#ptasks

[plottwiststudios]

So what do you think, fans of Women of Xal? Should the sequel have less branching paths? If so, how much of a cut? 80%? Half? 25%? Note that any cut we make will still have a lot of choices compared to others in the medium. Just not a lot compared to the first game.

Reasons to cut: Financially unviable. Some would call it unwise. Overwhelming the team with the complexities of programming and fixing strange bugs. Far quicker development period.

Reasons to not cut: You lose the feeling of unique playthroughs; getting rewarded for a very specific chain of choices that characters reacted to in very playthrough-specific ways. (Like dating Axay and Liz at the same time and you click a certain option during a certain conversation. Again... WoXI put a lot into the code. I'm still reeling.)

[plottwiststudios]

Fun marketing poster for Women of Xal. But hey, now that I have your attention, what content would you like to see from a Patreon, were we to create a company-based one? And depending on the monthly rewards, would you be down to becoming a patron?

[plottwiststudios]

Just to read the room, like this post if you would appreciate a walkthrough for Women of Xal. (And perfectly alright with one coming from a third party!)

Directly reply to this post if you really, really would like a walkthrough for Women of Xal.

Do both if words cannot describe how much you would like that walkthrough for Women of Xal.

[plottwiststudios]

We’re also experimenting with merchandise ideas to help recoup the gross cost that was Women of Xal’s budget. We just need to research companies, which ones to avoid, the best stuff we can invest time into selling (Like maybe this poster? I keep hearing plushies and keychains would be ideal,) and how best to approach everything. And you just know we’ll host a contest or few that gives some physical goods away! >3

If you have advice, we’re down to hearing everything! \o/

For reference, the Kickstarter made just under $14,000. From my own wallet, I spent around $50k throughout the 4 years of production.

[plottwiststudios]

What type of game would y'all like us to tackle next? We did an okay job with Women of Xal and the visual novel format, but it's almost time to add our weirdness in other formats.

[plottwiststudios]

Renpy calculated the entire script of Women of Xal in-engine.

The game contains 13,204 dialogue blocks, containing 157,542 words and 841,189 characters, for an average of 11.9 words and 64 characters per block.

The game contains 542 menus, 1,257 images, and 192 screens.

Cool news, bro, but what does that translate to in visual novel land?

[plottwiststudios]

For those who have played “Women of Xal”, does it feel like a visual novel that has been worked on for four years? O”:

[plottwiststudios]

The team is currently thinking of what to do for milestones. Milestones for sale numbers Women of Xal passes. We had some ideas of our own - some extremely generous ones, mind you! But we want to hear your ideas before we share ours. So what sort of bonus rewards should we give fans for helping cross certain sale numbers?

For example, 500 copies of Women of Xal sold = We draw exclusive art for the fandom’s favorite ship? Even if it’s an hilariously cursed ship.

With higher numbers thanking players in bigger and better ways.