"We wanna see it! We wanna see it! We don't care if it's not done yet!"
I listened. The game was far from ready, but you all were clamoring for a taste. I relented, and posted my work so far as Tech Demo 1. And at last check, while I've gotten a number of positive compliments through e-mail, a full 50% of the respondants to my "Demo opinions" poll have let it be known that they think Ticklish Situations sucked, and sucked hard.
Was it because "prototype" is a big, scary word that many people can't even spell, let alone understand? Did I fall victim to the Phantom Menace Syndrome, IE, wind up with something that could probably never live up to people's expectations? Or did I overestimate my own abilities?
I don't know.
I *should* be telling myself that ten thousand hits a week with nary a complaint among them is actually a *good* thing, and that the only time people jump to open their mouths is when they want to take a cheap shot at someone - no response is a good response. But to be honest, I can't do that. I've always had a mild trepidation about devoting so much time to such a risky project, only to have it fail in the end for whatever reason.
Anyway. The long and short of it is, Ticklish Situations is being shelved indefinitely. I may fiddle with it in my spare time, but I will no longer be keeping anyone posted on its progress nor advertising it in my signature. Hiring models is a headache, programming is a weary venture that is best left to more immediate, profit-generating work, and I see no point in slaving over something that everyone will just hate when it's done anyway. Sure, I began the project merely out of my own amusement and generally worked on it because I wanted to, but ultimately I cannot make an entire game for myself.
I'm not posting this to get everyone to tell me they love me, my work, and that I should keep on truckin' regardless of the naysayers. I *am* posting it because people ask me how it's going, and I figured I may as well be honest.
In August, I have a shoot date with Phuong Tram, the model who played Tien Wu in Creative Studios' "Bikini Karate Babes". Her footage will be the last effort I put into Ticklish Situations for a long time.
Thank you all for being so patient, and I sincerely apologize for anyone I've let down. I *really* hate to be typing this sort of news, given how long it's been.
I listened. The game was far from ready, but you all were clamoring for a taste. I relented, and posted my work so far as Tech Demo 1. And at last check, while I've gotten a number of positive compliments through e-mail, a full 50% of the respondants to my "Demo opinions" poll have let it be known that they think Ticklish Situations sucked, and sucked hard.
Was it because "prototype" is a big, scary word that many people can't even spell, let alone understand? Did I fall victim to the Phantom Menace Syndrome, IE, wind up with something that could probably never live up to people's expectations? Or did I overestimate my own abilities?
I don't know.
I *should* be telling myself that ten thousand hits a week with nary a complaint among them is actually a *good* thing, and that the only time people jump to open their mouths is when they want to take a cheap shot at someone - no response is a good response. But to be honest, I can't do that. I've always had a mild trepidation about devoting so much time to such a risky project, only to have it fail in the end for whatever reason.
Anyway. The long and short of it is, Ticklish Situations is being shelved indefinitely. I may fiddle with it in my spare time, but I will no longer be keeping anyone posted on its progress nor advertising it in my signature. Hiring models is a headache, programming is a weary venture that is best left to more immediate, profit-generating work, and I see no point in slaving over something that everyone will just hate when it's done anyway. Sure, I began the project merely out of my own amusement and generally worked on it because I wanted to, but ultimately I cannot make an entire game for myself.
I'm not posting this to get everyone to tell me they love me, my work, and that I should keep on truckin' regardless of the naysayers. I *am* posting it because people ask me how it's going, and I figured I may as well be honest.
In August, I have a shoot date with Phuong Tram, the model who played Tien Wu in Creative Studios' "Bikini Karate Babes". Her footage will be the last effort I put into Ticklish Situations for a long time.
Thank you all for being so patient, and I sincerely apologize for anyone I've let down. I *really* hate to be typing this sort of news, given how long it's been.
