Let's talk about the development of Does The Moon Dream. I'll aim to be fully transparent here, giving you all the information I can on how much of development is done, how much is left, and how long I think it will take to complete. The biggest factor for determining this will be what direction I take development in.
There's a couple different directions that I can take the development of Does The Moon Dream:
Standard. Full-Game Release
Episodic Release
Early Access
I want to hear your opinion on which is the most appealing.
Full-Game Release
Release the game when it's all done. This is what I originally planned. However, this means no income from the game until its finished. As such, I wouldn't be able to spend as much time on it as I would like. It would mean slimming down both Act 3 and the ending. While it would be trimmed down content-wise I promise not to skim on quality. The game will release in a complete, functional state.
Pros:
Game releases with a complete story. Simple, no worrying about missing episodes or cliffhanger endings.
Earliest release date. This route would mean the game getting finished sooner.
Cons:
Reduced content for later levels. Sooner release means less time to spend on the unfinished chapters. To be frank, it would mean wrapping up the story very quickly.
Episodic Release
The game will release as multiple episodes sold in separate groups. I would work on fixing up Episodes 1 & 2 and release them as a single store item before the end of 2025. Depending on their lengths, Episode 3 & 4 would either release separately, or bundled together as a single store item too.
Pros:
Greater freedom with later episodes. I can add something to episode 3 or 4 and not spend time updating the earlier episodes to accommodate it.
Cons:
Updates to core systems will not be retroactive. If a core system is upgraded for episode 3 or 4, it won't affect the earlier chapters.
Early Access Release
Early access release would include the first 2 chapters. The 2nd chapter would remain similar to the Rainy Town demo, but the 1st chapter would be revised to match the updates to the systems made since it originally released in 2024. There would also be additional content added between these chapters and after chapter 2. Early access would start by the end of 2025. From there it would receive two more major updates before concluding the story. If it performs well, there is also the possibility of additional major updates.
Pros:
Game will exit early access as a single, complete package. No need to worry about purchasing separate episodes.
Upgrades to game systems will be retroactive. If a core system gets updated for the ending chapter, those improvements will be present for the whole game.
Increased update frequency. Game would receive more frequent, smaller updates in between the releases of each major update.
Possibility of bonus game modes. Being a single package, it would be easier to add in bonus game modes like an arena mode as additional content.
Cons:
Possible risk of tech debt. Any changes to core systems will need to be checked to ensure they don't cause bugs in earlier chapters.
Other Questions You Might Have:
What does "Work Needed" mean for Act 1?
A lot of the core systems for DoTMoD were made and refined during the development of Act 2 (a big reason why Act 2 took so long to make). These are things like the movement system, combat, inventory, rendering, enemy AI, and more. I'd need to make some updates to Act 1 to make sure it runs properly with the new systems. Plus, I'd like to take the opportunity to refine Act 1 a little now that I have a deeper understanding of what I want DoTMoD to be. This is what most of the time until an early access or episodic release would be spent on, about a month or two.
What if you do episodic release or Early Access, but then the game doesn't sell?
That's a tough question to answer, but a definite possibility so I'll do my best to give as honest of an answer as I can. If DoTMoD doesn't sell like at all, then I don't know if I'd be able to spend the proper amount of time on it. That's why DoTMoD's early access would increase in price as major updates are added. That way, you're paying for what is already there, and if development is cancelled then you won't have paid for parts that never came out. Regardless, I still want to do my best to give it a proper ending. Low sales could possibly cause the later chapters to be more streamlined, but then it would result in a content and release time similar to the full-release schedule.
Why does it take so long to make a game?
As a solo-dev, it takes a lot of time to make to make anything substantial. Plus I also have to take time away from development to spend on marketing. When I first started work on chapter 2, I thought I could get it done in 2 months. Thankfully, I don't expect the other chapters to take as long since most of the core systems are now complete. However, I want to give liberal estimates on how much time each update/episode will take. I don't want to make promises I might not keep, but if I can get them done sooner than estimated, awesome.
So those are the different directions the remaining development of Does The Moon Dream could take. I want to hear your opinion on which option seems the most appealing. Please let me know, and I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have.