After much consideration I have decided to proceed with the plan discussed in the previous essay. I have already established that I can make it work; I have migrated the Siboot storyworld back to a form that works with the old SWAT IDE; I have had to modify some of the code in SWAT, but these changes are small enough not to disturb other features.
Stage One
My first task will be to complete the Siboot storyworld. This will entail the following additions:
The ability to lie in deals
Bead trading
Promise no attack
Tell about lying
End of day and beginning of dream combat
Dream combat
Endgame calculations
This doesn’t look like much, I am surprised to say. I’m sure that I’ll want to add more, but that’s all I currently have in my pocket. So it shouldn’t take long to implement these. However, testing and getting everything balanced will be a huge job. I figure at least three months for this task.
Stage Two
With a working storyworld, I will be able to show people that it works. There will be some technical problems making it available to the right people, but I think I can get through to most. I will first have to compile a list of experienced game designers to whom I can appeal for blurbs. This will take a month.
Stage Three
Next, I must prepare my crowdfunding campaign. The first step in this process will be a detailed specification of exactly what work I need done. I should consult with a games producer to get estimates of the costs of these parts. Figure one month for this task.
Stage Four
Initiate a crowdfunding campaign. I’m pretty sure that I don’t want to take the conventional route through Kickstarter or IndieGoGo. Those are pre-release sales outlets; they are useful only if I have a sexy product to sell. Much of the value of the Siboot project will be intangible, so I need something more like charitable funding rather than pre-sales. This means that I should go to Patreon. Figure one month again.
Stage Five
With Patreon funding in hand, I hire the outside workers to implement their portions of the game. Then I manage them and start putting all the pieces together. This process will take three to six months.
Stage Six
When everything is functional, I make the finished game available to the public, probably as a free download. I’ll also need to dedicate some time to marketing it. Give this one month.
Stage Seven
With favorable PR, I then move to prepare the source code for open release. This will entail setting up some sort of organizational structure to manage the process.
This all adds up to a grand total of 10 to 13 months — that’s MUCH better than what I was imagining earlier.
Project Tasks
Here are the tasks that I’ll be relying on other people to do:
1. Face creation and expression animation
2. Facial expression display code
3. Mood aura display
4. Dream combat animation
5. Re-adapting the current display system to the new system.
6. Endgame display
7. Splash screens
8. Code to display interstitial stories
9. Writing up more interstitial stories
I’m sure that I’m missing some things here. But this is only a preliminary plan.