Weekly #172
We're on a countdown of sorts to the July 14th release of Life Changes for Keeley. Last week we had a nice shot of one of the two protagonists, and I enjoyed frap's caption:
"Like I said, you picked the wrong sister."
Showing knowledge of my games is a quick way to my heart. That and chocolate. (-:
I had a couple of goals while writing LCfK. This is the female protagonist game I've wanted to write for a long time, but I know that those are a hard sell for the typical audience of this genre. So, my overriding design principle was "variety." I took care to write a game where you could play as a male or a female, and the story made sense. Don't want to play as a woman? No problem. You can play the James paths. Want a typically emotional Tlaero story about failure and redemption? Yes, there's a path for that. Want an atypical Tlaero story where you can repeatedly cheat on your wife and possibly even get away with it? There are paths for that too. Want an old-school Tlaero dating sim? There are also paths for that, (though you'll have to play as Claryce in those paths).
I also focused on the variety in the sex scenes. There are a large number of them in the game, but I varied the people and the situations and the writing styles. Some are descriptive, while others are dialog and moan heavy. And there's even one that's written as poetry. Mechanically, they run the gamut of present, flashback, and framed narrative. MF, MFF, MMFF, FF, and FFF. There are various people's fantasies, including a long-running one of my own.
My first real game was the one where we met Keeley, and this game has a lot of nostalgia for those early games from a decade ago. There is also a reflection of my motivations for getting into this genre in the first place. Back then I wanted to show people an alternative to the prevailing narrative of, "Meet a girl, get her drunk, and you can have sex with her." This time I wanted to show an alternative to present "lesbian" games where the MC is a woman who acts almost entirely like a man, as well as the games where the MC is either a man or a woman, and there's little or no change in the story. I recognize that my influence on the genre has waned and that so many games and developers have far surpassed me in popularity. Frankly, I don't really expect this to cause much of a blip on F95. But I stayed true to myself, and I believe that a number of you will enjoy it. If so, that will be success in my book.
So, this week, we have an image of Keeley from the game. She starts the game in a bad place, but there are many paths to happiness for her. Which one you take will be up to you. I felt that this image nicely captures her uncertainty but hope for the future.
What do you think? Is the future uncertain or hopeful?
Tell me in captions.
Tlaero
Comments (15)
"My name is Keeley. Just few days ago I had it all - loving husband, great career, nice house... I was living a dream. This is a story of how my life got turned upside down."
Awesome! Best of luck on this project. Looking forward to playing it!
I really miss the HTML days. Those were actual "games". RenPy increases the replayability but I miss finding those hotspots in the picture. Nowadays some developers have definitely surpassed Mortze in the renders, but there is no story at all in the games. That is the reason Tora Productions will always be my favorite. F95 is a place for the taboo lovers honestly. They didn't get the chance to see the origins of adult games. Tlaero, Mortze, Phreakyy, Wolfshadowe, Leonizer - these are the legends, the founders of the empire.
I really miss those hotspots too! Made you really spend time with the pictures and were always such a rush when you uncovered one.
Does the mmff tag mean there will be swinging? i would understand if u dont asnwer because of spoilers
The best answer I can give to that is, "It's complicated." :-) --Tlaero
Looking forward to this: there are too many games out there now where the fetish is the game, and there is not much creativity beyond finding basic and in some cases really irritating ways to get around Patreon's rules on taboo content.
I'm sure those of you who are longtime fans of Tlaero, or at least are familiar with Keeleyverse, are going to enjoy this game soo much. There's romance, there's caring, there's sex (lots of it, actually!) and there are a bunch of references and easter eggs that will bring you a big smile on your face. And Mortze's take on some classic supporting characters is just awesome... no to mention the new ones he has created for this game. Trust me, LCfK is a keeper
You guys have created some of the best visual novels over the years. You deserve way more Patreon.
I am very excited for this game. To have talero wonderful story telling with mortze beautiful images in a game with choices like and multiple story arca like saving Chloe. The replay value will be amazing. I am very much looking forward to the variety and being able to decide which story arc is my favorite.
Can't wait. Just cannot wait. I gotta say: Mortze's take on Keeley is SO gorgeous. I know the original games with Phreaky's artwork look a bit dated (by today's standards – I think they hold up as products of the time in which they were created), but I still think his Keisha is amazing. As a result, I remember being uncertain about how it was going to work when you guys decided to revive the characters for what became “Coming to Grips with Christine”… and then I saw Mortze’s Keeley and Sandy. The prospect of seeing Keeley truly “back in action”, so to speak, is incredibly exciting. And regardless of its impact among the “general populace”, I know if you guys were both invested in its creation, the game is gonna kick ass.
"Hmm. I remember when this shopping mall had everything: A video store, a movie theater, a bar AND a sex shop. Well, times change, I guess."
I think you are selling yourself pretty short, Tlaero. You have written some of the best erotic games out there. You even managed to create your own 'universe', multiple actually, with many characters, varied stories and large, overarching plot. Pretty solid achievement. And I'm sure than many creators of today once started as players of your games. So sure, field might be wider and competition stronger, but you still belong to elite. Even if you might not think so.
Very much looking forward to this. I think Virtual Date with Keeley was actually one of, if not the first "adult game" i ever played. Nice to see her story come full circle.
Between Ariane and Keeley, my mind was changed on adult games. Shark's were interesting, but very shallow, and most others at the time seemed like barely consensual type games. I am greatly looking forward to this (and any Tlaero) upcoming game. X