itch.io

maybe. we'll see when we get there. so far I've mostly learned that limited is better. i don't want people accidentally downloading the old version and having a "wtf" reaction to the quality and no sound when other people are making comments about the revamp and stuff. I guess I'd say, for now, if you're a fan of just having the original for nostalgic purposes, then keep a version stashed just in case. you could always message me if you lose it though and i could send a link :)

well thank you. i'm really glad you liked the original version. i know at the time the original was finished, some people didn't think a revamp was needed, but the support on the revamp from those that were loyal to the original has been very positive. while i'll admit that i'd hoped the revamp would be finished by now, i also didn't ever dream the quality of the revamp would reach where it is with each passing update. i had a lot of high expectations for it but even i've been surprised. so i hope that if/when you decide to visit it, that it meets your expectations as well. so much more heart than the original. it just feels more confident to me and that's a really good feeling.

in terms of leaving the old version up once the revamp is complete: i probably won't publicly on sites like this. On my patreon page, i still have the original demo posted-- which is quite awful, lol-- but i think it's good to openly show where you've been. I'm not ashamed of the original and I know the bulk of people that like the original, like it because they followed it for a long time and the quality of the project changing over time just became part of their own journey and that's nostalgic. however, having multiple versions of the same game on a website can be confusing. i try to describe it pretty clearly here on the itch.io page but people still get mixed up. So odds are, once the revamp is complete, i'll remove the original and the revamp will be the definitive edition. however, i'll likely keep the original on the patreon page for curious peeps -- or even new developers have checked it out just to get an idea where things started. 

heya, thanks for playing and being interested in things. So right now I dont have a sequel planned. I worked really hard on the ending of the original to try and check a lot of boxes. That being said, doing a sequel, could risk making some of those interpretations and headcanons obsolete and that's very much a concern of mine. however, i've openly stated that i'm open for a sequel if i feel like it's warranted or that I can do better than the original. i know people have suggested ideas for that (i'm talking in code here to avoid spoilers) but i also just really struggle with multitasking and I've been concerned that if i look too far into the future, it could negatively distract me from what i'm working on now and the project always comes first. with that said, also please realize that i didn't have much plans for this project and I sorta just play things out as they go. so not having a plan has very much been ... the plan. We'll see. this project started in 2017 so it's been a long haul so whatever i work on next, i want to make sure i'm dedicated to it

First off thank you for reading. I'm going to highly encourage you to place a spoiler warning on your post so that you don't ruin the story for others. Many people will read comments at the bottom of pages before even attempting to start a game, so immediately posting comments about endings can absolutely destroy projects. That being said, i dont like to delete comments on the page because I believe in transparency. 

That being said, I can try to respond but I will do so generally so as not to spoil the story for others. Over the years, there's been a handful of people have the reaction that you did but it's very much in the minority-- maybe like 7 or so and it's part of what sets this project apart from other stories in the genre. Many of the situations you see in the project are purposely meant to stimulate thought and reflection. On the Discord channel, the ending to the story stimulated months of immediate conversation about roles, sex, sexuality, and expectations within the relationship-- which was the point. We still have those conversations as new readers find the story and honestly, they never get old because it's been fantastic to see the community learn from each other and support the diversity of thought and experiences. The story confronts self-stigmas, labels, the impact of spirituality and religion and even validates the normality of the growing realization that not everyone has to be into anal.   I stand by the ending as it is and have no plans to change it in the Revamp-- mostly because the alternative like you suggested simple provides a sexual outlet and nothing else. It's super predictable, it describes almost every game I've ever seen in the adult genre, and honestly it doesn't fit with much of the narrative that's been setup throughout the story-- and that's not even getting into the logistics and hygiene required. While there is sexual content in the story, the bulk of that is placed in there to have a conversation about relationships or communication or roles or honestly safe and responsible sexual practices. This is what the bulk of the responses to the game usually highlight and it's specifically what I wanted to accomplish here with an ending that I'm super confident in and have received thousands of letters from people sharing their own stories and how much it validated them and set this project apart. The ending checks a lot of boxes for readers-- it just doesn't check the easy one because it doesn't give us anything to reflect on other than maybe it's "hot" and that's it-- I couldn't be happier with that and the impact it's had on others. 

I appreciate feedback and I always take it serious. I guess I would humbly ask that the story be held to a higher standard than a typical adult porn game and that's something the supporting community has found value in this project about. That was really my focus here. To tell a story where people find themselves, they laugh and cry, they learn together, they make mistakes, they embarrass themselves, they do cringe shit, and they try to learn to appreciate the importance of every second of their life together because in the end, nothing lasts forever.

Thanks so much for reading, if you want to talk in more detail about the story, there's a discord channel where I'm at daily and it's a much better place (through specific channels) to talk about specific things like the ending without spoiling it for others :)

<3

<3

well I’m excited that you’re excited 😊

Free version is 3 weeks after so should be slightly after the new year if things go well 

fairly soon will drop on Patreon and SubscribeStar. I just got through the sounds and music draft today so now it’s just down to editing the writing and polishing things . Hoping in like a week ish ?

thank you so much. i'm really glad you enjoyed the story and the character arcs. I'm big on dialogue and I think that talking with people IRL is how we get to know them so that's the direction I took here. I'm on the last scene of the next update now. It's gotten pretty involved but I do work on it full-time. stay tuned. <3

heya, thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment and let me know you enjoyed the story. I'm working on the next Revamp update now and I'm on the last scene so hopefully not too much longer. If you played the full original version, there is only one ending but choices throughout the story will chance some of the scenes and dialogue to give you a different experience. 

so i'm fine writing follow-up stories in the universe but I need to finish the revamp first and there needs to be  a clear narrative purpose for them. The following is my own personal opinion and in no way affects how i feel about the work of others-- particularly Apollo Studios because I love Blayke to death. i personally think that non-canon stuff can be fun to read or experience, it's just not for me as a creator.

My opinion:  I'm personally against writing non-canon stories. i think they're fun to debate and sometimes I'll drop a pic set on the Patreon page every now and then but that's very rare. It's mostly because I think it gets confusing. you'd have to really follow the project and pay attention to the socials to follow what's canon and what's not and I think that's asking a lot of a reader. the consequence of that, as the creator, is then i get bombed with questions to clarify story elements and I end up having to explain what's canon and what isn't and it can easily just turn into a distracting mess for me. In my early creating days, I considered doing a lot more non-canon stuff but as time has gone on, i realized those intentions were guided more by me just trying to drum up interest in the characters or get traffic-- and as a creator, that was the wrong position for me to take. my stance now is that I want to be true to my characters and prove to the audience that i'm careful with them and the story even if that means less traffic, views, financial gain, etc. that being said, i'm human and sometimes I'll just get some desire to do something off the rails for fun and I may share that but I can't see me ever doing a mini-side project of something non-canon because I would literally get blown up with messages from people asking how it fits into the story even if i clarified in the project that it was non-canon.

yikes, hey can you edit your post with a giant bold spoiler warning at the top? you're dropping bombs right off the bat. a lot of people pop down here in the comments to read before they play and spoilers can easily ruin the entire story for lots of new people and absolutely kills my traffic.

but to answer your question, no plans for a follow-up story right now. i really appreciate you reading the story and i appreciate your enthusiasm. my goal right now is to finish the revamp first. i need one completed project under my belt before I start looking towards the future. i'm not opposed to writing follow-up stories in the same universe, i just don't want to run the story or characters into the ground just for financial gain.

Heya, 

So first off, thanks for the long-time follow and thanks for the continued interest in the story. I do agree with the "experimentation" that you referenced. Without adding any spoilers since a lot of people check these comments before they even download, there is some experimentation in the story-- even if much of it is talk and just trying to figure out their boundaries. That being said, all of the adult content in the story is specifically dropped in there to push the story forward or setup something that's referenced later. You mention things like bondage, which does open up some potential conversation points (probably like consent or things like that). However, there's very much a control component there and for a story where the guys are trying to figure themselves out, it seems like a bit of a stretch for them to assume that much dominance. I think a lot of their scenes together are more like cat and mouse where they'll try something and then pull back afterwards. 

Another concern here is that despite the project being adult, I didn't want to go too heavily into sex or kink stuff to the point that it distracts from the plot and just becomes porny-- which is why much of the content is super vanilla. I'm also a very vanilla guy in general, if you asked me to write a bondage scene, I have no idea how to even write it. Given the internal monologues and stuff throughout the game, I'd want that present in that scene just as much as any other but I have no idea what Zack would think because I'm not a bondage fan. Literally triggers a fear response and i'm not sure how I could get myself into the headspace to write a scene like that. In other words, I'm definitely not the guy to write a scene like that and I doubt I'd do it justice in any way. lmao

he's a cutie <3

np. I gotchu. thanks for reading :)

Heya, thanks for the post. There's a lot of other indie developers out there making their own stories. I will first float the two guys that have helped me out with this:

Blayke: Has his own studio now called Apollo Studios and focuses on telling lots of different stories with queer themes. He also crosses genres. So he likes to pump out short stories, games, VNs, or just other supplemental media to support his universe. He's always working on several projects at once but his original flagship project was New Hope which can be found here https://apollostudios-lgbt.itch.io/new-hope 

Jordyn: Just started his own project and is only 2 updates in so it is very new but he's still actively working on it and sometimes it can be fun to get in early on projects like this and just watch them grow up. You can find his project Farmboy and the Wolf here https://jordynstr8.itch.io/

That being said, these two projects are very different from mine because we're very different people. Blayke likes to write stories so his focus is mainly on writing stuff while Jordyn likes to do stylized things and is sorta going for a vibe. I'm not sure exactly what type of game you're looking for. If you happen to be over on bsky, I have a custom feed made where a lot of queer developers are posting and you can find it here https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:nohnymo6nc4g6ei4ntsivq33/feed/aaadctjyezpt2

aww, i'm so sorry for your lost. not sure you'll ever see this since it was a temp account and I respect that but i wish you and your family the best and I hope you find peace and may his memory live on forever in you. thank you so much for reading. i'm grateful to have you as a reader and i'm even more grateful to have heard you share your grandfather's story <3

thanks so much for the comment. i'm usually not this slow catching up but i also know I talked to you over on the discord. I also dont fault you if you ever play the revamp. i'm usually one of those people that i read something once and this story is friggen loooooong so i get it. but if you ever do want to come back, it'll be here and i promise the revamp is so much better than the original that they're not even in the same league anymore in my head. so many more feels in the revamp. but i really appreciate you reading and leaving such kind words and if you ever try the revamp, i hope it meets your expectations. i still have much to learn but i promise i'm trying my best to do it justice <3

glad you like the story. also, sorry for the slow response. been trying to get through this one scene and it's been really involved. i know i've talked to ya over on the discord so i just really appreciate how much the story moved you. thanks so much for reading and leaving comments-- especially here now that all the censors have tried to push their agendas. 

heya, i remember you and i really appreciate you taking the time to come back and just check-in again. your words are amazingly kind and I'm just really happy this story had-- and continues to have-- such a big impact on you and that you feel it's helped moved the genre in it's own unique direction. i'm also glad you liked the last update. i had no idea how hard that was going to be when it started. in fact, after reading this today, i realized I hadn't looked at it again for a bit. I'm currently working on chapter 8 and while the scene I'm working on is good, it's been hella work and I'm just ready for it to be done so that I can look at another environment. Just a ton of intricate work in that scene. well, you sorta prompted me to go back and check out the last update and it made me smile. so you may have accidently given me a boost  that i didn't know i actually needed so thanks so much for that <3

lmao. maybe a spinoff ? 

thanks so much for playing and really glad to thought so highly of the project <3

heya, thanks so much for posting, man. i know i talked to you on the discord and over on bsky so i really appreciate you just chiming in here too. it seriously helps my visibility and helps boost the project-- something that's very much needed right now with all the censorship stuff. really glad you're enjoying the project <3

yo, thx a lot. I actually prefer it the same way you're talking about. I actually like the breaks because it forces me to pay more attention and sorta digest some of the stuff that's happened and sit with it rather than just keep burning through it. but then again, i also like some of the tension to last because i think it creates a better payoff . but thank you, glad you're enjoying the revamp: while i know a lot of people still like the original just because it's how they first read it, the quality isn't even comparable anymore. thanks for reading <3

you realize each one of these updates takes at least a thousand hours and i'm only one person who literally has to watch videos or read forums for every step of this right? sorry you're disappointed with the progress pace but i'm actually really happy with it considering the additions. 

really glad to hear that. i'm glad it was able to reach you <3

thank you so much. yeaaaah, apparently i go heavy on the feels when it comes to stuff like this but it's authentic and i really thought the genre could use a different spin so why not have some depth here. seriously appreciate that you're enjoying the story and thank you so much for reading

oh for sure but that's not my journey but i'll wish them peace of mind anyway

oh there’s plenty left although we’re definitely past the halfway  point . 

heh, i read this and i was like damn you gonna be in the garden for AWHILE cause we're getting later into the story where the game is just long as hell and we still got the 3 longest chapters left. hope you enjoy it and the time in the garden. thanks for reading  :)

thanks so much for this. i'm working my ass off on this thing and the goal has been to push things further with each update. i'm really glad you're enjoying it. means a lot to me and thanks so much for taking the time to let me know <3

thanks so much for being part of this thing. i always appreciate the energy <3

heya , Tristan. truly sorry to hear about your grandfather and it sucks to have so much distance between both of you. while i'm not sure if it's feasible, i hope you're able to see him again or to at least continue to connect with him in some capacity. He sounds very special and while I dont know either of you, i'm glad he was able to serve in that supportive role that it sounds like you so very much needed. that's a powerful position and it sounds like he did it like a fucking rock star. i was fortunate to grow up with 4 grandparents; all lived in the same town as I did. I lost them all back-to-back while writing this (i was writing the bar scene from the hospital when I lost the first one) but despite seeing them regularly, i still have some regret that I could have spent a little more time with them. My experience taught me to encourage others to spend the time they have-- and even if it's not that much time-- be present for that shit and capture every moment you can. 

In terms of the story here, if it was able to play any role in any of this, that's amazing and i'm grateful, but the important part is that you process things the way you need to. You don't sound like you're wallowing. that's a journey man-- it's fucking hard-- and you're entitled to work through it in your own way as you try to find the peace you need. I've wallowed-- hell, i've put my heart out on my sleeve in writing this thing in countless scenes that just continue to build as the story progresses. So if you experienced emotions in certain things, I'm right there with ya doing the same thing on my end. If it helps you, don't be afraid to read into shit however you want. 

Seriously appreciate you reading and leaving a comment but most of all, i appreciate the supportive example your grandfather is setting for you. i dont even know him but it sounds like he gave you something special and the fact that you value that, is probably the best gift you could ever give him. Appreciate you man. appreciate your time, appreciate you reading, and I hope whatever lies ahead is as peaceful as it can be for all of you. May we all be half the man you're grandfather is. All the best <3 -Aaryn 

this is true. i'm not sure why people take all the extra steps to actually post comments like that. 

however, i will say: that as a creator, i dont mind them. comments in general end up helping boost the rating of a game because it makes it look more active. so essentially by posting trash comments, trolls sometimes help push us up the ranks a bit. the best thing to do for projects you dislike it quite literally nothing

bah, i swore i replied to this but apparently didn't or forgot to actually press the "post" button or something. idk. anyway, i'm sorry it took so long to respond-- wasn't my intention. But thanks for checking this thing out and for giving it a chance. It's super dialogue heavy because i just really think that's how we meet people and get to know them in the real world. hope you continue to enjoy it  as it goes-- it's a rollercoaster. thanks for reading <3

no way, it's not a "nothing comment" and honestly I appreciate you being willing to jump through all those hoops just to find it again. I actually like knowing other people's experiences. I can find it on my end but that's because it's my game. I was using multiple browsers yesterday just testing stuff. idk what they're doing. I'd really recommend checking out my linktree to find all the official links. we also have a discord and i use bsky ( i dont really post on twitter anymore because it's a joke). But all of those ways are alternates that i'll be posting links on. 

i seriously appreciate you thinking of me when you saw all this stuff. that's super thoughtful and I wish you all the best as well. hopefully, this thing will just blow over but who knows anymore. appreciate you. stay safe out there! <3

again. this page and the contents are for adults. while i'm not a big fan of banning people, i also realize that some people are unable to police themselves. I'm gonna kick you and set a timer on my phone for 4 years. I'll come back and remove the ban then and we can try again. i wish you and your family nothing but success and happiness. all the best

Sorry you're mad the Roblox server is down but this story is 18+ and has some big words. Glad we both agree you should keep walking. 🤙

aww, you're not the only one either. we had a lot of interest in a Spanish translation but i got busy working on the Revamp and i just haven't had time to try and coordinate it . the plan was to have the community translate it. I'm not a fan of using AI for anything and we had a lot of people interested in helping with translations

thanks so much. i always appreciate when people download it for the mostly obvious reason and then get pulled into the story. it's one of my favorite compliments. i hope you continue to enjoy it. thanks so much for reading <3