So with Planet Stronghold 2 done (by done I mean that my work is done until I get the texts back from editor) I will resume working on Volleyball Heaven and also this game.

I am planning a Kickstarter for it, since it's yet another huge game (and thinking about it now I was nuts to do PS2 all on my own without some funding first) but there's still an issue: the name.



"Undead Lily and The Elemental Avengers" sounds cool, however since now you can play also as male main character Ace, maybe would be better to change the name to reflect this? If you have any ideas or comments, they're welcome thanks

Is Lily still in the game as a 'main' character if one chooses to play as Ace? If so, I'd recommend keeping the name. Your fans already know you have Undead Lily in development.

Yes in practice the one you don't pick becomes your nemesis/main antagonist

That's a good point, keeping the same name I've been using to talk about it for years, even if you can actually play as another character.

I think it's better to change it, your fans will know the name change because they are following you and they will see every games that you will release, but most people who aren't following you will judge your game by its....cover, if someone( who is into BxG or BxB) is browsing VN on steam and see a "thumbnail" with Lily and Ace on it with the title "Undead Lily and The Elemental Avengers", they will think that it is an otome game and just skip it, they won't even read the description, that title and "thumbnail" is your first impression, why would people click on it if they think the game isn't for them, they have hundred of other games look at, they won't read every description to see if a game they suspect to be otome has BxG or BxB option



Also, I'm don't think it's going to be a problem because your an indies dev but.....in my experience with big popular games, doing something like that would make people think that Lily as canon and make people who prefer Ace feel like there experience is less...valid and in big game it's the type of thing that can lead to toxic behaviour on the internet

Well, simply existing can lead to toxic behavior on internet

Jokes apart yes I know that putting only one name if there are two protagonists is bad. Loren was called like that because you were playing as sidekick. Season of the wolf was about the journey, Cursed Lands about the situation, etc.



I'll need to think about a new name but not sure yet, isn't easy

What about the conflict in this one, you are choosing a side in a war of law vs chao.

Yes true, order and chaos, that could be a good inspiration for the name.

I would give it the name of a Tale.



Like



"The Tale of Lili's and Ace's battle for balance" or something like this.



It will give you a nudge to replay it as the other hero with the opposite faction (Chaos/order) to experience both sides

Yes I might include both names, or also use the story as inspiration and name it "The Curse Of ..." since basically the protagonists find themselves cursed in that limbo with no apparent way to escape

You are going to run a Kickstarter campaign? I'm somewhat surprised considering you were wary about crowdfunding in the past.

Yes but things were WAY different in the past. I realized I cannot work anymore for 1 year (time required to make such insanely big games like Planet Stronghold 2 for example) with zero funding beside my own. It's just too risky! Also, there's to consider that even if I'd get the same kind of people backing me as the ones that would buy on Steam, it's better to have them on KS since they take much less % of income. Steam takes 35%, KS about 10%... at the end of the day it's going to make a big difference for small indies like me

That's understandable. Competition with indie games has gotten tougher, in both quality and quantity.



Personally, I haven't backed a Kickstarter project in a long time. Even if funded above their goal, many devs floundered due to underestimating the time and money needed to create such projects. However, because you have a long history of finishing projects on your own, I think your chances of success are better than most.



When it comes to convincing backers, your chances are better if you already have some work to show, like some video footage of a game or even a demo. Pitches that have nothing to show but a single screenshot/artwork is usually a sign that nothing meaningful will get done.

Thanks, and yes I plan to have some kind of demo (maybe not long in term of words, but showing a good part of the gameplay at least).

Since I have always got people pre-ordering my games (luckily) now they'll just do it in KS in practice, plus I'll have some bonus stuff which some peope might find interesting (like possibility to write flavor texts on creature cards or create new spell cards, etc).

Not sure how it's going to go but I want to try

There needs to be a limited number of slots for that reward tier. The hard part though is deciding who to assign to each card given their finite number. It is a neat idea, but I'm worried what would happen if the backers ends up with a creature card they don't want.

Considering there are 72 cards, I think should be safe, but otherwise the idea is that first ones to pledge will have a bigger choice so a sort of incentive to pledge first? All cards are more or less cool but depends on tastes of course.

Anyway as you probably saw by the subforum name change, I decided to call it "The Curse Of Mantras" since it involves both a main NPC (Mantras, the old man with beard that is some kind of arbiter throrough the whole game) and also a mystery to be discovered which can lead to an alternate endings. Well I've already said too much probably

Think I still got the old Undead Lily and the Elemental Avengers, playable demo on one of my old harddrives :D



Nice to see it's still being planned

Haha that was ages ago, and even with different art!

I decided to call it "The Curse Of Mantras" since it involves both a main NPC (Mantras, the old man with beard that is some kind of *arbiter* throrough the whole game)...

Mantras' Play?

Mantras' Gambit?

Pawns of Mantras?



Oh well, who cares? The most important thing are allusive ads in skimpy costumes!

Exactly, and the game has plenty of those