Dev Note 2: The Creative Process

The creative process is a bit of a toss up. Sometimes, I have had an idea floating around in my head for months and years, and it just fits the current character progression/game narrative perfectly. Those are the easiest. Clara’s temptation scene on Day 0 is one of those. I KNEW I wanted to make something like that, and had imagined the ways it would play out repeatedly. Those are the ideas that walk out almost fully formed, and I just have to generate the right images and copy to translate the idea into something coherent for others.

As a counter point, for some of the characters, I actually just play with image generation techniques, prompt engineering, workflow tweaks, reading up on new workflows, and I end up generating a nice image that works very well for the character. My brain is sometimes able to work backwards, craft a narrative that works for the given character, and we can go from there. I had a hard time with what kind of introduction Eleanor would have, as I really wanted her to have an umph factor for Day 0 that none of the other characters had. So instead of trying to figure out the scene. I just kept generating inspirational images for her character, then when exploring her succubus form. I realized… why not let her just be the show case of what these succubi can do if they’re not restrained or held back in any way. 

For each release, I try to make sure each character explores a different aspect of their personality and their “personality” if that makes sense. I want each character to tempt the player in a way that makes sense for them, but also to allow each player to experience their given fetish with any of the characters (if they can find the right way to unlock the conditions). Overtime, I hope that LUSE has so much variety and coverage for each character, that the world truly feels alive and filled with as many choices (and consequences) as real life does- Just with naughtier consequences.

Regardless of how the original idea comes to mind, it’s followed by a few rounds of polish to fix up awkward phrasing and make sure the flow meets some level of quality. The mantra that I have to repeat to myself is perfect is the enemy of done. It’s more important to keep some momentum going and keep shipping right now than to be 100% happy with the individual scenes. The Fly Wheel has to be built first.

I'll do a post soon of explaining how AI works in a "creative" process.