Developer Interview w/Writer Chase Brockheart!

We're continuing our patron-exclusive developer series today with... me. Chase Brockheart, writer for Paradise Lust. It's kinda weird interviewing yourself... but whatever. Had to be done. 

Enjoy! And if you want to know more, ask your questions in the comments!

Q: What do you do on Paradise Lust?

Mostly I’m the writer, but I also do a good bit of the design, such as the subgames and main features. Since the game is all based around the story, most of the additional features flow from the story... and so I get involved. But Droid, Chastitty and others do a lot of the design as well.

Q: Who is the most fun to write?

By far, Karen. I save her scenes until last, like a sort of prize that I get if I do all the other writing. She is... Everything I have to say about modern western culture all wrapped up in a crazy, sexy MILF. Anger is powerful.

Q: Who is the hardest to write?

The other guys. It’s such a tired trope that all other guys in a lewd game have to be terrible people who you are cuckolding, etc... But on the other hand... It’s an isolated island and it’s a harem game... so I need them to keep away from the other girls, coz Jack’s not the kind of guy to get it on with someone else’s girl... That’s just not how he rolls.

Q: Which char do you most identify with?

Jack, obviously. Whenever I want to know what Jack would do... I just ask “What would I do in this circumstance?” and it all comes pretty naturally. Of course, I don’t have his unreasonably sexy body or way with women... But I do share his opinions on most things, because they are largely... mine.

Q: If you had to date a character from Paradise Lust In Real Life - Who would it be?

Well... Since the ex-JAV star Ryoko hasn’t been introduced yet... I guess I gotta go with Maria. When we first designed her, she was a bit of a social-climbing gold-digger... but I really didn’t like that voice for her, so I changed her into a dreamy, fun, imaginative girl who is all about self expression and having a good time. I’m pretty sure she’d be hella fun to hang out with.

Q: What would you advise new designers/writers wanting to make lewd games?

Write. Write. Write. Start now. Write as often as you can and be OK with deleting/editing it very, very heavily. When I write, I write a rough outline, then a rough text pass, then a heavy edit pass, and then a light edit pass, and then a final grammar/spelling/typo check. It’s time consuming, but it has to be done. Nothing is good w/o at least 3 revisions. Nothing.

Also, the #1 trick to writing snappy dialog: READ IT OUT LOUD. When I have a rough version, I read it out as I write, and imagine it was a sitcom or TV show. And generally that makes me go in and cut/shorten/tighten the text. When you read it out loud you’ll HEAR the bad writing, and fixing it is easy.

Q. If given a chance to rewrite one of the characters, who would it be?

Gabby. When I started writing her, I was trying too hard to have her be “sassy” and it comes out... well, like I was trying too hard. The further I get in the game, the more natural she sounds, because I am not TRYING to make her sound some specific way... She just sounds like Gabby.