Question Thread: February 2026 [CLOSED]

hello! just one question. i wanna start making my own visual novels. do you have any tips? should i first start practicing art before i practice to code? i’m so new to this, any tips would help!!! tysm!!

hello! i was wondering if you picture either of the leads in OL2 as neurodivergent? :) also, how would qiu & tamarack feel about seeing a therapist/professional in step 2 when they're struggling? sorry if this falls under 'spoilers' or if any of these questions have been answered before.. thanks for the hard work! :D

I might edit this to add more questions later but for now. 1. The emojis being added for OLF2 are so cute and got me wondering. If this system could have been a thing in OLF1, would Cove or anyone else have used emojis more during the text moments in Step 3 or do they prefer text based emotes like :)

Hey GB Patch. So before I begin, feel free to give a one-word Yes or No answer to the first question since it refers to a previous "Controversial" question and I don't want to open old wounds. 1. But anyways, first question, Is it impossible for Ren (DLC or otherwise) to ever have a crush on the MC during Step 2, or until they reach 18? I understand that age gaps between teens can be major, in comparison to adults in some cases, but 2 yrs doesn't seem too crazy, IMAO. 2. Anyway, moving on, what's the sibling relationship between Ren and Devin like? Does it change a lot over the years? And what's it like for Ren to be the only person in her friend group to not be an only child?

Hello again GB & Team!! Just one question this time! - Considering their children often visited each others houses, were Ren and Qiu’s parents in contact with Baxter’s often? Was Baxter’s parents’ behavior obvious to them if so? I often wonder how Ren and Qiu’s parents felt about having their children around the Wards, and what the dynamic was between the parents of boys club in general.

hello!! i'm not sure if it's something you can answer. if not then feel free to skip the question! the relationship in ol2 can be downgraded in between the steps, which is something i really like since it keeps things interesting. this made me wonder if the mc can have a conversation with the leads that goes something along the lines of "hey i used to have a crush on you in the past lol" if they go from crush to friends. you know, a silly conversation where they're reminiscing about the past.

How did Tamarack's grandparents meet and fall in love, and what were they like when they were younger? How about Qiu's parents? (If this counts as 2 questions not 4, then if you could also answer about Lani and Pam I'd be happy too but no worries if not)

Hello! Thank you for always taking the time to read and answer everyone’s questions! 💝 For Our Life 2 characters, I was wondering what they would give the MC on Valentine’s Day. Would it be a handcrafted gift, store-bought chocolates, or just spending time together?

Hi GB and team, hi David!! I hope everyone is doing well. This is my first full month as a patreon and I'm having a really great time! Here are my questions for this month's Q&A: 1. In step 2, how would Qiu and Tammy offer comfort to the MC during/after a seriously upsetting situation (if they're close with MC). Would they offer physical support, as in hugging and/or holding them, offer words of reassurance, try to find a solution, or just keep them company? 2. What Mario Kart characters would the OLBA LI's choose to play as? Sorry if this one's been answered before!! That's all I could think of for this month. Take lots of care and rest up!! <3 (Also thank you David for the transcripts!!)

Hello, I hope you guys are having a wonderful February. I was wondering with writing the our life love interest did you ever have moments where you had to re-write them in during the concept phase.

Hi! You’ve mentioned that when Derek drinks, he gets really energized and turns into the super pumped, let’s-keep-this-party-going type who doesn’t always know when to stop once he’s had too much. Has that ever gotten him into trouble before? lol And did he ever go through a real party phase, like clubbing a lot or being really into the nightlife scene? Maybe during college? I’m curious if that high-energy streak ever translated into a possible party era for him, or if he's more of an occasional hype-at-the-party kind of person?

Hello! I hope the GB team is fighting the chill this winter. Also, happy to hear that David is feeling better. May everyone on the team be in good health for the rest of the year. <3 I had two questions involving the recently released roadmap: 1. I remember back when Step 2 was beginning to be written there had been an acknowledgement about the length of the moments being larger than in step 1 and that hadn't really been the plan back then. Since the moments are the length they are now, will we expect roughly the same length for step 3 going forward, or will the upcoming moments following step 2 be "trimmed back" to adhere to the release timeline that has been set for next year? 2. I assume we won't expect the partial voice acting for step 2 to be released with the early release in Nov. due to the amount of names needed to be recorded along with the lines that will be needed for the characters (especially with two additional characters added to the "cast"), but will the step 1 voice acting be included or will it be held off until the step 2 can be added to the early access portion of the release to keep everything "together"? Thank you so much for taking the time to do these Q&A's, I always enjoy reading the transcripts every month (thank you kindly for them, David!) and I am happily waiting for this month's just like always. <3

Hello Gb and the whole team! Thank you David for the transcripts they have helped me a lot. My question is how would Qiu and Tamarack react if they found out you were mad at them? Or if they did something that hurt you?

Hello GB and the talented staff of GB patch! First month patreon here, really love the games <3 So my question is: if you could magically make any character from Now and Forever a main romance option and have it perfectly fit with alteready existing code, assets, script ecc... Who would that be?? Thank you and keep up the good work!!

Howdy!! Super happy to have my first month as a patron and accessing a lotta sneak peeks and other new content. 1. What type of -dere would you best describe the 5 LIs from the 2 OL games as. Like Tsundere or Deredere or Kuudere as examples 2. I don't know if this was ever answered or not but would Vianca be befriendable in Step 2 to an MC who identified as a girl in Step 1 but came out as a boy or non-binary or etc? 3. What kind of parent would Opal be to an MC who was really shy and clingy with her in step 1 but always followed the rules but as they grew more confident and outgoing after settling in Golden Grove, became more rowdy and being willing to break the rules not primarily out of disrespect for authority but having the bravery to try new things and explore now? Thank you so much for your time and consideration, have a great rest of your day!

Hello from Australia! This is my first time asking questions, but I love reading the transcripts and I'm glad to hear that David's doing better. I hope you're all doing very well! My first question is in the spirit of Valentine's Day; we know this for the OLBA love interests, but what are Qiu and Tamarack's love languages? My second question is about OLBA, specifically Pam and Lani! In Step 3 (at eighteen years old) you can choose to have been dating Cove 'long-term' or 'recently', but since you can't start dating in Step 2 (at thirteen years old) I was wondering at what age moms would have let MC and Cove start officially dating, if you had a specific age in mind. (I did also ask this on the Tumblr, but I think I missed the asks window, so I apologise if you've seen this twice!) My third question is building off the previous QnA: you mentioned wanting to give Tamarack an interesting hair quality because Cove had his weird wavy eyebrows, and when you meet Qiu you can notice that their hair is 'pointy'. Does Qiu have a widow's peak and was that their 'interesting quality', or did they maybe not have one planned? My fourth and final question is also going off the previous QnA: without needing detail, which of the love interests would survive the apocalypse? It's been established that Baxter wouldn't, but what about Cove, Derek, Qiu and Tamarack? Thank you for taking the time to answer everyone's questions! Have a great day and rest up!

Hi GB and crew! This is my first Q&A, and first full month as a patron! I’m loving it here. <3 Alright, so: 1. If you are crushes with Tam in step 2, has she ever thought of confessing? Or does her self consciousness and anxiety prevent her from even considering the possibility? 2. I was curious if there will be any facial hair options for the mc dolls in step 3 (or more likely) step 4? But I assume it might be difficult to implement given the different jaw types. 3. In step 3, are there going to be any in-moment opportunities to confess to the leads? I think you might’ve said somewhere that there will only be confessions in between steps, but I’m not sure if I’m misremembering. That’s all i could come up with right now, but I’ll have 4 questions ready for next month >:) Thank you and the team for all the hard work you’re doing! The games mean a lot to me and many others. Just make sure you guys are also taking care of yourselves! ❤️‍🩹

hi gb team!! feel free to skip any questions!! I was wondering what Renee would like to pursue, is she interested in teaching like her parents or is she interested in something else? What are some hobbies she has that’s she’s passionate in all the steps (do any of them change as she grow?) Who does she first come out to and how did she do it? Also does she have any favorite foods? I love her so much , she’s a beautiful character!! ❤️‍🩹 thank you!! have a great day!! :3

How does Qiu feel about doctor's visits as they get older? I could see them being very uncomfortable around Step 2.

Hello GB patch i hope you are doing well and David too ♡ I just wanted to ask what would OLNF characters reactions would be if a rule following MC randomly just missed school and ran away from home for a day, assuming they were close with MC - throwback to when Cove did the same thing in Step one of OLBA. Mainly for Opal, Tammy and Qiu I just want to see the difference in what each character would do and their reactions! Thank you for reading

Hello! I had a question about Cove’s interests during his teenage years. Would Cove be likely to play any sports that are not ocean-related (for example, sports other than surfing or beach volleyball such as basketball, baseball, soccer…)? (Because my MC is set to be a soccer player hehe :3) If so, would he ever participate competitively, such as joining a school team during the period between Step 2 and Step 3 (middle school to high school)? Thank you so much for your time, have a great day!

Hi! I have fallen in love with OL and its various characters. With the amount of characters they are extremely well written! How are you able to get into the mindset of each one without blurring their personalities?

Hello, Just a random two questions: Given how the default name for MC in OLBA was Jamie from Harvest Moon, what was the inspiration for Franky? Is that a specific reference to anything? It's been a while since I played, but how far approximately is Prism Vista City from Sunset Bird?

Hello!! Thank you and the team for all your hard work and I'm glad David is feeling better now! Here are my questions: 1. Just asking out of curiosity and with no expectations of what you make in the future, but do you have another genre of game that you've ever been interested in developing? For example, a game with combat or exploration, like an rpg? 2. Do you have a particular program or method you use to keep track of all the different flags in the games? 3. Last Q&A, I think you mentioned Cove will probably have similar interests even if he grew up in Golden Grove. What kinds of activities do you think he'd do instead since a beach isn't as accessible? Thank you!

Hello Gb team I hope youre all staying warm and cozy this winter! I had a question about one of the crush options during the opening of step 2 where we can say we arent "friends" but the leads are still special. Is that meant to imply liking each other without being close or something else? We know Qiu and Baxter like ballet and waltzing respectively, but is there other types of dances that they enjoy? would they have shown each other their own style as kids? How would the ol1 Lis react to the mc becoming pregnant unplanned/early into the relationship? I did marching band when I was in highschool and Im glad it's included as one of the extra curriculars we can choose since I'd say it was one of the best things I had chosen to do. I was a little curious why colour Guard (the flags and rifle spinning) wasn't included, was it that you thought the school was too small or another reason? Thank you for all the hard work you all do and dont forget to take breaks when you need to! ^+^

Will we have more moments were it's MC focused. Qiu and tamarack are great, but it feels very, one-sided other than that one moment with opal and the lins, will there be more where it's us?

I first want to say that both Our Life 1 & 2 have totally inspired me to want to write more. They are beautiful games and I cannot wait for Our Life Now and Forever to fully get here! I hope you are all enjoying working on these games! Question 1: In Our Life 1, did you know from the beginning that you wanted Cove to be neurodivergent or was it something that started to fall into place as the game continued to develop? Question 2: (falls into 2 parts) In Our Life: Now and Forever will there be moment/moments where the MC can communicate with Qiu and or Tamarack about Gender Discomfort/Dysphoria or wanting to be Transgender (mtf or ftm)? Part 2 of this question is behind the scenes of the change between Step 1 to Step 2 how did Qiu come out to MC and their parents? Was it something that they just bluntly talked about or did they need a lot of time and understanding to bring it up? Thank you for taking time to answer the questions! I hope you are all doing very well!

In the poly route, will qiu and tam ever develop any feelings for each other, or is it simply shared mutual love of the Mc?

Hello! Hope David is all better now. My question is: Our parents (MC & Love interest) in OLNF will have different reactions to us starting a relationship depending in the level of intimacy we had with the Love interest before? Like, if you’re already crushes by step 2, the parents will be less surprised that you end up together with them than they would if you get to be crushes a lot later?

so I'm pretty dense when it comes to flirting and i noticed in the step 2 prologue that your character can tell Yusuf that he cant flirt with opal because she is working late, does this mean its common for him to flirt with her and will we potentially get a romance between Yusuf and Opal? sorry if you've answered this question in the past

My question is... by step 2, does Ren actually see the MC as an actual friend, or just the neighbor kid that's friends with Qiu? We get confirmation that the two are still friends in step 2, though a little further apart, but we never really get to see Ren being close to or becoming actual friends with the MC by the end of Step 1. Just curious how Ren will see the MC by step 2, since we only have a tiny snippet of an interaction so far

I'm very, very curious to properly meet Tamarack's parents.... I've been wondering, Tamarack mentions in Step 1 that she and her mom have the same hair color, but her mom dyes it to be different. I seem to recall that Dr. Baumann does so to be perceived as more "serious". Question 1: Kid Tamarack thinks of it as a cool secret she knows, but as she gets older, would it bother her? Tam is so happy when she and the MC are the same, yet her unique, sparkly hair is something her mother finds "flawed" enough to deliberately change (at least for herself) with the side effect of visibly distancing herself from her daughter. Question 2/3: Why *does* Dr. Baumann dye her hair to be perceived as more "serious"? How long has she been dying her hair? Bonus question 4 I just realized this moment: Is this perhaps the origin of why Tamarack is so focused on being "matchy" and "the same" with people she likes? My impression is that she believes on some level that the more she matches, the less risk there is of abandonment.

Hello I would like to ask if you have any other games in mind like the wonderful game OLNF and so on, another question is What made you want to create OLNF and how did you come up with it

Hi, Do you plan on making an OL3? If so, do you plan on having more cameos from your other games? Also, did Cove have any friends before he moved to Sunset Bird?

Hi! This is my second time asking questions, so again sorry if they have already been answered 1 Feel free to skip this one if it doesn't follow guideline 3, but I had a question regarding the transition between step one and two. During the transition if you where playing a trans character that hadn't yet come out to anyone but Opal, you are given the option to have either come out in-between steps or have yet to come out at all. I was wondering if it was planned to have an option to have come out to your close friends but not everyone else (Namely Quin and Tamarack). Especially given Quins situation I think it would make sense for the MC to still be afraid to come out at large but comfortable enough to come out to those close the them. (Again really sorry if this broke the guideline) 2. Ok so I just thought of this one when playing the first Our Life game. When we see Baxter in the wedding DLC he is wearing a PURPLE shirt This is the only time thus far we have seen him in a colored shirt (outside of the accidental tan lol). So my question is, has his personal color diversity expanded past black and white, oooor was this also a sleepy Baxter accident XD Anyway thats about all that can come to mind for now haha. I hope you and everyone on the team have been doing well!!! Can't wait to see more as it comes :)

Hello, I have a genuine question about : how do you write characters, if that's okay ? Like, Baxter is the video game character that touch me the most because while playing his path, I just saw a freakin' mirror (aaah). And it made me realise how human and realist Our Life characters are painted like. Their strong points, their flaws, their paradoxalities... It is beautiful and so well written. Do you take inspiration in real life experiences? Do you study psychological traits? I am very curious because well, how beautifully your characters are done and as a writer, it is inspiring! I apologize in advance if it's too personal or long to answer to.

1. In broad strokes, what do you imagine Serenity and Vianca's families are like? 2. If Step 2 OL2 took place today, what social media platforms do you imagine the cast would use? Specifically Tamarack, Qiu, and Ren (and Serenity and Vianca if that's not too many). Would they be allowed to have accounts, and if so what kinds of platforms would they gravitate towards? 3. What led you to decide to leave Shiloh as such an enigma? Just curious since it seems you have a fairly solid grasp on the futures of the other jerks, but with any questions about Shiloh you know as little as we do lol 4. This is a personal question so feel free not to answer, but if I'm not mistaken Shawna and David are both siblings of yours, right? What is it like working with your siblings? Do you have other siblings you're not working with, and how is it writing so many of your characters as only children considering you're not one yourself?

Word up. Had a few questions, just don't have them all at once, of course. A couple that I did have to do with voice acting: 1 - Will there be voice acting in steps one and two when they're fully release? 2 - I saw in the road map that there were also going to be voiced nicknames. I was under the impression the nicknames wouldn't be voiced, has that changed? Thanks for listening.

I hope you and David are doing well, thank you for all the hard work! I have three questions for you today, normally I only ask one but I suppose I'm more curious this month haha! 1) What sort of scents would Tamarack and Qiu enjoy on themselves? Like shampoo, body wash, body spray, etc, not necessarily candles they'd enjoy, but instead how they'd want to smell day to day. I think you can learn a lot about a character/person based on the way they smell! 2) What specific songs or bands do you think Qiu would listen to or be considered a favorite? You can include modern day songs or bands even though they wouldn't have existed in the OL2 time line yet, I'm just curious about what sort of music they'd listen to! (I predict there's definitely some secret emo bangers included lol). 3) What sort of TV shows would Tammy and Qiu watch if they found themselves sat in front of the television with nothing better to do? Thank you for taking the time to answer all my questions GB!!

Hello GB and David!! Hope you're having a great day! Heres my question: If they were Friends in step two Would Ren be willing to Go skating with the MC? Like If the MC loves skating and maybe has been skating since step one or Something. It would be so cute If they could show each Other some cool Skateboard tricks!! Not that i actually expect a scene Like that in the Game, this was Just a fun thought i had.

in the future, will there be? more content or like dlc ?for Our Life: Beginnings & Always?

Hello, hello! I have a question for Valentine’s Day! Step 4 Cove, Derek, and Baxter are offered a chocolate out of a random assortment with no guide. What would they be happiest to end up with, and what would they be most displeased with? This also extends to you and David!

Ok, If the characters from the Our Life games were foods, what foods would they be hahhaa would qiu possibly be a qiussant???

What kind of careers will the player be able to pursue in Steps 3 and 4?

Hello GB and David, thank you for the Q&A sessions as always! Here are my questions: 1.) If Derek and MC has a child, what kind of uncles would Nicolas and Jorge be? Would they be the type to spoil the child and babysit them? 2.) Would Derek’s parents spoil their first grandchild? I mean, it would make sense if it was Derek and MC’s, but yes— would they? 3.) Let’s say MC has a very busy job like being a Doctor or Lawyer. Would Cove be mad at MC if they couldn’t attend their child’s school activities or shows consecutively? Like, I know he gets mad when the MC doesn’t really make time and such from previous Q&A’s, so does it also apply when they have children already? 4.) Let’s say MC is a notorious terrible cook. Would Cove be the person to endure MC’s food where he just pretends he likes it to spare MC’s feelings, or will he tell us it’s bad outright, bluntly, or gently? That’s all, thank you so much and I hope this wasn’t too hard to answer. Have a nice day! :D