Pizza Hot early-to-mid game progression (info post)

Hi people,

This long post is about the plan for how Jenny's sexual progression will play out through the early stage of the game.

As you know, this video game genre is a bit mixed. We have elements of different kinds. It's a side-scroller because of the movement and the perspective of the models, it's a VN because of the effort I've put into the dialogues and story, it has some soft RPG elements due to character stats having an impact on gameplay... and it's also intended (not yet, but) to be a sandbox where you have the freedom to do what you want while avoiding other events or activities.

That said, making a 100% pure sandbox is, and should be, out of the question.

I explain.

Jenny is the epitome of the stereotypical innocent girl with almost no experience in sex. Just some smooching and light petting over the clothes. So, every new sexual act she experiences in Angel Bay has extreme chances of being her first. Her first ever.

Now, think of all the NPCs this game has already. All of the named characters will have one or two routes regarding their relationship with Jenny. Sum all those routes up, and add the ones from the NPCs I still haven't introduced from other now-locked locations, and the number of events, dialogues, and storylines will be of epic proportions.

Well... there's no way in hell I can do those events with everybody AND ALSO factor in if she's going to do that specific sex act for the first time in her life, or not. It's simply unrealistic for a game made by just one guy writing, animating, coding, etc.

But neither I want to disregard those first-timers because those moments of discovery are a big part of why you're drawn to this game in the first place. The gradual "corruption", and the celebration of every step into debauchery, or just being more open to sex, you know.

In other words: writing detailed first-timers is a must, but trying to do so for everyone, is crazy. I needed to find a middle ground between zero acknowledgment for new sex experiences, and too much work to handle for me.

And some weeks ago, a long-time good supporter of mine, steered me on the right path.

His proposal was that I picked three NPCs that represent very different archetypes and reserve those first-timers for them, effectively locking sex progression to those three characters. And I found that suggestion very sensible and sane.

Then, after some thinking, I added 'random NPCs' to the distinguished club of Jenny's "mentors". Meaning that you could also have a first-timer with a complete stranger that you won't ever see again.

But what this means in practice? Let's see...

1) All sex acts are divided into 'intensity' classes. I don't want to go into too much detail, but I think we can all agree giving a handjob is not the same as going down on someone. Each of those steps represents a mental 'milestone' in Jenny's brain.

2) To 'unlock' those milestones, you'll need to progress through a relationship route with one of the three chosen named characters or (exceptionally) a random NPC such as a restaurant customer or bus passenger.

3) Relationship routes with named NPCs outside those chosen three are still possible, but initiating events with them that would make you hit a milestone that you haven't yet unlocked, won't be possible.

In other words, if you want to progress Jenny's sexual discovery with an NPC that is not part of those three, that NPC will get 'sloppy seconds'.

This is the compromise you, and I, will need to accept if this game is to have a decent development progress into mid-game. If I don't do this, the scope monster will eat me and Jenny's hymen will still be intact in 2030. :-P

4) Milestones are independent of Lewdness. Yes, you may have a Lewdness requirement for initiating a first-time sex act with one of the chosen NPCs, but it may be just because Jenny's relationship with that specific NPC is based on lust, not love.

The opposite can also happen: you could lose your virginity with someone you've developed a loving relationship with, without the high requirement of Lewdness/Arousal it would have taken to do the same with a random NPC.

5) Those three archetype characters are independent. You can seek a route with one, two, or the three of them, but it will be the one with whom you do something for the first time that will leave the 'mark' on you (i.e.: "Had my pussy licked for the first time by <npc_name>..."

Additionally, you could theoretically choose not to pursue a relationship with any of the three, if you develop Jenny in a way that she has those first experiences with total strangers.

Also, "gaps" in progression with the chosen NPCs are possible. You could let one of them grope you, then give a handjob to the second, then blow a stranger in the restaurant, and finally, have sex with the third even if s/he almost didn't touch you until then, as long as your relationship stat with her/him is high enough for that.

(If that's not a sandbox, I don't know what it is, lol...)

6) Once Jenny gets used to vaginal sex, the mid-game phase will commence, and you won't be locked out from new experiences regardless of the NPCs involved.

You'll be able to keep pursuing the relationship/s you've developed with the archetype NPCs, switch to others, add more to your dating pool, focus just on strangers, or do everyone and everything at the same time. That will really depend on you, your playstyle, and what you want for an end-game Jenny.

At any rate, the point of this post is to explain that the real sandbox experience will start when Jenny has lost her virginity and she's ready for her (your) sexual choices to shape her personality.

Think of the early game Pizza Hot! as an interactive VN, and the mid-game Pizza Hot! as a Princess Trainer on steroids.

Oh, and I guess you want to know which three NPCs have been chosen, right... Well, for that you'll need to sign up to the Discord server and find out in the #faq channel.

Yeah, I'm a bastard, haha! But we don't have spoiler tags in this media format, so...

Thanks for reading!

Edit: I forgot to mention one thing. At a very much later stage of development, when the game is done, or almost done (years from now), I could add more NPCs to those "mentoring" characters, so you have more people to take Jenny's first times. That will depend on you wanting me doing that, ofc.