Bound By Night

A Makeover for Alex?

For the last year or so, I've been growing increasingly unhappy with how Alex's model looks in certain images. His skin sometimes takes on a waxy or "plastic" look; his tongue is too pink with white spots; the lips look like they've been caked in lipstick; etc. Now, maybe that's me being too hard on myself, but it's how I feel about some of the images.

So, as I began prep work on Act 2, I ask...

Join me on Hive Social!

Hey all!

As an alternative to Twitter, I recently created a new profile over at Hive Social. I like the interface and user experience a lot more than Mastado, so I'm going to see how it goes trying to maintain a page there as well as on Twitter.

For now, Hive is available only via apps for iPhones/iPads and Android... It is not available via a web browser.

Right now there are only two people responsible for dev...

BtS: Renders and Displacement Maps (NSFW/Chapter 8 Spoilers)

NOTE:  I was going through my Drafts folder and found this sitting in there! For folks interested in how BBN is made, it might be a mildly interesting technical discussion. So, even though it relates to an old update, I thought it was still worth sharing.

In a previous post, I mentioned sometimes I don't see problems with a render until after they're run. I thought I'd share an ex...

BtS: BBN, the Journey so far, and what's next

It's been almost two years since I started work on Bound by Night in January 2021. Two years! Now, with the release of Chapter 13 and the conclusion of Act 1, I thought folks might be interested in a little retrospective.

The Beginning

It began almost as a whim. I had been chatting with the developer of a very popular and successful adult VN (...

(Updated) Android Users: Bug Reported and Being Investigated

Update #2 (Nov.18):  Build 0.10b has been released which, for Android users, incorporates the hot fix I deployed yesterday. This should get you into the story now without any problems. 

I also received reports that prior saved games weren't being recognized and loading. I've since received confirmation this is due to something I did when telling Ren'Py how to prepare ...

Build 0.10b - Now Public!

Update Dec. 15 -- Build 0.10b is now available for public download.

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It's here! With huge thanks to the patrons who volunteered to help with playtesting and caught a number of issues and typos that had been missed, it's now ready. This build not only includes the missing option from Chapter 12 to let Alex take the role of ...

Progress Update (Almost there) and Behind the Scenes

Alrighty! I've been hard at it the last 48 hours but want to give everyone a quick status update. But, I'll get straight to the point:  images are 99.9% finished, so next up is running all the images through post (takes 10 minutes), added them to the game, beginning technical QC, then audio and playtesting. I should have this out to you within the week, if not sooner.

Now,...

Sneak Peek: Chapter 13 (NSFW)

We're finally there, folks. I've been working on the NSFW images this week and wanted to share a few of them with you here before the weekend kicks off.

End of Month Update (Oct. 22) and Sneak Peek: Build 0.10

Alright everyone, here we are at the end of another month.

To get straight to the point, this isn't quite ready for release yet. The good news is it is actually very close. I have about 200 lines left of script that need images, having finished one of the possible endings, now beginning work on the full explicit ending, and then a couple of quick "game over"-style endings.

I know everyone...

Update and Sneak Peek: Chapter 13 (Build 0.10)

Happy Friday!

I wanted to share some of the renders I've made this week and give you a quick update. Obviously, progress continues and I currently have 286 lines of script left that need images. The caveat to that is there are a couple of short parts I still need to write, but I'm going through those as I'm working on renders.

I've also incorporated feedback on the script from both proofr...

Sneak Peek: Mayhew's Skylounge - Build 0.10 (SFW)

In previous sneak peeks, we saw some additional shots in Mayhew's office and new shots from his gallery. Today, I've begun work on the last of the environments for this next update, Mayhew's skylounge overlooking the city.

As a progress update, I have about 450 lines of script left that need images but am working on them every day. Once that's done, it'll be playtesting/QC and adding in sound. ...

Sneak Peak: Build 0.10 (SFW)

Progress continues on this set of renders and I'm really happy with how they're turning out. What do the pieces mean to Mayhew? Will any of it change your thoughts about him (for better or worse)?

Have a great weekend!

Sneak Peek - Chapter 13 (SFW)

Hey all! I'm finally out of Mayhew's office and onto the next environment.

I'm going to share some more of these with you in the next week but here's a few of what rendered last night. I'm really happy with this set and every piece in the gallery is something that bears on Mayhew's history, personality and/or the plot. 

But it's not going to just be some pretty pictures. Mayhew and A...

End of Month Update (September 2022)

It's that time again! So, what's going on with BBN?

Long and the short of it is this month has been spent entirely plugging away at renders for this next update, though I've also circulated the first draft of the script to a couple folks for proof reading and have started receiving and incorporating feedback on that as well. (One of my proof readers said he may even have one of the lines turned...

BBN now uses Subscription-based Billing

This announcement took me by surprise but today I learned Patreon has just rolled out a subscription-based billing model. This is something patrons (and creators) have been asking for for a long time. ...

Sneak Peek: Build 0.10 (SFW)

Hi everyone. I hope you had a great weekend.

I'm making some good progress on renders for the new content and thought I'd share a couple shots of Alex talking with Mayhew immediately after the tour. They're not going to spend too long here (we've seen this set and, frankly, Mayhew wants to take Alex somewhere a little more intimate) but it's where they're starting and I love the way Mayhew is s...

Sneak Peek: Build 0.10 (NSFW)

As you may recall from the last update, much of August was spent writing the script and dialogue for Build 0.10, or what will be Chapter 13. That is mostly complete and I've been spending the last week working on renders. Today is the first sneak peek of those renders.

I want to note these are before I've applied any post-processing techniques on theses, so the final version you see in game wil...

Sneak Peek: Build 0.10 (SFW-ish)

As I mentioned in August's end-of-month update, I'm switching from writing back to renders and this is one of the renders that ran last night, which is part of finishing up that scene with Ronan at the end of Chapter 12. His expression nicely captures how I feel about September arriving.

More to come soon!

End of Month Update (August 2022)

Hey everyone. It's getting to be that time again, so here's another general progress update.

As you know, Build 0.9 went out to Patrons via early access on July 31 and went open to the public a couple days ago. In addition to the new content in Chapter 12, this build included some updates including a new image gallery as well as a change to the code that allowed unavailable options to appear bu...

Walkthrough Updated and Notes for Next Build

(This post is a duplicate of one that just went up on Itch.Io.)

Hey everyone. I hope you're enjoying the latest build and getting into some fun there at the end! 😘 This post is an effort to address some of the questions I've been getting about greyed-out menu options in the latest build. There are some minor spoilers ahead and it assumes you've played through the game, but I've tried to keep...

Chapter 13 - Second Location Teaser (and request)

Hey everyone. This location is still a work in progress (which leads to my request), but this is Mayhew's personal gallery for his collection. 

I'm still looking for a few pieces/props to place in the center, but I've also been looking for artwork to put on the walls. I've found a few pieces I think fit him for a variety of reasons (either a personal resonance or simply a status symbol), b...

Chapter 13 - Location Teaser

Hi everyone.

As promised, here is a teaser image for one of the new locations we'll be seeing in the next update. How much exactly happens here will be up to you.

And, for those who want it, here is a link to a 4k version on Mega:  link 

Progress Update on Build 0.10

Hi everyone. I wanted to give you a quick update on how things are going with the next update.

I think I'm about 60% finished with the writing. This has been an interesting bit to write as I really only have two personalities to work with, Alex and Mayhew. Although, I suppose Alex has some "Split personalities" I have to accommodate for, given the different approaches and motivations players ...

Poll: What do you think of the Gallery? (NSFW Image in Content)

Maybe you noticed in Build 0.9a I introduced the beginning of a Gallery, showing a collection of images you've seen earlier in the game. If you didn't notice, well now I'm telling you! You can access it via the Main Menu.

Now, one thing I am not is a UI designer. I had to lean heavily on a number of tu...

What's next after 0.9?

I won't include any spoilers in this post, but hopefully all the patrons by now have the latest build "in hand", as that will help the following make a little more sense.

We are now coming towards the end of Act 1. Alex has learned a lot so far, some of it contradictory and everything influenced by the life experiences (and prejudices?) of those he's been speaking with. The player has gotten a ...

Build 0.9a - Now Public

WOW! Not gonna lie, finishing this update was a lot of work. Except for one week, I've been working on this everyday and, this last week, cranking out about 20 images a day -- and I've been at it now for 20 hours just this weekend -- and I still have to finish one of the optional scenes with Ronan. But for those of you who have been waiting for explicit content, particularly with a werewolf, it's fin...

Progress Update (Aiming for July 31)

Hey all!

I wanted to give you a quick status update and the very quick version is I'm aiming to get you an Early Access build on or before July 31. I'm probably going to punt on the ending where Alex tops Ronan until the next release (meaning it will still be greyed out and locked), but I'm aiming to get you all of the others including the "no sex" and "werewolf" options.

Cheers,

Sn...

Sneak Peek: Build 0.9 (NSFW)

Is it getting hot in here, or is it just me? Work continues on wrapping up Build 0.9, and here is a sneak peek of some of the VERY NSFW images I'm working on.

Teaser Image

I've been working hard on getting these images done for the last part of the 0.9 build... and getting hard while doing them. I won't lie; it's been hard, I mean, difficult to concentrate. But tomorrow, after I've had a chance to do some more QC and run things through post-processing, I'm going to post some NSFW images for y'all that should please both those into monsters and those who prefer...

Development Build 0.9 - Patrons Only (PC/Mac/Android)

Update July 1:  Android build added

Alright, lads and ladies.

As promised, here is a development build for the update I'm currently working on. It's missing audio, additional proof-reading and so on, but it is playable until the final set of choices in the planned update. As soon as I get back from a Fourth of July vacation, I'll be turning to those renders and try to get th...