October/v0.5 AMAs!

Hey all! Thanks to everyone for their October/v0.5 Ask-Me-Anything submissions for our development team. Please find the AMA below!

1. A question I've seen around quite a lot, is what car did Theo have? The red one, some suspect an Audi others think it's a Mitsubishi. Is it even anything specific, was it based off anything at all or is it just a general car design? 

Cobalt: Artist confession, I actually used a picture of myself with my own car as reference! Which just so happens to be a Honda Civic, granted I still kept it more of a ‘general sedan’ design. 

2. What has been the most rewarding thing from working on PTK so far? What has been the most challenging? I'm hoping to develop a VN one day, and I'd like to hear what y'alls experiences have been. 

Pom: Seeing the PTK growth over the last 10 (!) months has been so, so rewarding. I consider myself and our team so lucky to have such a warm, friendly fanbase that’s developed very real interests and affinity to the characters we’ve created. I think the biggest challenge for me has been juggling school and my other jobs with this one! Obviously I enjoy PTK work immensely, but especially when writer’s block hits at the end of a really long day of work and studying, it can get rough. Noh has been fantastic about supporting me through a lot of the writing struggles, though, so I’m super grateful for him 🧡

Cobalt: I pretty much agree with what Pom said! I love seeing my designs and this story get more recognition than I ever imagined! I also love that people love the art style as well, since it’s something that I have been working on for years! Most challenging has been navigating college, and having many large pieces to do, specifically ones with background scenes.

Noh: Pom is too nice to me and always has been. The most rewarding thing has been seeing people connect with and appreciate my writing. Especially when it comes to character choices. To be frank, I see myself (to varying degrees) in all the ptk boys. And it’s nice to see them get compliments :) For the biggest challenge i’m gonna echo what pom said. This project is a lot of work and I have a full time job. But that makes me appreciate the support we get even more. We are so lucky to have grown so much in such a short time.

3. Will there ever be an opportunity to voice act for official material? (I am begging PLEASE sorry if I'm nagging bc I bring this up a lot in the server but HOLY FUCK I'D LOVE TO!!) 

Pom: I’m not actually sure if we want to officially place voices to characters, but I wouldn’t completely count it out (especially in the far future, depending on where PTK takes us).

Noh: I’d echo far future. We’re still trying to make the base game atm.

4. I'm sniffing a transmasc Artemis, am I cooking? 

Noh: Stay tuned.

5. Could you use one word to give a sneak peak at Ollie day 3 plans?

Pom: Simulation.

Noh: Aaaaughghghgh.

6. If ptk were to ever have a merch line what could we expect to see? (Like would it be plushies, clothes, maybe even cardboard cutouts???) 

Pom: I would personally LOVE plushies! We’ve been talking here and there about introducing some PTK merch sometime in the future, and I think there’s a very real possibility we do create merch for sale, depending on our progression and growth.

Cobalt: Artemis plushie would save me… and i’d totally wear a PTK shirt, or have some keychains on my bag….

Noh: I think it would be crazy neat to get some ptk merch made. I think the main roadblocks are inexperience (pretty sure none of us have ever done anything like making/selling merch before) and lack of time. We’d also want to see some proof of demand first lol. Just to make sure people will actually buy the things if we made them. It would be awesome to get pins/keychains/stickers, maybe a shirt, possibly plushies. Ptk is still young. We’re not ruling anything out.

7. Will there be any public release of the soundtrack on Itch.io available for download? 

Pom: We’re still figuring out the logistics of an official soundtrack – updates to come soon!

8. Will there be a poly route for any of the characters? 

Pom: We don’t have plans to pursue this currently. I think poly routes are so challenging to get right, especially in terms of the dynamic balance and the nuance of the various relationships within the group, so props to the visual novels that have tackled poly routes!!

9. Could we potentially know the canon birthdays of the cast 👀 

Noh: Why, you wanna get them a present? You can direct all gifts to Noh’s House at 12345 Real Street. I’ll pass them along to the ptk boys, I promise.

10. Do you guys plan on keeping up with all the routes being on the same days? Or are you guys planning on prioritizing one route until completion then going to finish the others one by one? 

Pom: We’re planning to knock out all the day 3s, then all the day 4s, etc.

Noh: That’s the idea. So none of the characters “fall behind,” especially those whose routes have slower burns.

11. Favourite aspect of Ollie's and/or Artemis's character? In a certain route, is there any chance we'll see any of the other characters besides Leo and his partner getting close or being together?

Noh: For Ollie, it’s a tie between his perceptive mind and his big silly teeth. For Artemis, it’s how hard he tries, every day.

12.  How did the team meet each other? It seems like a match made in heaven, cause this is definitely one of the best furry visual novels I've ever played. 

Pom: Noh, Rene, and I all go back to my early furry days floating around Discord servers! Cobalt helped design my very first sona (and helped to redesign him recently!), and Merry is someone I met a few years back through another close mutual furry friend. Best team I could’ve asked for :3

Cobalt:  “Hey Cobalt do you wanna do artwork for a furry visual novel?” “yeah” 

13. I have not a question but a small favor to ask for our lovely storywriters Pom and Noh,can you tell Rofi for me that you're the best boy and we love you so much! ♥ 

Pom: Rofi doesn’t handle compliments well – I just told him and now he’s balled up in the corner trying to hide his blushing..

Noh: Honestly I think Rofi would short circuit if he knew so many people loved him. I have no idea how he would handle it.

14. Is all of the music in PTK its own separate track, or are there some that are comprised of layers that turn on in certain moments, like when there's multiple characters on screen?

Pom: Yes! Sometimes when you’re in a two-character scene, if you listen carefully, you can hear aspects/motifs of both characters’ themes in a new track. Rene has graciously cooked up ‘remix’ versions of each theme to account for these multi-character scenes!

15.  Secret ending where Leo becomes the house's resident therapist, realizes his calling, and leaves the storm a new man to get his doctorate in psychology when?

Noh: Ah, dang, no, you guessed the secret twist. Time to change everything.

16. It seems like the routes so far have been focused on uncovering and learning about our love interests, but when is Leo going to get his therapy/character arc day? 

Pom: :)

17. Hello all! I know PTK is still fairly early on in its development but I was curious as to whether or not there are any future plans for merchandise? more specifically plushie versions of the characters? I have a NEED for a Hunter/Theo plush. did you know that mama a girl behind ROFI 💜

Pom: See #6 :) I’d love plushies to become a reality!