Post by Kinky Fridays in Sapphire Safari (Early Access) comments

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We have never sold the game for 20 dollars, it's always on sale as it is still in early development. That is what's great about the game as it stands, we want to make sure we can capture everything we want. If that means pulling something because it is not fitting, even after working on it for months, we will. We will refine and update it until it is perfect.

Everything you've talked about, how we have changed things remade things, or swapped out entire systems and flows. Yes. That is what we are doing. We will do it until we get the perfect ideal game we want to make.

If someone says it is not worth purchasing, I would tend to agree with them. We are making this game completely transparently. Customers should vote with their wallets, and until you believe it is worth the cost, you should never purchase.

Pavora349 days ago(+3)

Ok, I didn't keep track of the constant on-sale status of the game. That's a mistake on my part. But the transparency... I don't know about that, chief. I doubt new people dig through the past development logs to figure out what the current status of the game is. So, the most prevalent source of information is the game's main page. And that gives off the vibe of a more complete game with intricate systems and a lot more variety than there actually is at this point in time.
I know it's probably dumb of me - who has bought this game over a year ago and is looking forward to it's completion in the future - to make such a fuss about it, but trying to look at it from the perspective of someone who just stumbles across it, it feels... insincere (I know it's not meant to be).
And yes, it's just a lack of adequate adaption of the main page.
And yes, new people could try to dig deeper into the actual, current state of the game.
But not everyone does this, especially when they believe that the main page is giving them a summary of the current state of the game.

Crackedfox348 days ago (3 edits) (+2)

I feel that this is 100% valid criticism in the games current state.

Cutscenes that don't seem to be implemented in the game used into marketing material, promises of things you can experience, but not currently implemented in the game. Even if you are straightforward in backchannels, you shouldn't be representing it as the state of the game on the page where customers are actually purchasing it. If you are being transparent, add the details described to the games description ^ up there.

I also think that this game can be quality and successful, but I think in the current state it's in, you are presenting a bait and switch.

Kinky Fridays348 days ago(+4)

Yeah this is all fair. I'll update the main page with a roadmap to people can see what's coming and what's already built. That should clear up any confusion.

Crackedfox346 days ago(+1)

Awesome to hear it. I appreciate you being understanding and polite about this too. I know how easy it can be to feel like people are attacking you with criticism when it's anonymous users. Keep up the good work.

Pavora346 days ago

I absolutely agree. Especially since I'm well aware that my initial comment was rather provocative and potentially aggravating 😅

Kinky Fridays346 days ago

It's all good. Feedback is important for all aspects of the process, not just development.

Vynyx347 days ago(+1)

Maybe I'm the odd one, but I always check the past logs and comments before I pay for something in places like this, and I figured others did too? Is it really that rare?

I guess I just know that these things are works in progress, so while I may grab a free game on a whim without looking into it, I want to make sure the developers are active in there games so we don't end up with another Monster Girl Island type situation.

I haven't bought this game yet because it seems like it's still in it's early stages, but I've saved it to a folder of stuff I want to keep an eye on, because Kinky Fridays does seem to post updates fairly often, relative to what I've seen from a lot of others on here, and the quality of what they're making shows promise. I'm just waiting for it to get further along before I spend the money is all. It seems a bit harsh to fault the dev for people not looking into what they're spending their money on.

Kinky Fridays347 days ago

Well I appreciate the insight. We can always make things a lot clearer and we will do so when the work week starts. So all feedback is good. We will improve.

Pavora347 days ago (1 edit)

There are different ways to look at it. It's fair to say that people could invest the time and go through devlogs and comments to see the current state of a game. But a good number of people also look at the front page to see if it's a work in progress, a demo, a small but basically finished indie game, and so on and so forth. So, the front page should give at least a somewhat concise summary of the game's current state. The blame doesn't lie solely with the devs, but it's equally not right to blame people for not wanting to spend time digging through logs and comments when the front page is - at first glance at least - well-managed and informative. Something simple like "This is an early (or relatively early) alpha build for our game that's still WIP. Here, have a roadmap or a short summary of already implemented systems. Otherwise, look at our latest development logs" would already help increase transparency and give people a 'fair warning' and a gentle nudge to look more into it if they are unsure.
The things currently on the front page don't do that and give off the vibe of a much more complete game. By which, I don't mean to imply it is done purposefully to lure people in or anything along those lines. It was probably done to share this game's goals and ideas. The problem is it can be very easily misinterpreted as intent and drive people away. Which I would like to prevent because I think this game could be great. Putting just a little more information and transparency on the front page can reduce that risk and show that the developers care about clear communication with this game's (potential) buyers and the people who follow their progress. Yes, it's a little extra work to put in, but it gives off a better feeling and can help increase trust in this project and the devs.

Heccaton348 days ago(+2)

idk about it always being on sale, i purchased the game for 19.99 and i have the receipt to prove it, as well as bank statements saying it pulled 19.99 from account, only AFTER i purchased the game it switched to being on sale.

Kinky Fridays348 days ago

If a sale ends I try to move it quickly back to being on sale, that shouldn't happen very often though.

Pavora348 days ago

You have full control over the price, right? I mean, you can change the price of the game whenever you want? Just make it a $7.99 game, and when you reach the state that it's fully done, or at least far enough on its way to deserve a $19.99 price tag, change it back to that price. This way, there is no in-between when a sale ends.

Kinky Fridays348 days ago

After the black Friday sale I will be lowering the price to 12.99. that price is likely what we will launch on steam with for early access.

itch.io

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