computer games forum

It seems that all the 'big' title in the Arvaron series looks pretty much the same. I am not talking about story or writing but the game play is pretty much the same with just some minor changes. Each games seems to be an improvement of the last but innovation seems negligible. I hope the next game would be something fresh and new

I'm not planning on doing any major gameplay overhaul. If I had to do that the games would take even longer to come out (like one every 2-3 years MAYBE). And I can't afford this.
But if you don't like gameplay, you can always play them in VN mode only. Even as pure VN they're much longer than 90% of other VN so still worth the money

Forgot to say: Anima (the coder) is working on a new RPG framework, so when that one will be ready I could use that. But I doubt I'll have the time to do one myself, since it's not a simple task.

Let's see:
Loren - the base game
SOTW - added isometric map, plus ton of battle changes (randomized items being one of my favorites), many classes
Queen Of Thieves - removed front/back row, introduced armor/defense deteriorating idea
Cursed Lands - changed the visual (much nicer IMHO), added social talents, developed the defense idea even further

what games are repetitive? I don't see it. I wish all RPGs were repetitive like this. Have you ever played Spiderweb games? They use more or less same engine since 15+ years...

Thing is that even what seems a small change, takes a lot of work. Of course from Loren to SOTW that was a very big step (took me like 3-4 months just the new framework, then the remaining 6 to code/test/balance).
But even from QoT to Cursed Lands took me 2-3 months, the new visuals, 6 enemies instead of 5, the enemy morale, etc. They seem all small things but all added together, especially in a game like a RPG which needs to be balanced a bit (perfect balance is a myth, but on the other hand you can't even just add the new gameplay features and done! ).
I can see why people might think they are similar but they take a lot of effort "behind the scenes"
That said I'm eager to work on some smaller/simpler visual novels. Volleyball Heaven is one of those, has some basic simulation gameplay (training etc) but nothing as complex as a new RPG!