So I've hit version 0.94 for The Willow Effect. I'm so close now, I can almost taste it. I'm starting to get pretty excited not just about finishing, but getting started on the follow up game. But I'm trying to be as disciplined as I can and keep working on TWE.
There are no major technical hurdles left at this stage and the narrative is pretty much done excepting a few tweaks here and there. I'm just waiting on a bit more feedback so I know what really needs polishing. I'm too close to it to really tell myself ya know.
There's also some supplementary media I'd like to do for the game before it releases that I'll include in the download. A postmortem of some description and maybe a lets play style directors commentary and I think a spoiler free walk-through in case people get stuck they won't have to far to go for an answer.
Another issue I'm debating with myself is whether or not to leave people to option to leave a tip (The game is going to be free) or just to have payments switched off entirely. Any comments would be appreciated on that one :)
Beyond that there's a few bits to do like write up the instructions into a nice PDF maybe get some licensing/legal stuff put into it. I think I'll take the Beta down and release maybe a month after that when I have all the media together and release it as a complete set. Then game number 2!
I've a pretty firm idea about how I want game number 2 to work and what it's going to include and not include from a narrative perspective. I'm looking forward to getting stuck into the core mechanics as they're going to be much more complex and hopefully more engaging and natural as a result.
So that's were I'm at now and where I'll be heading in the future. Life is about to get a fair bit more hectic for me though so things are likely to slow down. I'm starting a six month course at work and as my baby girls gets bigger she needs more of my time (and she'll get it) but I won't stop developing.
