it yet) where there should be combat too. Or just search “solo rpg combat” on any search engine to get more ideas. Ok, I never tried any of this but maybe they could spark some ideas… Or at least entertain you for a bit without stressing on the programming side?
Third:
The plus side of writing a game on paper to work on paper is that mechanics maybe are more clear and then, after long testing and playing…. you could decide to create a videogame version too.
Since it’s all ready, you could think a minimal UI and work at the important parts. Maybe the game revolves around a deck of card, so there is no need to use AI for example? Or maybe you could use the best ideas you got from the solo rpgs to write some games?
Fourth:
don’t be shy to explain what you like…. we can both (you and your fans) get a better idea and maybe help more. What kind of RPG did you think while writing this post?
Five:
your Lillian stories where fantastical. No need to do a game with them. Share your stories without worries.
I’ll live you an email if you want to write a bit.
Be warned, I’m a fan of your work but I’ve never had time to finish Scarlet Moon yet aahah, I should replay it one day…
Thank you again for the update
Just do your thing. Maybe you’ll find sth new and motivating, maybe not. But don’t try to force anything. If you don’t have fun and don’t feel motivated it would be a waste of your talent. 🙂
Hey man, do what you gotta do to keep yourself happy, but don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good either.
If you are looking for RPG-like combat with CYOA, I think Trials in Tainted Space is a solid model. Their combat system allows you to “Tease” in addition to physical attacks, which could lend itself to Spanker/Spankee strategies. There’s also Night Games, but it hasn’t had an update (content wise) in two years, but still a pretty robust combat system.
Honestly though, a terminal based spanking game isn’t necessarily a problem. I think people are willing to try something new even if it’s a bit radical.
Hope you are well. I very much love your games and I hope we get some more in the future.
Thanks! I’m glad you enjoy my games so much. I’m doing well. I’ve just been REALLY busy in real life, and haven’t had the mental energy to do much writing. Still, I do have a couple of things sort of simmering that I poke at here or there, including a possible sequel to Scarlet Moon (though there is NO guarantee it will ever see the light of day, so don’t get too excited). I’ve also hit on a mechanic for a CYOA game that I think might be fairly easy to use, while still giving players interesting decisions to make. We will have to see.