Prerelease Post 1 (Patreon)

When doing anything I believe it's imperative that you be honest about what you're doing and how it's going. So let's be honest, the game was based on a good concept, that's why people bought into it, but the execution of that concept was... to be desired. This post will talk about issues concerning the story, lore, and rpg elements of the game (kinda).

Story Improvements

I think the story, at least conceptually, was the biggest draw to the game. Sadly I never really got the chance to really delve into the characters/lore because I was unsure about a lot of the finer points of the story. Some years later, I have a much clearer picture of the overall story I want to tell. I also decided to kill some of the mystery in the story. It didn't really help, it actually slowed the plot quite a bit and it made characters just seem slow. Not to say that I'm killing all the mystery, but smarter characters leads to smarter storytelling which leads to, hopefully, a better experience for the player. I'll be posting a complete rundown of the main quest in chapter 1 for patrons. I also have updates concerning Patreon at the end so be sure to check that out as well.

One of the biggest, if not the biggest, impediments to expanding the story was Dope. The game was too focused on the MC. The game still centers around Dope, but with he addition of schedules and changes to the time system (which I'll cover in another post) I've been able to think about the motivations and desires of characters other than Dope. This was something that I seriously needed to do, but I'll talk about more when I talk about schedules. That said, people in town will all have a place and everybody will have a motivation. All side characters will be involved in some kind of quest chain/group. That sounds complicated/ambitious but it's a lot simpler than it sounds. Sure, main and side characters might have more complex motivations but a random NPC might just want to drink and talk about drinking. I have various categories for NPCs and based on their category they all act and talk a certain way/pull dialogue from the same pool. As far as the quests go, all side quests will be tied into larger systems and multiple side characters will be involved in the same quest. For example, you won't get a quest from a random NPC, or side/main character, that has you get/do whatever then ends. That's lame. But you will get side quests that multiple characters are involved in, such as the photoshoot or dojo questlines.

Lore!!!

Getting Dope out of the way has been great for expanding the story, however, the part I'm most excited about is the addition of lore to the game. The fact that my game now has lore blows my mind and I'm about to geek out on you for a moment so bear with me. Even though they hadn't made much of an appearance in the game yet, demons* are a large part of the game. However, what qualities/characteristics a demon has varies between times and cultures so when putting them intot he game I had to decide just what I wanted to put in. What I've ended up with is my own interpretation of various demons, spirits, and other mythological deities. Just because you see something doesn't mean it's going to act the way you think it is. I've put a lot of effort into creating lore around these beings in a believable fashion. The most notable way you'll encounter this lore is through special books, which can be found in both the human and spirit realm. The books are actually pretty long, for a book in a game, so they'll be split into multiple parts that the player will have to find. Once you read a book, whatever relevant information the book has will be stored in a special journal that you can view at anytime. Every piece of every book will have some type of valuable information, read (or speed through if you want) the books. No, seriously, sometimes you'll have to “read” a book in order to advance a quest. Some books will require your I (Intelligence) stat to be certain level to be read. There is a sample for one the books at the bottom of this post.

Pure RPG – 2 Versions

I'm actually not going to go over the RPG elements in this post. This is more of a declaration that I'm doubling down on my decision to make a RPG. I've flirted with ren'py and even made the ren'MV edition, which isn't that bad, but at the end of the day what I really want to make is a tried and true rpg. I want the visual novel elements, but I want to make an RPG. The game is meant to be an RPG. If you don't like classic RPGs then this game isn't meant for you. I also want this game to reach as many people as possible, meaning I needed to make a non adult version of the game. Ultimately I decided on going by the ESRB's standards and making 2 versions: a M version and an AO version. The M version will have modified sex scenes, think how Bioware does things except I'll show you a titty, and partial frontal nudity. Basically you'll see no genitalia or booty holes, but #FreeTheNipple is flying strong. The AO version will be built on the M version, just with the addition of the adult content. You should be able to transfer saves between the two, content you unlocked in the AO version just won't be accessible in the same way in the M version. This means that development will center around the M version but that's not a bad thing for the AO players because they'll be befitting from the feedback and support from the M players. I plan on “parking” the game at the point after the player meets lust, at that point most/all of the games core systems can be worked on and finished while I also add random content for AO players. For example, the shower event that I've been talking about forever is done. Shame I have to redo it again but I'll get on that later, the event is setup and I can still use those images to show you how it and other events like it work. I'll go over more details and post some examples for patrons when I post my art direction post. It has to be patron only because they show tits. Sorry. Not my rules. Well, I could censor them. We'll see.

All updates and information pertaining to the AO version will be posted here. For the M version I will be making a new Patreon that isn't tagged for or behind the adult block. If you want to discuss the AO game, do it here, not there. The new account will have 1 $1 pledge tier that allows access for people to vote in polls. The tiers for the AO game, this page, will also be redone. There are now two. A $1 tier that allows for voting in polls and the viewing of early and promo renders. And a $5 tier that will receive more early and promo renders. Considering my history for handing out renders you might scoff at this notion of “early and promo renders”, I earned that. But I have to redo basically all the renders in the game so there will be plenty of new renders to go around. I probably have some ill fated ones that I've never shown that I could post from time to time as well.

The first few release will be small, remember I want to start slow but stable this time, but will all contain new content of some kind. Albeit not necessarily adult content. As for the first release, gameplay wise it'll only be the first quest. That is, you'll be able to play to the point where you leave Dope's house. You'll be able to explore Hightown, Dope's neighborhood, and the rest of Dope's house, but that'll be it as far as things you can do. However, the game will also come with a separate debug mode that everybody can access. Essentially this is an area where you can go and try out various things in the game before I actually put them into place in the game. In order to access the debug mode, or switch back to game mode, just go to the pc in Dope's room and you're good to go. Always check the debug mode, especially right now, because it'll seem like content is added to it faster than to the actual game. Which will be true. I plan on letting you test out some of the music choices, maybe some other simple settings, and events as I make them. For example, that shower event that I mentioned earlier. It's far too soon to put that in the game now, but it will be in the dubug menu upon release so that you can try it out and see if you like it. I'll talk more about what I plan to release in future release but that's all for now. As I said earlier, I'll leave you with this excerpt from one of the lore books in the game. It's the book concerning incubi/succubi, it's super important to the game, and I hope you enjoy it!

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The Merlin Collection | Book 3

It’s all about sex: A delve into Incubus/Succubus culture

About the Author:

Known only as Merlin, the enigmatic wizard is widely regarded as the most learned man in the world in terms of all things magical. Deigning the idea of studying magic from “philistines posing as professors that don't know or care to know jack shit about the true nature of magic or the world” Merlin went into the wilds a young boy thirsty for knowledge and came out perverted old man thirsty for so much more. He's known to be somewhat arrogant and incredibly eccentric, or as others would call him, a raving madman. But the people who would call him that are obviously unsophisticated cunts and would never have the balls to call him that to his face; bitches. Nevertheless, none can deny his knowledge, talent, or skill with magic and many of these two faced bitches... ahem, harsh critics, still turn to Merlin for advice and support like the leeches they are. But it's ok, even leeches are alive and Merlin believes in a chance for all life. He won't tell you it's not your fault you aren't shit, you worthless bastard, but at the very least he wont judge you for it. You can always do better and you can start by finishing this book. Whether you feel worthless or motherfucking priceless, this book will undoubtedly impart some knowledge you can use to improve your life. Because no matter how good you are, you can always do better. Unless you plan on staying the same or getting worse, that is. But we're all about doing better. Right? This collection is aimed to give readers a broad understanding of the magical world in hopes of prosperity for all the worlds creatures so that we can all do better together. This is the first book in the collection and it focuses on what I'll be calling the “Spirit Realm”, magic, and the origins of our world. Perhaps things are not what you thought, hmm? Let's find out.  [This is actually the part for Book 1 but I haven't written book 1 yet and this was the first book that I wrote and I wrote this at that time. I left it so that you could get a feel for the author of these books anyway. Clearly I'm not the author]

Preface:

Before getting into the subject of Succubus/Incubus culture it should be noted that there seems to be no term to denote the two collectively, almost as if humans up to this point have viewed the two to be separate species. Quite strange when considering these are sex daemons. No, seriously, I exhausted quite a few avenues and scoured many a text but in every story, tale, rumor, or whisper the two are always described as separate entities. Finally, at the risk of sounding ignorant, I broke down and summoned a succubus to ask. It was hard work. The knowledge and materials required to summon such a creature in the modern age isn't exactly easy to come by, but I did it. I summoned a creature most remarkable; sexy, curvy, and exuding an almost palpable lust. She also happened to be butt ass stark naked, pretty much everything one would expect a succubus to be. Instantly I had a raging boner. But I am a man of science and I was not to be detoured on my quest for knowledge! I sauntered up to the vixen and asked her, “Woman, what do you call your people? Surely you call each other something else besides succubi and incubi.” I'd been told succubi like it when you're assertive so I asserted my dominance early. Do you know this bitch looked me dead in the eyes, with her sexy pink eyes, and said “Are we fucking or what? I didn't come here to give no goddamn history lesson.” Then blew a bubble with bubble gum. Where did this bitch even get gum? But that's not even important, I'd never been so slighted! To say I was offended would be a colossal understatement! Harrumph I say, harrumph! Naturally I had to put the wench in her place. I kicked off my shoes, rolled up my sleeves, and an by the morning I'd pumped her full of all the knowledge I could muster. Nay, I was drained of everything I had. Tis a miracle I'm even alive, here to write this book.  *Sucks teeth* I still don't know what the hell they call themselves and I'll be good goddamned if I ask again.

Chapter 1: Reproduction

This chapter may be titled reproduction but what's reproduction without sex, right? I mean succubi/incubi have a lot of sex so this chapter will have to focus on sex just as much as reproduction! Wrong. Succubi/incubi do have a lot of sex and this chapter will hit on that but when speaking of reproduction there isn't much to talk about sex wise except, well, sex. A great subject to be sure but there are other... sutras for that. This discussion of sex will focus more on its purpose  and results. To that end, let's look at what sex is to a succubus/incubus. Energy. Plain and simple (It's not that simple). Carnivores get it from meat. Herbivores get it from plants. Plants get it from the sun. Incubi/succubi get it from fucking. Succubi/incubi are able to convert sexual energy/passion/feelings into sustenance. This has led to them being labeled as dangerous or evil by some because they can quite literally drain the life out of a partner through repeated sex. Or a single session even if it's that intense. Who would've thought a shady ritual that essentially summons a sex worker could possibly go wrong. I suppose they could also opt not to drain their partner and only offer up some mind blowing sex but I've never heard of anybody getting that deal. I would absolutely take it though. All things said, most succubi/incubi won't actually kill their partner. While not exactly appropriate to call them parasites, like any good parasite, succubi/incubi don't want their partner (host) to die because then they can't keep feeding off them. After all, if a particular partner provides great sex along with their sustenance then wouldn't it blow if that partner accidentally died? Perhaps if you suck at sex they'll kill you to save any of your potential future partners misery, but the vast majority of the time you deal with an incubus or succubus all you'll risk is some sore balls or pussy. I've had sore balls before, never regretted it after getting good pussy. If some sore balls and a bit of lethargy is the risk I'll have to take when summoning a succubus, that's a risk I'm willing to take. But this isn't about me, let's get back to reproduction.

Alright, that's that! I hope you enjoyed, see you in the next post!