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I've thought for a week about this, and I am currently thinking to release the game as "pure VN". It will probably be around 200k words, it has a lot of choices, endings and 32 (yep, THIRTY-TWO!!!) different CGs, so it's not like there isn't enough content for a VN...

A card gameplay was out of question of course. I thought about RPG gameplay... but the kind of setting won't work as RPG, since the game was made to be team vs team battle. There's no "journey". You don't travel to defeat an enemy evil like Loren, or escape/survive like in SOTW.

A pokemon gameplay MIGHT work. But yet, if I've learned one thing this year, is that the only kind of game in which people like to read, apart VN/Dating Sims (obviously!) it's RPG.
People who want to play card game, fire up Hearthstone/whatever and just play. They don't want to read a 200k words long story no matter how good it is. If they wanted that, they would play a visual novel, dating sim, adventure game, etc (a story-based game).

I will go in detail in the next Friday's blog post about this, but I've (finally lol) realized that the worst thing is to mix two kind of games/gameplay that aren't compatible.

Of course there's still time for UL release. I might come up with some simple gameplay idea, something that could work in the contest without being too much work. We'll see

Meh, interest gone down the drain....

Sorry, but I need to think to self-preservation as indie
As said, a RPG wouldn't work. I would code for 4 months, only to see my effort gone in vain. And even if I added some sort of team battle, it might still not work. The game was built based on the premise that VN+card gameplay was OK, while that really wasn't the case
(no wonder there weren't any other VN+card game around!)

Also another big problem is that (again lol) this game went out of control, too big, so doing any other effort (like coding for months) would add even more risk in case the game doesn't perform as expected.

As will say in next Friday's blog, it's just not possible anymore to have 200k+ words long VN + gameplay and sell them for $20. It's a total suicide in the current market (especially when all other indies make games at best long half that amount, and sell at same price or just $5 less).

Mmmh, so if an rpg framework is off the table, a pure visual novel? (perhaps with stat-raising for friendships/romances like Spirited Heart / Always Remember me?
Would be a shame to loose out on all that awesome artwork and ideas that have gone into Undead Lily (and the Elemental Avengers!)

I don't know the failure of the VN+card game idea messed up all my plans, honestly
When you plan something like this, and have to change everything... it's the worst thing that can happen during the development of a game !

With the various games I had a plan, and executed it. Queen Of Thieves, C14 Dating, etc. But here, the core gameplay idea needed to be changed, and with over half story written in a certain way (team based battles)... not sure. Maybe I just need to make some prototypes to get a new idea before it's too late

Pure VN? Sounds interesting to me!

Well even if in the end I add gameplay, allowing people to play it in "VN Mode" like I did with PSCD wouldn't be a problem anyway

You gotta do what you gotta do. Hopefully it'll sell, but remember Bionic Heart 2.

Bionic Heart 2 was... sci-fi. Coincidence? Even if to be honest I have no clue what category UL fits, it's really weird!
The hilarious thing is that after working on PSCD, the easiest/fastest thing to do for me for UL gameplay would be another card game. Probably once I have all art could be done in 1 month!

A solution I've been considering while talking with writer, was to still do it as card game, but sell the card game separately. Like VN plus card game as DLC.
However, I don't think that people who like card games would pay for a VN part that they probably won't play.
So I've been thinking that the opposite would make more sense. A "battle mode", full featured card game as base, then the possibility to buy a story mode as DLC.
Or in the end, just do two separate games I need to check on Steam, because directly would be no problem to have a free demo, and then possibility to purchase EITHER the card game, OR the visual novel. So everyone could buy what they prefer.
I believe I could create a new product on Steam and set the price free, which would basically be a demo, and then offer two separate DLCs, one for the story and the other for the card game.

I have an headache now