Why you won't see a BDSM game from me
(Tlaero here.)
If you've played my games, you know that I'm pretty niche in an already niche market. I do erotic games, but I don't do games about cheating on your wife, or swingers, or incest, or rape, etc. I like to tell stories about people who get into relationships and have consensual, dare I say, loving sex. I'm sure this has an adverse impact on the number of patrons we get here.
So, you probably think you know why I don't do BDSM games. You're also probably wrong... It's completely possible for there to be loving, consensual, long term couples who are in to BDSM. I don't have any moral or ethical qualms about telling stories about those couples. No, the problem isn't BDSM.
The "problem" is Sunstone.
Sunstone is a series of graphic novels (comic books) by an incredible artist named Stjepan Šejić. You may have seen him do artwork for mainstream comics like Witchblade and Aphrodite IX. His art style is extremely distinctive, recognizable, and awesome. And Sunstone proves that he's as talented a writer as he is an artist.
I'm unlikely to write a BDSM story, because I couldn't possibly do one as good as Sunstone. Seriously.
This is an erotic, graphical story with plenty of nudity and sex, that treats BDSM in an honest and adult (as in, "not childish") way. The story is gripping. The characters are more than memorable. The storytelling techniques are masterful. And the art is what you'd expect from an expert at the top of his game.
The fifth volume came out in January, and I devoured it. It's 263 pages, and I would have read it all in one sitting if poor planning on my part hadn't resulted in my Surface running out of battery power. So I read it in two sittings...
I write the kinds of erotic stories that I want to read. If you're a patron here, you probably like the same kinds of stories I do. Do yourself a favor and at least check out the first volume.
http://www.comixology.com/Sunstone/comics-series/36148 or wherever you get your comics.
When you come up for air, having binge-read all five volumes, will you be praising or cursing my name for suggesting it? Let me know...
Tlaero
Comments (4)
Apparently you and Mortze think a lot about how to gain and keep patrons. I don't think it's because you don't cater to certain fetishes. I myself don't like pain and humiliation in sex practises, but i like the consensual theme in your stories. What you should take a look at is how people can find you and get interested in your work. I tried to search for you guys on the patreon page, but i couldn`t! So what i think you can do is refer to creators that so similar stuff as you and have them refer to you. With a link! Beacause the search function on patreon just doesn`t work. I`m pretty sure there`s a bunch of grown-ups out there who appreciate stories of couples who madly fall in love and have great sex, as opposed to the insulting stuff that you normally get, where women are ready to drop their clothes for the next male who rings at their door bell. That doesn't do anything for me because my brain tells me that's not how the world works. But i`m going to check out Sunstone.
Based on what I've seen so far from you I don't buy that you wouldn't be able to write something on par to Sunstone. I for one usually don't like stories with a supernatural touch that much, mildly spoken, but I do find your stories engaging and more than good enough to overlook these slight irritations. :-) So I do think you'd be more than able to write a good BDSM story. Not that I say you should, because if you *think* you can't, then you'll probably just block yourself. Sunstone is very good, btw, but it doesn't do anything for me.
Mortze speaking. Interesting post and very interesting link for the comics. I like that style of art and I'll look into it! Gotta get inspired! If I may put my 2 cents, I don't think I'll ever do BDSM for different reasons. A) I don't feel atracted to it. I don't feel aroused by it. And I really want to render things I feel somehow conected to, and arousment is part of the equation. B) Probably most important, I don't know anything on the subject. Any BDSM I'd render or write would be as cliché as 50 shades of Grey, and very far from the actual subject. Would I ever do something with vampires – and I most certainly will one day, be sur of that – I'd rather approach Bram Stoker or Anne Rice versions and not Twillight or True Blood.
Stjepan Šejić is awesome, haven't been disappointed with any of his work so far.