itch.io

i won't go into a lot of detailed spoilers with the ending (lots of people check comments down here before downloading so you can really spoil things if you're not careful) but the ending was very purposeful for me. It checked a lot of boxes and tied up all the loose ends while still leaving a lot of things open to reader head canon. over the years, a lot of people have related to these characters in many different ways and the community around this story has really grown. I've received thousands of letters and messages and personal stories just based on these character interactions and how important they were to people. As the story progressed, I found that I really wanted to write things in a way that was specific to the characters but also left openings for the reader's own head canon and fan theories about things. So trying to keep the majority of those as possibilities was definitely a goal for me for the ending. you sound like you interpreted things in a very different way than most and that's ok. that's the first I've heard of a "bittersweet" reaction to the bestie plans but I'm glad you like the friendship dynamic. that was a big part too. The majority of this story is just guys hanging out :p 

There's also hints throughout the game on things like the phone picture that end up popping up on the patreon page as additional content sometimes. most patreon pages have monthly CG extra they put out. I used to do that frequently but then found that it delayed the game development so now I do it a bit less. I mostly use a lot of those photo sets as practice for other development and visual skills that I want to use in game later. Over time, i thought it would be fun for those pictures to end up actually playing a roll in the game somewhere so that everything is connected. They're not required for the story but it was just an attempt to make supplemental content there actually matter. There's a photo set on there that's unconfirmed if it's the actual one he's talking about but it could be. This is also just a first attempt at all this for me so I'm learning as I go-- mistakes and all. I've thing I ever wrote before this was research papers for school :p

thanks. glad you're enjoying it. In terms of the top and bottom role thing, there's an extended scene near the end of the game that talks about that in a lot of detail. I won't spoil it. 

Heya:) glad you're enjoying stuff. So with the Revamp, I didn't plan to have any extra NSFW scenes; however, I didn't make a lot of plans with the original game and it sorta just wrote itself. So the short answer is they're not planned but that's always possible. There are a ton of changes in the Revamp visually-- some of which include NSFW content-- either adding more in some scenes or using new tricks to obscure stuff more artistically. Almost every scene in the game has expanded CGs now so that could easily translate into more NSFW images to make the same scene. The Revamp is planned to follow the same story tho-- it's just waaaaay better quality in every way. 

So in terms of another game: i haven't officially announced anything. Truth is that I'm terrible at multi tasking and i dont do well splitting my attention. When you're doing most of this solo, there's a lot of jobs to do already-- trying to take on another project while doing all the work that Str8 requires, is just not something I naturally excel at. The work with Str8 will gradually get easier with each Revamp update. I'm through the roughest parts of the writing now so that's getting easier and the end of the game will just need some image touch-ups so that should go super quick. That extra time should help me plan any future things. I've also began the process of learning more animation and tyring to techniques in Str8 that could apply to future projects on purpose. I will say I have a secret folder on my computer and another notepad on my phone tho with some things I'm tossing around :p

you can have whatever head canon you'd like :)

yay, that makes me happy you made it that far.  you're getting out of the roughest parts of the story then in terms of me being soooo new. around chapter 5 i got more community support and encouragement so I really started to push the story to a more mature narrative than just a smutty adult game. 

if you're playing the original v0.21.4 it is the complete story. it's 10 chapters and they progressively get longer. like i said before, the quality is a bit rough at the beginning but i promise it gets better. all that stuff is ironed out in the Revamp but the Revamp is only the first 5 chapters right now. 

yep. Original is very much a work in progress or a “rough draft.” I wanted legal music but couldn’t afford it when I started the project so I kept the original without audio. The Revamp does have a licensed soundtrack and sound effects though. If you’re playing for the first time, the game starts rough. I promise I get better. It’s also repetitious at the beginning and requires the right combination of activities to progress otherwise it loops. There’s a walkthrough file included in the game folder if you need it. That mechanic was annoying tho and goes away by the third chapter. It’s completely removed in the Revamp because I didn’t like it. 

Heya, thanks a lot. Glad you’re enjoying the story. To hide text in game just tap H. If that isn’t working for some reason, go to the Options screen and there’s a Controls setting there where you can change that or it’ll list some other default for your system :) 

heya. glad to see you pop back in for the revamp. yep, the entire game is brighter overall now to be in par with the quality of the ending of the original (well... it's actually gotten better than that as you'll see if you go further into the Revamp). one thing that i continue to struggle with artistically is dealing with white. there's a pic set on the patreon page of Braden in the white hoodie and i've continued to try and just create opportunities to work with lights and white backgrounds or white tile or whatever. white blows out really easily and i still haven't figured it out yet. i've gotten better but it's definitely a struggle for me

heya, glad you liked all the feelings in a game like this but you may wanna include spoiler warning or something like that so you don't ruin that experience for people that scroll down here and read the comments before playing :)

heya, thank you so much for the comment. i like hearing from people that started with the Revamp and went backwards. i was worried about the shock of that transition given that the original has no sound and is so empty on the campus but I think you did it at a good time. Hopefully it will continue to be excited to see how those same iconic scenes later in the game translate to the Revamp. i'm intimidated by some of them but that just means i'll be careful :)  

thanks for playing and i'm really glad you enjoyed it <3

thank you very much. this is very kind and i'm glad you enjoyed it :)

back at ya!

haha. Good deal! See ya then! hope you enjoy <3

heya, thanks for checking in. Not sure which version you played. If you played the original (v0.21.4) that one is no longer being updated as it was the end of the story and is being replaced by the Revamp when it's completed. If you're playing the Revamp (Revamp v0.09.3) then the first half of Chapter 5 will drop here on March 27 for FREE. It's currently on my Patreon for early access. I'm already working on the second half of Chapter 5 now.

I was fine with the question. I was just trying to determine what your definition was. Typically when I think of a "definitive edition" of something, it's usually several versions later after a game is completed maybe with add-ons, DLC, or upgrades or things like that. Then part of me just thinks that's a marketing ploy and using a specific term to try to identify their product differently. You used the word a few times in your OP so I was curious of your definition. I guess based on my understanding of the term, I'd say I have no plans to release a definitive edition-- I'd just release the final game when it's complete. As far as I'm concerned, the final Revamp edition should be the definitive edition of the game. 

However, if you're question was asked  based on why I release the story episodically versus just releasing the entire game in one update, that's a different question entirely. If this is what you meant, then I have no plans to release a game at this time that would just be one update with the full story. I prefer the episodic releases for a lot of reasons. 

1) Episodic is just more fun. It's fun to have chapters that stop and cause readers to pause and think about a certain circumstance and the "anxiety" that you referenced in you OP is an important emotion to sit with for a bit. On our Discord, here, and on my Patreon and even other websites, people get to debate and guess what's happening. That was  a big deal during the original game development. I had servers crashing during updates based on the volume of downloads because people were excited. that energy was fun but it only existed based on the anxiety of having to wait.

2) Episodic releases get you more content faster. I started Straight!? back in 2017. Which means if I didn't release episodically, I would have posted on a forum one time and then waited 6 years before anyone saw anything else. I'd rather give people something as it comes out-- the same way a TV show would or an ongoing manga or comic series.

3) Episodic gives me more time to adjust to public reaction. If i released the game in one lump, I would have no time to interact with fans and hear their thoughts throughout the story. The evolution of Straight!? is very much based on fan reactions. Side characters like Cody and Ash appeared more frequently because of subtle reactions from the fan base. I literally got ideas from hearing fans react and talk and that made the project better. It also allowed me to learn better ways the community was interpreting things so that I could adjust or even hide certain aspects of the story to make them more of a surprise later (like some of the twists). we wouldn't have seen that to the depth that it occurred without the fan base reacting in real time to each update. similarly, this also gave me a chance to learn how to write because i've never done this before.

4) Episodic gives me a chance to take breaks and not burn out. When an update drops, it usually forces me to take a break. While i'm much better at taking breaks now than I used to be, i do still sometimes need reminders and updates have always been a good time to do that. I release an update and i sit back and wait to make sure things are working, if they are, i get to walk away for a bit, clear my head, and regroup. It would be much harder for me to do that if the light at the end of the tunnel was 6 years away versus one to three months. 

5) Episodic also shows that I'm actually working. Indie game devs, particularly in the adult field, have a terrible track record for updating things, stealing, milking, being jerks, and just generally abandoning things after they cash out. With regular updates, people know that I'm still working. They can see what I'm doing and experience it. The alternative would be me taking the George RR Martin approach where i promise fans, they assuming i'm working, but then  20 years passes and no one has seen it. I want people to see things along the way and many of the followers of the project just appreciate those updates. They want to hear and see that this thing is still in production and not abandoned like so many other games or canceled TV shows.

i'm not sure what you mean by a "definitive version."

Ok, so to catch up here:  the game is not supported on iPhone. There is a MAC download but that's only going to work on MACs and not the actual iphone. apple has a ton of restrictions to their content and trying to meet all of their demands would heavily censor important parts to the story's narrative so i just generally avoid the apple app store. 

that being said, it should work on your chromebook but i also know those can be challenging. you should be able to run the .sh file from the Linux version or it could be possible to run the android version on the chromebook

well hello to fellow psych nerd :p  welcome :)

jokes aside, thanks for reading and checking in. there's been a handful of people in the professional or associated professions over the years that have jumped on board the story and it's always fun to get that perspective. but first off, gratz on your graduation and i wish you success in the field :)

in terms of a sequel, nothing yet. yep, one project at a time for me. i can't multitask and i always fear that juggling too many things at once will scatter my thoughts more. if i take on a project, i want my audience to know that it will get my full attention. but sequel-wise, nothing yet. i worked really hard on the ending to check a lot of boxes and a sequel could destroy that. i'm ok doing more but only if i think i can do better than this story. sequels seem to be the standard nowadays and they keep pumping them out until they run stories into the ground. sometimes it's better to end on a high so i'm very much against jump pumping out the story as a money-maker. i like this story and it doesn't deserve to be ruined as a cash grab. but we'll see. the revamp is my main focus right now and much of the experience i'm gettring with the revamp could easily be turned into new ideas for future stuff--whatever that may be :)

but thank you for your kind words. seriously . i appreciate you reading the story and just taking time out of your busy life to post some nice stuff in the comments here. thank you <3

The advice by ShadowHaven here is a good start. Since Str8 isn't an official app from the app store, you'll have to do the "install from unknown source" thing. Also, if the game does start and you get a black screen, give it a few to load. Depending on the age of your device, it can take longer to load on older models. The newest version of the game (currently on Patreon) has a splash screen notifying people of that but that was only added on the most recent one. Hopefully the unknown source thing is what's holding you up, though. Try that and let me know. 

Another option could be to join our Discord if you have it. that's real-time talking and we may be able to help. we also have several other android users on there that usually drop tips or help people out

heya, no worries on the late reply; it sounds like you've been more than busy. I wish you the best on your post-move endeavor and hope things calm down for you sooner rather than later. Thank you for the generous donation to the project. I never take things like that for granted and i appreciate it greatly. Thank you. I also wish you the best with your own writing. I'm still learning on mine but I can honestly say it's been a healthy experience that I wouldn't change for the world. All the game development stuff is just extra and I mostly just googled things and read forums or watched videos-- the rest has just been trial and error. As for taking care of Zack and Braden, I will always do my best. Even with the Revamp, I've been very careful about things and really put thought into any of the changes made. I wish you the best and thank you again for the donation and for supporting this project <3

just remember your journey is different from the characters because we're all unique :)

yeah, so apparently when i looked at your original post after you edited it, something borked on my end and it only loaded half the post so i thought you cleared all the personal stuff out. it's all there again now so that was something jacked up on my end. sorry about the confusion. 

You definitely sound like you have a lot of feelings and things to unpack here-- a lot more than what a comment sections is really going to be helpful for. life is detailed and when you're talking about things like this, those details really matter to you and the people it can impact. While i have a background and license in therapy, there's a ton of ethical stuff that comes into play here and there's a litany of limitations with chatting about these things on the internet. since itchio doesn't have a private message system i'll point you in a couple other directions. 1) Our Discord has an option to DM if you happen to already have discord. Another option is using the DMs on patreon since you mentioned you had joined up over there ( you should also be able to DM on patreon even without a subscription). if you want to reach out, i may be able to help connect you with some resources and stuff. imo, really finding a professional that you spend some time with, learns who you are, your situation, and all the complexities that come with your unique situation is going to be the best way to unpack stuff, work through it, make decisions, etc. just getting random "advice" can be a really oversimplified way of looking at a really complex situation. 

heya, glad you found me and hello. so gonna need some more information. like the follow-up response asked (mobile or desktop)? Are you getting any specific errors?

i will say the most common issue that i've seen is for desktop. If you didn't notice, the file is compressed which means it needs unzipped or extracted before you can play it. this keeps the download smaller. Windows has a built in extractor or you can use 3rd party apps like 7zip to unpack it. 

yep but it's still in production :)  i just dropped the first half of chapter 5 on patreon a few days ago so that will be over here free on March 27. on average, i'm trying to do 1/2 a chapter per update and each update is taking ~ 2 months. but that also depends on what i'm adding and how complicated i make things on myself :p

Heya, thanks. i appreciate it. hopefully, i didn't come off too strong on that but when this story came out, the Discord server was buzzing with every update. people were on the edge of their seat and that was just fun. i think the anxiety of not being able to control certain things-- unlike most VNs-- is fun here because it actually creates tension. But sorry if i came off strong about the spoilers. I just didn't wanna ruin that for someone else if they were having a good experience :)

So back to your other comments that i think were removed now so if that was a privacy thing, i'll just vaguely acknowledge that I'm happy given your relationship status that the story tracks. it's always nice to hear from different demographics that read this story and how it related to them. i'm truly happy it held up for you as well. i know you said you're going through the story with different choices now but also consider checking out the Revamp if you want to relive the whole thing again but as a massive upgrade. i'm working my ass off on that version right now and i'm way more satisfied with it than the original

Heya, glad you liked the story and i'll take all the emotions as a compliment. I will say that you may want to edit your original post to state there are major spoilers. lot of people come down here and read the first few comments first before even starting the game and I'd hate to see others get spoiled with your post just from generally reading. Thanks in advance :)

heya, thank you for the long and thoughtful response to the project. I'm glad it resonated with you and i'm equally grateful that you found it thought provoking-- especially for an adult-related story. 

I guess I will make a point related to much of the regret you discussed. I think all of us make mistakes as we mature and sometimes that translates into regret. But i honestly think that's the wrong way of looking at it. all of us mature differently. another way of looking at this is that many of us are stubborn or resistant to learning certain things for our own personal reasons. Because of that, sometimes the only thing that truly changes us are the "hard" lessons. And while those hard lessons sometimes have consequences, the consequence is what it took to teach the lesson. if it hadn't hurt so bad, we probably wouldn't have finally learned. you stated these decisions were "unnecessary" but I'd argue that, for us to learn, they were-- most because we had ignored any of the easier lessons along the way. without the consequence, we would have continued to be resistant. So i think regret sucks, for sure, but sometimes it was the necessary tool that we personally needed to learn a valuable lesson that is now very much a part of us. the consequence then becomes the very thing that protects that lesson. on the other side of the coin, though, you probably learned lessons that your neighbor had to learn the hard way so i like to think that it balances out in the long run. the story really pushes this ideology with consequences for these guys and sometimes it's easier for us to learn those lessons when we watch characters that we care about fall apart. that empathy can be a valuable teacher. but thank you for playing and thank you for taking the story seriously. that means a lot to me. Also, that's wild with the soundtrack you listened to. weird coincidence for sure. if you haven't checked out the Revamp and you wanna give the story another go, be sure and give it a try. i promise it's better. it has it's own soundtrack and sounds and looks waaaaay better than the original from the beginning. 

heya, sorry i'm slow to respond. had some irl stuff that pulled me away from answering. I appreciate the artistic and serious assessment of the story. I will warn you that going from the revamp back to the original may be sorta jarring. However, since you'd be starting at chapter 5 on the original, it may be a little easier. just know that the original game progressively looks better as i learned how to do things and the financial support allowed me to upgrade my hardware to make more detailed environments and visuals. There's also no sound in the original because i couldn't afford a soundtrack yet. I was literally learning how to use these programs in real time with each game update. 

in terms of the writing and stuff, that's me. i do a majority of the work on the project including the writing and visuals. i have 2 other guys that help me when i get stuck or help polish out some of the errors and stuff but it's about 95% solo. if you go back and play the original, you'll see i was a bit more cautious since i've never really written anything but college research papers. as the game progressed and i just got more cheers from the supporters, i slowly just got more and more confident with the writing. i think the writing in the revamp is a testament to that growth and i'm happy with it so far for a first timer :)

well thank you. without putting spoilers here, i'm glad you enjoyed that scene, it has one of the best lines in the game according to a lot of people :)

<3 thank you and thanks for reading. i'm a fan of the slow burn = meaning as well. i really did want this story to matter or possibly have some "use" to it for those that were open to any messages it was sending. thanks for taking it seriously and dont worry, i cried too and i wrote the damn thing  :p

if you haven't seen the Revamp, check it out. i'm still working on it and it's easily lightyears ahead of the original.

haha. i like hearing from earlier readers. thank you so much! so the original game beginning  was rough so it's great to hear that the start of the revamp is more engaging. glad it's hooking you early. i hope it only gets better for you. keep me posted :)

yep, if it said pillow talk not defined, you somehow used an old save. converations in the game are based on defining variables and those variables didn't exist in the previous save files and updates so you have to start fresh. But the chapter select menu let's you skip to various places so you don't have to replay it. you missed like half of that scene. If you're interested in seeing the entire scene, go to main menu, new game, part 4, chapter 10 update. that'll drop you at the second half of the last update. hold ctrl down to fast forward past any text you've already scene. it'll stop when it's time to make a choice or if it's text you haven't seen before. you should be able to fast forward back to that point in the game in a few seconds and then see the rest of the scene. there's some pretty heavy stuff in that scene that changes a lot. 

yo, heya. glad you enjoyed things. i think a lot of us were bummed it was over, including me and i wrote the damn thing. be sure to check out the revamp if you want a new experience or feel like you need to go back to the world. i promise it's 100x better. but yeah, all things must come to an end and that's what makes them matter. 

in terms of the error loop, if you played the original i'd be curious to see what it is. there shouldn't be any error loops in the original. however, if you used an old save file, it will create an error loop and you're likely to miss enormous chunks of the game. some use of old saves will actually have you skip half of the last chapter so hopefully you didn't use an old save and miss stuff

aww. yo, thanks a lot. I'm glad you're enjoying the story.  I'm working on the Revamp right now then I may take a look at future projects. I don't multitask well so I gotta focus on like one thing at a time or I completely lose focus :p

so as i progress through the game, i'm expecting less and less work during each update. The first few updates were a mess to try and organize just because of the way the code was originally written. that slowed me down but i'm already to the point where there's less of that now so things have sped up considerably. the only update that will really need minimal work is the very last update that i did. For consistency, the entire game will need done and the only update that even had depth of field in it was the last update. but even then, there were some problems with the lighting and all of the backgrounds outside the window had to be manually put in. so short answer is that the entire game will need revamped but honestly i'm not expecting most people to notice a difference with the second half of chapter 10. all other revamped sections, there should be a noticeable difference. but in contrast to the beginning of the game, where i reshot every since shot-- the last couple updates may be me just opening up the old file and doing corrections. Crossing my fingers :)

The Revamp will follow the same story as the original. I'm just a remaster with new shots, some expanded scenes, more polished writing, and sound/music. If you're referencing a sequel, I dont have any plans for one right now. I want to focus on one project at a time and I worked really hard on the ending of this story for it to check every box that I really wanted it to. I'm not opposed to a sequel but a sequel would completely undo all the work i did at the end of this one-- so if i did that, it needs to really be worth it. So basically i'd only do a sequel if it blows this story out of the water. i don't want to just drag the story out forever as a cash grab. But we'll see :)

To the deleted post below: I actually got a chance to read this but wasn't able to respond yet. Sadly, i don't remember the particulars but it had to do with a using a translator and the font. Really wish the poster hadn't deleted because it seemed like an interesting request that was really dependent on the details they provided

well, i hope you enjoy. If you haven't played the original story, i promise it gets waaaay deeper than it does now. thanks for the interest and stay tuned for more. all the best to you as well and stay safe :)

A long time ago when I was working on this, I saw a ton of developers in these indie projects try to do multiple love routes and end up abandoning their game because it's so much work. The other problem with multiple routes is that you need a lot more people to work on the project with you to complete it in a timely fashion. You end up doing regular updates but people are only interested in one character so they get an update with their interest in it then have to wait another year before that character comes back around. 

Straight!? only has one route. It's more the story of Zack and his relationship with others than it is a dating sim. There are two routes in the story, which is what you're talking about, but those basically change the tone of the story moreso than being an entirely different story choice. Since I'd never done any of this before, I elected to do one "love interest" and do it right versus having like 5 really shallow choices. But imo, if there's a love interest in this story, it's Zack trying to love himself.

haha, well thank you for being interested.  no worries. few more days. hope you enjoy :)