Camp Handiba Development Thread

[DaFool]

Ah, a timely demo release, good for me to spend my weekend with.

Hope you can finish it.

(And yes, I support your sentiments to go commercial with other projects. I'm also at that stage where I'm debating the effort / reward ratio for free endeavors... although I am forcing myself to release a free quality product first)

[EwanG]

Given the great collective yawn on this, I think I made the right decision to shelve this. Obviously another several hundred thousand words of "more of the same" would have just put everyone to sleep.

Best of luck with y'alls games.

[mikey]

Wait a minute... that's IT? Shelving means more or less stopping development in my book - is it really over, after such amount of work has been put into it??

[DaFool]

Oh man.

I'm really in no position to comment, since I am on the last few legs of my own project (postponing other things which I've promised to do... like play this, Songs of Araiah, etc.).

Well, there are also those who will only play finished games, no matter how extensive a demo can be.

I don't know what words to say. Help, people?

[YuMMz]

I tried the demo and enjoyed it. I did not post anything because this massive 18 page thread seemed to have said everything I could have. I am disappointed to hear that you have decided to stop production, but it is your choice to make.

You also have to consider that the demo is a large download so there are probably more than a few people who will skip the demo and simply wait for the final product instead of downloading 2 large files.

Anyways, best of luck to you and hope to see you around in the future.

[EwanG]

Wait a minute... that's IT? Shelving means more or less stopping development in my book - is it really over, after such amount of work has been put into it??

Right now, I have to take care of the feeding of the family thing, and I see no way to make Camp Handiba contribute to that. Further, I've gotten the impression that the demo wasn't attracting that much attention, and that the folks who did DL it found it to be interesting, but not groundbreaking. As such, it seems like a better idea to shelve it, and make way for folks who are doing interesting work, and have the time to actually get it done.

[DaFool]

As such, it seems like a better idea to shelve it, and make way for folks who are doing interesting work, and have the time to actually get it done.

This isn't a competition, especially for a hobby that requires an extraordinarily huge amount of effort for a product that receives an extraordinarily tiny amount of feedback. It's a feat to even get a game out.

There hasn't been a time when I hadn't been working or at least planning on one or several visual novel projects or another, all the time I have been working towards accomplishing more with each task, so that I can finally work towards something noteable.

It just occurred to me that while I'm still single and have the time and money and no commitments while still being independent, now is the right time if ever I dreamed of creating a full-blown eroge. Because the chances of me making such a thing become less as life's circumstances set in.

I'm pretty sure when you do have the time to work on this, it will get done. This is the same person who created Senior Year, after all.

[monele]

Well, that's sad news :/... But I can't really go against money reasons. You're probably right, it might not have been an extreme money maker... I know you *need* it, there's no discussing that, but I still find it sad to see a project go down because of money :/...

I suppose you're not going to be doing games for free ultimately? If so, it's clear that Camp Hadiba, with its disabled people and 3D graphics, might not be the best way to making money. Just go with something not very original and rather easy to make ^^;...
But if you do plan to release a free game at some point, I'd suggest keeping Camp Hadiba in mind.

[Nafai]

Right now, I have to take care of the feeding of the family thing, and I see no way to make Camp Handiba contribute to that. Further, I've gotten the impression that the demo wasn't attracting that much attention, and that the folks who did DL it found it to be interesting, but not groundbreaking. As such, it seems like a better idea to shelve it, and make way for folks who are doing interesting work, and have the time to actually get it done.

Well your priorities are definitely in order - family first, and you have my prayers and good wishes in that. (I've only recently been exposed to the horror of paying bills).

So certainly focus on more economically rewarding endeavors - but if you ever feel able to do another game, I don't really think that "shelving" CH would "make way" for anyone else. Moni's right - consider releasing CH as it was meant to be. There's room for all sorts of games here I'd think. But then, only if you'd still have fun doing it, regardless of the possible reception. Game creating shouldn't be a chore after all.

Best of luck with the family Ewan - dont be a stranger here though, alright?

[mikey]

Hmmm, it's one of the established findings of this fandom - this activity is not profitable at all. It's really too bad, as you were creating something that would definitely have fitted in here, and be appreciated. Unfortunately this IS a hobbyist community, so if you'd like to make money from creation, avoid this place at all costs (pun not intended)

The only thing from me would be to join monele in hoping that if you ever have free time on your hands and want to use it craetively, picking up CH would be a great idea - especially since it's really something special.

it's clear that Camp Handiba, with its disabled people and 3D graphics, might not be the best way to making money. Just go with something not very original and rather easy to make ^^;...

Hmmm, best to make a top-down shooter where a loli anime girl with exceptionally large breasts flies on a giant carrot with angel wings, firing bubblegums at mechanoid opponents.

dont be a stranger here though, alright?

Exactly, and it's a good chill-out zone from the flashy and rating-driven side of the internet.

[monele]

Hmmm, best to make a top-down shooter where a loli anime girl with exceptionally large breasts flies on a giant carrot with angel wings, firing bubblegums at mechanoid opponents.

I didn't dare suggest it, but yes... that's the kind of thing I had in mind XD...

Not to stab twice but the exact reasons I gave for how it might not have been a viable priced product, are the same reasons why it would probably have been popular around here : never seen before.

[victorita9]

i don't think you should stop working on camp handiba. Taking a long break is ok but to not release anything at all is absurd. You have been working on this for a super long time and to stop working on it will not feel good but it will feel like a waste of time. And for people not loking at the demo is not ok but it is understandable. It wasn't until this month that i actually started looking at demos. I only looked at the finished product. Finish it at some point in the future but please don't stop the project. there was a lot of hype for camp handiba. Do you want 500K words wasted for nothing?

[EwanG]

Do you want 500K words wasted for nothing?

According to many "Business" best practices, something like the writing I did, or the money I spent on the 3D software is considered a "sunk cost". IOW, your business decision should be based on how much it will cost from this point on, compared to how much you are likely to make from that point on. The costs to get to that point shouldn't be considered. Or as the old saying goes - throwing good money after bad...

I don't know that I will ever finish Handiba - which was the point of my message a while back. I don't get the impression that as currently formulated it would do even as well as Senior Year in terms of DL's, and it certainly is no more likely to turn into a paying proposition. Having just undergone a couple medical procedures yesterday, and having a couple more scheduled before the end of the year - and having some residual medical costs for others in my family - my "spare time" is limited. So I have to concentrate on things that will make money - or that will at least make a difference.

If I change my mind, I'm certain I'll let folks know. But I don't see that happening anytime soon. Which is why I wanted to let folks know that to the extent they were looking forward to Hanidba, that they should turn their attention elsewhere.

FWIW,
Ewan

[monele]

Good luck with all your things then ^^;

[EwanG]

Yes, I emerge once again from the deep...

Let's see, since last I've been on here I've had ultrasounds of all my major organs (well, except the brain...), given enough blood for tests that I could easily fill a few gallon jugs, had an upper GI, a colonoscopy, a capsule endoscopy (the one actually cool test for a geek since it's a digital camera and a wifi in a capsule - but the belt/harness you have to wear makes you look like you're wired to go off), and a 24 hour urine collection.

After all that, the general prognosis is that I have some really weird chemistry going on, but nothing they can actually put a finger on, so plan for 7 different doctors to keep an eye on me for the next while to see if anything changes...

As far as the game goes (trying to be ontopic), I'm hopeful that I'm going to have some serious time to start working on it again now that the bus runs near our house. I'll be saving somewhere around $100/month in gas (even after the cost of the monthly pass), and have a couple hours of time to put to use with someone else driving.

Am starting to think of doing something that is fully three-d since I've been slowly working on learning how to use Crystal Space/Blender, which interestingly enough supports a python interface. Part of me suspects there "ought" to be someway to integrate those with RenPy, but haven't decided yet whether that's really the way to go since RenPy is what quite a bit of the game is already written in. Besides y'all are a bit more friendly than the Crystal Space folks (as far as VN games go).

Anywho, just wanted to say hi, and let you know what's up. If anything significant comes of this, I'll be sure to add that as well.

Thanks for reading,
Ewan