Alora Fane

This week, I made some Atonal Dreams improvements (mostly) based on feedback from the previous test, and intended to post about it on Reddit, but... am I too burned out? Should I focus on stuff like porting my old games first?? Am I just making up excuses to avoid doing something I have a strong trauma-related aversion towards???

Let's look at the technical changes first!

Now you can summon up a dialogue log - like the one in MARDEK - by holding a key at pretty much any time. Useful, probably! May need some tweaks once people - myself included - play around with it during actual gameplay.

There's a line in the scene shown here which multiple testers commented about, where Savitr follows a reference to the "lawful light of Harmony" with the contrasting "chaotic lightNING of Discord"; apparently the first use of 'light' was skimmed over and not retained in memory because of how we tend to read (getting the gist but not all the details), so - since they were in separate dialogue bubbles - the 'NING' bit felt like a typo or was generally confusing.

Would this log help with that, or would I have to rewrite the line anyway?? It was worth adding the feature anyway!

I've also started on adding a configurable settings menu thing. Are you excited by that?? Because I'm not! I find this sort of thing entirely tedious, but it must be done, annoyingly. I'm not sure how many options I should even include though. I definitely need and intend to add key rebinding - that's what the empty space will be for - but that turned out to be more difficult than I could be bothered with when I looked into it so I thought "ugh, I'll do that later".

Nobody asked for this, but the way that boons worked previously had been bothering me for a while. Each figmon had an associated stat, which they permanently boosted by a certain number for every skill level you gained with them... but if that stat was either attack or defence, they grew far too easily and quickly and I was concerned they'd lead to huge balance issues in the late game (which is difficult to predict and test; I seem to remember starting MARDEK with high-levelled characters specifically to ensure the mechanics would work well enough at those levels).

I randomly had an idea a few days ago for how to revise the boons which seems so obvious in hindsight: now, each figmon has six separate stat increases that it gains in sequence with each level up. So one might have attack-HP-HP-attack-HP-HP, in that order, meaning it still boosts attack, just not as drastically (only at levels 1 and 4). It also gives the potential to make some skills late bloomers and others barely worth levelling high, which is perhaps more interesting.

My only real concern with it is that the HP boosts - the most abundant - are only +1 currently, which might feel too worthless. I could change that to always being some other number (like always +3), but that seems like it'd be less obvious; I'll fiddle around with it as development continues.

I'm also very aware that I've been dragging my feet about promoting the game for far too long now. So on Wednesday, I lurked around some indie dev communities on Reddit a bit, and wrote out something I could post...

...but then got cold feet and didn't actually post it. I'm disappointed in and annoyed at myself, but I think I understand the psychology behind it. Partly it's just general social anxiety, but more specifically it's due to enduring trauma from running Fig Hunter years ago, which I've mostly recovered from now, though it still definitely continues to haunt me and will take some more time and effort to break through.

As part of that necessary recovery process, next week I'll at the very least try to write out a blog post here just examining my own thoughts and feelings about it all. I don't know how interesting that'd be to anyone else - maybe a bit if you were a Fig Hunter member or you're interested in psychology? - but it could be valuable for me. I don't think any of it's stuff I haven't said elsewhere, but still.

I also got a bit concerned that I still don't have any proper 'marketing stuff' to show off, so posting before getting that ready wouldn't be wise, and this website's a bit of a mess at the moment as well. The front page in particular has a ton of stuff on it, including hefty video files, which is stupid; I don't know if anyone who checks in on this blog ever looks at that page, but it's what you'd see if you followed the basic alorafane.com url, and I'd prefer it if it were better.

So I've been cleaning that up significantly! It's been therepeutic in itself actually, as it feels like tidying up my digital home or something. I'm really pleased with what I've got so far, but I started on Friday and it took longer than anticipated (as is always the case), so I'd like to spend a bit more time on it next week before making the revised version live.

The site's front page redesign will put my games at the forefront, since that's what most people will come here caring about, but it's such a shame that I only really have three to show after all this time, and the only one that's actually finished (Memody: Sindrel Song) is something few people even care about!

So that got me wondering again about porting my old Flash games to Steam in some collection... as I've talked about many times before but never end up actually getting around to because I spend what mental energy I can even muster working on Atonal Dreams.

So I've been wondering... Christmas is coming up. Would that be a terrible time to do a Kickstarter and general promotion stuff? Or an especially good time? Or would it not matter? I should look into that.

And if it would be a bad time, maybe I should just take some time off Atonal Dreams to focus wholly on finally getting some other stuff done, like porting those old games, finally posting some music on YouTube which I also keep mentioning, maybe looking into getting therapy again specifically to deal with the trauma that's obviously in the way...

I feel like no, I MUST spend every waking moment on Atonal Dreams so I can finish it and move on with my life!!, and I can't afford to redirect my attention... but said attention has been poorly-focused recently anyway because I feel so burned out...

Ehh. I don't know. I'll think about it as I continue doing stuff next week related to renovating this website and producing promotion material like videos and screenshots for Atonal Dreams.

(And do I include Clarence's Big Chance in a compilation or release that separately??)

I left this post for a bit and gave it some more thought, and checked when I last talked about porting my old games; I think it was ∞ this post ∞ from 5 months ago, where I talked about some specific technical snags. So those will be tons of fun to try to work through if I do go down this path.

And how many people would even be interested in buying a compilation of old unfinished Flash games anyway? I know other Flash devs have done it, but they're more successful than me in general, and I assume the games they include are actually finished...

I think those were the thoughts that put me off last time I got thinking about this. But the thought does keep coming up every so often, so... I don't know.

9 COMMENTS

Falcon64~2Y

Clarence's Big Chance stands out from your other old games by the fact that it's finished. That said, I'm unfamiliar with marketing, so maybe there are considerations that I'm unaware of when it comes to releasing something like this together or separately.

The boon revision seems much more appealing to me, and the chat log and options are welcome features! I believe it's common practice in these kinds of systems for different stats to be boosted by different amounts (as one point of HP has less value than one point of attack or defence here, for example), so I don't think that would be confusing for game-literate people. Just make sure the exact amount shows up by mousing over the boon, or include the number in the icon somehow.

SolarCrystalStudios3~2Y

I would be very interested in a compilation of your old unfinished flash games, as they bring me much nostalgia. I would even be willing to pay for them. Some game I would love to be able to play from your collection of old games, would be the demo of your reimagination of pixel Raider(which was basically a merge of pixel raider and Raider zero) which you made back in 2010

Tobias 1115~2Y

I forgot all about that! And Raider in general actually; I suppose the pixel versions at least stand out for having had some kind of a release on Flash portals.

I vaguely recall two additional pixel versions, one with a kind of mini world map and another with more elaborate movement options like wall jumping? But I don't think I did much with either of them. Or maybe they were one and the same?? I'd need to dig up my old files to find out.

MontyCallay101~2Y

It's true, unfortunately, that you don't have a lot of finished games other than CBC, MARDEK and Sindrel Song. I'm not sure how great of a value proposition simply packaging Deliverance, Beast Signer, Miasmon etc. together would be, since they weren't as popular or polished as MARDEK.

What would make sense, I think, would be to conceptualise the old games as part of a collection dedicated to presenting your creative development over time. That could include an archive of your old drawings, music and so on as well as your reflections on them.

There could be some kind of launcher that you would use to view/listen to/play those creations. That's probably a more persuasive value proposition for someone who finds your creative voice interesting than just uploading a bunch of old games.

Alternatively - would there any way for you to, for instance, touch up AF:C with something like Steam workshop integration without it being too much of a hassle? Maybe tie it - I say, somewhat cynically - to the MARDEK brand somehow? Like "make your own MARDEK stories" or something similar.

What would make sense, I think, would be to conceptualise the old games as part of a collection dedicated to presenting your creative development over time. That could include an archive of your old drawings, music and so on as well as your reflections on them.

There could be some kind of launcher that you would use to view/listen to/play those creations. That's probably a more persuasive value proposition for someone who finds your creative voice interesting than just uploading a bunch of old games.

Alternatively - would there any way for you to, for instance, touch up AF:C with something like Steam workshop integration without it being too much of a hassle? Maybe tie it - I say, somewhat cynically - to the MARDEK brand somehow? Like "make your own MARDEK stories" or something similar.

Tobias 1115~2Y

Ideally it'd need to be something that wouldn't require a ton of effort, which those things would!

Though what I had in mind was basically a chronological archive of the games with descriptions, since that's how I tend to view and present that old work anyway, though I don't know about also including stuff like old art and music just due to the technical effort that'd be involved. But I'll give it some thought.

I don't feel that AFC is finished enough to warrant a release like that, and it being made in Flash makes finishing it off not really an option for me... though I know people have got a lot out of it in its current form, so... that's something I'll need to give more thought to as well.

WhatTheHeckFeck1~2Y

Hey, I know I'm not a donor, and please forgive my impropriety, but have you considered applying to a publisher so they can assist with marketing the game to a wider audience and funding your development? You have quite the portfolio and more than enough experience for Atonal Dreams' alpha to make a standout impression to an open-minded company, and perhaps lead to them funding and providing additional resources for any bread to fuel Divine Dreams' development.

I realize your struggles with interpersonal relationships may make this a tall suggestion, but have you tried applying and forwarding AD to a company like Big Mode? They are a fresh upstart and they may be understanding to accommodate your circumstances, with the enormous reach to get large followings for your work.

[LINK]

I just want to see you succeed.

In terms of porting, I don't know if past commenters have tipped you off, since your old projects are accessible on the Internet Archive but Ruffle may make the task much simpler for your AS2 projects, and it has now started implementing AS3 support. But yes, as somebody who has frequented your old webdev efforts, I would like to see a compilation of your unfinished work, and even some old concepts be reevaluated with your current outlook. 7 Heavens 9 Hells was one idea that would do well in the present zeitgeist with procedural generation and roguelikes, although I acknowledge you have moved beyond such violent works.

I realize your struggles with interpersonal relationships may make this a tall suggestion, but have you tried applying and forwarding AD to a company like Big Mode? They are a fresh upstart and they may be understanding to accommodate your circumstances, with the enormous reach to get large followings for your work.

https://bigmode.com/apply

I just want to see you succeed.

In terms of porting, I don't know if past commenters have tipped you off, since your old projects are accessible on the Internet Archive but Ruffle may make the task much simpler for your AS2 projects, and it has now started implementing AS3 support. But yes, as somebody who has frequented your old webdev efforts, I would like to see a compilation of your unfinished work, and even some old concepts be reevaluated with your current outlook. 7 Heavens 9 Hells was one idea that would do well in the present zeitgeist with procedural generation and roguelikes, although I acknowledge you have moved beyond such violent works.

Tobias 1115~2Y

I've definitely looked into the idea of getting a publisher many times over the years! From what I vaguely remember of the last time I looked into it, though, a lot of them are scummy and unreliable, so it's hard to know who to trust, and even the seemingly trustworthy ones take the lion's share of the revenue (I seem to recall a figure as high as 90%??) which seemed absolutely absurd to me.

Plus my various mental issues make the very idea of going through the whole business deal process extremely off-putting, and I'd probably end up being taken advantage of during it.

I've never heard of Big Mode, but I'm guessing based on the website that it was set up by some youtuber (who I've vaguely heard of but whose content I've never seen) or something? I'm concerned though that they don't have any games they've published listed; are they even going to be any good at it? Would I have better chances - and no revenue split - if I just reached out to youtubers myself? That'd be no easier or harder than reaching out to a company like this.

It's something I'll need to do some devoted research into, when I'm in a better state of mind. Thanks for mentioning it though, and I'll definitely keep it in mind!

I hadn't heard of Ruffle, but I just looked into that and I'm not sure it'd address the main concerns I have about porting. I wish it did! It'd be great to be able to use something newer rather than delving into outdated programs. But it's just a Flash player replacement, meaning it'd play the published .swf files, whereas I want/need to open the development .fla files and then re-export them, then I need to build a standalone .exe somehow which has a bundled-in player. It sounds like Ruffle is just for browsers, plus it doesn't have full support for the newer versions of ActionScript, according to one of the pages on its website?

I was able to figure out how to port MARDEK before, though, so I should be able to figure it out again when I put my mind to it. I've just been too unfocused recently to do that, annoyingly!

Plus my various mental issues make the very idea of going through the whole /business deal/ process extremely off-putting, and I'd probably end up being taken advantage of during it.

I've never heard of Big Mode, but I'm guessing based on the website that it was set up by some youtuber (who I've vaguely heard of but whose content I've never seen) or something? I'm concerned though that they don't have any games they've published listed; are they even going to be any good at it? Would I have better chances - and no revenue split - if I just reached out to youtubers myself? That'd be no easier or harder than reaching out to a company like this.

It's something I'll need to do some devoted research into, when I'm in a better state of mind. Thanks for mentioning it though, and I'll definitely keep it in mind!

I hadn't heard of Ruffle, but I just looked into that and I'm not sure it'd address the main concerns I have about porting. I wish it did! It'd be great to be able to use something newer rather than delving into outdated programs. But it's just a Flash player replacement, meaning it'd play the published .swf files, whereas I want/need to open the development .fla files and then re-export them, then I need to build a standalone .exe somehow which has a bundled-in player. It sounds like Ruffle is just for browsers, plus it doesn't have full support for the newer versions of ActionScript, according to one of the pages on its website?

I was able to figure out how to port MARDEK before, though, so I should be able to figure it out again when I put my mind to it. I've just been too unfocused recently to do that, annoyingly!

ZeroFarad3~2Y

Regarding the front-page redesign, have you tested it yet on mobile? For me (Samsung Galaxy A52 5G, Android 12, Firefox for Android) the columns now seem to overlap and become unreadable.

Tobias 1115~2Y

That's not the redesign! I'll upload it soon, and it should hopefully look okay on mobile.