Upcoming Plans

Thanks to everyone that has tried the very early first version of LY1! I greatly appreciate all of the feedback I have received.

I've been working on fixing bugs, correcting typos, and all of the basic cleanup work needed to polish the current version. I've also been working to refine some of the basic systems and implement others that didn't make the cut for the initial release. My goal is to put out a new release by the end of February. I am hopeful that the next release will fix most of the minor issues in the first release, implement most of the remaining game systems, and push the game play through the first full week. I'm also working to ensure that all of the major images are included, such as room and NPC images, plus specific scene images.

As always, I'm interested in your feedback on what you would like to see in the game.

Thanks!

Finally...a release!

Life: Year One (LY1)

I am pleased to announce the initial release of LY1, a new game that combines AIF, RPGs, life sims, and dating sims into a single game. Similar games include Cursed by Anonymousman and more recently Newlife by Splendid Ostrich. The game is built in RAGS and uses text and images.

Download link is available on the LY1 page.

LY1 sees the player create customizable character that is starting their Senior year in High School while living with a foster family. Players can set or develop a wide range of abilities, skills, and interests for their characters, while building relationships with NPCs.

The initial release of LY1 is small, covering limited character creation and part of the game's first day. Future releases will expand on the customization options while pushing the game's content through an entire school year. Eventually, I would like the game to lead into a sequel covering the player character's first year in college, or whatever activity the pursue after school.

I'd love to have feedback on this initial release! Here is what I am looking for:

1. Fun - is the game enjoyable? What do you fund fun / not fun?
2. Writing - how is the writing? Do you like the current style?
3. Images - do you like the art style? Does it contribute to your enjoyment?
4. Bugs - are there any bugs or errors?
5. Quality of Life issues - is it easy to play? Are there any tedious or annoying aspects? What features would make it easier and more enjoyable to play? 
6. Future Content - what would you like to see most in future releases?

I'll have more information coming on future releases soon, but right now I am focused on your feedback so that I can refine the existing systems and content before I get too far into development.

Thanks, and I hope you enjoy!

Epic Fail...Recovered!

Well, that will teach me to be a panicky mess...

Got some great support from the RAGS team, and I managed to recover the file with minimum loss. Whew! I will be MUCH more disciplined in how I manage my backups now.

So the good news is that I lost a few hours of productive time for work, as opposed to days of completed work. Should be able to have the first 'demo release worthy very quickly!

Epic Fail

So I've been pushing hard over the last couple days and...

Yep, RAGS Designer crashed and ate my current version, which is now unreadable!

Luckily I have a backup. Sadly, I hadn't backed it up in a couple days. Every amateur has probably had this happen before, and I should have known better, but whatever...still stinks to lose a few days of work after being motivated and productive.

I've thought about getting away from RAGS for awhile because of issues like this, but it is still the fastest, most complete solution for a non-programmer I have ever used. I'm going to try to recover the file, but I'm not hopeful.

Good news is that I think I can redo everything this week with some dedicated work, and I haven't lost any of the images. Just means I won't be releasing today unless I figure out a fix for the file

Oh well...back to work!

Almost done...

When I started posting again, I mentioned that I was going to try to have something playable by the end of 2014. Slipped a bit obviously (as usual) but I'm nearly ready to post a playable version of my current project. I haven't gone into great detail because I wanted to wait for a release before I start talking specifics.

I would love to have it ready this week, and I might be able to do that. Likely will be buggy, but should at least give an idea of where I am going with this project...

Character Customization Poll

I was quite pleased with the number of people who responded to the Character Customization Poll. 120 people voted, and the results were interesting. At first, a significant number of people voted for Skin Tone / Ethnicity, which I found interesting. Very few AIF games allow for that choice, and when they do it is rarely ever referenced. I can think of several games that allow for the choice of the PC's skin tone, and then don't really ever reference it. It is especially challenging to include Skin Tone or Ethnicity in a game that uses static images for visuals, as it requires an entirely new character, rather than just swapping out hair colors or outfits. Eventually, the Body category won out, receiving 52% of the votes, which isn't surprising since it is such a major area of customization that can impact visuals as well as gameplay. Clothing was the second highest category with 21% of the votes, again not surprising due to the obvious impacts on visuals and gameplay. I was surprised that hair color and hair style didn't receive more votes. For my current efforts, I've decided to initially allow for a limited selection of body types, hair styles, and hair colors. More can be added if the demand if high enough. I will focus on clothing as the major option, since that has the greatest impact on gameplay. If demand if high enough, I will look at adding a Skin Tone / Ethnicity option later on. For the winning category, body customization, there are two main ways I see customization being done for a female PC. First, allow the Player to select from a small range of predefined body types (petite, voluptuous, lanky, etc.) or have a single basic body type with varied breast sizes. For a male PC, the same option would hold with varied penis sizes. However, I don't know how popular smaller penises would be, so that may be a waste of effort! For a male PC, it might make more sense to only allow the overall body type selection (muscular, average, skinny, etc).   Any thoughts?

Scene Differences

So far I have shown a few basic portraits. In the current design, players will also be able to examine a full character of themselves and NPCs, which will show the current outfit. Below is an example of this view:

In addition to examining characters, there will also be images for specific scenes. These images, when they show the PC, will of course take into account the PC's outfit, hair, etc. Here is an example of the same scene, with two different PC hair styles: