Ask Me Anything 2 - the answers

Hello everyone! Last week you had, once again, a chance to ask me anything about Gynocracy. Here are the answers to your questions. I hope you find them interesting. Of course, if you have any more questions, feel free to ask.

Zairus: When you’re writing a game script, which scenes come easily to you and which ones feel like a struggle? What’s easier to write for you? Sex scenes or the ones that move the plot forward?

I definitely find it easier to write story scenes. I also have more experience writing "normal" scenes. However, after writing ten chapters of Gynocracy, I guess I've become more proficient at writing sexy scenes as well. As with everything in life, the more you do something, the more experienced you become. Still, as I said before, I see myself more as a storyteller than a pornographer :)

Siman44: How many times has someone in discord suggested an idea and you have been like thats really good and used it? Or has anyone said something about the storyline/ending and you have secretly changed because it works better than what you thought already?

Hm, I don't know, really. I have a fixed set of story beats that I know must be included. But I'm quite flexible about what happens in between. And inspiration comes from all over the place, including our chats in Discord. I wouldn't say I changed anything major, but there are many scenes I originally imagined differently. One example: I knew from the beginning that Lei would die. But originally it was supposed to be Anna who stabbed her. I imagined a scene in Lei's mansion, where John and Anna somehow end up, and there's this ancient Chinese sword on display... Then, much later, I got approached by one player with a rare fetish for cleaning ladies, yellow gloves etc. That got me thinking, maybe if Lei is demoted and ends up cleaning toilets... and the rest is history. So, the story beat was hit, just in a different way than originally intended.

Sid302: I remember you mentioned in a previous Q&A that you were considering adding animations once the main story is complete. Do you already have a plan for that? Personally, I didn’t really feel like the game needed them, but I did miss having more renders during some of my favorite scenes. Do you have any ideas for future DLCs — maybe retrospectives showing moments from the main characters’ pasts, or something that adds extra renders to the key scenes, especially the sex ones?

I'm not sure about the animations. While working on translations recently, I realized just how big the game already is. Adding animations to every sexy scene is definitely not feasible. However, adding extra renders to some scenes is a different story. I'm totally open to that! Just tell me which scenes :)

As for DLCs - I was considering adding a bonus chapter, that would also be released as a standalone free game. The reason is, itch.io delisted all paid adult games. So I thought I'd use this free game as a way for itch users do discover the full game. But I wasn't sure about the chapter content. It would need to work as a standalone story and at the same time, introduce Queen's Isle to players. And just yesterday, I got an idea! Now I just need to get some free time somewhere...

Frank Kuschmann: I think I have already asked you once if there is an inspiration or prototype of the one or the other female character in your real life? Lydia or maybe even Barbie? Or one of the three brats?

Yes, some of the OG characters are vaguely inspired by existing people. That would be Lydia, Jayna, Clare and Danielle.

The brats were probably inspired by my seeing some bratty girls on the street :)

Zairus: If you were in John’s place on Queen’s Isle, would you have acted the same way he did, or would you have done things differently?

I mean everything related to the Resistance, as well as his behavior toward his wife.

Hah, I didn't think of that. I think, subconsciously, I project myself onto John, so he mostly does what I would do in that situation. So, to all the people who think John is an asshole, thanks!

Siman44: How do you manage work/game/personal time? Do you feel any pressure to prioritise the game or has it ever come close to walking away from it?

It's very time consuming, so basically I work on the game at the expense of other hobbies I used to have. So far, I never considered walking away from it, though. Sure, there are times when I'm not in the mood. February/March of this year were particularly depressing for me, but I always come back :)

Zairus: Dedicating all your free time to the game can be pretty tough. From time to time, you need to take a break from the development process.

What do you switch to? How do you spend your leisure time away from the game?

The usual, I play games, watch movies and TV shows, read books. However, as I mentioned in the previous answer, I have much less time for these activities now that I'm working on the game.

I still walk a lot. I go for an hour / hour and a half-long walk every day. It's a great way to clear your head. I listen to podcasts while walking.

Siman44: How often do you speak/chat to other game developers be it in the same genre or other genres and trade tips/ideas to help you with this game or have ever thought about outsourcing any of the game dev to others?

There's a very active adult game developer community on F95 forum - that's super helful. For example, there's a 360-page thread on publishing on Steam :) Other than that, I was always active in gamedev circles in my country, even before Gynocracy.

I never thought about outsourcing. I'm quite happy with being able to control every aspect of the game. I'm a filmmaker at heart, and this is my way of directing a "movie" :) Of course, the downside is, everything takes a long time.

Zairus: Most of the sex scenes in the game have a femdom focus. Where do you draw your inspiration from, and how do you find the best way to portray each femdom scene, especially when it comes to John’s emotions in those moments?

Inspiration works in strange ways. I am often inspired by imagery that I encounter, but I'd rather not go into details, haha. Special thanks are in order for Sevastopol and his tireless efforts to bring us new inspiration every day.

As for John's emotions, it's tough, to be honest, because there's a duality between the resistant and submissive sides of John. For my next project, I want to make sure that all femdom is totally consensual so that all parties can fully enjoy it.