Hello, everyone.

As you may know, a few weeks ago nanoff announced his departure from Minotaur Hotel. A main artist leaving is a difficult moment for any project, particularly one as massive as ours, but seeing the positive and understanding response to his post has been very reassuring. That mature response allowed us to sit down and take stock of the current situation in peace. We'd like to thank you for your understanding and kindness, and we want to respond in kind by providing a very transparent account of what things are looking like for us.

To start it off, I imagine a number of you must be wondering if we have already picked an artist or how we'll manage assets going forward. Those are massively important decisions for a romance visual novel, where readers form a strong emotional connection with a character as they are presented on-screen. Changing their looks runs the risk of breaking that bond, or at least making them feel wrong or unrecognisable.

In our case this is complicated by the current state of the game. We have blurry assets (like the old man's, at the start of the game), old sprites we had meant to update (like Luke's and Robert's), very crisp sprites that require new assets for plot reasons (like Pedro's and Oscar's), old CGs that are no longer consistent and must be entirely remade (Asterion playing the lyre at the lounge, Asterion and Luke/Kota at night at the hotel's entrance). We will also need different costumes for characters to account for plot, a very high number of CGs for upcoming content, sprites for upcoming recruitable characters, and the last stretch of the story hinges on a number of upcoming side characters that must be shown on-screen.

All of that is to say that the current set of assets is not enough to finish the game, and in fact a considerable amount of them were considered, by nanoff himself, as placeholders. The only way we could finish the game with what we currently have is if we scrapped the entirety of Act 3, which would compromise the quality of everything we've worked so hard to deliver. That is not an option we are willing to consider.

We want to conclude Minotaur Hotel without compromising our vision, and we want to preserve the art direction so that characters retain their identity, and we want the game's art to feel consistent from start to finish. That is a big mission, but after regrouping, discussing our options and getting the insight from fellow developers, we think that is indeed possible. But we will need time to think this through, find the right person — or people, — and really make sure it all comes out right.

That is my transparent and honest answer to what may be the most widespread question about the game's future: we are still figuring out how we will take things forward. There are very few hard answers. We have not settled on an artist or artists, and we will need time to really decide. Right now we are assessing the current state of things and trying to draw the best way to the finish line.

However… There is one thing we, as a team, unanimously agree on: no matter what, the immediate priority is to release Chapter 20. It's been too long since we published a new build and we understand how necessary that is — and I can safely say that we, more than anyone else, want to see the new version out ASAP. I should make it clear that this is not only for your benefit as a reader. We want to move on to the next parts of the story ourselves. That would help us deal with things.

Right now, Chapter 20 is entirely written, with only some editing pending on the last two scenes. GigaSaddle's backgrounds are done. Wattson's coding is at an advanced stage. But nanoff's departure has complicated the matter of CGs — of which there are many, as this chapter is a climactic moment between Asterion and the MC. And if you read my previous DevLog, you'll see that we really were at a very advanced stage of production on this one.

This puts us in a delicate situation. On one hand we want to take our time with our decision on the game's art going forward, but on the other we also want to push out this build as soon as possible.

After some deliberation, we agreed on a provisional plan. We approached a number of artists with whom we have trusting relations and split the workload between them. That way we will soon have all the necessary CGs, and the selection of artists will make sure they are at a high quality. We also took special measures to maintain a consistent art direction and correct tone across all CGs — we created a central document to serve as reference for all artists, and we (Kangarube, Nemo0690, Awoo and I) are assessing all assets as a group to make sure all characters feel right.

It is inevitable that Asterion will look a little different across CGs, stemming from each artist's unique style. We decided against attempting to obsessively homogenise that aspect; I believe it would add unnecessary complexity and friction to the task, I am not convinced the art itself would be better for it, and ultimately, I think, it would be a futile endeavour.

Speaking now as the game's director, when it came to the writing we have always stuck to a set of guidelines, but each writer brought a particular style to their parts of the game. One of our core principles was the preservation of that individuality and uniqueness; it only makes sense to extend that to the CGs, in our current circumstances.

I also hope that you, our readers, will be able to appreciate the support we have received from our creative colleagues, who have come together to help in this challenging moment. We all understand that this is not the optimal scenario, but both our team and a number of dear colleagues have come together to push the game forward in these difficult times.

Now, some of you may already be following this with another batch of questions. Going from conversations I've had in the last few weeks, it's possible that you may be an artist willing to work with us — if so, please reach out via our BlueSky or email us at minotaur [dot] hotel at gmail [dot] com with a sample of your work. Just do keep in mind that it may be a while before we reach a conclusion on who exactly will be doing the art, due to the high priority task of finishing Chapter 20 ASAP.

Another likely question is that of the project's, for the lack of a better term, budget. So far it has been a passion project where we worked with no expectation of financial return, with occasional expenses in the form of exceptional assets and occasional commissions for our thumbnails. nanoff's departure, and the large volume of art we'll need to finish the game, puts us in a position that forces us to adapt.

For now, the game's expenses are covered. I am taking money out from my savings, which are sufficient to cover the development of Chapter 20, but it is likely that at some point down the line we'll have to consider a Patreon or Subscribestar to cover on-going expenses and, God willing, recoup my investment. How that will function and what bells and whistles we'll offer to supporters, if any, are very much beyond the scope of this DevLog and of our current production situation. It's too soon.

In the writing department, for the last few months I had been dedicating so much time to the game and my other writing projects I was about ready to consider it my job. In fact, while the team worked on porting Chapter 20 into the game, I was able to write a third of the next build of Minotaur Hotel. Going forward I'll be working full time on my writing — which in practice consists of 75% of my time spent on Minotaur Hotel, and 25% split between Devil's Gambit and Sex Drive. Once we're on more stable ground, I and the rest of the writing team will hopefully be back to writing in earnest.

Given the magnitude of expenses I expect to go into this and the economically depressed creator economy on Patreon and Subscribestar, I do not expect Minotaur Hotel to become profitable. In the unlikely case that I recoup my investment, so-called "profits" would be reverted to the many upcoming costs associated with finishing the game, as opposed to paying my bills.

To finish this DevLog, I'd like to specifically address some fears and concerns we have seen floating around. Chief among them is that, given the long wait for the next build, the project may already be dead.

Speaking frankly, I understand the reaction. I am very aware of how damaging the long periods of lacking news and fresh content are to one's faith in a project. In the niche of furry visual novels, troubles in production often are followed by the death of a project, so it is ultimately understandable that the same logic be applied to us.

However, the truth is that we remain with our utmost determination to finish the game, which has always been and still remains near and dear to our hearts. And that, at the end of the day, is the determinant factor. As long as that determination exists — and it will not die — the game will be finished. And as much as the departure of one of our key team members hurts and complicates things, and as much as it may place new and unforeseen challenges on our path forward, we still have the support of a great network of fellow creatives and readers who have come together to support and push us through this moment.

And if that is not enough, then I speak not as director, but as the writer who started this all: for as long as I live, my promise to finish Minotaur Hotel stands. Even if we must adapt to new realities, I am determined to see it to the end no matter the cost. I say this with certainty, because even if civilization collapsed and it became impossible to produce and distribute Minotaur Hotel as a game, I would still finish writing it for myself. External challenges, as difficult as they may be, do not take away from the reality that, from the very start, I've been writing for my love of the craft.

If that is not enough to convince you that we will push through and finish the game, then you'll see it through our actions. The game will be finished, and Chapter 20 will be out ASAP.

-Minoanon.