- Sep 3, 2016
- 1,189
- 2,390
I couldn't agree more about "make the story for you first, and if you enjoy it, some of the audience (but maybe not as many as you wish) will enjoy it too". That's how it should always be. Unfortunately, as I said, at some point the team paid too much attention to what some of their sub says, meanwhile ignoring the silent majority who was probably ok with the game's direction since they didn't express any concern. Not everyone is "weirdos" like us who care enough about a minor and disregarded genre of subculture that they feel they have to write lengthy posts about it. Most of Dots customers will just just shut the fuck up and enjoy, or just stop paying if they don't. And somehow, even if I don't have the actual stats, I feel that the team forgot that silent majority's voice. It's like if a mainstream religion or political group started listening only to the extremist fringe in their groups. Of course these people will shout louder than the others, they're extremists, therefore they care a lot more about their beliefs. Doesn't mean the other 90% of moderate people suddenly disappear or agree with the extremes. They just like the creator's vision and will support him.
But unfortunately, a creator can do this (writing and rendering 100% according to him) only if he's alone, and doesn't have expensive dreams. Everyone prefers to earn $10k/month instead of $3k, but if you're alone, you'll be pretty comfortable almost anywhere in the world with $3k and you can accept it. It starts to harm your creativity when you have to make enough so that 3-4 people can make a living or if you're alone but have stupid dreams like buying a new jet-ski twice a year or some shit.
But to come back to the "neverending story" issue, of course it's hard to make it work, and at some point it probably will end, or stop for a few years before someone has a good idea for a comeback. But I still don't see why it's impossible. For me it is only a matter of talent and strategy, like in your Clancy example. Had he made different choices, he probably could have made some of his series of books last longer. Not forever, sure, but longer.
There are a lot of things we can learn from in mainstream pop culture. Take the Simpsons : I didn't follow the last 15 years, which everybody seem to agree sucks, but still, the first 15-20 years maintained a good quality level. And DmD lasted what ? 7 years ? Is it that far fetched to imagine it could have gone 2-3 years more with the right decisions from the team ?
Another example : South Park. What did the creators do to avoid burnout ? They don't make 20+ episodes a year, and nowadays they just don't work at all unless they have a good idea. Dots team could totally do the same if they have another main source of income like a normie, SL-like game. If they have no idea for DmD for 6 months, then so be it, they won't be bankrupt thanks to the normie game. Just like the South Park creators thanks to their musical (The Book of Mormon, go see it it's super fun
) and their licensing.Then, there's the other issue, of "jumping the shark" or just having a peak in your show, and making it last too long for financial reason while never managing to reach this peak again. It happened for the Walking Dead, but it didn't happen for Breaking Bad. Creator knew that he couldn't maintain this level for more than 5 seasons. But people still enjoyed that universe, so what did they do : Better Call Saul, which in some ways is better than Breaking Bad. That's something you can apply to DmD, as well as an infinite number of other possibilities. The team just has to find the right way. It is hard but not impossible.
And just to repeat myself again, I feel that DmD was really lighting in a bottle in the realm of ero-games, there's an appeal you don't find in others, because of several elements, like character design, writing (the first 4-5 years at least) and also the fact that it was one of the firsts of its kind. So I can live without it of course, but I strongly feel it would be a waste to throw these characters and this universe away and never revisit them. To me Dots found what represents his brand with Dee, just like a Mickey Mouse for Disney or a Superman for DC-comics. There will always be an audience for it, even solely at the basic level of money making, it would be smart to seriously think about how you can make it work again in the future, imho.
Last edited:
