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Dev Update #33: News, Sprites, CG Teaser, Story Teaser

1st Degree: Murder-Mystery BL/Yaoi VN [UPDATED DEMO]
A downloadable game for Windows, macOS, and Linux

Hey all! Happy Sun--Monday! Did I lose track of the days because of the three day weekend? You can bet your bottom I did! I hope y'all have a swell Labor Day, if you take part in it, and if not, then just make today a meaningful day!

I've got a few juicy teasers for you today in what is probably one of the biggest updates I've done in a while! So enjoy! I've got some general news for you about our upcoming release of our Summer side game (decided it's more appropriate than just calling it a DLC), I've got some new outfits to show off, I've got a CG teaser for y'all, AND! Decided, well, why not show you the prologue for one of the routes. So! Have a good read, if you're not a reader, enjoy the couple of pics!

1a) News/General Update

As you should all know if you read the last update, I hired a new co-writer to finish up this side game. It was supposed to be something that when started, we could finish in 2 months, but because of the delays it was not possible. But with the help of my new writer, we should be able to crank it out in mid-late October, barring anymore delays, and maybe earlier depending on coding/testing. Ideally, it'd be out before Autumn starts, but let's just mentally extend if for like another month. Because my co-writer was not fully familiar with the characters (obviously because they had not been on board during the process of creating them), they had a little bit of time to get to know them and are now updating and writing the script. So, please be patient! It is completely in development and it's also helped me get new inspiration to work on the sprites and try to be more creative with them. 

If you're curious about what tablet I got instead of my crummy Huion, that I returned--I have a Surface Pro 4 and it is more useful than I thought it'd be. If you're not familiar, it's basically a laptop + a drawing tablet. Having it is really helpful with getting back into drawing the sprites, my old Wacom Art was getting a little difficult to use because the surface was all messed up and scratched. I'm just glad I have a bigger surface to work with and I'm also glad it was easy to get accustomed to.

Now just a general announcement: if you're wondering if we will be putting out a Halloween DLC/side game/content, the answer is no. It might have been possible if we had gotten the Summer game out without all the delays, but since we are so behind with it, anything else at this moment would be too difficult. However, maybe when the main game is released, we can make a few holiday games with the characters.

1b) Art Streams/Streams In General

I hope you guys saw the update saying there was an art stream, but if not, yes, we had two art streams last week. The best place to keep up with those kinds of announcements would be twitter or to follow my CG artist on picarto. Our Twitter is ParivalGames and the art stream channel on picarto is FDDOfficial. I will only be making stream announcements on twitter so make sure to follow us. Announcements will be the day of/time of. They won't be too often, but when there is one, please make sure to stop by! I will be in the chat and I can answer any questions you may have. We've decided that the majority of streams will be on Picarto because pretty much all other streaming services do not allow for NSFW art to be streamed. If it is something SFW, then we may hold the stream on Twitch. Also, let me know what else you would like to see! Right now we are doing just the CG streams, but if you're interested in like a script editing stream with me talking about the process, I'd be down for that too, or anything else you may be curious about. As long as we have people watching, we'll continue holding streams.

1c) Merch Info

Right now, we still have the Rei Daki Cover for sale. If you have not received an email from me yet, it is because you did not order in time to be included in the last batch. I will be ordering another batch if we can get a few more orders in, so make sure you fill out a form if you're interested in purchasing one! 

Order Form 

If you would like a Daki with another character, we might wait until the game is released to make any more. The art for each double-sided daki cover costs about $150 to commission, so we would either have to get a very generous donation from some of you thirsty fans, or we will just wait and see where we stand post-release. If you are someone who just can't wait and are really interested, in say a Jun Daki cover, then you can go ahead and send me an email at parivalgames@gmail.com saying so! If you do make that donation for the art cost, you would get the physical cover out of it for no extra charge (obviously).

Other than the daki cover, we were thinking about making stickers. We thought it might be funny, though a bit raunchy, to make dick stickers for the characters. Because why not? I mean, we probably won't, but it'd be hilarious. But anyway, let me know anything else you guys might enjoy having!

2) Sprites! (it's been 84 years since I've shown one, so here are three)

So, like I've said, I was a bit discouraged lately with sprites. But I've pretty much knocked like 4 out just this weekend. I think I've slightly improved which is great but sucks at the same time because now I just want to redo every sprite, I won't, but I want to. The struggles of art, I swear.

Anyway, Rei basically gets to be spoiled as hell with his sprite because he gets so many outfits. He's supposed to be the poorest character in the game and yet his wardrobe/possessions would say otherwise *cough* sugar daddies *cough*. But anyway, along with him, I've got the twins for you~ I really enjoyed making their sprites this time because I was able to bring in some fashion that I think looks nice these days, aka, totally not actually BDSM gear but might actually be real BDSM gear, but totally just wearing it because of how it looks. With how the twins were rewritten, they really aren't very subtle, and I think it comes through with their fashion here and I absolutely adore it.

I think I'll save the other sprites for the side game so there will be at least a little bit of surprise, but enjoy these ones since they're here! 

Did I mention they totally kind of convinced Rei to wear their accessories?

3) CG Teaser

The art streams that happened last week streamed the process for creating this CG! This will be in the side game as the Minami x Rei CG. If you were in the stream, you saw all of the variations that will be seen! This is just a little bit of a teaser for those of you who have not watched the stream. The only other side game CG that has not been done yet is the Twins, so we may have a stream for at least some of that process as well.

You may also be wondering, 'haven't I see Minami's outfit already?' Yes. I decided to move this outfit to the summer game since he is wearing shorts and I will be making a new date outfit for him for the main game. I think I want to bundle him up a bit more with something oversized, so I figured instead of just forgetting the outfit, I'd repurpose it.

4) Side Game Teaser

I really hope people are excited for this side game! So, I thought I might hype you guys up a bit and give you a little teaser as to what you will be getting into. The context will be up to you for this scene so enjoy! It is the prologue for the Aiden x Rei route in the side game all the way up to the first choice. I'd like to know what you guys will end up picking~ Also, excuse any typos/egregious errors if any.

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AIDEN X REI PROLOGUE

[The blindfold feels silky across the delicate skin of my eyelids. With my vision gone and being completely unaware of my immediate surroundings, I can feel the rush of blood in my head as my heart picked up speed—not only in anticipation, but a thrill of excitement as Aiden’s strong, yet gentle, touch directs my movements.]

[As usual, just his hands brushing along my skin is enough to make my heart skip, but the way one arm holds my shoulders while the other clasps my hand brings us intimately close. His warm body presses firmly against my side, reassuring me in my fragile state, and he is careful to assist me at every step.]

[Inside, my heart pounds. Outside, I attempt a façade of calm. Maybe it’s the years of being independent, but I’m still hesitant to let him know just how vulnerable I am around him.

REI [He reads me like a goddamn book so often; the least I can do is give him a challenge.]

REI [Besides, the closer we become, the more I wonder if I want to hide from him anymore.]

[To be honest, marrying Aiden was overwhelming. And, though I’ve gotten better at reading his poker face, I’m still not sure if I’m comfortable with him reading mine. It’s far easier to build walls, and scary as fuck to have them torn down.]

[My Aiden’s secret weapons: patience—and heat.]

[Lips whisper across the back of my ear as he leans in, breathing along the side of my neck and raising every hair to complete and immediate attention.]

AIDEN “Almost there.”

REI [Screw this fucking surprise. The minute we’re alone, I’m throwing him against something hard and riding him until I can’t walk. Then, he can pamper me for the rest of the time we are... well wherever it is that we are.]

REI “Can I take this off yet?”

AIDEN “Just a little more, down this way here.”

REI “You’re being really mysterious—you’ve been hiding from me this last week: working late, talking to all kinds of strangers. I was tempted to feel jealous, but I guess this is what you were up to.”

AIDEN “Up to?”

[His laugh is genuine and deep, a sound I’ve come to find comforting. If Aiden can laugh then I truly have nothing to fear from the world.]

AIDEN “I wasn’t ‘up to’ anything.”

REI “And how do you explain me blindfolded and following your lead right now?”

AIDEN “Sounds like an average night in our bedroom.”

[I can hear the suggestive grin in his voice, and the flush that had already taken up residence on my cheeks threatened to spread to my ears and neck. I wanted to hide from view, but there was nowhere for me to run to. As far as I know, we were the only two around. I can’t hear any other sounds around us.]

AIDEN “We’re almost there.”

REI “What did you do?”

AIDEN “Patience is a virtue...”

[He admonishes gently.]

[I’m a little embarrassed to admit how quickly I’d noticed his absence, how the late nights and double shifts had made me miss him. We didn’t have a high profile case that I knew of, nothing that needed such focused attention from him. ]

[But—all the same—Aiden kept himself secluded in his office, taking and making calls and working as much overtime as he could get from the higher ups.]

REI [It unsettled me.]

REI “Just tell me already! I hate surprises.”

AIDEN “Liar.”

REI [Touché]

REI “How would you know?”

AIDEN “That depends. What do you think I did for you?”

YOUR GUESS

____________________________________________________

A) “As long as we aren’t cooped up…”
B) “Does it involve never leaving the bed…?”
C) “No training seminars please…”
D) “I hate guessing…”

What would you choose?

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5) Questions

1) What content would you like to see in streams?

2) Where do you think the twins and Rei are going for their date?

3) Where do you think Minami and Rei are at?

4) Which option would you pick for the story teaser? 

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As always, if you have any questions, please send an email to parivalgames@gmail.com

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Feel free to join our discord! You can chat with me and the other devs, as well as a bunch of other weirdos~ 

DISCORD

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We also now have a website! It's just barely in the works and still pretty bareboned, but it's another place where updates will be posted.

WEBSITE

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DAKI COVER ORDER FORM

Download 1st Degree: Murder-Mystery BL/Yaoi VN [UPDATED DEMO]
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