VN Ren'Py Being a DIK [v0.11.1] [DrPinkCake]

[OFT]

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Thanks to everyone who voted in last week's survey regarding previews. Although votes are split, there are some trends I have reflected upon.

It's impossible to please everyone, but most of you don't want to see any costume spoilers, so I'll try to limit them in previews.

And if I choose to post something, I'll make sure to hide the image as an attachment so you can choose if you want to see it or not.

Some episodes will be like this when previews can spoil the episode badly, and it's too hard to find something worth showing. I had the same issue during the development of the final two episodes of Acting Lessons.

It feels comforting knowing that most of you are fine with not seeing renders if it were to spoil content. But as a creator, I still want to create and give you content monthly, between updates. Posting nothing has never sat right with me, so I felt I needed to do this survey in the first place.

I'll have a new poll up and running early this month.

Have a nice weekend

Dr PinkCake

To hear him talk about the poll, it sounds like he has seen all he needs to see. The poll is supposed to be live for another week, but I thought 14 days was too long anyway, and my thoughts seem to be like his - the trends won't change given 7 more days or 70.

Anyway, here are the trends he's talking about. Remember, these results are not across all tiers, but it should give you an idea of how patrons are voting.




Sometimes the patrons are stuck with poor choices, and sometimes they simply make poor choices (IMHO). BUT WHO THE FUCK ARE THE 118 PEOPLE THAT WOULD RATHER SEE RENDERS OF GUYS???

None of the choices seem to be mutually exclusive. For instance, you can vote for all three of these:

• I am OK with seeing costume spoilers
• I'd rather NOT see any costume spoilers
• I'd rather see costume spoilers than Special renders

You can also vote for both of these:

• I'd rather see previews of Side characters than Main characters
• I'd rather see previews of Main characters than Side characters

So it is conceivable that some or all of the 118 idiots might actually have voted for guys AND girls. Maybe that would lessen their idiocy, but not by much.

 

[Train of Thought]

With each status update I'm starting to believe more and more that DPC has mastered the art of inarticulate talking. Like look at the amount of text he posts and like 90% of it is pointless. Hopefully we'll get some previews next week so we roughly have an idea at what we are getting.

We got updated information on all the relevant things DPC has mentioned in the last few weeks (the big animation queue he had stacked up for several weeks, his current progress on the scene count, which was mentioned last week, etc.) and some news on the polls at the end. It's pretty much your typical status update from DPC, so I fail to understand what exactly you expected from it.
Additionally, we've got a preview approx. every 2 weeks, which doesn't seem too irregular for me + we'll be getting many more in the near future (the poll is there for a reason). The only thing missing potentially is the total animation count (which could and will be approximated by our statistician mpa71 according to DPC's own words, incl. the updated info) and total static render count, of which we only have DPC's early estimate of ~800 from an update back in April. Considering DPC has been massively engaged in writing the last few weeks and him saying in this one that he has 'a lot of art to produce - thousands of renders', we could gauge the current situation in the art department (there's still a lot of work to do) because it's transparent and not hard to put together. Therefore, I barely see any 'inarticulate talking' in today's status update

 

[Lostanddamned]

We got updated information on all the relevant things DPC has mentioned in the last few weeks (the big animation queue he had stacked up for several weeks, his current progress on the scene count, which was mentioned last week, etc.) and some news on the polls at the end. It's pretty much your typical status update from DPC, so I fail to understand what exactly you expected from it.
Additionally, we've got a preview approx. every 2 weeks, which doesn't seem too irregular for me + we'll be getting many more in the near future (the poll is there for a reason). The only thing missing potentially is the total animation count (which could and will be approximated by our statistician mpa71 according to DPC's own words, incl. the updated info) and total static render count, of which we only have DPC's early estimate of ~800 from an update back in April. Considering DPC has been massively engaged in writing the last few weeks and him saying in this one that he has 'a lot of art to produce - thousands of renders', we could gauge the current situation in the art department (there's still a lot of work to do) because it's transparent and not hard to put together. Therefore, I barely see any 'inarticulate talking' in today's status update

He's like the Ron Dennis of adult games. Ron Dennis was the McLaren F1 team principal and was a raging paranoid and asshole. Like they'd ask him a simple question and he'd give long winded answers that had nothing in common with the question, in fear out of giving away information related to the team/car/upgrades etc.

He said that the queue is done, but we have no idea how much is left or when we can expect an update (though my estimate is around early or mid October seems plausible).

 

[nyrek]

Sometimes the patrons are stuck with poor choices, and sometimes they simply make poor choices (IMHO). BUT WHO THE FUCK ARE THE 118 PEOPLE THAT WOULD RATHER SEE RENDERS OF GUYS???

hakuna-matata?

 

[joaodasdesgracas]

this is one reason that I keep saying BaDIK will be DPC's last, fully hardcore AVN. I believe he will go mainstream with his next game. It will have some lewdness, but nothing like what he is currently doing. Next games will be more story focused with a titty on the side. I doubt MC will be jizzing all over a girl's face in he next one. You get mass effect level of lewdness.

It would be a weird choice, since his main focus besides writing the story itself has been improving the animations and quality of the renders. Most of it would be pointless in a mainstream VN, since you're not expected to get that there except for some special bits.

Meanwhile, he can't do a game that isn't a VN with this quality since he works alone, and it'd be insane amounts of works for a single person.

Plus, if DPC is focusing on maximized earnings, he has two options: found an Indy studio and expand, and then go mainstream, or keep where he is and making tons of money. He found his niche, he earns incredibly well and is still slowly expanding.

Changing genres would be a significant risk, and for what? To write a non porn VN in a bloated and mostly dead market? And not to mention that his style, Realistic 3D isn't what mainstream VNs are, since those are almost always japanese or Japanese inspired, both visually and plot wise.

This isn't the early 2000s where things like Fate Stay exploded and created a mainstream franchise. People have much higher expectations and there's a lot of good to mediocre products there.

This reminds me of 2 stories:

Worm's author, Wildblow. One of the first niche internet authors to get really big from Patreon and his writings. His first story was wildly successful considering the predecessors. After finishing Worm, Wildbow decided to change genres from Superhero to a weird Horror/Fantasyesque story. It tanked and now he's back to writing a Worm sequel.

The entire Nostalgia Critic/That Guy with Glasses attempt at killing off the NC character and creating and directing a more mainstream humor show. It imploded quickly, made him lose a ton of money and he had to go back to critique videos to salvage his paycheck.

 

[Oliver Wendell Homely]

This is one reason that I keep saying BaDIK will be DPC's last, fully hardcore AVN. I believe he will go mainstream with his next game.
[/QUOTE]

You may be right, but I think that if DPC, or frankly any successful AVN developer active on this site, wanted to go mainstream, they can expect their revenue streams to shrink massively or disappear altogether. DPC is a hard worker and seems to have developed a lot of technical skills that he could bring to bear on a mainstream game, but what mainstream Ren'py games out there make any money? Of course there are indie non-Ren'py games that become hits now and again, but those are few and far between. There is just SO MUCH more competition for every dollar in the mainstream gaming world.

The adult gaming space, on the other hand, is an arena where a highly skilled developer and even mildly gifted storyteller (like DPC) can really mop up because there are so few really high-quality competitors. Based on the number of patrons he has, DPC is making a very nice living and he retains complete independence. Any effort to get into mainstream content is going to increase his costs, too. Even if he could continue to operate as a lone wolf in development, marketing and publishing his content will require outlays of cash. For example, currently his game is distributed via Google Drive, Mega, and other hosts that charge him virtually nothing. He can't publish mainstream games that way. He would have to rely on Steam and similar platforms, all of which take a sizable cut of sales.

Of course, if he feels somehow embarrassed or inadequate over his legacy being a porny college comedy game, maybe he will retire and work on mainstream content while resting on the piles of cash BaDIK raked in. In such an event, all most of us would ever know is that DPC retired and was never heard from again. I highly doubt he would use the "Dr. Pinkcake" moniker on non-adult projects.

 

[dreamgoat]

Interesting. You accuse someone of being wrong, but your argument is total bullshit.

If the fans didn't support DPC, DPC wouldn't be able to develop BaDIK full time because he would have to work a "normal" job to support his family. As a result, up to 10 hours a day would go to his "normal" job, which certainly wouldn't lead to shorter update times.

On the subject of employees
DPC can no longer hire employees and form them into a team. He should have done that before BaDIK was launched to ensure consistent quality. But he simply didn't have the money for it at that time and would have had to make large investments for a project whose success on this scale was not foreseeable, certainly not after AL's shitstorm.

Now DPC has the money to hire staff, but bringing those staff to his quality line would not work, as each person is different and different creative impressions would go into BaDIK, with the risk of losing the authenticity of the previous game. To prevent this, DPC would spend much more time on corrections, which would lead to longer update times.

DPC has already let it be known that it already has ideas for a game based on BaDIK. It would make sense for DPC to hire people and form a team before he starts producing a new game, because that team would establish a common level of quality that would apply from start to finish.

My personal thoughts
The people who don't support DPC financially, in my eyes, don't even have the right to complain about the way DPC operates. They are consuming his product without his permission and should be happy that they can get updates at all.

Many here in the thread are decent people who enjoy the game, appreciate DPC's work, and have stimulating discussions and debates about the game's content. That actually shows me that DPC has done everything right so far, because otherwise this thread wouldn't have reached this size.

These decent people are why I like this thread and am here regularly.
Yes I know that I am dalli_x.

Interesting and very well put out. I wonder if that would shorten BaDIK life time of DPC working a lone and would like to start another game with a team to reduce the load.

 

[JETracktor]

BUT WHO THE FUCK ARE THE 118 PEOPLE THAT WOULD RATHER SEE RENDERS OF GUYS???

Simply - women or gays

 

[Skeltom]

I know, and he can't even decide on one good preview that won't "spoil?" Just grab anything outside of the Halloween party. An Li with a short skit in class, Josy in gym clothes working out, anything. The Halloween party free roam must really take up a large portion of the episode if he is having trouble finding something.

That part of the update had me scratching my head as well. Like you said unless episode 9 is 100% Halloween party content, by this time he must have hundreds of static renders from normal scenes like conversations with the cast. It cant be that hard to show a pick of the MC sitting down for a chat or in class with on of them without a "spoiler".

 

[Train of Thought]

He's like the Ron Dennis of adult games. Ron Dennis was the McLaren F1 team principal and was a raging paranoid and asshole. Like they'd ask him a simple question and he'd give long winded answers that had nothing in common with the question, in fear out of giving away information related to the team/car/upgrades etc.

He said that the queue is done, but we have no idea how much is left or when we can expect an update (though my estimate is around early or mid October seems plausible).

I don't think he can really estimate it himself, it's too early for that right now, so it wouldn't make sense to give a total when we're months away from the release... Also don't think he's purposefully withholding information because there's no reason to and because he's always been transparent in his communication. The picture will get clearer to him and us the further he gets in the development, we'll also probably get a task checklist when nearing the end of the dev cycle like last time

 

[OFT]

My biggest concern is he wakes up one day and says, "What the fuck am I doing with my life!?", when he realises his legacy will be a porn game that's only appreciated on the far corners of the Internet.

this is one reason that I keep saying BaDIK will be DPC's last, fully hardcore AVN. I believe he will go mainstream with his next game. It will have some lewdness, but nothing like what he is currently doing. Next games will be more story focused with a titty on the side. I doubt MC will be jizzing all over a girl's face in he next one. You get mass effect level of lewdness.

Changing genres would be a significant risk, and for what? To write a non porn VN in a bloated and mostly dead market? And not to mention that his style, Realistic 3D isn't what mainstream VNs are, since those are almost always japanese or Japanese inspired, both visually and plot wise.

Of course, if he feels somehow embarrassed or inadequate over his legacy being a porny college comedy game, maybe he will retire and work on mainstream content while resting on the piles of cash BaDIK raked in. In such an event, all most of us would ever know is that DPC retired and was never heard from again. I highly doubt he would use the "Dr. Pinkcake" moniker on non-adult projects.

I swear I've seen DPC talk about why he chooses to create within the adult genre, and how he would like to see the reduction or elimination of stigmas surrounding more graphic lewdness as it is perceived in mainstream media. But I can't find it in either the Patreon Q&As or his posts in F95. Maybe someone among the group remembers it as well?


Speaking of searching his F95 posts, I came across this gem:

One thing I know from my experience with Acting Lessons, is that DrPinkCake has thought the game through before he even started it, and doesn't change it's trajectory based on what we say, request, demand, plead, speculate or bribe. He's pretty damned stubborn in that regard.

So, whatever is planned will happen. He will make minor balancing changes, and how these mini-games work, but that's about it. Personally, I'd like him to change the MC's ridiculous haircut. But I doubt that will happen either.

It's indeed the same for BADIK. The story has been outlined and, as you said, I'm stubborn and it won't be changed for anyone. I have allowed myself more flexibility with the episode count this time around and it won't be a fixed number until we're closer to the end. There are multiple endings planned.
If you want to imagine how it is being a developer, by the way, just read 5-10 pages in this very thread and see how it is impossible to please everyone. So no matter what I do, I expect to receive both praise and insults. The only one I know that I will please, for sure, is myself. I hope most of you guys will enjoy the game, too!

Almost 3 fucking years later, he changed MC's hair for you, Walter Victor! (Well, maybe not just for you, )


Another thing DPC used to do here sure was fun to see. A couple of folks posted pics of real-life women that they thought resembled DPC's characters, and he responded with renders specifically mimicking them:

Real-Life "Melissa" and DPC's response:




Original Post



Real-Life "Sage" and DPC's response:




Original Post



Another interesting note from that same original Sage post:

Good thing I'm aware that people are peeking at the code. I wouldn't try to put red herrings in it, now would I?

Great. Just when I've started delving into the code myself rather than relying on others to do it, I have worry about whether or not he was serious?

 

[sixart]

Almost 3 fucking years later, he changed MC's hair for you, Walter Victor! (Well, maybe not just for you, )

So there you go HeToo movement... Walter is also DPC !

About the ladies...

 

[Lostanddamned]

So there you go HeToo movement... Walter is also DPC !

About the ladies...
View attachment 1848173
View attachment 1848181

So Chip = Ached = DPC = Walter?

 

[sixart]

So Chip = Ached = DPC = Walter?

Don't forget shazba then dalli_x then yourself... and also all the rest

 

[Walter Victor]

Almost 3 fucking years later, he changed MC's hair for you, Walter Victor! (Well, maybe not just for you, )

I would have preferred that he not make it worse!

 

[felicemastronzo]

I swear I've seen DPC talk about why he chooses to create within the adult genre, and how he would like to see the reduction or elimination of stigmas surrounding more graphic lewdness as it is perceived in mainstream media. But I can't find it in either the Patreon Q&As or his posts in F95. Maybe someone among the group remembers it as well?


Speaking of searching his F95 posts, I came across this gem:




Almost 3 fucking years later, he changed MC's hair for you, Walter Victor! (Well, maybe not just for you, )


Another thing DPC used to do here sure was fun to see. A couple of folks posted pics of real-life women that they thought resembled DPC's characters, and he responded with renders specifically mimicking them:

Real-Life "Melissa" and DPC's response:

View attachment 1848109
View attachment 1848110

Original Post



Real-Life "Sage" and DPC's response:

View attachment 1848112
View attachment 1848115

Original Post



Another interesting note from that same original Sage post:




Great. Just when I've started delving into the code myself rather than relying on others to do it, I have worry about whether or not he was serious?


View attachment 1848133

the "real" Melissa, although Italian can just do the cleaning at Melissa's house , instead the "real "Sage .... is really tier S

 

[Kellermann]

It would be a weird choice, since his main focus besides writing the story itself has been improving the animations and quality of the renders. Most of it would be pointless in a mainstream VN, since you're not expected to get that there except for some special bits.

Meanwhile, he can't do a game that isn't a VN with this quality since he works alone, and it'd be insane amounts of works for a single person.

Plus, if DPC is focusing on maximized earnings, he has two options: found an Indy studio and expand, and then go mainstream, or keep where he is and making tons of money. He found his niche, he earns incredibly well and is still slowly expanding.

Changing genres would be a significant risk, and for what? To write a non porn VN in a bloated and mostly dead market? And not to mention that his style, Realistic 3D isn't what mainstream VNs are, since those are almost always japanese or Japanese inspired, both visually and plot wise.

This isn't the early 2000s where things like Fate Stay exploded and created a mainstream franchise. People have much higher expectations and there's a lot of good to mediocre products there.

This reminds me of 2 stories:

Worm's author, Wildblow. One of the first niche internet authors to get really big from Patreon and his writings. His first story was wildly successful considering the predecessors. After finishing Worm, Wildbow decided to change genres from Superhero to a weird Horror/Fantasyesque story. It tanked and now he's back to writing a Worm sequel.

The entire Nostalgia Critic/That Guy with Glasses attempt at killing off the NC character and creating and directing a more mainstream humor show. It imploded quickly, made him lose a ton of money and he had to go back to critique videos to salvage his paycheck.

I think you are underestimating DPC's drive and determination. The man is an absolute machine when it comes to his projects. And I wouldn't limit his options to just a less pornographic VN. I'm thinking something more along the lines of an actual video game (if he creates an indie co), something without the constraints of visual novels or even Renpy. AL and BaDIK are his personal projects so he doesn't want or need any assistance, but if he wants to hit the big time, then an indie company is the way to go.

DPC has a rabid fanbase that will follow him to the end no matter what he does next, PG, R, or X. If Icstor can retain thousands of Patreon cows without providing anything, then DPC will certainly keep the majority of his fans after BaDIK. That Patreon/Steam money train is never going to stop running.

DPC could easily be improving animations and render quality not only for BaDIK, but as practice for his next mainstream game. These skills are quite transferrable to the non-porn market. And let us not forget his mini games and filler. If that doesn't scream mainstream, I don't know what does. But I think part of the desire to switch markets is ego driven and another part is to constantly improve his work.

DPC has an ego and this is not necessarily a bad thing. Ego can be a catalyst for improvement. I believe he wants (and maybe even needs) more mainstream recognition. That kind of thing can be intoxicating to someone who was a nobody just a few years ago. I don't think he wants to be known for the rest of his life as a porn game dev. He certainly seems almost giddy when prominent mainstream youtubers and such take a liking to his games.

Regarding the desire to improve, DPC has already mastered the AVN market. Like the great commanders of old, the best are always looking to conquer new territory. There is little more DPC can do with AVNs and he has talked about making sure he does everything he wants to do with BaDIK before moving on to the next game. Another AVN would just be BaDIK with a new skin. I think he is eager to challenge himself outside of AVN world.

 

[gamingdevil800]

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I continued to work on art this week. I produced both static renders and animations.

I completed a couple of long and short scenes, and I completed work on two lewd scenes.

It feels like I have a good flow and no question of what I should work on every day.

I have a lot of art to produce - thousands of renders - and I am focusing on this.

At the moment, I'm working on art for something new that I think is one of the cooler features in episode 9.

The long animation queue I talked about several weeks ago has finally depleted, and the PCs are working on new animations I've lined up for them.

Thanks to everyone who voted in last week's survey regarding previews. Although votes are split, there are some trends I have reflected upon.

It's impossible to please everyone, but most of you don't want to see any costume spoilers, so I'll try to limit them in previews.

And if I choose to post something, I'll make sure to hide the image as an attachment so you can choose if you want to see it or not.

Some episodes will be like this when previews can spoil the episode badly, and it's too hard to find something worth showing. I had the same issue during the development of the final two episodes of Acting Lessons.

It feels comforting knowing that most of you are fine with not seeing renders if it were to spoil content. But as a creator, I still want to create and give you content monthly, between updates. Posting nothing has never sat right with me, so I felt I needed to do this survey in the first place.

I'll have a new poll up and running early this month.

Have a nice weekend

Dr PinkCake

 

[NebulousShooter]

So Chip = Ached = DPC = Walter?

 

[FlorenThanos Perez]

I swear I've seen DPC talk about why he chooses to create within the adult genre, and how he would like to see the reduction or elimination of stigmas surrounding more graphic lewdness as it is perceived in mainstream media. But I can't find it in either the Patreon Q&As or his posts in F95. Maybe someone among the group remembers it as well?


Speaking of searching his F95 posts, I came across this gem:




Almost 3 fucking years later, he changed MC's hair for you, Walter Victor! (Well, maybe not just for you, )


Another thing DPC used to do here sure was fun to see. A couple of folks posted pics of real-life women that they thought resembled DPC's characters, and he responded with renders specifically mimicking them:

Real-Life "Melissa" and DPC's response:

View attachment 1848109
View attachment 1848110

Original Post



Real-Life "Sage" and DPC's response:

View attachment 1848112
View attachment 1848115

Original Post



Another interesting note from that same original Sage post:




Great. Just when I've started delving into the code myself rather than relying on others to do it, I have worry about whether or not he was serious?


View attachment 1848133

SAGE HOLY FUCK