The Big Poll, Or, What Game Am I Going To Develop Next? You Decide! (Patreon)

Hello everyone!

This is a very long post with a whole lot of information in it. I can't tell you what to do, but I do encourage you to read and absorb everything there is here before you go ahead and vote in the poll.

When A Tiny Furry In A Huge World Plus v1.3 is completed, I am going to start working in earnest on a brand new project, or game, or whatever you want to call it. This does not mean that development will end on A Tiny Furry In A Huge World Plus - it just means that I will be putting most of my focus (in terms of game development) onto something brand new and exciting.

Since v1.3 will probably take the rest of the year to wrap up - and this project will take a couple of months to become properly playable - this is really a poll about 2024. Don't expect this game to be playable this year, in other words... but do expect it to take over my main priority for monthly game updates in the near future.

If you're worried about the future of A Tiny Furry In A Huge World Plus, I am not canning the game. I don't want to get into it too much here, though, so I've gone ahead and done a quick Q&A for it at the end of this post... so scroll all the way down (or read the rest!) and you'll find answers on that one.

Anyway! This is not going to be a 'small' project like Macroville or even a 'small-medium' project like The Hungry House - this is going to be a large project, the main thing that I am moving onto now that I am retiring major development in Quest and moving onto Game Maker. In other words, this is my first big Game Maker project - something that isn't a port, something that is entirely new.

I want it to be pretty large - as in, a game I work on and provide monthly updates for on here for a few years much like A Tiny Furry In A Huge World before it - but at the same time, I am not aiming to make the biggest thing ever ever. I am only one person! But I would like to make my biggest game yet...

Today I am going to propose three projects. Two of these projects are returning concepts, but I want to point out in advance that they are not ports. They may reuse familiar concepts, characters, and locations, but in terms of text and gameplay and stuff they will be entirely new.

These three concepts all feature several things in common, so, before I get in depth, let me go over some general details.

★★★

1) Like most games I make, they will all be text adventures - or, they will use text as their main medium for telling the story. Expect something familiar in structure to my other stuff. You're moving through areas, talking to characters, interacting with stuff, and maybe solving the occasional puzzle or two. There will be other and more varied forms of gameplay, as well as better visuals (more on both of these in a little bit) but to both reassure and set expectations the game will, predominantly, be text that I've wrote. Even if I've gotten better at lots of other things since I've started this, I still think that my words are my biggest strength, and I plan to use them plenty.

2) This one probably goes without saying, but the game will contain ample amounts of macro/micro content. You will be the small, and other people will be the big. With that said, though, I think all three proposals contain room for a little predator content for a little extra spice and variation, so...

Anyway! What I am saying is that these games will contain ample amounts of macro/micro content and lots of vore scenes and all of that good stuff. I want to say this here because in the proposals I mostly just touch on their narratives and gameplay ideas.

3) The game will have combat. I am not sure what the combat will look like yet - it depends on what project I end up developing - but I think combat is a nice way of adding gameplay variation and 'mixing up' vore scenes. What I will say, however, is that the combat will be optional. You'll either be able to avoid it by doing a puzzle or just enable a toggle to auto-win battles (or auto-lose them if you're into that)

The combat will also not be ball-bustingly difficult either. It'll be fun and breezy, engaging but not super serious. A lot of macro/micro games with combat tend to have really hard and challenging fights that either require a lot of grinding or a whole lot of luck to win. I want to avoid this. I want the combat to feel fun and manageable. Something that you look forward to and something that is a viable option rather than a nightmare.

4) All of the proposed projects will contain character customization. This will not be the most in depth thing in the world - I don't want to get caught up in a dozen different variables - but you can expect meaningful character customization. You'll be able to pick your characters (rough) species for example. This isn't going to be anything exact, but you can expect something like a choice between something doggish, something cattish, something lizardish, and something birdish as a minimum. Your species choice will effect how you can tackle problems (birds might be able to fly, for example, so no need to climb) as well as effecting dialogue and just all kinds of stuff.

You'll also be able to pick a character class. Depending on the game the list of classes you can choose from will vary, but whatever class you pick will have a huge impact on the choices you have in the game. Playing a sneaky class means you can sneak past people, but you might have trouble lifting things... whereas playing a stronger class means you can lift stuff but are probably going to get caught more often. In other words, there'll be basic RPG mechanics going on. Not necessarily number stuff, but, more stuff that helps you roleplay as the micro you want to be.

5) The game will mostly be text, but there will be other types of gameplay. It will also, probably, have the best visuals I have ever done. This is another obvious one, but I want to make it clear that I am going to be pushing forward on making my games both look better and feel better to play. Regardless of which project ends up winning, I want the first time booting this game up to feel like a breath of fresh air... like a new era of Kyobi games. Or something.

6) Briefly, but very importantly, this results of this poll will not be the final decision. While the results of it will influence my decision greatly, it is really more of a guide than anything else. I am not sure which of these games I want to make myself, so I'm using this poll to push me in the right direction as it were.

For example, let's say that Project 1 gets 40% of the votes, Project 2 gets 35% of them, and Project 3 only gets 25%. While it's not likely I'd pick Project 3 with those results (it was the clear loser) I may end up choosing Project 2 over Project 1 just because I've decided during the poll's running time that Project 2 is the one I'd rather do.

Hopefully that makes sense. Basically, what I am saying is... I have the final decision, but I will be using the results of this poll as a strong guide, so your votes are very important. At the end of the day, I want to make what you guys want me to make!

7) This is a 'big decision' poll, so please don't be upset if what you want to win doesn't win. I have my own hopes for the direction of this poll - if you read between the lines then you'll probably see what I'm hoping for - but at the end of the day I'm not going to be disappointed with the outcome because I think all three of these projects have the capability to be amazing and I'm looking forward to working on any of them.

Most of the polls I do here are pretty light. It's like... pick an ending for the month. If what you voted for doesn't happen then, hey, turn up next month. This poll isn't really like that, though... it will influence the game that I am making over the next couple of years and publishing here on a monthly basis.

No matter which project wins, I promise that it will have exciting content that you are interested in. I make these games for you fine people - all of you - so I promise no matter what wins, you won't be disappointed.

★★★

That will do for the preliminary details... finally! So let's get into the proposals. They're all a few paragraphs long - so prepare for a bit of a read. I've tried to keep them somewhat brisk while also making them fun and informative.

★★★

This is probably the one that is nearest and dearest to my weird little heart... which isn't to say that I don't like the other two ideas, more that this one feels the most like unfinished business. Some of you may remember A Tiny Furry On A Huge Quest, a game which was intended to be a spiritual sequel to A Tiny Furry In A Huge World. For several reasons (mostly because it became really, really tiresome to develop it in Quest) the project ended up getting shelved.

This is the opportunity to unshelve it, though... it would not be the same game. At least, not exactly. I said somewhere all the way up there that this would not be a port and that would be true. While it would reuse certain locations and pretty much all of the characters (especially the ones that you guys voted for way back) it would be a different game. A fresh take on a familiar idea, basically. A slightly different setting, a more customizable main character, entirely new vore scenes and endings, different visuals, different animations, tweaked scenarios... basically, unless you were a really big fan of the original shot at it, it would feel like a brand new game.

If you aren't familiar with A Tiny Furry On A Huge Quest - and you should go play it if you aren't, it's real good and I'm still super proud of it - it's like A Tiny Furry In A Huge World but in a medievalish fantasy setting... so, you know, wizards, magic, swords and armor, all that good stuff.

The premise for the original attempt was pretty simple and open, and things wouldn't be too much different here. You, the now customizable main character, are a wannabe adventurer that's going to the shady town of Hellev to meet up with a couple of friends so that you can all embark on a quest. You end up getting there earlier than them, though, so you have to camp out in town for a couple of weeks. Hellev isn't the best place in the world - it's kinda dirty and some of the town's residents are pretty damn rough to say the least.

The town also has a really weird thing against micros... or little (naturally occuring) anthro creatures that are about two inches tall. In most parts of the world they're either tolerated or kept as pets, but Hellev sees them as vermin. Since you're a full size person, this isn't really a problem... at least, until you get shrunk!

There are a few secrets and surprises I'd like to keep close to my chest plot-wise, but this should give you a rough idea of the setting at the very least.

The game would feature Hellev - the main town from the first game - but it would also explore the surrounding areas of the town. Through the power of magic you might even be able to visit other continents and cities entirely. Who knows? Compared to the original game, it would be a slight bit more freeform, as in, it wouldn't follow the strict path of go to tavern, get a room, get shrunk. There would be more opportunities for exploration.

Here are some of the areas that you might be able to explore:

- The town of Hellev - a small and grungy fantasy town. There'd be a whole bunch of shops and services here, including a tailor, a smithy, a tavern... basically everywhere from the first game. You'd be able to explore these places big and small.

- A wizard's tower that has all kinds of strange magical artifacts and mythological beasties in it

- Dungeons! I wanna do dungeons. I'm not sure what they'd look like, but I think it'd be fun to explore them at a big size and a small size - like, you navigate the dungeon's traps and beat the monsters when you're big and get the treasure, but then on your way back you're tiny and you have to deal with everything in a much different way

- Other fun fantasy cities and places - including those both underground and in the sky.

Another difference between the original and this new version is that there would be more of a focus on some RPG elements. The goal here wouldn't be to have a whole bunch of tiresome stats and stuff, but there would be elements of character progression (the ability to choose new spells/skills as you advance through the game, how these might influence puzzles/dialogue/etc) and the class that you pick for your character at the start of the game would make a big difference on their background as well as the choices they get in the game. A warrior-type class is going to be better at certain things than a gunslinger-style class and vice-versa - even when they're tiny. In short, the choice/consequence thingy from the original game would be expanded a fair deal. Game Maker will be able to handle this much better than Quest was, so I'm not too worried about it being a roadblock.

So, in short:

- A magical medieval fantasy setting with magic and magical creatures and more magic
- Familiar characters, familiar setting, different and fresh game
- A strong narrative focus where choices can have pretty significant consequences (though with plenty of vore scenes & exploration to indulge in along the way)
- Fun RPG/roleplay elements without too much tiresome stat nonsense

A Tiny Furry On A Huge Quest, that thing that I started but never finished, reimagined and brand new and all sparkly and exciting... and also finished this time. I would like to say that out of all three of the projects this is the one that would go the most smoothly - mostly because I have the biggest and most clear plan for it. Don't let that put you off the other two ideas, though... which are coming up right now!

★★★

If A Tiny Furry On A Huge Quest is a spiritual sequel, then this would be a proper sequel... as in, it would reuse the same setting... though the focus wouldn't be on the college, rather the surrounding town of Graceview. I think I've covered the grounds of being tiny in a college pretty well by now - I've done like, 500,000 words of it - so I wouldn't want the sequel to just do that again except it looks nicer.

I've had this concept floating around my head for a year or so now, but this game would be set a few months after the events of A Tiny Furry In A Huge World. It would feature a brand new protagonist. This new protagonist would be a new student at the college, someone who's moved in and been settled into their dorm for about a week or so. Freshman week is over and college is about to start properly - that kinda time frame, you know?

However, like I said, this game won't have a huge focus on the college. Yes, it'll appear. I won't be able to help myself from doing a throwback or two. Speaking of throwbacks, certain characters from the first game will return, too - I haven't decided which ones entirely, mind - but you can expect there to be more familiar faces than familiar locations.

In terms of locations, here's a couple off the top of my head that might be interesting:

- Graceview has a mall - you can (briefly) visit the food court of it in the original game - and this place is pretty much on the top of my list as an explorable location both big and small

- Dorm rooms - these also appear in the first game, but it would be more interesting here given that you'd have the opportunity to make friends (and enemies) at full-size who might treat you differently when you're small

- A restaurant is a pretty obvious pick for a fun commercial thing, but honestly lots of commercial shops would potentially be fun - I'd love to do something that's set in a tabletop gaming store or something like that where you're forced to be a piece in someone's campaign

- Secret mysterious areas like the lab from the first game that you only get to briefly visit

This is just a couple of examples. The final game might not even feature any of this... it's just an idea of the sort of locations I'd like to explore. Basically, modern small town vibes, except you're really small.

Like the last game, the protagonist from this game would also have a shrinking problem... so expect lots of micro exploration of a macro environment. However, there will also be opportunities to explore certain locations at full-size, too. Not only does this provide some nice contrast between how small an environment is at regular size and how huge it as at micro size (your tiny dorm room suddenly being a kingdom, for example) but it also allows for more diverse interactions with the games characters and environments. It also means that there will be possible predator opportunities...

Unlike the last game, the sequel wouldn't be a super huge open sandbox. It would have a chapter structure where each chapter focuses on a certain area. Just for example, Chapter One might be the dorm rooms, Chapter Two might focus on a commercial street, and Chapter Three would... you get the point. I would want to keep the sandbox spirit of the first game intact, though, so these 'chapters' (or areas) would be pretty large and feature several characters. You'd also be able to make decisions that may or may not influence later chapters. Something that's worth pointing out though is that you wouldn't have to play it in a linear order. You'd be able to start at Chapter 2 if you wanted... as long as it was out, anyways.

So, in short:

- A proper full-fledged sequel to A Tiny Furry In A Huge World
- New and returning characters
- A focus on areas around the town of Graceview (the town the game is set in)
- More narrative while still keeping things sorta sandboxy like the original

So, yes! Full-fledged Tiny Furry World sequel. I think that's just about all I need to say on this one. Time to move onto the third and final proposal.

★★★

Vorevival, or, the one that got away.

Going way back - at least a couple of years now - I made a game in Twine called Vorevival. It only got a few updates before being cancelled because, at the time at least, I was not that great of a programmer. Also, I didn't and still don't really like Twine. I always liked the concept of this one, though, and now that I'm much better at doing game stuff - both in terms of visuals and the backend - I think that the idea of returning to it is a very interesting possibility.

Vorevival was a exploration-focused RPG, kinda like Corruption of Champions, or, that was the rough idea of it anyway. You were a natural micro (as in, you weren't shrunk, you were always this small) attempting to survive in a macro world where you're nothing more than a pest. Survival revolved around a simple food mechanic, wherein you had a limited supply of it and had to venture out into a restaurant area full of macros to gain more.

This new version of Vorevival - which likely wouldn't resemble the original very much at all - would focus on a similar sorta deal. You're a natural micro in a macro world, and you have to collect and gather resources by exploring areas and engaging in the occasional quirky random event. 

The setting would be a sorta modern futuristic vibe - like, in terms of technology, it's about a hundred years in our future. You'd live in a dusty corner of a crawlspace between a couple of different buildings, which means that you'd have access to a bunch of fun areas within said modern futuristic setting, from homes to businesses, from bars to restaurants, from shops to... other places.

The biggest difference between this game and the original is that the macro world isn't completely hostile to you. It's dangerous, yes, but you do have rights within it, and sometimes people will respect those rights. They might not want to talk to you or help you, but they won't crush you at least. At the same time, though, you and your people are two inches tall and not exactly high on the social ladder, so enforcing those rights is another thing entirely. In other words, nobody is going to pick you up and throw you against the wall because you're a gross bug, but if you piss the wrong person off or trespass into the wrong house then you're probably going to get yourself ate. At the same time, though, if you curry the favor of the right big person, then... who knows? You might end up being their beloved pet, which is a pretty lofty position for a micro like yourself!

This project is a little unique, because unlike the other two, it'd be much more of a sandbox. While there would be a narrative, there's no ah fuck I'm shrunk I need to get big again thing going on. This game is all about surviving while being small, so there'd likely be a much bigger focus on side quests and optional activities in the like.

Out of all three options, this one would likely have the most RPG mechanics... as in, there would be stats, level ups, and all that kind of stuff. Experience wouldn't have to be gained through combat, though - indeed, you can avoid combat entirely - it would be more something granted and rewarded through exploration and interaction. Given that the name of the game is survival - or Vorevival - these level ups and stats and such would be pretty crucial to, well, your continued survival - especially if you want to trek into riskier areas to get better goodies.

In short:

- A game set in a modern future setting where you're a natural micro
- Emphasis on survival in a world where big people might not be very friendly to you
- More sandbox style gameplay with a focus on doing what you want

This is probably the idea that I have fleshed out the least, both mentally and on paper. For this reason, it's a bit of a wildcard option... but I think it's an interesting one, and it offers something different than the other two.

★★★

A Tiny Furry In A Huge World Plus Q&A

Will v1.3 be the last version of the game?

Nope! I still have plans for a v1.4 which will do the usual thing of adding a new area and a bunch of new scenes and a new character and all of that. More than anything, though, it will focus on closing up the few dangling plot threads that the game has and turn it into a complete story as it was, I guess.

So will v1.4 be the last version of the game then?

Nah, but it will be the last big version of the game. Following that the game will enter a sort of maintenance mode of sorts where I'll be adding new scenes from time to time, potentially, but not actively working on new areas and characters and significant content as it were. By the time v1.4 comes out, whatever this next project turns out to be will be in full swing most likely, so that'll take over completely in terms of priority at that point.

What about the port to Game Maker/Android/whatever?

That's still happening, just not in the immediate future. It will be a big port and it will take a lot of time, and personally, on a creative level, I'd rather focus on something new next year than porting over 500,000 words of content plus a ton of scripts and other things. I think it'll work out more exciting for both me as a creator and you the audience.

I do want to preserve my work in the best state possible, though, so it will be happening at some point. Getting more experience in the engine by working on something new rather than something old will likely make the process of porting it easier anyways. I'll talk about it more when I'm ready.

Essentially, then, if you are invested in Tiny Furry World (you probably are if you're here) you do not have to be worried about it ending abruptly.

★★★

There is a lot here already, so I think I will leave it at that.

If anyone has any questions, please feel free to leave them in the comments and I will answer them!

This poll is going to run for a full month. It will end on October 16th. If you don't want to vote right now because you'd like to chew over your decision then you will have plenty of time.

In just a day or two, I'm going to have a fun little story to share with everyone! Look forward to that, and, happy voting!