In the end, I just want to make a good game and have it be successful so I can make even better ones in the future. Success to me means three things. I want to please my audience. I want to fulfill my creative vision. Lastly, I want the endeavor to be profitable so that it is sustainable.
I’ve always thought about this as my dev compass. These goals can be at odds, but somewhere there is a sweet spot where each aspect is satisfied. After years of searching, I think I’m getting close to finding it.
If you fine folks that are html advocates can brainstorm a single idea that makes the html game economic it will rapidly get updated.
I've thought about this long and hard for years and the path I am currently on is the only one I see where I can fulfill my goals.
I like the html game too but I had to make many creative sacrifices for practical reasons. Nowadays it could potentially get redone with AI to make it more like I wanted and have proper pictures that match and have continuity and consistent resolutions. The audience was pleased as long as I pumped updates for an unlivable wage. I tried many different tactics but the consensus was Transfigure had good ratings and good views - enough to be economic if it could be sold in some fashion - but that few will donate or pay because it is massive and free and there is a lot of competition (plus it is incomplete). All ad revenue goes to 3rd parties and all stress and hate mail goes to Tango. I could barely afford a glass of water doing this so even though there are many html enthusiasts, if I would follow their direction of doing everything endlessly for almost free I would literally die and the game would never be completed. The development math does not work out here. I am also not going to host a version of my game that is worse than the existing free hosted ad free versions.
The visual novel I am making now is what I originally wanted to create 7 years ago but couldn't. It is turning out better than what I thought I could make with a team and a decent budget 7 years ago. I was going to write a big story and partner with an artist and pay for the rest. That is not what happened. Instead I learned everything from scratch and did almost everything by myself to save money. I'd say my creative fulfillment is currently at max because I am a solo dev in control of everything and I am wearing a lot of different hats. I've seen a lot of negative comments about various art styles but there is no winner in this regard because all styles are hated and loved by some. Some styles are more monetizable than others. I have delayed the demo many times because I did not think it looked good enough. This is no longer the case. I am very proud of Transfigure. Even if you think the art is garbage, the stories will not disappoint and if you want all the endings you might have to pick up a copy of the VN. The VN is definitely the premium experience by far.
As it is, I intend to use future html releases as advertisements for the visual novel. Since it already has ~40 complete endings, it is likely some of the best endings like ending #100 will direct you to purchase the VN to get the full conclusion of the story.
