(AKA A Less Intense Version of my Last Post; Still read to the end, I have a poll and your vote matters!)
https://goo.gl/forms/PsCoTmkenDJtnaEn1
(^ That is the poll link, it's kinda buried in text below. Don't vote until you read this, though!)

About a month ago, I asked people about the future of SotFK and whether it would be better to cancel the project while I'm ahead and make a new game, or if I should just deliver the game that I promised. Well, after the mixed results of that poll, I've talked with more people, and I've thought of another alternative.

What if I gave SotFK a break for a little while to make other games before coming back to it?

The disadvantages to this approach are obvious and have been covered in my last post, such as how it would be pulling a 180 on the people hyped for that game, so I won't go as in-depth on them here. Instead, here's the positives as I see them:

1) I can work on an easier project. I will discuss these projects down below, so here I'll just talk about making a game w/ a lighter workload. I don't have much time to work on fatfur stuff, including both my art and SotFK, so I shouldn't be trying to make nearly as big a project as I am. I suppose that my own short-sightedness is to blame for this, since I started SotFK in the summer right before college & moving into a cramped house. I'm sorry to keep complaining about this, but the crux of the difficulty is the player animation, which is going to be really hard to make as detailed as I want it to be when there are 6 different sprites I need to animate. The other games are much simpler animation-wise, but more on that later

2) I can get a focused vision for what I want SotFK to be. One big problem with SotFK is a lack of focus. I had a great idea for a combat system that involved fattening enemies with your source of exp points and a simple story that I could shape and form on my own, but not much else. I had no idea how I wanted to handle the overworld, or the Village, or the player's allies, or anything like that. Because of that, it just kinda ballooned into whatever it is now and is destined to be. This is why there can be patches that give giant sweeping reworkings to the game engine like Alpha 1.2; nothing is set in stone other than the plot and one corner of the combat system, so everything else is an experiment. Giving SotFK a rest for a while would give me time to think through a more detailed vision for the game, which would mean that I could more easily regulate the direction of the game.

3) It would give me a chance to improve as a programmer and an artist. Right now, I don't feel like I'm perfect in either category, and taking a break on my big "dream project" idea would let me make it better. For example, the code for the game was largely written before I went to college, and now when I look back on it, I can see quite a few problems. In hindsight, I might even make a brand new game engine in a different language, one that is more stable & well-respected like C++ or something.

Those are the three reasons I think that taking a break is an option worth considering. However, there are also two other game ideas that are here to rush into the gap. (And in case you are wondering, I'm not mentioning the game from that raffle I did last December because that game is also going to be incredibly animation-heavy and so switching games would be pointless.)

The first idea is the game idea I mentioned in my last post; a Pokemon-based RPG where you fatten your creatures (which I'll call Blubbermon for now, although I'm open to name ideas) in battle. Your Blubbermon loses weight when it attacks, so the battle system will have an extra layer of strategy in the way your Blubbermon gains and loses weight. This game has a much stronger basis than SotFK, since everything I haven't described can be defaulted to doing it the way Pokemon does it rather than something else I make up on the spot. As well, while I'd be making tons of new species of fattening monsters for the game, it would be easier than SotFK because I'd need to make ~3 sprites for every creature instead of a ton of animations. However, other than the couple of problems I've mentioned before -- the fact that there isn't as much place for community involvement in the game and that it will always live under Pokemon's shadow -- there is an issue with my spritework; namely, the fact that I'm not great with perspective. I can make decent sprites with characters looking to the sides or straight forwards, but I can't really do anything with good perspective. The chubby monster in the green area is my best attempt at a diagonal-facing creature thus far. As such, if I do make Blubbermon, the sprites may look weird for a little bit or I may need to shift the layout of the battle screen.

The second idea I had is my idea from that contest I held last December. In it, you play as a creature of some kind -- shown in the blue to be a lizard, but that can change -- trying to make your way through a platformer level to the end. However, rather than coins or rings, you collect and eat food. Which weighs you down. The game will be a hybrid of an action platformer and a puzzle platformer, with the puzzle of each stage being to get to the end with as much food as your can eat. There will be more mobility options for your character as they grow, but I haven't fully decided on what yet. This game will be easier to make than SotFK for two reasons. First, it has a clear identity that covers most of everything (gameplay style, level design, etc). The only unclear bit is the additional mobility options. It will also be easier because it will be better to animate. Yes, I do have to make animations still, but I'll be doing it for fewer weight levels and with fewer animations overall. The main downside is that I don't know how best to make levels for this idea. I have some ideas on good, puzzling stage layouts, but I don't know if I will have enough stages to cover a fulfilling game experience. Thankfully, this shouldn't be hard to get help on from all of you.

So, with every argument and counterargument I can think of put onto the table, it's time to vote; will SotFK be temporarily put on hold while I learn what I'm doing? You decide! You can vote at https://goo.gl/forms/PsCoTmkenDJtnaEn1 and make your thoughts heard! I will be monitoring the poll over the duration that it is running, of course, but I will not make a decision until August 15th, when I'm done with classes for the summer. I will also re-post the voting link one week before then to round up anyone who missed this thread. Thank you for your time and your input!