I just read your comment on this not being continued for now because of multiple things irl, and even if I'm sad about it because this was great, I'm glad you actually told us. I have quite a few other games I have 0 idea if are being continued or not and it's rather frustrating since the creators haven't said anything but also continue to use social media ignoring people asking what's going on with the games.
also, I've never tried to make a VN but I have done some coding and such, and it's a LOT more complicated than it seems when being described by others, so I get the struggle to continue doing it daily or on a schedule for an entire month over and over especially since you said you have ADHD and because it took so long every time with a lot less progress than the effort seemed.
so I guess goodbye for now, I hope you had at least a little fun during the time you worked on this and in the future you get to do what you want to without feeling obligated to do it. thanks for sharing this stories start and I wish you luck in future endeavors!
Is there any chance of the fabled 1.09 Patreon release coming here, or is that too much to ask too late? I was one of your patrons (happily, of course!), finished the 1.09 build and deleted everything but the saves in preparation for the next.
Don't ask - we all have our own neuroses haha.
Before I was able to re-download 1.09 for posterity's sake, the Patreon was taken offline and I haven't been able to find it since...
P.S. And @Healer, I completely understand the stress from both the work itself and the need to please people who give money for what really amounts to passion projects. I've been mulling over / world-building / on-and-off working on my own VN since beginning of pandemic and I always think "but what if I'm the next Blackgate?!" lol.
I hope at some point in the future (and not necessarily soon; you need to do it on your own time when you feel you are ready) you're able to find yourself a competent programmer to take the Ren'Py load off of your shoulders and pick this up again. It was truly great while it lasted.
Deserves 5 stars, but since it has been dropped... 5 stars but also a frowning emoji.
This visual novel was a truly captivating and immersive experience. The story was engaging and accomplished what few others have for me: throw a hefty amount of text at you (with little sprite movement relative the length of conversation) and not have me notice until round 3 getting through the initial routes. The two most universe-building lore-heavy sequences have no choices, and almost no sprite movement but it didn't matter. It is unfortunate that the energy spent creating won't enjoy resolution.
The characters were well-developed and relatable. The worldbuilding--which for any VN can be a challenge, but for one like this that introduces fundamental changes to the fabric of the _practical_ universe it can be tedious at best or skull-numbing torture at worst--is accomplished as nimbly as a top class Raven. Imagine ELI5-ing LoTR with the level of detail for daily-use application of magic that comes with Harry Potter; sounds hard right? Now do it in an hour and make sure none of it feels like information overload. Also throw in some quality smut-adjacent content. That's even harder (heh). It is impressive to say the least.
I loved the concept of exploring a brand new world of magic and encountering all sorts of unique and interesting beings. The level of detail about the simple mechanics of the world (think "how would a one-size-fits-all-species toilet work" level of detail).
Unique and (as much as they could be) fully fleshed-out starting paths almost makes the abrupt end worse. Overall, I highly recommend this visual novel to anyone who enjoys both fun furry romps in magic-land as well as feelings of loss.
It's truly sad that TDA is no longer being developed. It had so much potential and left me wanting more. It's a shame that we'll never get to see the full potential of this VN. I would be delighted to be wrong about this.
Given the radio silence, it is hard to know what happened, I hope the dev is ok. Regardless of how much it stinks to have another VN to add to my unfinished-tails folder it sucks more to left guessing if the artist is doing ok because this is challenging work.
I apologize for the long response but your review touched me and felt I needed to share a longer version of my decision to put down TDA.
I can't express how sad this makes me, but in a bittersweet way like remembering a loved pet that's no longer here. The appreciation you've outlined here for the world I was building makes my heart so full. The magic system that I used in TDA I've been toying with and reworking for a decade. It was first a non-furry, book (50 pages or so, also unfinished) and then I tried to overlap my love for world building and my lust for furry VNs. It was more daunting than I had expected.
Developing a VN is technically easy. Anyone can do it. The difficulty is persistence and dedication, which isn't a strong suit for my ADHD brain. I bit off more than I could chew.
Writing a chapter for TDA would take about 4-6 hours but then converting that into a VN was overwhelming (scripting the lines, adding expression markers for each new line, adding music, images, transitions, variables to track heart events). That 4-6 hours became 20+. After a long day at work, cooking dinner, taking care of the boys, trying to get to the gym, spending time with my boyfriend, friends, and family, and wanting to have wind-down solo time with a video game meant that I had very little energy/time left each week and I'd be giving up parts of my life to make it.
I started TDA when I lost my job and found free time I hadn't had before. That opened the door for me to pour my creative energy into something I was truly passionate about. I daydreamed that I could grow enough support like Extra Curricular Activities or After Class, and be able to support myself doing something that I loved but that obviously takes time. I also didn't love the idea of being beholden to my supporters (no offense intended!). Although NONE of them were pushy or impatient, guilt would hit me hard when I didn't think I could make a monthly deadline or that the story maybe wouldn't be interesting or spicy or long or unique enough to warrant the support. These demons were internal, to be clear, but a trap I couldn't escape all the same. Writing/creating without expectations is freeing, but doesn't cover the bills.
I contemplated just avoiding Patreon altogether to get rid of the expectations but then this would only be an expense. To add some data, TDA has been downloaded about 15,000 times on Itch but I've only made $134. The background artist I was working with was $100 per background so creating the game free of time constraints and expectations would have costed me a few thousand dollars. Patreon felt like the only way forward, where I was making near $300 per month even early on with few subscribers. It paid for the assets and was a glimmer of hope that perhaps it could support me as well but I couldn't remain jobless for a couple years as my following grew. I don't mean to criticize people who don't donate on itch (I'm that way for 50% of the games I've played), but it becomes impractical for creators looking for a way to put food on the table.
Once I got a job again, if I was to work on TDA only during my free time and when I had the energy left to give, I could only realistically give a few hours each weekend. A chapter would end up taking months to finish and with 20+ chapters planned with 5 unique chapters per datable character the roadmap was at least 6-8 years. It felt so daunting.
The other killer was just how lonely it was. I was creating a world that people were enjoying but I was doing it alone. There was no one to share the success but also the tediousness of creating it. The idea of building something for years by myself was killing my mental health. I'm an introvert in many ways but no solo activity has kept me motivated for long. TDA is my longest project I've ever stuck with on my own.
I love creating. I still draw from time to time and write short stories on other platforms, but they have small finite ends. And there's no expectation for a sketch or short story to appear and so whether it's been 1 week or 1 year since a post no one worries or messages me.
I'm partly in denial for TDA being gone forever. There were moments, a couple years ago, when I thought about just publishing everything I had: sketches for characters not yet introduced, outfits and scenes I had drawn, the character arcs I had planned for each character. Just to give everything I had so at least we'd all be on the same page for what was in my mind; but I couldn't. Giving that all away feels like the final, internal confirmation that I was done and I haven't been ready to do that.
Please don't read too optimistically into that though. For me to ever consider revisiting TDA I would need to do-so with a team and if that doesn't include my boyfriend or a close friend then it still involves me giving up on other parts of my life to revitalize TDA and the chance of that being true is incredibly low (no one in my IRL appreciates the furry world).
So, thank you for your incredible review of my little unemployment project. I, too, love the world TDA is set in and hope it was enjoyable even if unfulfilling.
Lack of chronomagic is the biggest downside of real life, huh? My feelings resonate so much with all those mentioned misalignments and circumstances that it hurts. Only the best wishes to you though (or anyone who happens to read it for that matter).
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I just read your comment on this not being continued for now because of multiple things irl, and even if I'm sad about it because this was great, I'm glad you actually told us. I have quite a few other games I have 0 idea if are being continued or not and it's rather frustrating since the creators haven't said anything but also continue to use social media ignoring people asking what's going on with the games.
also, I've never tried to make a VN but I have done some coding and such, and it's a LOT more complicated than it seems when being described by others, so I get the struggle to continue doing it daily or on a schedule for an entire month over and over especially since you said you have ADHD and because it took so long every time with a lot less progress than the effort seemed.
so I guess goodbye for now, I hope you had at least a little fun during the time you worked on this and in the future you get to do what you want to without feeling obligated to do it. thanks for sharing this stories start and I wish you luck in future endeavors!
Is there any chance of the fabled 1.09 Patreon release coming here, or is that too much to ask too late? I was one of your patrons (happily, of course!), finished the 1.09 build and deleted everything but the saves in preparation for the next.
Don't ask - we all have our own neuroses haha.
Before I was able to re-download 1.09 for posterity's sake, the Patreon was taken offline and I haven't been able to find it since...
P.S. And @Healer, I completely understand the stress from both the work itself and the need to please people who give money for what really amounts to passion projects. I've been mulling over / world-building / on-and-off working on my own VN since beginning of pandemic and I always think "but what if I'm the next Blackgate?!" lol.
I hope at some point in the future (and not necessarily soon; you need to do it on your own time when you feel you are ready) you're able to find yourself a competent programmer to take the Ren'Py load off of your shoulders and pick this up again. It was truly great while it lasted.
I loved the game, I hope you manage to finish! congratulations regardless
The game has been officially dropped according to Healer Main.
It is sad to see such an amazing VN get dropped.
I agree. I wish it wasn't, but he is happy at least.
"Abandoned vn? Eh, i'm too curious to just skip it. After all, what's the worst that could happen?"
I was so foolish. Now i'm thinking about things that could be, but (probably) never will.T_T
Deserves 5 stars, but since it has been dropped... 5 stars but also a frowning emoji.
This visual novel was a truly captivating and immersive experience. The story was engaging and accomplished what few others have for me: throw a hefty amount of text at you (with little sprite movement relative the length of conversation) and not have me notice until round 3 getting through the initial routes. The two most universe-building lore-heavy sequences have no choices, and almost no sprite movement but it didn't matter. It is unfortunate that the energy spent creating won't enjoy resolution.
The characters were well-developed and relatable. The worldbuilding--which for any VN can be a challenge, but for one like this that introduces fundamental changes to the fabric of the _practical_ universe it can be tedious at best or skull-numbing torture at worst--is accomplished as nimbly as a top class Raven. Imagine ELI5-ing LoTR with the level of detail for daily-use application of magic that comes with Harry Potter; sounds hard right? Now do it in an hour and make sure none of it feels like information overload. Also throw in some quality smut-adjacent content. That's even harder (heh). It is impressive to say the least.
I loved the concept of exploring a brand new world of magic and encountering all sorts of unique and interesting beings. The level of detail about the simple mechanics of the world (think "how would a one-size-fits-all-species toilet work" level of detail).
Unique and (as much as they could be) fully fleshed-out starting paths almost makes the abrupt end worse. Overall, I highly recommend this visual novel to anyone who enjoys both fun furry romps in magic-land as well as feelings of loss.
It's truly sad that TDA is no longer being developed. It had so much potential and left me wanting more. It's a shame that we'll never get to see the full potential of this VN. I would be delighted to be wrong about this.
Given the radio silence, it is hard to know what happened, I hope the dev is ok. Regardless of how much it stinks to have another VN to add to my unfinished-tails folder it sucks more to left guessing if the artist is doing ok because this is challenging work.
I apologize for the long response but your review touched me and felt I needed to share a longer version of my decision to put down TDA.
I can't express how sad this makes me, but in a bittersweet way like remembering a loved pet that's no longer here. The appreciation you've outlined here for the world I was building makes my heart so full. The magic system that I used in TDA I've been toying with and reworking for a decade. It was first a non-furry, book (50 pages or so, also unfinished) and then I tried to overlap my love for world building and my lust for furry VNs. It was more daunting than I had expected.
Developing a VN is technically easy. Anyone can do it. The difficulty is persistence and dedication, which isn't a strong suit for my ADHD brain. I bit off more than I could chew.
Writing a chapter for TDA would take about 4-6 hours but then converting that into a VN was overwhelming (scripting the lines, adding expression markers for each new line, adding music, images, transitions, variables to track heart events). That 4-6 hours became 20+. After a long day at work, cooking dinner, taking care of the boys, trying to get to the gym, spending time with my boyfriend, friends, and family, and wanting to have wind-down solo time with a video game meant that I had very little energy/time left each week and I'd be giving up parts of my life to make it.
I started TDA when I lost my job and found free time I hadn't had before. That opened the door for me to pour my creative energy into something I was truly passionate about. I daydreamed that I could grow enough support like Extra Curricular Activities or After Class, and be able to support myself doing something that I loved but that obviously takes time. I also didn't love the idea of being beholden to my supporters (no offense intended!). Although NONE of them were pushy or impatient, guilt would hit me hard when I didn't think I could make a monthly deadline or that the story maybe wouldn't be interesting or spicy or long or unique enough to warrant the support. These demons were internal, to be clear, but a trap I couldn't escape all the same. Writing/creating without expectations is freeing, but doesn't cover the bills.
I contemplated just avoiding Patreon altogether to get rid of the expectations but then this would only be an expense. To add some data, TDA has been downloaded about 15,000 times on Itch but I've only made $134. The background artist I was working with was $100 per background so creating the game free of time constraints and expectations would have costed me a few thousand dollars. Patreon felt like the only way forward, where I was making near $300 per month even early on with few subscribers. It paid for the assets and was a glimmer of hope that perhaps it could support me as well but I couldn't remain jobless for a couple years as my following grew. I don't mean to criticize people who don't donate on itch (I'm that way for 50% of the games I've played), but it becomes impractical for creators looking for a way to put food on the table.
Once I got a job again, if I was to work on TDA only during my free time and when I had the energy left to give, I could only realistically give a few hours each weekend. A chapter would end up taking months to finish and with 20+ chapters planned with 5 unique chapters per datable character the roadmap was at least 6-8 years. It felt so daunting.
The other killer was just how lonely it was. I was creating a world that people were enjoying but I was doing it alone. There was no one to share the success but also the tediousness of creating it. The idea of building something for years by myself was killing my mental health. I'm an introvert in many ways but no solo activity has kept me motivated for long. TDA is my longest project I've ever stuck with on my own.
I love creating. I still draw from time to time and write short stories on other platforms, but they have small finite ends. And there's no expectation for a sketch or short story to appear and so whether it's been 1 week or 1 year since a post no one worries or messages me.
I'm partly in denial for TDA being gone forever. There were moments, a couple years ago, when I thought about just publishing everything I had: sketches for characters not yet introduced, outfits and scenes I had drawn, the character arcs I had planned for each character. Just to give everything I had so at least we'd all be on the same page for what was in my mind; but I couldn't. Giving that all away feels like the final, internal confirmation that I was done and I haven't been ready to do that.
Please don't read too optimistically into that though. For me to ever consider revisiting TDA I would need to do-so with a team and if that doesn't include my boyfriend or a close friend then it still involves me giving up on other parts of my life to revitalize TDA and the chance of that being true is incredibly low (no one in my IRL appreciates the furry world).
So, thank you for your incredible review of my little unemployment project. I, too, love the world TDA is set in and hope it was enjoyable even if unfulfilling.
<3 Healer Main
Lack of chronomagic is the biggest downside of real life, huh? My feelings resonate so much with all those mentioned misalignments and circumstances that it hurts. Only the best wishes to you though (or anyone who happens to read it for that matter).
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha