Zaggy Norse

Character Bio #9: Werner the African Buffalo

Bio

The valley that Paardenrust is situated in is well-known for its beauty and mild climate, allowing the cultivation of many fruits and vegetables that otherwise would not survive the typically harsh summers or winters. This, combined with its relative proximity to the coast, has led to it being a popular source of more exotic produce, and a hotspot for foodies and chefs alike.

Werner has always loved two things: creating things, and making people happy. He gravitated early to...

Build 0.0.05

I've been working away on some writing and I'm super pleased with how the opening is coming together. As always, I needed to just sit and write and see what happened for things to really start coming together.

Anyway, here's an incomplete version of the opening for you guys to take a look at :) Feedback appreciated. I'm still working on nailing down Flax's character, but I think the slightly-awkward-yet-still-horny-and-willing-to-say-so type is what I'll settle on.

Development builds

Hello guys. Just an update on my development plans.

Writing is progressing in earnest, and I'm working on my automated workflow in between. I posted a super short build on Discord the other day, but my plan is to produce them regularly, on an automated schedule, after each writing session (which is mostly weekday evenings and sometimes weekends, for a goal of 10-15 hours a week).

I have a folder set up to sync them to the cloud after each writing session; I'm still trying to decid...

The House of...

The family arms of the as-yet-unnamed family that owns Paardenrust Manor and many of the surrounding lands. Their coat of arms is an equine head surmounted by the horns of a rhinoceros, symbolising strength and resilience.

I intend to use the escutcheon and it's blazon as the game's main logo - unless I come up with an idea I prefer before it ships :)

Writing workflow update

I've been fighting with a neighbour over a rooster that's been wrecking my sleep, so I've had very little energy for writing lately. Instead, I've been applying my time to setting up the optional writing workflow.

As you may or may not know, Ren'Py (the most common tool for creating VNs) uses the Python language under the hood. It's a fine choice, there's nothing too horrible about it. However, it's a programming language, not a writing language, and while it does its best to make it as...

"Bokkie" the Klipspringer - concept sketch

As you'll know from his bio, Bokkie is six feet of attitude packed into a much smaller package. He'll be a fun one for sure  :)

Flax the Norwegian Fjord

Meet Flax, the character you'll play as :)

Tanutanuki has been experimenting with facial expressions and poses, and I think you'll agree it's looking incredible. The clean & coloured version of this - along with additional poses - will hopefully be ready soon as well :)

What do you think? Can you see yourself fucking and being fucked by a train of handsome men as this stallion?

Back to work!

Hello guys! It's me, the horse that does the words. After two months of exhausting labour, I am finally free of my shackles and ready to devote all of my energies to "Lord of the Manor" for the indefinite future. And, man, am I fucking PUMPED. So here's what's coming up in the next couple of months.

• Tanutanuki has sent me sketches for the main character design, and they are just incredible. I expect to receive the clean scans (plus colour experiments) this weekend, and I'll upload...
  2020-11-19 07:27:18 +0000 UTC View Post

Lord of the Manor

Hello everyone. Please meet Jheme :)

I have commissioned a series of concept sketches by a uniquely talented artist to help me begin fleshing out the look of the characters in LOTM. I did insist on grayscale, but the artist did colour anyway because he's too nice for his own good :P Note that this is not the art style that will be in the game; this is simply to give both me and Tanutanuki ideas to work with when concepting the final characters.

These pieces are of Jheme, the Lord ...

Attack of the Reals

Hey guys. Just a note to say that I'll be skipping November billing as I did for October. There's been a frustrating accumulation of RL shit I have to slog through that will likely keep me busy into the middle of Nov.

I'm still going to aim to get a build out during December, but as my initial estimate for that was based on having 2 months, it'll probably be Jan. We'll see.

The good news is I'll have some character sketches for you soon :)

Discord

Hey guys. Just an update to say that it seems the Discord auto-inviter was acting up. I think I've fixed it now, but I'm not sure if it reinvites people automatically.

If you're not yet on the server and you use Discord, you can use the link below to join the server manually. Just ping me on there to assign you the relevant role to get access to the game-only stuff :)

There's a bunch of groups for non-patrons as well if you have friends you'd like to bring along.

2020-10-18 11:46:45 +0000 UTC View Post

Species survey results

Hey everyone! As I mentioned on Discord, I ran an informal public poll last week, asking for feedback on some of the species I've picked for the game. I was curious to see how my choices aligned with popular opinion, and to see if anyone could sway my mind with strong arguments.

It was super interesting and well-worth it. The responses were a pretty even split between people who felt I should emphasise well-known species, and those who were supportive of my goal to give lesser-known one...

Status update!

Good morning everyone. Just a status update on various aspects of the project for you to read over your coffee :)

• As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I will not be billing for October as I will be spending the month finalising some other work that I took on thanks to COVID fuckery. This will be the last time there's a month of no updates, as the end of this month is a hard deadline, so either way I'm done with it.
• I spoke with Tanutanuki this week about art, busy figuring out...
  2020-09-30 06:38:10 +0000 UTC View Post

Character bio #8: Bek and Stert

Bio

Paardenrust is the sort of town that doesn’t see a lot of churn in its population. The kind people would describe as “sleepy”. Whole families are born there, grow up, and die without ever moving elsewhere. Tourists will visit, exclaim loudly and repeatedly about how quaint and wonderful it is and how they’d love to live there, but then forget about it before the day is done. This is how most residents like it, and would generally wish it to remain.

But some fresh blo...

First or second person viewpoint?

When I started planning the game, I was sure which viewpoint I would go for: second person narration, first person responses.

However, I saw a poll recently about preferred viewpoints in VNs, and first person responses won by a HUGE margin. This has made me reconsider it as an option. It feels a bit strange to me, but on reflection, that is due to me assuming that the more seamless realtime narration of 2nd would always be preferable to the immersion of 1st...but that's for you to help ...

Next bio?

More than halfway!

Character bio #7: Dalarius Frin

Bio

The people of Paardenrust have no particular idiom for someone of great wealth, but if they did, it might be "as rich as a Frin".

The Frins are old money, from other parts of the country. Where that money came from isn't too clear, and - even after all these years - rumours persist about illegal gold mines on the Reef, or perlemoen smuggling in the Cape. But, in reality, there's no proof that the Frins accumulated their wealth through anything other than decades of hard work...

Scene sketch: Woods Chase

A concept for the sex scene between you and Bull the boerboel. This is one way it might play out.

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The sun has set when Bull finally takes your hand and leads you to the edge of the clearing. Your excitement has been growing the entire afternoon, and you wonder what the Boerboel makes of the obvious wet spot in your pants. You ask him.

He looks down at it thoughtfully, as if regarding a prize heifer. “I’d say that’s a compliment,” he says, making you blush...

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Who's it gonna be! The anticipation is overwhelming!

Character bio #6: Koena

Bio

The forest commune near Paardenrust has some real characters living in it, and it’s hard to say which one would draw the eye first - but there’s a solid chance it would be Koena the crocodile.

He’s big, even for a crocodile. In his forties, with a laugh like a small avalanche, he spends his days swimming, or chatting, or just sunning himself by the lake. The massive smile on his face - and the beer in his hand - would immediately tell you that here’s a guy who knows ...

October billing cycle

Hey guys. Just a post to let you know that I've paused billing for October, so you won't be billed on 1 October.

October is the month I'll be focusing on completing another side project, and while I do intend to continue doing bios during that period, I'd rather pause billing and not feel stressed if I don't get to do one every week like now :)

After October I am 100% freed of that obligation (at last), so billing will resume on 1 November, and I'll begin working on building the p...

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Who's next!

Character bio #5: Nabo

Bio

Nabo is an eighteen-year-old aardwolf, and he’s not happy about it.

Born in Paardenrust, he’s lived in the town all his life - and hates it. Everything about it annoys him. His quietly comfortable family who seem perfectly happy to live out their lives as tailors. He doesn’t want to be a tailor. He can’t imagine why anyone would.

He hates the way nothing interesting ever happens in Paardenrust. He hates having to listen - raptly - to the stories that tourists t...

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Got into a nice rhythm with these now. Who's next?

Character Bio #4: Ta'kom Ironhoof

Bio

The Ironhoofs - or Ysterhoefs - have lived in this country for centuries, and for all of that time, they were known as master craftspeople. The Ironhoof maker’s mark on weapons or tools was coveted, and such items were passed down through generations. Over the years, the Ironhoofs became not only renowned, but wealthy.

The family took great pride in their accomplishments and growing fame, and it became expected that firstborn sons - it was always sons, through the magic of...

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You know the drill!

Character bio #3: Quagga

Bio

Quagga is a zebra, born with the atavistic colouring of the quagga - hence his name. He grew up in Paardenrust, attending local primary and high schools. He was teased about his colouring in primary school, which made him somewhat shy, but that stopped when he hit puberty and started to grow. Fast. Within a year, he was the biggest guy in school, and to this day he’s the tallest, strongest person in the town.

His confidence didn’t initially develop at the same rate as hi...

Sketch: Inkanyamba

While working on the feral dragon character, I had a great idea for a reveal scene.

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You look around. "A dragon?" Off to the side, a springbok carefully plants seeds in some prepared earth, and beyond him a cheetah holds a fishing rod, intently focused on the floater in the lake. "Where?"

Bokkie grins. "Right in front of you."

"What?" You look around again to be sure. "Is he invisible or something?"

"Nah." Bokkie turns to look at the lake. "Inkanyamba l...

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Who's getting the word treatment next?

Character Bio #2: Bokkie

This week I'd like to introduce you to Claude "Bokkie" Erasmus, the klipspringer!

Bio

Bokkie’s real name is Claude. The son of a corporal, he was uprooted several times in his life when his father was posted to a new location. He learned early on not to get too attached to the people wherever he was, anticipating the inevitable move that would sever whatever connections he’d started building.

This more casual attitude towards his life led to him becoming something of a...