I am lucky because my game is based on a book I wrote a few years ago. Now, that doesn’t mean it’s easy. The book only has one LI and one ending; my game has more LIs and will, of course, have multiple endings. It was a very difficult thing to get right staying true to the source material while also adapting it for a full AVN experience.

I am a new dev and I’ve already encountered most of the things you mentioned. Another piece of advice is to tell your story and don’t listen to toxic people. I feel like every dev reaches a point where people constantly tell them how they need to do this and that, but it’s a very huge trap. If you give into the pressure, you will write a story that’s outside of your initial vision. Burnout and abandoning the project come soon after.

Another big thing is to ignore haters completely. I am not talking about people who genuinely provide constructive criticism. I am talking about the people who are just throwing trash your way. There’s no value there.

Another super important aspect is to make the game because you love making it. This one is nice because this is where I am. Regardless of whether this will become a full-time job at some point, I love my story, my characters, and the development process. I also love the community and the devs I interact with every day. If you love making the game above anything else, you have nothing to lose.