Going into 2024! What to expect in the New Year.

With the excitement of 2023 nearly wrapped up and a brand new year approaches, now is the perfect time to sit down with a cup of coffee, reflect upon the past year, and get some ideas cooking for the next one!

Looking Back

This past year was a year of experimenting and trying new things. I obviously want to add some variety in both the project that I work on, as well as the avenues in which I generate income to continue making these games. I definitely tried a few things, each with a very mild result.

• Gumroad - Fans have expressed interest in being able to purchase the CGs from my past games since Veronica's Body and I didn't really know how to go about providing that in a manner that was fair to both myself and Zinovia. It turns out that the best way to split was on Gumroad, and that it was through their referral link program. When people use the links, it works well enough, but the main issue is... There's basically 0 discovery. Sites like itchio and Steam will recommend similar games and items to those that you've already bought, allowing more people to come across your stuff. I often forget I have it until the once-every-two-months sale that pops up in my inbox. I was initially hoping for a little more, but without that extra discovery, I don't expect much from it anymore.
• [Redacted] - I avoided setting up one of these for so long, since it seemed like it would just double the amount of time I spend on Patreon instead of working on the next game... but with things as unstable as they are, I felt like it would be wise to have a backup option. It's clear that Patreon is still a clear favorite (and is still easier to use despite them trying their hardest to make it worse with every update), so there has been little discovery and interest on [redacted]. I was hoping that both would grow in parallel at first, but now I don't mind that much. It will be there for those who want it and that's good and well enough for me.
• Lustfall's Kickstarter Campaign - As we get close to the end of the epic saga that is Lustfall, I was hoping for enough of a boost in funding to sit down and finish it with 100% of my time and attention devoted to it. I honestly expected to be rejected by Kickstarter and go to Indiegogo, but when they approved, it was show time! To be honest, I wasn't really expecting it to work out just based on the low frequency of "pay what you will" downloads occur on itchio, but those first few days were pretty exciting! Ultimately, it we fell far short of our goal, but I'm glad I tried, and might run one for future games.
• Damsels of Vice 2: Project Mesmer - I'm glad to see that the series has fans, despite it still not doing nearly as well as the Body series. I'm also happy I took the time to flesh out the concepts left behind by the first game a bit more. I definitely want to mix things up when I tackle a third game in the series, as I already have an idea for the plot, but I'm not quite sure how it will evolve... or how to expand the series' reach.
• The Capture Games - Literally a shower concept! Working on this really super-charged my understanding of RPG Maker's underlying code and giga-buffed my programming skills. I had a ton of fun figuring out the logic to the roguelite mechanics and it's fulfilling to see it all come together. Using the 3dmv plug-in by cutievirus was also a great experience. It was just the palate cleanser I needed... That being said, if I were to make a follow-up to it, I would use a game engine more suited for 3D gameplay.

Overall, I'm very happy with how this year tuned out. Despite trying a lot of things that didn't work out, I'm glad I was able to take those risks. Sometimes, they just don't pay off like you hope that they would...

BUT THEY WILL IN 2024, BAYBEEE!!!!!

Ok, maybe they will, maybe they wont. I like to stay optimistic moving forward, since a new year is another year of potential for amazing games and experiences!

• Lustfall Update 9 - Available NOW for subscribers of the Kinkster tier (or higher) in the Early Access version. It's technically done (unless some major bugs are reported), but there are some CGs and other art assets I want to commission for the game before turning it loose on everyone. I also have a new character cameo to add, which in all honesty, is the perfect time for things like this since the wait between now and when they're implemented will be shorter.
• Lustfall Update 10 - The final major update is almost upon us... I just need to make it. Unlike the other chapters, I didn't have time to work ahead and have it done in advance. This means that everything upcoming is unwritten. I have my notes and the plan for how I want the story to progress and conclude, so I'm hoping that Hanaja's Body 2 in One will be a big enough success that I can take some guilt-free time off to finish this before jumping on to the next project.
• Hanaja's Body 2 in One - How do I capitalize on the success and brand recognition of Hanaja's Body while actually making a game about Victoria? SMASH THEM TOGETHER! This will be the game coming out... probably around late Feb or early March of 2024. Working on the fusion elements for combat and overworld gameplay is a lot of fun... although the writing can be a bit tricky at times. Overall, I am VERY excited about how it's turning out.
• After HB2? - That's still up for debate. I have some thoughts for DoV3 in the works, but I am missing a key piece of how I want to bring it all together. The Bimbo system would probably be changed in favor some something else but I would have to think about it. I also became intrigued by the idea of the "Reverse Power Fantasy" style of game and had an idea of one that played on the Magical Transformation tropes in a unique way... but just like with DoV3, I haven't had an idea for the gameplay to really make it stick!
• The Short Story - I started writing a short story in 2022 and got around to finishing it this year. I've been looking into where to sell it and how to go about getting good cover art (since everything has realistic/stock photos), but I haven't made a lot of progress on the publishing side of things outside a little research. Still, it might be the thing to try next year and add more websites to manage onto the pile...
• Other things - I WILL make this match-3 puzzle quest style game I've wanted to make these last few years!!! Maybe not this year. Maybe not next year. But it will be done before the heat-death of the universe! I also had the idea for a Vampire Survivors clone that involves a lot of corruption and TF mechanics, along side a clickey game like Cookie Clicker. Once Lustfall is finished, I will have a lot more time to play around with new game engines and try out these concepts.
• Patreon overhaul?! - Once Lustfall is released, it will have to be done for a lot of tiers... but I should really sit down and change up how I do things. I am looking at the rewards like the development logs and... locking them behind paywalls seems pretty dumb, doesn't it? Like, if I don't tell people what I'm working on, how am I supposed to get people interested and build hype?! Perhaps I am just bad at these tier reward incentives, but I think I just really need to sit down and give it a good, hard think. There's got to be a way to make things more exciting and interesting to both subs and non-subs alike! (Don't worry, if I make any changes, I will announce it beforehand so people can change tiers/unsub/sub before any big changes happen.)

That was a doozy of a write up! There's a lot of exciting things to "come" in 2024, so I hope you'll continue to join me on this wonderful adventure as I continue to come up with more naughty and twisted games for your pleasure.

As always, I'll be chilling in the discord and you can comment here if you have any thoughts, wishes, or things YOU would like to see from me this upcoming year.

Stay safe and have a KINKY New Year!!!