Alright. The game making drive put things into perspective. First week was well spent and all my entries were made ahead of schedual.
Now for the bad news.
After reading an article on game design, and witnessing first hand what people expect from one of these games I've decided to
do what people have been recommending. Cutting things out to meet a deadline.
So what will be cut?
Bruin, Kendra, Renard, and the Mission board. Kyrie, Sasuaga, and Garrett would have been in chapter 2, but I can't count on play past 2-3 hours. So I won't
count my chickens before they are hatched. Saving it for the 'next one' as they say.
So 6 characters cut. Right off the top. Focusing on just the original four:
Emmet, Shade, Willard, and Wolfe. Just because I can design for so many classes doesn't mean I should. All content and information I was planning to hide from the player will still be revealed to create a full story. I just can't pad it out like a final fantasy game. I was using the wrong model for this type of medium to judge work.
I'll keep the others as NPCs, but I see no reason to strain myself with optional material while I struggle to fix the main content.
Tower of Illusion after game dungeon (Real content upfront, no need for pointless after service).
Custom battlers (Saving it for the next game). I just don't have the time with Dad in and out of the hospital.
Bromides. (Saving it for the next game).
Side Quests are now Wolfe's main quests and will be altered to fit him. (Minimal effort).
What won't be cut?
Portraits for Characters and important NPCs
Certain Puzzles that are already designed and tested.
Existing maps and dungeons which are getting resource updates, and remapped. This is still happening during the GMD. People have been liking the progress in just week 1, so I see no reason not to continue with the feedback you all have given me. (I'm currently hammering out the slums). Mapping is very tiring, I'd much rather be drawing portraits.
Special thanks to those who contributed feedback. This includes the use of all resources made for the project, and hopefully getting you a background NPC in Silver Town. (I won't be doing portraits for them though, you can see my terms on the shop I'll open once a stable build is released.)
Updated functionality of battle and a possible engine added. I see no reason not to add a battle engine, even if I enjoy the original a lot of people don't.
I've already gotten a lot of suggestions and seen a few in action. This may not be done before the end of February, but it's still on the table.
Quality music. I am at it everyday assuring myself I can find decent music from unheard composers. Rose will still be used, unless I can find something superior to the mock RPG style. I understand the work from that artist is a particular favorite of people.
Short, sweet, and simple. I've seen it work, and that is the new goal. Don't overload. Get it done. We can talk additional stuff once everything is done and working. My thought of opening a shop is still on the table. I do want to use the DS resources after this project is done and have already begun working with them. I've also seen what some people have done with those DS packs and it's amazing.
RTP is still good for me to learn on though, don't get me wrong. 2 months is almost up, and I've made the most of the time I've asked for. Let's see if I can deliver this turkey.