Game Four Title Reveal!

Welcome to the exclusive first look at The Grand Butt-Sex Hotel! (BSH for short)

First things - The Artist:

BlackOut, who is our current artist for Sleeve Shock, is going to be the main artist for this game also. I know this might raise some concerns about commitment or timings, but BSH will updating on the third monday of every month (in Cufflinks and Cages previous spot), whereas Sleeve Shock updates on the first monday of each month. So each game has a two week period where Blackout can be working on the next pieces. Also Blackout is incredibly talented, and I wanted to give him the opportunity for more consistent work.

First things - The Writer:

You may know MarcieMallards writing from Cufflinks and Cages, and also some captions work that she did for Shackles of Ellswyn, but Marcie is now going to be the full time, main writer for the project. Where, instead of just contributing to asides in an existing project, Marcie has been part of the main narrative and character development from the beginning. This will ensure that the game will be packed with her passion for writing the naughtiest content.

First things - The title:

The title is a little sillier, a little pornier, than we usually go for. I like to think that our game catalogue is aiming to be a very immersive experience, with a more serious narrative, that warms over time as the main character accepts their new role in life. That core experience is still going to be present, but Marcie (who is the funniest person I've ever met) has a natural talent for writing a fantastic balance between light and dark. To not encourage some of the goofier tone, is to deny some of her strengths. Also part of it is to help stand out on the Steam marketplace alongside a lot of other game who use that Isekai title system where the nineteen word title describes the entire opening act. Without putting our obvious primary keywords in the title, like Futa, Chastity and Submissive male: The Grand Butt-Sex Hotel explains itself in parody (like the Grand Budapest Hotel), but also distinguishes itself as non-vanilla, and gives us room to explore other interests and new scenarios with our core game concept.

Second things - update schedule / release date:

As mentioned above, the update schedule is intended to be replacing Cufflinks and Cages regular spot as the third monday of the month. Cufflinks and Cages will occasionally receive updates, but it will not clash with BSH, and instead will be on the second monday of the month. The goal is for BSH to become another strong monthly updating game, so that we're delivering to you, our Patrons consistent good content.

As for the release date, we currently have the plot heavy scene setting opening of the game completed, but there's nothing sexy happening yet. We wanted to take the time to introduce you to the world and set the tone, and the stakes. We're aiming to have the first release, either next month or the month after, which is currently planned to have two scenes with the MC and a different character. It will release first onto Patreon as an exclusive, and then with the second or third updates it will release onto Steam and Itch, more on that later.

Third things - the game will have animated scenes:

As you may have seen with the last update for Sleeve Shock, we added a couple of animated scenes, and for next month's update we're planning to add a few more. This was a test run to see how possible it was to have all adult scenes animated for BSH, with monthly schedule timings and workloads and so on. So far, it's looking very possible for BSH to have it's monthly content release including animated scenes, so it may be fully animated from launch, instead of back updated later.

There is also possibility that we come back to Shackles of Ellswyn and give it the same animation update treatment we're doing with Sleeve Shock right now, but it's a much larger commitment, and a little difficult to do with our current Patreon earned budget. I wouldn't want to commit to doing it, and have to leave it incomplete, a problem that bothers me with the voice acting as we weren't able to secure a good choice for Jane's VA. All things we're hoping to fix in the future.

Fourth thing - always aiming to be better:

We talk about this a lot on the Sexy Business Podcast, but we're always aiming to be better. Part of that is listening to feedback that we get, part of that is trying to improve our skills and hire skilled people to make sure that we're delivering a high quality product. It isn't easy, and we're juggling a lot of moving pieces, and people working with us, but we're always doing our best to try and provide value for our Patrons. If Patrons all leave, then we can't run the studio, it's entirely funded by you. The reason we do the Sexy Business Podcast is so that you can see a glimpse into the ideas, and research, and collaboration that Spooky puts in to try and keep the business running. We've learned from Shackles of Ellswyn, that it went onto Steam too early, and now all our most seen reviews and years old, and complain that the game runs for 10 minutes, despite now having an average play time of almost two hours. We've learned from Cufflinks and Cages that a more complicated game loop doesn't necessarily translate into value, and we've learned from Sleeve Shock that a stronger written narrative with interesting characters will connect a lot better. We're trying to incorporate all of our lessons learned and our best efforts to make sure that the Grand Butt-Sex Hotel, is going to be our best game yet.

Final thing - Roadmap:

Currently our estimate roadmap looks something like; Release in the next month or so onto Patreon with an exclusive early release, so that we can get some feedback from you as to what directions you're most excited to see the game head in. Steam requires a two-week "coming soon" listing, so after the initial release on Patreon, we'll submit that game build to Steam and prepare the Steam release. The first update for the game after that release, will be for al three platforms; Steam, Patreon and Itch, and will be running concurrently. I personally dislike the model of having Patreon be one month ahead, having two versions running at the same time punishes people who come onto the Patreon for a little while, and then purchase the Steam or Itch version, which the most common Patron behaviour, stick around for a month or two, and then move off the subscription service. I would rather reward our Patrons by giving them the platform to tell us what they want to see in our games, so that your investment means something, instead of holding your game hostage for a month while you wait for the updates to catch up. So instead, we're having the game exclusive on Patreon while the game is in its earliest development so that you can help us set the path that this new great game will set out on!

To close -

We appreciate all our Patrons that stick around and help make these games possible. The fact that we're able to bring on talented people like Marcie to write, or our new animator to try and improve our games, is directly because of the support of our Patrons, without you these games vanish, and we're doing our best to make great games that you will enjoy!