Posted June 22, 2022 by romantisoft
First of all, I want to give a big thank you to all of you who have been so supportive and encouraging. We indie artists and game devs don't always want to say it, but we REALLY LIKE having people comment, share, rate, donate, etc...
If you want to see some artwork using some of this game's characters you can check out my DeviantArt page: https://www.deviantart.com/romantisoft. You'll need to make an account to see the 18+ works (pretty much all of them), but it is free.
We may as well start off with this one. Overwhelmingly, people did not like the abstract ghostlike player character. This is not a huge surprise. In the feedback survey I even titled the question related to the PC as "I hated the ghostlike player character" (rate 1-5, disagree = 1, agree = 5; Avg. score = 3.6).
The plan is to replace the player character with a selectable fleshier model. Players will be able to choose one of the three. Here's what I have in mind:
Better view of the PCs:
I would like to add a tiny bit of backstory that the player will be able to influence. For example, I think the first scene will open with the player character on their way to meet Alan. While heading to the rooftop bar they will be texting with a friend who might ask something like "how do you know Alan?" and the player character may respond with something like "We were dorm mates". That choice would then influence later dialogue in the scene with Alan.
My thought is that each match will take place in a location thematically appropriate to the character. Elie at the gym/sauna; Max at the beach; Dean and Nigel at Dean's farm. When the player wins the match a sex scene will ensue. The player will have the option to make decisions that influence the scene. Every 1v1 match will give the player the option to Top, Bottom, or both (flip fuck, is the term, I believe). If I do a 2v1 or a 1v1v1, this option will not be available. With 3 (or more) characters there are just too many variables; especially since the PC could use one of three skin-tones.
I plan on rewriting pretty much all the existing code, aside from the user interface. There's a few reasons for this, but ultimately I feel that by doing this I will be able to more easily add additional scenes.
I've given some thought to adding additional card games. 5 Card Stud and Memory are possibilities as I have some idea of how to code those; Texas Hold'Em is out of the question for now—too many variables. I also thought of maybe adding some random trivia game round. I can't really add things that require physics, like Pool or Darts: Ren'Py's not exactly built for that. (In theory it's possible, but it would be a major hassle). With all that said, there's a good chance I will just stick to BlackJack. The scenes take enough time on their own and coding new games will really slow things down.
I'm a digital artist and programmer. I first got started making things in Photoshop AGES ago. For quite a few years— before I had even heard of Ren'Py—I had plans to make a visual novel. I got started trying to code it in JavaScript and HTML, with drawings that I had made in Photoshop and Illustrator.
It was not feasible.
To achieve the results and quality I wanted from each frame, it took me many, many hours. Between the hand drawing and the manual coding of each aspect without the use of a game-engine (like Ren'Py), this approach was simply not worthwhile for an actual project with multiple frames.
I put it aside, saddened and discouraged that I wouldn't be able to produce a quality game. Then some time later, over a year at least, I played Coming Out On Top. Learning that it was made in Ren'Py, I started investigating the possibility of using it myself. Much to my delight, the game engine seemed pretty easy to learn, and it uses Python, which I code in regularly for work. I took another stab at things and my process definitely sped up. Still though, drawing and digital painting take ME a long time; longer than most people who have been doing it for an equally long time—from what I have observed. This time I wasn't completely discouraged, but I felt that I would have to adapt or find a new drawing style that would allow me to produce art more quickly. I worked at that for awhile.
Then, at some point during the pandemic (the first or second round of lockdown), I played Straight!?. I had seen 3D visuals novels before, but the uncanny valley aspect to them often freaked me out a bit. I did not feel that way playing Straight!?. Not only was the story very enjoyable, but the artwork appealed to me.
From there I deep-dived into Daz Studio and found that I was able to finally achieve a pace that could conceivably work for developing an actual game.
I plan on making more story-driven games in the future. I currently have two projects in mind. One is a long(ish) dating-sim visual novel where player choices definitely matter. This game will also use a lot of interesting mechanics like an inventory system, money, etc...
The other is a collection of hot short stories where players DO have choices, but it doesn't have as huge an impact.
I would probably release the short stories first, as the code will be far less complicated.
If you made it this far, thanks again, and please let me know what you think!