Rebooting Development

Development has hit a bit of a snag, with updates trickling to a crawl. There are multiple reasons behind this, but the fundamental reason has been the lack of direction. This project started as an ENF/exhibitionism sandbox, but those are very open-ended themes that rely heavily on context.

I have also focused solely on the game mechanics over the course of development, believing that to be the only elements that make up a game; I was wrong. I held off on writing a story because I wanted players to create their own stories in-game. It's nice to strive towards, but the reality is more complex, and it can be accomplished while also having a story.

Roshutsu has a lot of systems and mechanics, but they're not used for anything. A story gives you reason to use said mechanics. Utilizing all the assets and features the game has at the moment, I created the outline of a short story:

This represents a shift of development into a different direction. Rather than make one humongous game that does everything, I want to instead release shorter, complete games, and build upon each other. I have seen a few other indie developers do this and it seems the best approach, especially considering how small indie budgets like mine are.

Unfortunately this lesson came to me far too late. I neglected Roshutsu for far too long, leading it into decline. Coupled with several costly medical expenses the past few months have put my finances in critical condition. I've run out of time and need to refocus my time and effort into searching for stable income.

Having my attention focused elsewhere might also give me time to step and think more carefully what to do. It's already given me the idea for the script. It would also give me additional money to spend on extra things, something that I've been unable to do so for a while.

Regardless of that, I see this as a reboot of development. Games are much more than their programming, and that's been a painful lesson for me this whole while. But writing the story has reignited my passion for this project and breathed new life to Roshutsu. I'm sorry it's taken me this long to realize, but thank you very much for supporting me during this tough time!

- Jaguar