0.49 Reflection and 0.50 Preview

Hey, perverts! I hope you're all doing well. I appreciate your feedback and support. I feel like I'm getting back in a groove on this work, which is very cool.

Hearing specifics of what people like in the game, whether it's a cross-game theme or a certain scene or line, is really helpful and encouraging. I've also been super happy to receive a bit of art interpreting my characters. For example, this piece of Clay Mortimer. And if you didn't see Artemis's redraws of Theresa from a while back, you should check them out, too.

Reflecting on Nighttime Creeping

(That name was last-minute, by the way.) This was a lot of work! I talked about getting COVID last time, but even after I was mostly recovered, the release still included a big new system, a cross-cutting revision of almost every file in the game, and a totally new pose with some challenges of its own. I'm grateful to the Center of Attention patrons for their advice on scoping, which I'd sum up as "we really like this night check-in idea and want it to be elaborate when it's done, but maybe leave some stuff out for the first release."

What I ended up putting out was a system where, if you visit Theresa at night, you'll get one of three random results: she's there with her door open, she's doing something lewd, or she's asleep ($5+ patrons get access to a debug mode that lets them pick each time!). Your options for the first two results depend on the nightly routine you've chosen for her, and your options to peek or creep when her door's not open require you to get permission first. Peeping when she's doing something lewd lets you watch.

The full version of this that was originally in my head has a few more options: there's a fourth possible situation, where Theresa is out of her room and you can snoop or go in search of her, depending on her routine. I also like the idea of being able to open the door when she's doing something lewd, but I haven't yet figured out how to manage consent when she's with a partner (I'm already stretching things as far as I'm comfortable, there). There are also a bunch of other stuff you could do when she's asleep, plus more random text in general for all the situations. I don't know when I'll get around to adding any of that, if I do, but there's plenty of room for expanding the feature.

I'm really proud of the art I did for it! I used Virt-A-Mate to make a pose reference, and I've tried to build up a practice of art warm-up and steady daily work so that I can actually build skill and not just put in maximum effort over a small time. I'm feeling like I'll be both more efficient at art and putting out better work if I keep it up.

One thing about how my brain works, though, is that I have trouble focusing on just one task for a long stretch. This is part of the reason my releases can take so long; if I'm switching between multiple things and feel like I want them all done before releasing anything, it can push things back. One way I've been dealing with that is working on features that I can do a little at a time and leave unfinished! The latest "sophisticated content", with jealousy and inferiority sprinkled into existing writing, was one of those. I've been slowly adding it to scenes over the last several releases, and just didn't add the ability to turn it on until it was ready. There's more features like that coming, by the way!

Regarding my addition of what I guess I'm calling "soft NTR", I'm glad that it didn't cause any ruckus. NTR/cuckolding/cheating/swinging can be a hot-button issue in porn, I've seen, and so I wanted to be real clear about what I was putting in so that I wouldn't turn people off of what they assumed would be included, nor make people excited because they were expecting something that I wasn't doing.

It seems like I succeeded at communicating that 1) this stuff was totally optional, opt-in, and not core to the game and that 2) I was still carrying on the game's practice of being antiracist and consent-focused. I think it turned out pretty hot, and I hope it helps to give people a good option for feeling a little less in charge around Theresa.

Next Release

The big feature for the next release will be Halloween outfits. I haven't added new outfits in a while, and I'd like to draw some variations on the classic "slutty costume that's mostly just a leotard" theme. I tried out a seasonal costume at Valentine's, and I think this is another good opportunity. If I can get it out around Halloween, then they'll be free (in-game) near Halloween, but cost Ken the rest of the year.

There's also just a bunch of cleanup work that's built up: bugfixes, more content warnings, some UI enhancements, and a few things that I can add thanks to upgrading Ren'Py. 

I'm also working on a new minor exploration scene, like the one outside of town where you can stay in a farmer's barn. This one is within the mansion, and will be mildly sexy with a sort of room-escape feel (but no real puzzles). It should help flesh out the Radcliffe storyline (and offer some foreshadowing, depending on when in the game you play it).

Let me know if you have any thoughts from playing the new release, and if you're part of a community where you can tell folks about the game, I'd appreciate a plug!