Finished the 'game' way too fast but enjoyed every bit of it. I'm also a total sucker for happy endings! All good. Only observation: the dialogue covers a great deal of your art... did you ever consider balloons for the text, instead?
heya. glad you liked it. so you can hit H to hide the dialogue screen if you wanna see more of the pictures. In terms of the bubbles, it was something i thought about but i'm not really sure how to do that other than make a new overlay image for every single line of dialogue (which is around 50,000 so the amount of work to do that would probably take me 6 months just to do the dialogue bubbles so i kinda talked myself out of it
You're asking the wrong guy... I know zilch about the technical aspects involved for such an update. But in my uneducated opinion, I would assume that copy/paste and farming out the grunt work to eager volunteers could expedite the process? Having the dialogue at the bottom with the - sometimes - hard to read name of who's talking was somewhat of a distraction, at least for me. It also caused me to 'race' through the first two chapters. (As you accurately pointed out in one of your remarks...) Since that seems to be a commonality among the ranks of your fans, t h a t may be the cause? On the other hand, text balloons would require a work-around to process name changes (Mom-Fucker/Max/Ash, for example) but there's a solution for that. I did become attached to the characters and by chapter 3 actually started to give a shit what would happen to them. And I'm not sure what your plans are but you could keep this thing going for a long time. Heartstopper (Netflix) apparently is shifting focus away from the first season two main characters and that could be a distinct possibility for Straight!? - Book 2? Let the boys live in some summer break bliss as supporting cast and spin a tale around the other characters your fans really like? I'll shut up now. Thanks for the fast reply! Hank
yeah, the beginning is rough and i'm not happy with it. it very much started out like the typical cliche adult game and that type of story, once i got going on it, was just too shallow and simple for me. i wanted to do a lot more with it so i started to take some chances and people will followed me on it and I'm grateful for that. i'd like to go back and keep that same vibe going throughout the whole time. now there are some ui changes in the newest update with the text box and i'll also be looking at the font a bit. that being said, there still may be issues. I'll be honest when i admit that i dont think about the textbox when i do the images. i just do the shot that my heart tells me to and that's it.
in terms of season 2's and stuff. I've thought about those types of approaches with other characters. we'll see. i'm staying open with it. what i'm not gonna do is just try and run the story into the ground to milk subscriptions from people. I'm not doing something else unless i think it really matters and hopefully people are receptive to that. i refuse to half-ass projects or just do fan-service stuff just to make a buck, ya know? story all the way here
(Your time spent writing candid replies to others and myself is commendable!)
All of the writing I have done my entire life has been freelance and voluntary. Despite being praised straight into heaven at times, I never went as serious as you have even though there is a lot out there. But this I know; your 'problem' as a talented artist is that just like Rembrandt and van Gogh, you do not consider the frame your product ends up in or how it will be attached for display. Starry Night in a butt-ugly frame looks horrendous because that diverts the attention away from where Vincent intended it to be. Presentation needs to avoid distraction at all cost.
Your issue is twofold because it is a combination of beautiful imagery and a written story. As it is now, the crescendo of emotions coupled with the teasing and sexual tension is amazing. Your intent to follow your heart rather than a fast buck is valid but I suspect that the expectations of your followers echo your desire to not let this thing end and die yet.
As you say yourself, the difference between the initial chapters and the rest is obvious. And in the end and as with almost every other accomplished artist; whatever you come up with and create from the soul, we will all love.
hankguichelaar57@gmail.com
i appreciate the take and the advice and the kind words :). i'm very much still in a learning phase with all of this. hopefully, I always will be. i have no desire to become an expert or any cockiness that may come with that. we'll see where my heart takes me on things. bad sequels can ruin things for some people-- they do for me-- and that's just not worth it, even if i made some cash off it. after spending the last 5 years with these characters, i refuse to exploit them. we'll see :)
oh, and yeah, i try and answer every post. i'm sure a couple have slipped by because the notifications aren't the best. I think i've only ignored one post purposely and that was just someone trying to bait me and I was over that. Other than that, I do try and seriously read and reply to everything i see. people like that and I appreciate the involvement