Ren'Py Family, Friends and Strangers [v2024.01] [JohnAndRich]

[Rich]

Crawling out from under my rock for just a minute or three.

I wanted to take the opportunity to say that I really appreciate the reactions and the spirited discussion. Even if there are elements that you don't like, the fact that many of you have, well, "strong opinions" on what should have happened or should happen in the future is personally gratifying. With so many "I'm waiting for X to happen," I'm sure you understand that not everybody is going to get what they want. Still, I do pay attention to the feedback, and can definitely say that there are plot elements that have changed from "the original plan" as a result of all of you. Maybe once it's all done and over we'll discuss those, and some of the underlying "why things went the way they did." There are reasons for a lot of it. Not all of it - there's definitely a few "why the hell not's" scattered around, but still...

I did want to address one item - the distinction between "realistic" and "plausible." There are elements of this story that, frankly, push the bounds of "realistic." Or possibly push past them. (You know what they are as well as I do.) But "plausible" is a somewhat looser standard than "realistic," and, frankly, I've yet to run into an "adult" game or KN that really met the "realistic" standard. So, what I'm trying to do is to stay within "plausible" while still having some fun with the story. To have the characters all have their strengths and weaknesses, and acting the way that someone with those strengths and weaknesses might act, without any "that couldn't possibly happen" moments. (And for those that haven't been around since the beginning of this thread, I'll repeat that I spent a good chunk of my childhood in the South in the 1960's, when and where there were plenty of cops who did whatever the hell they damn well pleased with impunity. So please don't use "can't possibly" with respect to Bill and Paul.) (And, yes, if you do the math, you'll figure out that I'm a dinosaur. There's a reason for my avatar's tag line.)

Also, I regret that I can't bang out "update of the month" on this. This update, in particular, did take longer than I wanted - no question about it. But it was a combination of "life happened" and some last-minute extensions to the chapter. "Quality over speed" has been my motto. That isn't going to change. (And, per the terms of the OP, you're allowed to jump all over the next newbie who says "when's the next update. Which, given past history, I'm expecting within a couple of weeks. LOL)

Finally, to those of you who are supporting me on Patreon or SubscribeStar, or who have donated assets, or who have offered their assistance, or who have just tossed a few words of encouragement my way on Discord or here - THANK YOU! I've discovered that this is a much lonelier endeavor than I thought it would be when I embarked on it (particularly after JohnCBB left) and the temptation to just pack it in raises its ugly head now and again. It's the support, via whatever means, of all of you that keeps me going, and keeps me determined to finish what I started.

OK, 'nuff said. Back to Daz Studio and renders for Chapter 11...

 

[sevendustkorn1008]

Is it really out of character and stupid to trust your precious high school girlfriend who is known to be kind, compassionate, and a little prude? I'd argue it's completely out of the left field of pretty lil girlfriend says to you "They came and asked some questions about blah blah blah", and for you to flip out and say "I don't believe you tell me what they really did to you".

How does it work in your real life? Your fall prey to your assumption without proof? You fail to listen to people you love and trust? That's OK but most normal people believe it when the people they love tell them something. They don't doubt them because of some preconceived notion they have on someone else.

You can argue that Parker could've been a bit more tactful and tell Becky "I wouldn't talk to them, they are corrupt" or "You should be careful around them, they're dangerous". But I think your criticism is incorrect to think that Parker needs doubt Becky's words over his image of the police.

What the other guy said was spot on. No, I didn't expect Parker to call out his girlfriend for lying. My biggest issue is the inner thoughts he was having. He KNOWS his mother was blackmailed and taken advantage of by those cops. He KNOWS they've been blackmailing him to do their bidding. And he KNOWS they threatened to go after his girlfriend if he refused to work with them. With that being the case, how could he possibly believe the cops haven't roped her into the mix?

If after she said they just asked questions, and he said, "Oh, ok" but inside was thinking, "Oh crap, they're going after her. I need to do something", I wouldn't have been critical of him in the least. But the fact that he thought, "Thank god. The cops who have been blackmailing my mother and I, and who threatened to go after my girlfriend, just asked her question. Dodged that bullet!" That's just moronic.

 

[cleanfeel]

What the other guy said was spot on. No, I didn't expect Parker to call out his girlfriend for lying. My biggest issue is the inner thoughts he was having. He KNOWS his mother was blackmailed and taken advantage of by those cops. He KNOWS they've been blackmailing him to do their bidding. And he KNOWS they threatened to go after his girlfriend if he refused to work with them. With that being the case, how could he possibly believe the cops haven't roped her into the mix?

If after she said they just asked questions, and he said, "Oh, ok" but inside was thinking, "Oh crap, they're going after her. I need to do something", I wouldn't have been critical of him in the least. But the fact that he thought, "Thank god. The cops who have been blackmailing my mother and I, and who threatened to go after my girlfriend, just asked her question. Dodged that bullet!" That's just moronic.

Again, I bet he had those thoughts in his mind. But how are you going to dismiss the words of your girlfriend who you believe is honest and loves you, over your own assumptions without proof. If Becky said they didn't ask her about anything else, they didn't ask her about anything else.

 

[sevendustkorn1008]

Again, I bet he had those thoughts in his mind. But how are you going to dismiss the words of your girlfriend who you believe is honest and loves you, over your own assumptions without proof. If Becky said they didn't ask her about anything else, they didn't ask her about anything else.

But we know what his thoughts are. We have the privilege of seeing his thoughts in real time. So we know he didn't have those thoughts. And yes, you're going to "dismiss" the words of your girlfriend because you have first hand knowledge that the people she interacted with are dangerous and have a history of taking advantage of women (especially women you know).

Also, for someone who believes his girlfriend is honest and loves him, he was sure quick to jump to the conclusion that his girl was cheating on him after getting an anonymous email with her naked pictures on them. If he truly had faith in his girlfriend, he would have given her the benefit of the doubt. And if he used his brain a little, it was the 2nd opportunity he could have put 2 and 2 together, and figured out the cops came after her. In fact, if he truly was weary of the cops coming after her after that first conversation, that should have been the first thing to cross his mind. But the fact that thought didn't even register confirms that he did in fact naively believe the cops didn't target his girlfriend (again, after they threatened to come after her).

 

[Davewatch]

Hi
Firstly (in brief) Its right that parker's first thoughts are confused and will then realise probable truth of situation I think the question will be if cops now demand more intimate (porn shots) picture, or just rape her before Parker realises the truth (she could make a very good submissive sex puppet and his best friend could be the first benefactor under orders obviously.
Secondly WHENS THE NEXT UPDATE (joking) Really Rich it may not be the quickest update but it is always worth waiting for and I would be devastated if you gave up on the story, please please keep up the good work and good luck.
P.S. W.T.F. is with the sister Parker is blue balled and she puts on a show to strain his nuts even further, slut, bitch send her round here next time I have a spare bottle of wine to loosen her up then I wont need hand relief.

 

[Deleted member 167032]

I like that Parker is steering those cops away from his mom, but dont like that he has to give them other women to harass. Hopefully he can help them nail the cops later...

 

[leon02457]

Pc compressed need here

 

[mommysboiii]

Emily will be the only other student the MC knows at the ALC, so she's still got a chance to get some revenge on him - or seduce him away from Becky.

I would prefer if MC in route B stays more of a beta and stays true too Becky, but loses her would be cool if Emily get revenge on Becky maybe she has a evil plan and tricks MC that she is an angel know and she improved herself and than she tries too corrupt becky or tricks her because Becky thinks Emily is a slut and hates that becky thinks she is something better than Emily.

 

[riderjohn13]

Can someone pls give the savefile till chapter 9

 

[riderjohn13]

Can anyone pls attach the save file till chapter 9

 

[XaGnard]

Crawling out from under my rock for just a minute or three.

I wanted to take the opportunity to say that I really appreciate the reactions and the spirited discussion. Even if there are elements that you don't like, the fact that many of you have, well, "strong opinions" on what should have happened or should happen in the future is personally gratifying. With so many "I'm waiting for X to happen," I'm sure you understand that not everybody is going to get what they want. Still, I do pay attention to the feedback, and can definitely say that there are plot elements that have changed from "the original plan" as a result of all of you. Maybe once it's all done and over we'll discuss those, and some of the underlying "why things went the way they did." There are reasons for a lot of it. Not all of it - there's definitely a few "why the hell not's" scattered around, but still...

I did want to address one item - the distinction between "realistic" and "plausible." There are elements of this story that, frankly, push the bounds of "realistic." Or possibly push past them. (You know what they are as well as I do.) But "plausible" is a somewhat looser standard than "realistic," and, frankly, I've yet to run into an "adult" game or KN that really met the "realistic" standard. So, what I'm trying to do is to stay within "plausible" while still having some fun with the story. To have the characters all have their strengths and weaknesses, and acting the way that someone with those strengths and weaknesses might act, without any "that couldn't possibly happen" moments. (And for those that haven't been around since the beginning of this thread, I'll repeat that I spent a good chunk of my childhood in the South in the 1960's, when and where there were plenty of cops who did whatever the hell they damn well pleased with impunity. So please don't use "can't possibly" with respect to Bill and Paul.) (And, yes, if you do the math, you'll figure out that I'm a dinosaur. There's a reason for my avatar's tag line.)

Also, I regret that I can't bang out "update of the month" on this. This update, in particular, did take longer than I wanted - no question about it. But it was a combination of "life happened" and some last-minute extensions to the chapter. "Quality over speed" has been my motto. That isn't going to change. (And, per the terms of the OP, you're allowed to jump all over the next newbie who says "when's the next update. Which, given past history, I'm expecting within a couple of weeks. LOL)

Finally, to those of you who are supporting me on Patreon or SubscribeStar, or who have donated assets, or who have offered their assistance, or who have just tossed a few words of encouragement my way on Discord or here - THANK YOU! I've discovered that this is a much lonelier endeavor than I thought it would be when I embarked on it (particularly after JohnCBB left) and the temptation to just pack it in raises its ugly head now and again. It's the support, via whatever means, of all of you that keeps me going, and keeps me determined to finish what I started.

OK, 'nuff said. Back to Daz Studio and renders for Chapter 11...

I clicked through your game at the beginning (first version on F95) and now again. I'm glad that even you realize by now that your game is not realistic. Now the question arises whether it is as least plausible or plausible in the set of rules that are defined in the game itself. One example here is the emphasis on preparation. The police officer explains in large sentences how important a thorough planning, the selection of the right victim, etc. is. This is also illustrated in the story by using the example of the mother and the idea to use the MC as a kind of spy to find more possible victims and corresponding leverage. However, all of this is ignored in this update with the girl nacked photo shooting. No preparation and a total disregard that the character was presented as smart in the updates before. Here you break with the rules and information you have brought in yourself into the game and thus also lose out on plausibility. By the way, also the event between the sister and the MC friend and some other events have some very big plausibility gaps.

 

[stahalle]

I clicked through your game at the beginning (first version on F95) and now again. I'm glad that even you realize by now that your game is not realistic. Now the question arises whether it is as least plausible or plausible in the set of rules that are defined in the game itself. One example here is the emphasis on preparation. The police officer explains in large sentences how important a thorough planning, the selection of the right victim, etc. is. This is also illustrated in the story by using the example of the mother and the idea to use the MC as a kind of spy to find more possible victims and corresponding leverage. However, all of this is ignored in this update with the girl nacked photo shooting. No preparation and a total disregard that the character was presented as smart in the updates before. Here you break with the rules and information you have brought in yourself into the game and thus also lose out on plausibility. By the way, also the event between the sister and the MC friend and some other events have some very big plausibility gaps.

hmmm.... i wouldnt say that. as i see it the brain of the cops is the older one and only the younger goes after the girl because he wants to punish the mc for refusing them and to show that he can handle himself alone. i agree with you on the scene with the sister that was out of nowhere and i dont get why she did it.

 

[Cgt35]

i have a question. i have played every update but my gallery still not fully open first 1-4 page ok. after that all scenes close.
last update scenes open also. Why these replays still close?

Can we have gallery unlocker for this game? if it is possible . it would be nice.

 

[AlfredBundy4]

I must say, this is a title I skipped after playing the first few chapters for a while back. It just seemed very disjointed and random. It mostly felt like a new developer learning how to even make a VN (that may be so, I have no idea). Just kind of everywhere at once while having no real foundation.

Now? I recently played and it seems to have found it's footing! It's pretty good right now. The GF is hot as fuck and I'm not pro or anti-NTR so what happens with her, the mom, the cops and your friend will be interesting! I'm now here for it. Can't wait until the next update because that photoshoot was hot as fuck!

 

[Rich]

XaGnard - I take full responsibility for any failures in plausibility due to inconsistencies between early chapters and later chapters. Unfortunately, this is one of the things that can happen when (a) you have a change in writer mid-way through a project and (b) things stretch out over this amount of time. (I checked recently, and my first FF&S render was in August 2018, so coming up on three years, and my neurons aren't what they used to was...) I will also freely confess that my "take" on some of the characters is probably different from JohnCBB's would have been.

Cgt35 - Not sure why you have the issue with the gallery. Scenes in the gallery are enabled based on having seen them in-game, using Ren'py's "has this been seen" support. So, what you might do is turn on "skip unseen text" in the preferences, go back to Chapter 5 (since 1-4 are ok) and then just hit the tab key to fast-forward through everything. That should ensure that everything is unlocked. Doing a gallery unlocker would require a code patch. I didn't figure it was worth it, given that there is only one branch. It's obviously different in a game with lots of branches where it can be hard to find a particular event/scene.

MIkedante - Apologies. I didn't think about the photoshoot as something for the gallery. Mea culpla. Maybe in an upcoming release I'll change the gallery to be "replay" instead of just "re-show an image/animation." That would make including the photoshoot workable. In the meantime, that's what save points are for... LOL

 

[cleanfeel]

...To have the characters all have their strengths and weaknesses, and acting the way that someone with those strengths and weaknesses might act, without any "that couldn't possibly happen" moments...

Happy to hear about your thoughts about the game. This line right here is the biggest reason I support more to you than any other creator in the h-game scene. I've played probably around 100 - 200 games / visual novels, both from the East and West, not including the plethora and movies, manga, and anime I've consumed. Too many stories have characters that act out of scope and specs of the character. The biggest example of this can be Game of Thrones (difference between writing of author of the books, and no-talent tv writers of Season 6-8), where they simply don't put themselves in the shoes of their characters and instead of dialog that moves the plot along without depth.

In the h-game perspective, the plot is the sex scenes. For ntr / blackmail content, it's the act of doing those things to the girls itself as the "plot". Too many creators force scenarios that are out of line to their girls simply to get their plot forward.

There's a few distinct things that makes this game stand out than others.

1. The number of characters is considerably smaller, leading to more development of their thoughts, as well as other characterization tools such as the things they do when they're not "moving the plot along" (sex), what they think about others, what their aspirations are in life, and what challenges they face to get to those aspirations.

2. The writing is a lot more mature and nuanced than others. For example, we get to hear inside of the heads of the cops as he blackmails Melissa into blowing him. We get to hear Carl's thoughts after he does a photoshoot for Becky. And the flavor of blackmail that the cops use on Becky is much more logical than many other games.

Here's a few things that I think can take the game to the next level:

1. Thoughts of women characters are lacking. For example, as Melissa is throating one of the cops, we don't hear her thoughts. As Becky strips for Carl, we don't hear her thoughts. What is Melissa thinking as she is exposed to the cops' dick? What is she thinking when he grabs the back of her head and pushes his fat cock inside her mouth, hitting her throat. What is she thinking that night in her bed, after that? There's so much potential for quality, fappable writing that extends beyond the sex scene itself. Some Japanese games do this well, when they show the woman POV of her having sex with her husband after fucking someone else, but they're mostly formulaic and boring like "oh the other guy was sooo much bigger", or "I can't feel anything". I think there's many lines of thoughts that are not put on paper, such as blowjobs thoughts, that are missing in the collective thinking of h-games writing.

One I can think of is when I got my first blowjob, the girl said to me that it tasted salty. (It's little details like this that adds to the character and make them come alive, the real reaction of a girl taking a massive cock inside her the first time, first time having her ass cheeks smacked around, and spread wide open, etc)

2. Gender swapping to write better: In my world view, women and men are not that different. Reactions of a woman being blackmailed for sex or blowjob, is not that different from a man. Sure, the timeline of this game is set a few decades in the past. But human thoughts are all very similar across race, culture, and sex. We all want to be accepted, love, protect those we care about, and feel disgust and trapped when we are confronted with obstacles. I think more agency of the women of this game can elevated to a higher product. Not the kind of false empowerment that we get on Netflix with its neverending LGBTQ agenda pushing shows. But the kind that makes you want to fight for the girl being blackmailed. The only way to write characters you care about, is to put them in your shoes. And that works even if they are of a different sex. Of course there are some experiences only women have (child birth, makeup, periods, breasts), but from my life experience many are largely exaggerated and overemphasized by the media. We are all similar to each other than we think, and in the context of how to handle blackmail / coercion, there's a few lines of action that coincide.

MIkedante - Apologies. I didn't think about the photoshoot as something for the gallery. Mea culpla. Maybe in an upcoming release I'll change the gallery to be "replay" instead of just "re-show an image/animation." That would make including the photoshoot workable. In the meantime, that's what save points are for... LOL

This game is small, and can be skipped in perhaps 4 minutes per chapter. There is very little to be gained for spending time coding a better gallery feature because some people can't be bothered to hold CTRL for 4 minutes or use Save.

 

[Rich]

Here's a few things that I think can take the game to the next level:

1. Thoughts of women characters are lacking....

That one, in particular, I'll address. When JohnBB and I first started blocking out the story, he very much wanted it to be "multi-first-person" in nature. So, the story is told from the POV's of only a very few characters (originally it was going to just alternate between Parker and Bill, but I've added Carl). As a result, the reader is only supposed to know/see/hear what the character knows/sees/hears. Of course, the reader knows more than any one of the characters does because of the multiple POV's, but part of the point is that since Parker doesn't know what's going on in Becky's head, for example, the reader shouldn't either. Essentially, John thought that this would help the reader identify with the character's confusion, frustration, motivation or whatever - to "be" the character somewhat more.

And it certainly has resulted in a few spirited "why did she do THAT" discussions on this forum, so I'd have to say it worked at least to some degree... LOL

So, this was a conscious choice, which I've maintained. (Side note - I happen to be a big fan of much of the "hard-boiled detective" genre that is almost always written first-person, so that probably influenced me to continue.)

 

[maiku123]

That one, in particular, I'll address. When JohnBB and I first started blocking out the story, he very much wanted it to be "multi-first-person" in nature. So, the story is told from the POV's of only a very few characters (originally it was going to just alternate between Parker and Bill, but I've added Carl). As a result, the reader is only supposed to know/see/hear what the character knows/sees/hears. Of course, the reader knows more than any one of the characters does because of the multiple POV's, but part of the point is that since Parker doesn't know what's going on in Becky's head, for example, the reader shouldn't either. Essentially, John thought that this would help the reader identify with the character's confusion, frustration, motivation or whatever - to "be" the character somewhat more.

And it certainly has resulted in a few spirited "why did she do THAT" discussions on this forum, so I'd have to say it worked at least to some degree... LOL

So, this was a conscious choice, which I've maintained. (Side note - I happen to be a big fan of much of the "hard-boiled detective" genre that is almost always written first-person, so that probably influenced me to continue.)

If I may add I think the characters are not dutchebags enough. You can get inspiration from Iroyoridori and NTRPG 2, Spiral Legend etc. The ¨villans¨ were trash and you knew there were garbage but they were able to corrupt the mc girls by deciving them, blackmailing or others so in a sense you can simpatize with the mc. I think that if you can make someone say at the end, come on author, give a break to this piece of shit then that is pure gold ntr but is just my opinion.

 

[randomguy26]

This game is goddamn good if you're into it.I am really glad to see that you don't half ass the path to corruption.A good example would be spellbook where they jumped the gf corruption way too early.I really hope you guys keep up with the pace and quality of story.Goodjob you two.i wish i was earning to support you two.

 

[alibaba34]

Originally, I assumed the MC would hook up with his mom and sister but I'm not sure if that's gonna happen at this point. We'll see. Humiliation and blackmail seem to be the main theme here.
I define NTR as cheating on the MC so I'm not seeing much of that yet.

Obviously, there is no standards organization that puts out a clear definition for these terms

But the humiliation of the protagonist is a pretty important part of the NTR genre. Since we are supposed to insert ourselves into the MC's role as we follow along, we end up feeling these shitty things. And that fantasy is arousing for me in a fucked up way as I am sure it is for many other fans of the genre. I guess that's what makes people very uncomfortable about NTR. If it was just cheating, with the person being cheated on nowhere in the picture, then - in my opinion - that doesn't make me feel bad in any way. The so-called victim isn't even in the picture. They might as well not even exist. The protagonist, in this case, is the woman who is cheating and enjoying herself. Who am I supposed to feel bad for?

So from this viewpoint, this story is still not NTR because we know nothing about the father, so I don't even care. There isn't much here for NTR enjoyers but the story is still interesting in a different way. However, if the MC feels really bad about his mother being fucked by the cops, then arguably it would still be NTR even if there isn't any incest. But then again, we can see the MC is, all said and done, a very selfish jerk who is OK with the cops screwing his mom as long as his own life with his new girlfriend isn't disrupted.

And now the story is morphing into a power fantasy where the MC supposedly has the same talents as the cops and may even join them. So, this in my opinion takes this story very far away from true NTR territory.