The Builder - Season 1 (Episodes 1 - 5) - release notes (Patreon)

This image of our hero and Synne - the patrons' favorite impregnation target - marks the release of Episode 5 of The Builder.

One and a half year in the making, Season 1 takes the story to the "point of attack" where we get a first indication of what lies buried beneath the surface in the village of Fjorda.

The ambition has been to make an adult visual novel out of the ordinary. I have a background from storytelling, and I wanted to see if it was possible to lift the level of the adult visual novel genre.

I wanted to increase the quality of the characters' physical appearance by creating larger variations in body types, breasts and genitals.

I also wanted to push the psychological portraits further, in order to add more nuance into the interactions between the characters (including the sex scenes).

Finally, I wanted to create a tight plot with a clear development, so that the players would enjoy the other qualities even more by being taken on an interesting journey.

I have used my part of the world as the arena for the game, and hoped that the geography also would add some feeling of authenticity to the experience.

I dare say it has been a rough journey to fulfill these ambitions. Both the visual and the technical aspect of this work was something I had to move way beyond my skills to achieve.

In addition, the inclusion of a voyeur scene in the first episode really created quite a bit of controversy upon its release. I was therefore provoked to include an optional ntr scene in Episode 2, just to let out some steam after the rough ride of Episode 1.

The forums surrounding the game are still trolled by people who are angry with me because I actually wrote what I wanted, blissfully unaware of the "rules" of adult visual novels. These reactions were on some levels a new experience to me, even though I'm no stranger to people having mixed opinions about what I create.

On the positive side, the speed of production has gone up during these 18 months, hopefully without it influencing the quality of the finished product.

Nevertheless, every time upon releasing a new episode, I curse myself for not being able to keep the scope down in terms of technical challenges, number of scenes and characters. In other words: There's a reason why the average adult novel has a hero, five horny ladies and a house. It just makes life a lot easier.

I am extremely grateful for the support you all have given the project. Both economically and through your comments and inputs. Quite a few patrons have reached out with questions and suggestions, and these dialogues make the development much more joyful: The knowledge of someone else being passionate about this universe is very fortunate.

What now?

Hopefully, the release of the full Season 1 will give you, patrons and players, a clear idea of the ambition of the game. And most important of all: That it brings you joy to spend time in the world of The Builder.

As earlier mentioned, Episode 6 will be a bit of an impregnation bonanza, with several key characters being brought across the threshold by our hero.

Season 2 (Episodes 6 - 10) will also see a deepening of the plot to the point where our hero has to make an important "red pill - blue pill"-choice in episode 10.

Your support and enthusiasm has kept The Builder alive. It would never have gotten this far without it. Life is too short to not be a contributor to joy and development - one way or another.

So, with those words, I offer you Episode 5, and hope it will make your day a little brighter.

Chris

Season 1 - Episodes 1 - 5 are now available to Drill Donkey tier and above. 

Download Season 1 - Ep 1-5 here