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

This game was "a masterpiece" but now it's just "a good AVN".
And all that it's fault of season 3, for starters... everything related to Zoey doesn't really contribute anything, on the contrary it feels more like a nuisance all the time even in the single path and i'm not even talking about the filling hole that was the "interlude" ... Aaah but not satisfied with the shit that was the interlude, Chapter 9 is a tedious free roam at the Halloween party, which may be fun the first time but this is a game that requires multiple playthroughs, and the free roam just makes the replayability worse, if you are going to force the player to replay your game at least worry a little about the replayability
But that is not the only bad thing, there is also the story that is falling into what we could call "a Dr Pinkcake cliche" because his only way to add drama to the story is that all the characters are related in some way and maybe the first chapters is fine but when you abuse that resource all the time the story becomes boring and predictable, and don't say it in a porn game... because even if the Dev wanted to pretend to be something more serious this is still a porn game and you can't punish the player for doing what he's supposed to do in a porn game, too much realism kills the whole purpose of a porn game. But at the same time there are things that are not realistic at all, like the MC behaving like a p*ssy even on the Dik path, like when the MC pressures Sage to "talk about her feelings" or on the single path when the MC whines that he feels lonely...
But despite those inconsistencies, the Dev clings to "realism" and is that is what is killing this AVN... If the MC has a relationship the game becomes a "don't be a cheater" simmulator, which is obviously super boring to play in a porn game...
The best thing that could happen to this game is to stop complicating life, end it and start a new project that isn't limited by common social morality... but taking into account that this game is updated once a year I highly doubt that the end is close... Anyway, I would be happy if there is a good ending with Lily

And for Dr. Pinkcake and any other Dev who is reading this:
NO MORE FREEROAM/SANDBOX!!! STOP MILKING WITH THAT SH*T!!!
Thanks...

OK, so where do we start?

Being a DIK is the most popular game on this site. In fact, it's the only thing that convinced me to play it, even though I wasn't too keen on the description at first.

The first chapter was... nice but nothing more than that, nothing to get worked up about. But I kept going, and it was as the story progressed that I understood.

This isn't the deepest game ever, it's not the most incredible story, nor the most detailed. But it's good, you get to know the characters, you laugh at the adventures of some, you find yourself afraid or sad for others.

I quickly got my hand out of my pants and simply enjoyed the story. Because the NSFW scenes are present, sometimes pleasant, but ultimately of little or no importance. You want to know what happens next and you really feel what Tremolo is going through. Each decision is seen as our decision, each one has an impact, however minor. And in the end, that's what makes a visual novel so interesting. Not to have a wank, but to feel that you're having an impact on the game's universe.

Being a DIK is clearly not the best sex game. On the other hand, it is without doubt the best visual novel I've ever played. And I can't recommend it highly enough.

I came for the cum and stayed for everything else!

Joking aside this is not just my favorite NSFW game but probably in my top ten fiction stories all time and I have hundreds of novels under my belt. I have pulled many all nighters playing games or reading books, but I have only once before gotten so attached to a character that I woke up wondering how they were feeling.... this game got me to that second one. So here's my pros and cons.

Pros:

Story thus far is incredible, it blends romance, comedy, and drama so well that I can't believe I thought Friends was a good show before this. It is also 100% believable, which is hard to find in this genre.

Animation is something that I don't want to comment on the technical side of given that I have no clue what goes into making something like this. But my experience on this site has shown me that this is at least 8 out of 10 for that.

Music choice is perfect, I've heard many of the songs before in other games which I get, but the forced change to the right song at the right moment has been spot on.

Sex is last on the list, not because it isn't hot or drive the story or too infrequent (because it definitely is not) because it meets all my expectations on those fronts. I just wish I could chose more of the details a little bit lol the choices are just the normal stuff you would see though. I know my take sounds like a con, but the scenes are hot so I can't put it there obviously

Cons:

Choices: I don't have a big problem with the major choices really, they seem like they fit the setting and vibe of the game. but sometimes I feel like I get a choice taken away from me that I normally would have gone with even though I've been myself up to that point so maybe some of the major ones should be readdressed later on, like a way to gain back a point on either scale at some point so as not to lock you out too much.

Overall Impression: 9.999/10

This game is the tits... literally and otherwise.

What can be said that hasn’t already been said?

This game is top tier quality, it is engaging, enjoyable, funny, and of course sexy. The decisions you make in this game do matter, and as such development cycles do take awhile. But know that unlike other games (SummerTime****), once the update is released, it tends to always deliver on your expectations. The developer also posts weekly update posts to let his fans know about the progress he has made. Lastly, this game also has high replay value, especially from episode 3 and onward.

I highly recommend Being a Dik, it is one of the best Visual Novel games I’ve ever played.

Being a DIK used to be my favorite adult VN, and while it's still one of the best and most immersive games out there, later episodes have revealed some glaring problems.

The story is way too convoluted. There are way too many characters, and too often the side characters are much more interesting than the main ones. An example of this is Quinn, who is often treated like a main character and by rights should be, as she is much more compelling than all the other main characters with perhaps the exception of Sage. When there are so many characters, not only is it hard to keep track of all of them, establishing a profound emotional connection is next to impossible. How much do you actually care about Maya, Jill or Isabella after 11 episodes? Why are they main love interests when they barely have any chemistry with the MC?

Updates take forever because of how many different paths and plot threads there are. To see even half the scenes available, you now have to spend tens of hours trudging through gameplay you've already gone through once before. So many plot threads aren't relevant to the MC unless you're on the LIs path, which makes sticking to one LI incredibly frustrating. Seemingly inconsiquental choices leads to huge consequences and missed scenes WAAY down the line, I'm talking several episodes. So navigating the game to actually see the content is not only time-consuming and incredibly boring, but also practically impossible. An example of this is the scene with Quinn in the car: several episodes earlier, you need to choose to work at a specific place to acquire a car, a choice that has no relevance to the Quinn storyline. It's like the developer is constantly making his scenes easter eggs, when people play the game to see the scenes in the first place.

The insane amount of mini-games is also a huge frustration. When your game is dependent on multiple playthroughs to see more than 20% of the content, and when considering mini-games are sometimes a requirement to get some scenes, you find yourself playing the same stupid games for hours on end. They're harmless enough in the beginning, but they become incredibly old incredibly fast. And there's so damn many of them. How are you supposed to explore the game when there's a time consuming puzzle every 10 minutes. Just useless.

But the latest episode, Paradigm Shift, showcases the biggest problem of all. Because there's so many plot threads and different characters, the plot barely progresses at all. Episode 11 and largely season 3 are so stuffed with boring filler it feels like the developer is just stretching out the story while stuffing his paths with money. Next to nothing happens for the entirety of the episode until some cliffhangers and progression at the very end, which frankly feels insulting.: let's just pad 90% of the episode with boring filler and then give some unearned cliffhanger at the very end to give the illusion of progression.

After a year of waiting this update was a huge disappointment and a slap in the face for all the people who have supported this developer. Just from Patreon he's getting AT LEAST 20k a month (but probably more like 40k or more), so that's 240k (but probably roughly 600k) for an entire year without updates. Quality updates take time, but this was hardly a quality update and the supporters deserve so much more than endless filler, mindless games, incoherent plots, underdeveloped LIs, inaccessible content, lazy cliffhangers, and repetitive story beats. Make the story more focused, stop adding useless side characters, make the paths clearer and easier to follow, stop concealing 80% of the scenes and requiring people to spend tens of hours to go through things they've already seen to see the actual content, and make Quinn a fucking love interest.

Still, for all it's problems, I can't deny that the script is well-written, many of the characters are more compelling than any other adult VN I've played, and the overall world is impossibly entertaining. It's a pity that the developer has ensnared himself so, because at its core it's still the best VN out there and I can't give it less than 4 stars. My disappointment stems from the fact that the game used to be so good, and that it has the potential to be much better. If the developer can make sense of the mess that he's created.

man while back before episode 11 released i did a review. i kept bitching on somethings but now that episode 11 released all that problems still contiue.
Don't get me wrong now this game used to mean something to me season 1 and 2 still 5 star each in my heart but as season3 keep going maybe its me maybe i am cooked it does not have the same effect anymore.
i don't wanna rephrase other comments and say same things over and over again but some of them are true and makes sense.
yes dreaded minigames and yes you can turn them off from the very start if you wanna be broke that is because some money randomly you find in freeroam wont mean shit specially in latest episodes.
you didn't do mansion minigame ? well rusty has to sell his car now and no car no quinn scene on episode 10 and so on
you dont wanna play mini games? well fuck you cause game put you on this path now and cant see somethings untill you re enable them nice thanks dpc .
other than that freeroams got ridiculous also not only did they get bigger and longer without any walktrough they are grinding enough you dont know who is and what is anywhere you are stuck now and also you have to do same shit again and again to see scenes from different girls
so gone another star rating . look i do appreciate episode 11 back to beeing heavy story format with some side fun as it always should have been
but here is the thing i dont care cause all that drug lord story bullshit doesnt have anything to do with mc he's not involved in any shape or form then we have some dik fraternity drama and bella mystery im mildly interested but oh well . main girls routes were alright some better than others and the side chicks meh also alright some of fans will be happy some wont but they don't get much attention as main girls obliviously. All this routes that not shaped up future unknown and my boy still teasing some posible future routes with other girls like bruh please stop trying to add more girls you are swamped with work already.
so quick recap unnecessarily long and time consuming minigames and grinding freeroams snail pace story alright characters but you have to interact with some girls anyway doesn't matter if you are interested in them or not and latest episodes become big bowl of nothing salad shame 5 star giant become 3 star avarage for me see you sucker in 2027 peace...
ps:fuck that puzzlebox

There are a lot of games out there that are set in the college genre but I don't know of any that have characters that feel REAL. At least none of them have felt real to me. This is the one game that manages to do that and do so quite successfully. Yes there are some characters who I find irritating and some that I find really entertaining and likeable, which again fits into the realm of realism for this game.

I know that it no longer stands out from a visual perspective as it has become closer to average relative to many other games however the smaller details that may not be graphically impressive but are still visually relevant stand out to me. Small things in the background that help to build immersiveness in this story are part of why I enjoy it so much.

The game can also be humorous, serious, fun, happy, sad, etc. and all of it feels generally well written. Most of all I feel the branching paths is probably the biggest factor that makes me a huge fan of the game. Rather than have one main story, or some lower quality branches I truly feel the Dev puts the time and effort in so they all feel high quality. I know the complaint is about time to make updates, or about the lack of advantageous visual standards but I don't think either of these is necessarily an issue.

The slower development cycle, while I would love to see it sped up, has greatly contributed to far more well thought out lines and dialogue when compared to most games. And going back to visuals, I feel the immersiveness of the game is helped by not seeing a significant visual change as technology improves and time goes by. I may have one or two gripes with the game but nothing significant enough for me to remove a star.

All in all, I feel this is a fantastic game and it remains my all time favorite adult game on this site or any other.

So this game sets an amazing atmosphere, has some extremely realistic and interesting characters and is immersive as all hell. The first 6 or so episodes are a pure joy to experience.

Why 4 stars then? Well, the game was released 6 years ago. I recognize that quality updates need time but the fact of the matter is, you'll play an unfinished game and you'll most likely forget everything about it by the time a new update comes. Then again with the next. For a story based game with tons of tiny details, that can really kill the mood.

Worth mentioning also the graphics - which were beyond incredible 6 years ago, but the longer it carries on, the more...sort of average, they seem.

And the big reason why I'm not inclined to just let that go - around the middle of the current release (a bit after, maybe), you have to pick a route. You're then locked into that route. The problem with this is, that from that point on, the dev is basically making 4 games. So you wait years to play 1/4 of 1/10th of your game. Due to purely physical limitations of I'm assuming the dev, the content also feels smaller. It isn't smaller, but it feels that way.

Now, someone will say "just have multiple saves bro" but there are two issues with that:

1) Replaying the same update 4 times is not that fun and spreading out 4 replays of the same update before 4 more for the next one really confuses everything (that's what I did and I forget or get confused about the plot constantly)

2) This can kind of kill the immersion, because you don't stand by your decisions. Yet, logically, you shouldn't have to make that decision - at the point where you make it one of the girls you can pick to focus on logically isn't likely to give a fuck about whether you're exclusively for a while yet. And another of them explicitly wants to be casual.

I get why the dev did it, but I feel it was too early and it split the game badly. I also feel like the game became too big for itself. Ultimately I don't blame the dev and it's still an amazing game, but this review is for the players. If it's finished it might be a 5/5 again, but at this point I feel it isn't.

i always love college setting and this is the first game that i played and even if i have played a lot of games here already this still remains as a top 3 in the best games that i have ever played

Best adult game I have played. Plenty of diversity across the girls and have genuinely laughed out loud at some of the jokes. Very intrigued to see where this story goes. The minigames also make me want to play again to better my score in the next playthrough.

Was happy to pay on Patreon after downloading here.

If there was a school for Adult Gaming Industry, this game would have a full-semester class about it.
Music choices are great, mini-games are not meaningless, no way to say bad things about story.
Your actions really matters.
Came to wank, stayed for story.

DPC Assholish Intro with Jill has convinced me that he is shit! I have never heard a Game Developer Crap on his potential Players and Supporters in that way. I will NEVER Give him another red cent after experiencing his cussing after I purchased Episode 11 for a Full Replay.. Fk Him! (If you don't believe me start a new game and hear how talks to and thinks about Us Players!)

and yeah he is quite skilled with tools to create this Visual Novel
The Posing and Rendering of the Individual Frames are Top-Notch and Always Well Done

He use the Ren'py Game Engine and other tools skillfully to blend the various frames together and provide motion to the actor and effects.

Moreover and Most of all he one of the best Visual Story-Tellers I have ever seen. I have played Game of the Year Winner "The Walking Dead" by Telltale and this game is on that level for Visual Story-telling, its that good

Selection of the Soundtrack and incorporation of Music is First Class and Beautifully sets the mood for each scene

Very Diverse Situations and the inclusion of Dungeon and Dragons / Gremlins was a Great Story-Telling tool and a fun diversion

His Characters have depth and their background stories are compelling and create some great drama and personal interaction opportunites for players

Too many times Being a Dik is a Kinetic Novel. Several Times the Story was Yanked away from Me as the Player and went in its Own Direction without my Input. That GREATLY Angered me because I, the Player am supposed to be in control, not the Developer. More Player Agency Needed.

Secondly, there is lack of knowledge by the developer on the way that U.S. College System works particularly as it relates to Student Aid. Students fill out FAFSA forms and IF there is a need for a Parent Co-signature it is done on those FAFSA forms. There is no possiblity of hiding from the Students being able to see them online or at the Student Aid Office and finding out they need to know.

Just finished Episode 11 and the same pattern of Kinetic Novel, YANKING Control of MC from the Player just left me fed up. Had to go back and replay sections because the outcomes were ridiculously dictated by DPC and Not Me!

TLDR; Great use of Animations, Graphics, Music interesting settings. As the game progresses less and less player agency to point of anger and I feel like DPC purposely fucks with players. Not planning on playing any further.

3/5

one bad thing about this game is, this is the first AVN that i played, and drPinkCake really set the bar too high, i cannot enjoy any other AVN after experiencing this one


Best story (i'm sure i'll be a nerd if drPinkCake write a novel)
Best character, i'm deeply attached to a lot of them, not only the girls but also the DIKs i love them like they're my best friend
Artwork? glazed a lot but i got hooked up first time because of that

cheers, we're patiently waiting from more of you drPinkCake, we love you

Def up there as one of the best visual novels out there. I have been playing this since 2019 and encourage everyone who loves the game as much as me to either subscribe to DrPinkCake's patreon or buy his game on Steam.

What to say about this game right? I feel like it has become a standalone in this game industry by its own merits. It has a bit of everything, and it feels like every side of this game is polished with care and intention. Each and every single character has more life than many other games put together.

The benchmark for plot, character development, writing, immersion and meaningful choices / story branching. I'm sure I've spent more time playing this one than any other AVN, because you genuinely feel you need to play every possible route

This game is the peak of adult games honestly. DrPinkCake truly delivers, even with his previous work, Acting Lessons. That being said, having 1 update a year is ludicrous. Despite that, the models, the story, the twists and the actual progression is fantastic.

Story = 10/10 - this is peak writing, the twists in this story, especially the one with Sage and the teacher is something else, holy crap. Even the weird cheating thing that gets revealed early on with the girl you like and your room mate. Damn man, DrPinkCake is cooking fr

Models = 10/10 - Quinn, both teachers, and literally any of the girls are extremely attractive and has a little something for everyone.

Replayability = 9/10 = Almost perfect, except for that stupid slide puzzle that almost gave me an aneurysm to just to unlock a photo. There are interesting mini games, a lot of side content with the tinder-expy and a host of other girls.

My favorite game.
Literally the first game with porn content that I tried. She immediately entered my soul.
Favorite characters are the neighbor! The rest behave like whores. It was sarcasm if anything xD

Feels a bit strange to give this 4 stars instead of 5. Likeable characters, interesting branching paths, great soundtrack, hot scenes, and very fun in general.

However, the main character is forced into choosing a path at the end of season 2 which locks you out of the majority of the content for each future episode. What that amounts to is doing a lot of minigames and very little man whoring. Being a Dik went from being entertaining and adventurous, to being more like some sort of management sim like a mobile game with a bit of story inbetween. Episode 10 had a half dozen minigames (including fish tank management lol) and just one or two scenes with whomever the main character chose at the end of the second season.

Still a very good avn, but I think it probably peaked in Season 2.

Excellent game, i was really invested during the time i played it and thought about it while offline. The world building and relationships with the girls and the MC's friends are really well written, also the pop punk soundtrack is insane, i listen regularly to some songs on my own. I'm not really a branch guy, i usually only play one route because my ADHD doesn't let me enjoy reading the same story twice, but this is the only game that made me play different playthroughs. Keep up the good work