Dev Update! 1/8/24
Hey, friends! We've got one week of 2024 in the books, and I hope yours is off to a great start! Me? I'm fighting off a cold or something, which comes with all the usual fun stuff: stuffy nose, sick stomach, headaches, exhaustion.. Not fun! I don't recommend it.
But, you know what is fun? Working on the new update! With plenty of script currently written, I've been able to jump into rendering with both feet. Well, maybe one foot, until I'm back to 100%.
As you can see above, the next update will have us rejoining our irascible hero right where we last saw him -- neck deep in trouble, and dealing with some shady characters. I love it! I honestly don't think Guy's looked cooler than he does here, in his dumb shirt, with a black eye, and full of ire. I'm reminded of the Hawaiian Dick comics.
If it's not super apparent from my storytelling, I'm not a fan of the hyper-capable protagonist that's so common in the AVN space. When your hero's a brilliant hacker, a multi-discipline blackbelt, wealthy beyond reason, and also the secret descendant of a line of demi-gods.. Well, there's not much for me to get invested in. Just give him an "I Win!" button and be done with it, you know?
This is only amplified by the nature of Ren'py-based AVNs, where every fatal decision can be undone by rolling back to an earlier save file, or menu choice. So, the question becomes: how do you create stakes? How do you make things mean something, if every choice is easily undone?
I feel like a lot of AVNs take the path of making what's essentially a 'cozy' story. The hero is invincible, and infallible. Every girl wants him, and won't mind sharing him. Every conflict is relatively low-stakes, and every enemy is cartoonishly over-the-top evil (and stupid) to make sure we know who to root for at all times. Oh, and every choice is really just the choice to view a scene, or not. This is all compounded by making the hero a blank slate, which we can easily impress ourselves on.
When I think about Friends Indeed, I try not to think about it like a traditional AVN, with a blank-slate hero who can just choose to sidestep any scenes they don't want to see. Instead, I try to frame it more like a traditional videogame story. Yes, you drive the hero, and you get to make choices that shape and affect the narrative, but ultimately you're constrained by the story being told. The original Baldur's Gate game gave you a lot of freedom to roam and do new things, but at the end of the day, you still gotta go fight Sarevok.
So, bear that in mind as we move deeper into our story, and we find Guy coming up against more dramatic, situations that don't come with easy answers. People tend to accuse me of railroading in these situations, but if I push you down a path, it's only because that path is necessary for the story. I'll always try to give you choices as to how you walk that path, though.
Well, that's been Neon's Running a Fever and Rambling for you, today! If you haven't, be sure to check out the most recent Wanton Weekends post, which reveals a bit of backstory for the recently-introduced Isabella!
As always, take care of yourselves, and thank you for your support!
Comments (14)
Upgrade a pregnancy route we need bdsm pregnancy
I don’t want to give too much away, but I’d look for some pregnancy content closer to the end of the game. 😉
there is a minor glitch in the game when nicki or gabby talk and their little picture shows up in the bottom left hand corner of the screen they cover up some of the wordsso we have to guess at what they are saying
Hm! I’ll take a look at that, I hadn’t noticed it. I’ll see about editing their images to move them to the left a bit, where there won’t be as much risk of overlap.
Just played the last release. I have to say it: Nicky is the best character I've ever found in this kind of games! Not only the sexual part, but the character as a whole. This is currently my favourite game of this genre. The story is compelling, MC is a relatable guy, the girls are all fascinating in their own way (especially Nicky). Fantastic job!
Thanks so much! She remains near and dear to my heart, and one of the funnest characters to write the romance options for. 😊
Thats cool that you don't want to make him capable on his own, but you also refuse to go the obvious bodyguard(s)/weapons route and him keep getting his ass handed to him, or keep getting in situations that make him seem powerless will only exacerbate the stupidity in not going for the obvious solution to those situations, especially for someone with near endless pockets. Plus, I really, really, really want to punch that blonde schmuck. Don't deny me that.
Well, in all fairness, the events of the past few chapters have taken place across the span of a few days. So really, it only took about two days and two dangerous incidents for him to say, “Yeah, this isn’t working, I should really solve this problem.”
The best part about your game is the plot for me , you create a strong story in which the players can connect with the characters and enjoy the game besides the Sex thing !!!Some may not like that but it's ok, Personally i have connected with the story and so far i enjoyed it ,wish in the future some of the bad characters get what the deserve ...
All aboard the Neon Ghost Train! Choo-Choo!! 🚂🛤 Loved the rant lol. I agree and it also happens to match up very closely with how I generally feel about the Isekai genre of anime
Baldurs Gate spoilers!!!!!!!
;) ....
Personally I love what You're doing with the game and if I wasn't down financially, I'd be supporting that way as well; Also, you just grew several levels in my mind with your old school Baldur's Gate reference :-D
I looooove the RPGs that came out in that time period. I was blown away by Baldur's Gate, but if I'm being honest, Nox and Arcanum were two of my favorites. The former was basically Baldur's Gate by way of Monty Python, and the latter is still like.. One of only three good steampunk games.