VN Ren'Py Being a DIK [v0.10.1] [DrPinkCake]

[The Glorious LIME]

My vote doesn't matter because as the images say Riona Is Purrfect .

That's so evil, I love it

I've been talking to Dalli too much, I can't tell when retarded opinions are serious or not anymore.

After reading a lot of Dalli's posts and realizing you're playing 2 different games

Maya is indeed an awkward taste

Just a COVID symptom

first time playing holy shet i fking love the intro 20gb worth it!

Enjoy it, it's an amazing and fun game

Especially when it comes to food...


View attachment 2359836

Love it, a real monster to be slayed by the Quinn/Geralt avatars I made

All this talk of how many students The Burker had sex with...

For me, it doesn't matter if it's one or one hundred. The way in which he managed to land his lays says it all. Yeah, it might have been fun for some that posted for a while here that Stephen was a good guy, a homie, a victim of circumstance, a well-meaning simpleton that might have just slipped up a time or three. I'm sure almost all of it was simply to get a rise out of the masses, but some of it couldn't explicitly be dismissed.

Until now. Personally, I'm glad Episode 9 cleared it up. He's a weasely little douche for many reasons, and not just the one below.

If Stephen could attain an affinity:

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Agree with pretty much everything you said. But also, since we are past the halfway point, defining things now makes sense.
Since we are bound to have one big dramatic moment, re-affirming the relationship, resolving plot threads and an epilogue.
That's how usually similar stories go.

 

[Geralt From Rivia]

May I ask, what scammer incident?
Just give me a TLDR, it will be enough. I'm just curious.

Ok, history lesson

DPC sells his games only on Patreon, GOG and Steam.
Last fall, someone discovered that DPC's games were being sold on itch.io, an online indie games store. The scammer used the name DrpinkcakeGames to sell DPC's games on this resource on his behalf.
Due to this incident, DPC was in a frenzy for a week and could not work until the fan base massively filed complaints about fraud and the channel was deleted a few hours later as it became known.

 

[HumperDoo]

Oh well, together we had the pictures and the sauce

looks like the dinner menu at the Pork Ur Own Salad Bar lol

 

[Geralt From Rivia]

Don't we all agree though with point 5, 6 and 7?!

5. It's very sad, but nothing we can do about this.
6. I'm not mini-games hater. Some of them good, some ok, some terrible. Still, a have Steam achievements for all of them.
7. Partially true. Episode 9 needs more dynamism in the change of scenery.

 

[Deleted member 5767739]

Anyone have any retarded pet-theories that they want to be true?

I'll go first; I want Tommy to be MC's half brother, as it would be hilarious since MC is better than Tommy at everything, and also explain Neil's obsession with condoms.

 

[qdfe]

Rematch of the slap
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Prez vs Rookie
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Quinn
Camila

 

[JETracktor]

Anyone have any retarded pet-theories that they want to be true?

I'll go first; I want Tommy to be MC's half brother, as it would be hilarious since MC is better than Tommy at everything, and also explain Neil's obsession with condoms.

I want all mysteries explained already so I can delete my 5 gb folder of screenshots from BaDIK.

 

[Deleted member 4654353]

So the last round of the tournament is over. But for now I'm not gonna declare the results yet. I said I had a plan for the tampering election fraud justice for the slap incident, and I'm working on it. In the meanwhile vote for these matches...or don't and I just make Rio the champion

Rematch of the slap
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Prez vs Rookie
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Quinn
Sage

 

[SomboSteel]

So the last round of the tournament is over. But for now I'm not gonna declare the results yet. I said I had a plan for the tampering election fraud justice for the slap incident, and I'm working on it. In the meanwhile vote for these matches...or don't and I just make Rio the champion

Rematch of the slap
View attachment 2358816

Prez vs Rookie
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Quinn
Sage

i quoted you this time

 

[c.mork]

Quinn

 

[DarkFernando]

So it turns out that Quinn fans are aliens from Mars?

"No one can see them but they still there watching".

 

[JavCh]

So the last round of the tournament is over. But for now I'm not gonna declare the results yet. I said I had a plan for the tampering election fraud justice for the slap incident, and I'm working on it. In the meanwhile vote for these matches...or don't and I just make Rio the champion

Rematch of the slap
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Prez vs Rookie
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Ok,

Riona: she's one of the cutest characters in the game and Quinn is precisely the one that's harming her. Quinn is an interesting character and necessary one, but I couldn't choose her except if the duel was just based on relevance to the story.

Sage: though Camila is a nice girl I really don't think she's better than Sage in any level. Sage is better as a character, she's more interesting as a person, she's hotter both in terms of looks and behaviour... Camila is nice, but overall she's one of the sidest girls.

 

[KАRАMBA]

View attachment 2360040

So, what about result ?

 

[Jumbi]

I went ahead and learned how to decompile the game files and answered my own question.

Spoiler: Josy & Maya "How mamy girls have you been with?"

You don't have permission to view the spoiler content. Log in or register now.

In short, you can't do anything with anyone that constitutes a lewd scene in the gallery and still obtain the +3 Relationship points. Everything short of obtaining a lewd scene should theoretically be safe. Two things that do stand out to me here. 1) Jill is not listed there, so dating her to the fullest should theoretically be safe. 2) I do not see the Quinn CUM-petition scene listed, so that should also theoretically be safe. I said theoretically on three accounts, as I have not tested this in-game and won't be held responsible if after an entire playthrough these statements end up being false.

As I recall, If you fuck Quinn at the Cum-petition, it also counts. Might be these lines?

if ep2_fuckHOT or ep5_hot_lewd or ep6_sarah_lewd or ep8_sarah_lewd:
$ tmpInt += 1

 

[ffive]

As I recall, If you fuck Quinn at the Cum-petition, it also counts. Might be these lines?

if ep2_fuckHOT or ep5_hot_lewd or ep6_sarah_lewd or ep8_sarah_lewd:
$ tmpInt += 1

The lines you quote check whether the MC got lewd with Sarah at any point.

For Quinn the checks go:

                            if ep3_fuckedRionaQuinn or ep4_quinn_lewd or ep1_lewd_camila_quinn or ep6_quinn_lewd:
                                $ tmpInt += 1

The CUMpetition indeed doesn't seem to be included in the lewd activities count. Ep.9 checks for it at only one point, to provide a minor text line variation.

 

[c.mork]

So, what about result ?
View attachment 2360076

I'm still tampering.

 

[Jumbi]

The lines you quote check whether the MC got lewd with Sarah at any point.

For Quinn the checks go:

                            if ep3_fuckedRionaQuinn or ep4_quinn_lewd or ep1_lewd_camila_quinn or ep6_quinn_lewd:
                                $ tmpInt += 1

The CUMpetition indeed doesn't seem to be included in the lewd activities count. Ep.9 checks for it at only one point, to provide a minor text line variation.

Yeah, you are totally right. I had missed that the names of the girls affected were mentioned.

 

[mpa71]

Q&A Session - 2023 - Part 2/2

It's time for the final part of this year's Q&A. In this part, I will answer your questions about game development. Enjoy!

Can we expect future episode development to be as long as ep9 or longer? There has been a trend of development time (and episode size) growing as more and more were released.
You can expect the development of each episode to be as long as it needs to be. How long, I can't say. It varies, but longer development time goes hand in hand with more content, and I'm not looking to make short episodes or quick releases. You get the best indication of how long a development cycle will be from reading my weekly Status updates.

I'm trying to limit myself, but my creativity often doesn't care about those boundaries. And I would hate it if I skipped out on a good idea for content to meet a fictional deadline. I'm not bothered by the long development times; I treasure them. They allow me to do big things. I know how hard I work and that the game will be completed eventually. My main goal is to make Being a DIK as good as possible.

You have created some substantial mini-games in Season 2 and initially for Season 3. Where do you get inspiration to come up with these ideas?
I'd say the inspiration comes from board games, mostly. And when I create a new mini-game, I always break it down into core mechanics during the initial design. For an upcoming Season 3 mini-game, I asked myself: "What type of game mechanics haven't I used in a mini-game yet?" And the first answer I came up with was "deduction". 48 hours later, the new math mini-game was completed.

I've gotten efficient at creating these mini-games. It's easy for me to go from concept to finished product fast in all areas of its development. Art, front-end, and back-end code for the mini-games come naturally to me. It's the ambition of the mini-game that determines how much time is needed for its development. The new version of Brawler took me about 10 days, from nothing to finished.

Along these lines, I think you mentioned that to test the Mansion Mini Game, you built a stand-alone version to be able to play out scenarios. Any chance of releasing stand-alone mini-games?
That's true. I make stand-alone versions of all the mini-games before implementing them in Being a DIK. Keeping a modular approach is the best way to do it. When stand-alone, the games compile faster, they are easier to test and debug, and nothing from the code of Being a DIK would ruin the mini-game, e.g., variables sharing names and other conflicts. I can also hand my wife a tablet with the mini-game and ask her to test it. Or I can send the mini-game to a friend to test.

I won't release stand-alone versions of the mini-games, though. That would ruin the base-game experience in some areas, especially with the bigger mini-games like the mansion management and party planner.

What scenes are the most difficult to write for you? Comedy bits or the dramatic/sad ones? How so?
Comedy bits are the easy ones for me. I chalk it up to a lifetime of using humor as a self-defense mechanism and being an avid fan of standup comedy. I never struggled with writing jokes. If it makes me laugh, it will make someone else laugh, too - that's how I think when writing them. I bounce off the material of my wife and friends a lot. I have jokes I can't wait to tell lined up for future episodes.

The dramatic and sad bits are among my favorite ones to write. It's a form of therapy for me, processing raw emotions that can be hard to talk about in real life. I've always been in touch with my emotions. Putting myself into the character's shoes and letting it all out is rewarding and can feel comforting - I love it.

The hardest bits to write aren't of a certain type but rather the bits that I know I need but have no inspiration to write. For example, I need this scene and its result, but the words don't come naturally and feel forced. I need to go from point A to B to make this scene work, but the writing feels too pragmatic. That can completely kill my flow, and I must work on something else before returning to it. I often solve that by thinking of it at the start of a new day in the shower; the start of each day is when I get the best ideas.

Hey there. Could you describe your dev process?
This could get long and tedious, so I'll have to describe it briefly.

• Planning phase: Write the outline for the episode and box it in. Put all events in place and decide everything the episode will be about while leaving some wiggle room.
• Creation phase: Write story, code, and make animations and art. Everything happens at once, but I always ensure I utilize my render stations to full capacity to optimize time. Re-visit the planning phase a lot when needed.
• Polish phase: Play and polish the game. I test and polish as much as possible, including personal proofreading.
• Testing phase: Test the game with beta testers and a proofreader. Having fresh eyes on the episode helps tremendously. The importance of this phase cannot be underestimated. If you're a developer, don't leave this to your players. Aside from getting a polished update, it will reduce stress upon release.
• Release the episode. Let players enjoy what you create. Feel deflated and drained for a bit. Do community work and fix bugs. Then start all over.

Episodes feature more and longer animations, which certainly add a lot to the game. They also take up a lot of time and resources. Can you talk a bit about your process when planning and deciding what scenes need what animations and the extent to which time is a factor when considering what to include and what to leave out?
I usually start by determining which girls will get an extra long lewd scene (25+ animations) and which will get a shorter one (10-25 animations). Those are my ballpark numbers these days.

Mapping that out early gives me an indication of the workload. I think differently when it comes to SFW animations (non-lewd animations). I don't plan those ahead of time; it's more of a process when I'm working on a scene.

As a recent example, I thought it would be cool if Jamie pulled out his middle finger of the hat while instantly changing his expression from fake happy to mad. It wouldn't feel as good to have images instead of an animation, so it was an easy choice. Basically, cool things and motions that would be enhanced by animating them are turned into animations. But it's easy to go overboard with it, so it depends on how long the animation is and whether it adds value.

I enjoyed making the cutscene-like animations for episode 9. If you analyze those long animations, you can see how many different animations there are in one. When I made those animations, I wanted them to tell a story. They set up the scenes perfectly and show you what's happening, making the transition into the different ongoing stories in the episode more natural. I don't know how long it took to render them, but it was well over a month per animation using multiple render stations.

It's a lot of development time the animations eat up, but on the other hand, I'm constantly working manually on the episode, so it's not like the rendering time is wasted. It creates value alongside my manual work and makes me feel less stressed.

The biggest stress I experience during a development cycle is when the render queue is nearly empty. Longer and more animations bring immense value to the game and my well-being during the development cycle. That's why I see animations as a win-win.

Did the several hiccups during this development cycle (identity theft on itch, music issues) delay the release of Episode 9? Or were they insignificant?
My PCs were always rendering, but the hiccups sadly affected my productivity - I'm only human.

This development cycle was nightmarish for many reasons. On top of what you mentioned, I lost a sibling last year, and it was tough working through it - it still is. There will be more speedbumps on the road ahead, I'm sure. It's something that's out of my control, and I have to deal with them as they come. Everyone faces hardships in life; I'm sure most of you have had bad experiences during the last 5 years.

What's important is that my heart is set on completing the game. I will continue working on the game until it's finished, as long as I'm still breathing.

How many reiterations does an episode go through when you are posing animations/writing the story?
I can't even estimate this. When writing, I compile the game 100+ times per day and replay parts repeatedly. So, the writing/coding part has a high degree of reiterations, but the structure I write the first time will usually last throughout. The reiterations are mostly polishing the existing code/dialogue.

When it comes to art, I rarely remake it. Only if an animation is botched will I fix and re-render. I always ensure that it won't fail the second attempt if that's the case by paying extra attention to it.

I remake some static renders when I polish the game near the end of each development cycle. It happens that I'm not satisfied with the light or something else in a scene and choose to reload and alter those renders. I always save my raw files in any shape or form, knowing that I might need them for a reason I don't see when I create them the first time. To this day, I still reuse raw files I made in the first month of development.

Many tiny, seemingly insignificant details (Swyper conversations, telling a student to play or not play chess) have echoes later in the game. Were these events part of your story plan from the beginning or more targets of opportunity? How do you keep these details straight?
When I planted them, I had ideas of how they could come back to affect the story. I'm quite fond of those stumble-upon details the game offers, like how taking a picture with your phone can ruin someone's presentation. It's something I miss in other games, barring genre. I love when choices have consequences.

The seemingly insignificant choices and details make the immersion much better and are always appreciated by the player. Keeping the details straight is easy; I write lots of notes on everything in different documents and spreadsheets, and I make notes like "Ep 10 - Use this choice and variable from Ep 5 to make this happen", etc. Keeping it short, clean, and simple is how I manage it.

As a DM trying to world build I am curious about your process of creating NPC characters. It's very impressive how alive they all feel. I am mostly curious about Derek; he is just the best.
I believe the secret lies in respecting them and making them feel relatable, not just a background prop. I do that by letting them be flawed, having motivations, goals, and problems like those you encounter in real life.

The secret about Derek is likely that he has a foot-in-mouth persona, daring to say things normal people would filter out while still showing he has a heart. Characters pushing boundaries and those who dare to be different are the ones who will stand out the most, e.g., Derek, Quinn, and Tommy.

I don't know how that would translate into your DM work, but I'd say empathy is the note you should play to make an NPC memorable.

If you could ask one thing of your fans/followers, what would it be? As a community, is there anything we can do to help you in the development of your games aside from being patrons?
I see how the community helps each other a lot with installation, patches, and general questions about the game, the development, and different platforms. I am very thankful for that help! It gives me more time to focus on development.

I also see a lot of misinformation and made-up statements, claiming I said something I didn't. It helps when the community debunks that too.

Other than that, staying respectful and patient with me during development is the only thing I could ask for. The majority of you already do this.

Do you have an inspiration for your writing style?
It's hard to describe where it comes from. I've picked up inspiration from many sources, mainly TV shows and movies.
For books, I'd say it's a mix of the emotional writing from the likes of Nicholas Sparks and the page-turner style of Dan Brown.

Keeping sentences short, to the point, and interesting ensures that most will read the dialogue instead of skipping it. You'd think getting players to read a visual novel would be easy, but it isn't. The text needs to be interesting and catch the reader's attention.

How do you ultimately decide upon the framing of each shot? Do you abide by traditional filmic practices, or simply determine framing based upon your own stylistic decision-making?
It's mostly instinct. I've been into photography for many years, so framing the images comes naturally to me. I have improved with time by analyzing my work.

I've also studied some cinematography to improve how you can use the camera and when you should use certain kinds of framing to enhance emotions or details. It's a very interesting field of study, and I wish I had the time to read more about it. I've ruined movies for myself by working with game development. When I watch a movie today, I focus much more on lighting and framing than the actual movie.

Favorite instrument?
Acoustic guitar, electric guitar and drums, in that order.

Did you expect BaDIK to be this successful and to strike a chord with the audience as well as it does?
I knew that the story would hit close to home with players, but I didn't expect the game to reach this level of popularity with millions of players. It's intimidating to think about, so I don't focus much on it, but I'm well aware of the game's impact on players and the AVN industry. The first time I realized it would become successful was after I released it on Steam. That's when I saw the biggest jump in support, and it's been growing ever since.

I'm immensely grateful for the success, even though I still battle with handling it. Seeing people chat daily about something I created and how a community has come from it is very humbling. I'm sad I can't be a part of the community in the same way as players, but I do love reading reactions and theories. It often surprises me how attentive players can be; they get what I am going for based on a single sentence or picture. I think it's because they understand the characters very well by now and can relate to their problems and stories.

Having other people love what you do and want you to make more of it for a living is a wonderful feeling. It's not something I take for granted, and I work hard for it every day.

What has been the most rewarding experience while developing BaDik and AL?
Oh, boy. There are so many rewarding experiences I can't even pick one. I'll try to do it chronologically, but I will probably miss some along the way.

Completing Acting Lessons was very rewarding. Although my emotions at the time were a bit shaken up due to how some players received the final episodes, completing it verified that I could do this. It made me excited to continue my career as a game developer. Releasing Acting Lessons on Steam was like a dream come true; at that moment, it felt extra rewarding. I never thought I'd have a game on Steam; it was surreal.

After almost two years of working double to fund the development, it was amazing to quit my full-time job. There was finally a budget to include a salary for the first time. I still remember how I quit my old job and how scary it was to take the leap. Looking back at it today, I wish I could stand beside myself as I resigned. It would make me laugh, seeing how nervous I was, knowing how it would turn out after.

Releasing Being a DIK - Season 1 on Steam was very rewarding too. Seeing it increase in popularity and even achieve that month's top seller was crazy.



Adult video games struggle so hard to be seen due to their taboo nature, but with the Steam release, even mainstream gaming media had to report on it. I saw my game mentioned in PC gamer and Rock Paper Shotgun, which felt very rewarding.

Then I got headhunted by steam to be included in their curated catalog – as they opened up their site for adult games. That felt incredible.

I've been contacted by multiple AAA developers, showing impressive CVs and offering their knowledge to work with me. It's very humbling, but as many of you know by now, I have no desire to add anyone to my projects, regardless of experience – I love doing this alone.

And the final moment that comes to mind is this picture here.



Seeing Being a DIK - Season 2 globally outsell GOTY winners It takes two (2021) and Elden Ring (2022), even if it only was for a few days, made me feel weird and giggly. All of these moments have felt extremely rewarding and make me feel nostalgic. It has been an incredible journey thus far, and I can't wait to see what else it will bring.

What artists are you listening to while working on the game these days?
The daily dose at the moment consists of: Alestorm – Seventh rum of a seventh rum (Personal album of the year 2022), Misfits, José Gonzalez, Frank Sinatra, Queen, Powerwolf, Amon Amarth, Bayside, zebrahead, Sabaton, Atlas Losing Grip, Pink Floyd, Uriah Heep, Between The Buried And Me, and lots more.

How much do you think the platform Patreon, Steam, or GOG have brought to the success of BaDIK? Have any of them hampered BaDIK?
Without Patreon, the game wouldn't be possible in the first place. I'll always be thankful for my roots and how I got to this point.
Steam made the game even more popular, and GOG allowed me to reach another branch of players.
None of the platforms hamper the content I want for Being a DIK.

As a Computer Engineer, I really enjoy video games and programming. I remembered you mentioning you miss programming in C++, so I was curious if you didn't create AVNs what type of video game would you enjoy creating and why?
I miss writing C++, but it's not the language I'd choose for games. I'd be more likely to develop a C++ application than a game. As for a game, realistically speaking, I don't think I could create a big game using another engine on my own. But if I could work as a part of a bigger game studio, I'd enjoy writing the story for a bigger game. I enjoy adventures, mysteries, and the modern time setting the most.

The first developer studio that comes to mind is something like Quantic Dream. I believe I could write a great game for them to create. Story-wise, Heavy Rain is still one of my favorite games.

But you can't just walk into a studio and say, "Hey! I have a story for your next game". Creating a big game is a huge commitment, and you're gambling money going all in on it. You need to work yourself up that ladder within a company or become recognized at a higher level to be trusted with the entire narrative of a game.


Thanks for your support! I hope you enjoyed the Q&A! The next one will be held roughly a year from now.

Love
Dr PinkCake

Q&A Session - 2023 - Part 1/2 - Previous Q&A Session

my bad it was sneaky posted before by A360
but maybe you prefer my formatting

 

[dalli_x]

Always trust drugdealers when they tell you that.

With the difference so that Quinn also injects himself with this substance. It is the same syringe and half of the same substance

You are wrong, and you weirdly ignore literally everything the story tells us about Quinn, the drug, and Tommy.

She injects it either because she herself is either already an addict and won't mind, or as an effort to convince Tommy, in either case it doesn't lend any credence to her statement.

And Tommy doesn't smoke that much weed, we only see him smoking it a couple of times, we however know that he bought the heroin/morphine from Vinny, we see the syringe on his table in E9, which is the drug Quinn convinced him to use, the same drug he then had to buy from Vinny, similarly Heather tries to convince Quinn to give Tommy some extra so he won't get into her supply, we also see her passed out next to Tommy after using the same drug Quinn injected, but we never see Heather smoking weed, the implication being that Tommy is an avid user and addict of the opiate Quinn is providing.

And Vinny is more successful because he one the one hand overcharges his customers without them knowing about it, all while pushing them to buy more than they need, as is evidenced by Lily's dialogue with the Pink Rose girls. And Tommy may have bought some weed from Vinny, he smokes weed on the roof when MC goes up there with Zoey, but you are in part correct (and this is a subject I have never disagreed with you on), his primary purchase from Vinny is the heroin/morphine, which he was no longer buying from Quinn, but due to his addiction he had to find a new provider for, namely Vinny. This is the drug Quinn was referencing when she remarked about him turning up like an addict looking for his next fix, not weed. Quinn got Tommy addicted to an opiate, and he went to Vinny when he couldn't get it from Quinn any longer.

Wow. I am ignoring everything Quinn and Tommy are concerning or telling?

Quinn clearly states, and it is written in the game, that what Tommy and Quinn inject in EP2 is not addictive. Furthermore, there are non-addictive drugs, for example, mescaline.

Tommy's not supposed to smoke a lot of weed? He smokes his weed at every party. You mention Heather yourself, who asks Quinn to give Tommy a little more. He doesn't just smoke his weed during the party. Hell he even wanted to ask Jamie to grow weed and his grandma grew weed because she thought it was a nice plant. You can read all about that in the game. In fact, you should ask when Tommy doesn't smoke weed.

You should read everything in the game again.

 

[Roundell]

Quinn sells a lot of prescription drugs in B&R, including, probably, prescription opiates for Tommy and maybe others. But... how is supposed a scumbag like Buddy that lives in a filthy drug house could get that kind of high quality drugs? Seems to be the kind of drug-dealer that could get weed and low quality heroin, coke and crack, nothing more. I don't think the guy robs a pharmacy or a hospital every week.

It's a flaw in the scrip, or maybe Buddy has connections, or more likely, works for someone powerful that has access to hospitals and laboratories and the capacity to manipulate warehouse inventories so that missing prescription drung are not noticed? Maybe that Priscilla runs not only the ring of underaged prostitutes in B&R, but also the drugs business through Buddy and maybe others like him?