Should I continue to develop Subterrane?

[Tarindel]

Subterrane rolls up on it's first birthday in a little over a week, and I realized today that I haven't done any real development work on it in about two months.  There are a variety of reasons for this:

1) My work schedule has been busier than usual.
2) I'm in the last semester of my MBA program and it's eating up more time.
3) I've gotten distracted by maintaining a web site and other side projects.
4) Development on Subterrane is slow, because it's a big project, and it's complex.
5) The reception to Subterrane really hasn't been as good as I had hoped.
6) The roguelike field has really been coming to life lately, and the world isn't exactly hurting for new roguelikes like it used to be.

So... answer the poll.  Be honest.  I won't be offended.

Just trying to figure out what I should do with the project: let it die, put it on hiatus, resurrect it, pass it off to somebody else, find someone to co-develop with, etc...  Any and all thoughts appreciated.

[Adral]

Hmm...

To be honest, I played the game, but it didn't grab me much. Maybe it feels *too much* like Crawl, or maybe it's just me. I'd have to play it more to see what, in my opinion, could be improved, but that would just be a matter of my taste and nothing everyone would like, probably.

I should give it another shot. I wouldn't like it to dissappear. Perhaps if it was playable on my Nintendo DS I'd play it much more often

EDIT: Typo.

[Tarindel]

Thanks for the feedback, Adral.

I wanted to quickly note that I'm going to release the in-development version as-is -- it seems to be in good shape and has quite a number of new features, including a framework for magic/cursed items, scrolls, character creation bonuses, jewelry, and probably a few other things I've forgotten.

I am hoping I'll be able to get it out tonight once I get home from work (if compiling the Linux version goes well).  If not, then ASAP.  So if you're thinking about taking another look, wait for the new version.  It'll be version 225 or so.

[Gamer_2k4]

Two months without coding is nothing.  I've been working on my game for five years now, with very little to show for it.  This is partially from a lack of initial knowledge forcing rewrites (I was thirteen when I started it, and was just learning QBASIC), partially from a changing vision, but mostly because I was never fanatical about it.  I would sometimes go for six months or more without touching the code.

Now I'm getting a little better, setting up coding sessions with one of my friends so we can both make progress on our games.  I still haven't gotten past the inventory stage, but it doesn't bother me.  This is because I know that my slow progress is a lack of effort, not a lack of capability.

So don't worry that development is slowing down.  This is a good chance for you to just reanalyze your game, and, if people find it too much like Crawl, change it a little.  Crawl is popular because it's unique.  Games that are inspired by it will naturally take second place, and probably be overlooked.

So find something unique, something special, something interesting.  Find something that your game has and no other game does.  For me it's pure skill-based advancement (not based on kills) and a combinable magic system (Flame Aura + Summon Reptiles = Summon Salamanders).  For you it could be a great interface, a complex combat system, a clever quest generator, or really anything else.

Unless you have run out of ideas, keep at it.  How will your game get the recognition you want if no one works on it?

[Robson]

I'm in the last semester of my MBA program and it's eating up more time.

Definitely concentrate on that. It sounds like you have a lot of things going on, so removing one of them is a good idea. You can always return to Subterrane in the future.

[corremn]

I think you will find that all the popular (new and old ) roguelikes have been in development for many years.  It is very hard to create a RL in a short time that becomes popular.  The exeption to this is if you create a unique experience or draw upon an already define genre and RL-afy it.  I.e DoomRL and CastlevaniaRL.

Games that give the player no unique play style and are lacking content and gameplay compared to the older cousins will never be popular in the beginning. 

The future of RLs are either going to be feature/mechanic heavy (DF,incursion) or more arcade style (IVAN, DoomRL). 

My advice, find your niche or plan 5 years development. 
Or maybe take your experience and choose another project, ask what players want first before telling them what the want.

[stu]

two months? thats like a drop in the bucket. if you think of giving up after not touching it in just two months, maybe you should. (why do you need us to give you validation to continue it?).

if its not fun anymore, dont do it.

[Tarindel]

Thanks for the feedback so far.  It's given me a lot to think about.

Subterrane 0.224 Alpha has been released.  Details here: http://subterrane.tarindel.com/?p=7