I thank you all who participated in the Yai Gameworks 2018 Questionnaire survey a couple months back. As many are probably aware of I am a man of many ideas, and indeed probably too many. I release 2-3 games a year but dates get pushed back, some are left idling for months to years before they eventually release. I won’t promise this won’t change, but as a solid effort applying some strategies I’ve learned within the last few months and a plight to achieve one of my dream games, Complete Isolation, I will explain a crazy thing I’m about to try and apply myself to do, then the reasoning, and finally the specifics.
Between February of 2018 to April of 2019 I want to release 12 video games onto Steam.
Now there’s a few reasons I have chosen to attempt this honestly foolish errand, especially foolish for me. I originally had set my sights to work on a dream project I’ve had in my head for many years, my first actual big project titled, “Complete Isolation.” I held a funding campaign for this game back in 2013 on Indiegogo, who’s funding has been used for all my projects to produce the music you all hear in my games. Still, here we are five years later and CI still does not exist. I want to make it, I desperately do, and I originally had planned to commit myself to it this year. That was until all my analysis, self-reflection, crunching, talking with others, and reason pointed me to pursuing another goal first, to do something else foolish first so that CI would be a less foolish endeavor and a safer bet.
You see, Complete Isolation is planned as an episodic gameplay experience. Episodic releases work best on a timed release manner; being timely with episodes is important. That means having a good groundwork you can easily build off of, self-discipline, a solid plan and commitment, and short development cycles. These are all things I need to master, and trying to wrangle that first-hand on an episodic game would be setting many up for disappointment of delays when I inevitability failed to deliver on time. I need to practice this first, but in a form that isn’t both as anti-consumer and as financially risky as a longer term episodic game. Climb a hill before a mountain kinda’ thing.
Add to this CI needs to look the part, it has a bigger investment, bigger cost, and as I’d be tackling a large chunk of the game myself from coding to design to music and writing and voice directing I’d need someone to do the art, a pretty sizable amount of drawn art and sprite work as well. But the needed art amount is hefty, and I’m not in a financial position to offer a decent payment upfront. Rincs, my partner in crime on projects who’s done the drawn art on my projects, hasn’t seen a cent from Yai Gameworks sales and I feel awful about it. I need her for a longer term but don’t want to run her ragged, and need to pay her properly for her work. I should save up and split profits, but even that is a huge uncertainty. I need to secure more income, and allow her more time to do art for the project between her busy life.
Add to all of this having Yai Gameworks name out there and more experience under our belt can only be a good thing.
I decided to propose a challenge to myself, a series of experimental games on a planned and tight schedule. This is a way to work myself to a position where I can hopefully form the experience and conviction needed to do an episodic structure, all while getting more games and experiences under my belt. All while hopefully earning some money and making some more things available to all of you guys I hope that y’all enjoy. It may even work out to be a good way to market it as the steps up to try and achieve Complete Isolation.
There’s more to all of this. But I plan to in the upcoming week make a video detailing it all a little further. This plan isn’t just to make more games however, it’s to make an over-a-year plan and stick to it. The first game of this challenge is already released, it can be found as Please Love My Computer Game on Steam. However, I will now detail the rest of the plan to you all. I cannot guarantee I will be able to meet and achieve what I hope to, but I can tell you I’m going to be working hard to achieve my own dreams which I view this as a crucial step towards.
So if things pan out, what can you all expect?
APRIL 2018:
-”The Crack I Found That Taketh”
A nearly dialogue-less 3D exploration and discovery experimental game about a crack in the floor.
MAY 2018:
-”Red Haze” big content update
The big content update for Red Haze hits, including all endings, new areas, new story, new secrets, lag fixes, more scene skips, and more.
JUNE 2018:
-”Unlabeled”
An 8-bit game inspired by Hellnight and Nanashi no Game about an NPC in a small RPG village that one day gains sentience, and begins to be stalked by an ever-evolving monstrosity. Partner up with other people in the village that can permanently die at anytime, leading you down different storyline paths.
JULY 2018
-”Hellscape”
You are a Demigod on a dying world abandoned by the True Gods. Walk among men and explore the hellscape left behind,meeting devotees, non-believers, deformed and withering beings who may love or hate you. You may guide them to nurish a future, or trample them into oblivion. What gift may you give a disgusting world with no hope?
AUGUST 2018
-”The Killing Kink Nunster”
A B-Horror Comedy game about a group of college kids who all are a bit messed up and kinky getting trapped in a cathedral with the monstrous nun known as the Killing Kink Nunster, who wishes to eradicate their sin and pay their dues with their blood. It’s a lot weirder and even more twisted than you think.
-”Close Your Eyes -Anniversary Remake”
A remake of Close Your Eyes with new content, a new scenario, a remake of Girl’s Graveyard, new modes, a new open world connecting world, and a lot of surprises to prep for the eventual sequel.
SEPTEMBER 2018:
-”Cootie Patootie”
A reimagining of a previous game I made for Ludum Dare. Join Cootie Patrootie as she goes on a magical journey of self-discovery to find love!
OCTOBER 2018
-”RODE: Remorse Observation Dream Emulation”
For the 20th anniversary of the cult gem, LSD: Dream Emulator, have this 3D first-person love letter to it.
NOVEMBER 2018:
-”Box Pusher”
A nice relaxing little puzzle game about pushing boxes. It might seem a little off, but that’s probably nothing.
JANUARY 2019:
-”The Seafaring Incident”
You’re on a seven day cruise in the Pacific, but something is very wrong. Over the course of 7 days you’ll need to investigate these mysterious circumstances and work out how to keep your head above water.
FEBRUARY 2019:
-”The Silhouette of the Alluring Rose”
A more normalized RPG Maker-esque dark fantasy puzzle horror starring a frilly girl… IN 3D!
April 2019:
-”(untitled at this time)”
An experimental little MMO experience in a Yume Nikki-esque exploration game.
Regardless, this will be a busy year, and I hope to surprise you all throughout the year. The easiest way to keep up with Yai Gameworks news, socialize, little surprises, and collaborate is to join the official Yai Gameworks discord, which you may find here: https://discord.gg/EVwaARY