Ren'Py Abandoned Heavy Five [Ch.2RS] [Nottravis]

[frap]

You turn up for the promise of a square jawed gall with a face speaking to inadequacy and a plot at least marginally better than the average... then you get 'Yes, Prime Ministered'.
...
Heavy five is, definitively the Visual Novel Harrods would sell you .

Thanks for the experience.

Welcome to the club! I found out about this game from answering (via PM - which turned into a friendly convo) a question Notty asked in one of the developer threads. I checked out the first version, not expecting much, and bam! Hooked. I don't think I could've set my expectations high enough if I had tried.

She's a damn fine writer and funny as hell to boot! It helps that she's so good at creating believable, relatable characters and telegraphing where choices are going to go (without being blatant about it.) She's also sneaky, crafty, underhanded, conniving, slightly twisted, and totally fair. These are all GOOD THINGS™ for writers in general, and for game writers in particular.

If you haven't noticed, we all kind of run around her thread mucking it up with our fawning fanboy/fangirl swooning, but most of us here wouldn't hesitate to verbally (textually?) kick her ass if she pulled a bait and switch and just shit out a chapter of thoughtless dreck. I honestly don't know how (or why) she puts up with us, but she's a peach!

By the way, Nottravis, when the complete game is out, you should share a picture of your corkboard (or mind map, or whatever organizer you used to pull this game together). I know I'd be interested in a behind-the-scenes look.

Damnit frap! You had to mention saving for a render rig, now half the posts are about rendering rigs. ಠ_ಠ

 

[frap]

I may have found one of Notty's corkboards online:

Spoiler: Conspiracy much?

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[DorcasAurelia]

I'll be honest there was a mad moment where I had the guys talking about sports because...that's what you do right? *took it out as it just sounded hopelessly awful!*

Oh speaking of which...did anyone get the sports related gag when visiting Sarah on her good path? *concedes it's obscure*

Spoiler: Yes, I know sports

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[I'm Not Thea Lundgren!]

So, from what I have read around the forum if we can get 1,000 people to like the OP, it can be put on the carousel at the top of the front page of the whole site! That means more visibility for the game and hopefully more patrons for Notty! Now, we just need to come up with a cunning plan to make it happen.

 

[RC-1138 Boss]

It is not that many. I just saw Fate of Irnia there and the OP thread for that game has 574 likes. I believe we are about halfway there.

 

[Nottravis]

Morning guys

I need to pop out my patron update this morning but I'll answer/respond to as many bits and bobs as I can in the time I have.

It is not that many. I just saw Fate of Irnia there and the OP thread for that game has 574 likes. I believe we are about halfway there.

*smiles softly at the "We"* I like that. *feels part of a team!*

 

[Nottravis]

So, from what I have read around the forum if we can get 1,000 people to like the OP, it can be put on the carousel at the top of the front page of the whole site! That means more visibility for the game and hopefully more patrons for Notty! Now, we just need to come up with a cunning plan to make it happen.

*makes a doubtful face*

I think the prob is getting people to play it in the first place.

From what I gather of those that do the majority like it, some loons -really- like it *wiggles eyebrows* and a few others either can't read or, in the case of my only iffy review, don't know that a penis has to get erect*. Well, let's not worry about those, but it's a catch 22, no? To get on the carousel a game needs to be relatively popular in order to get exposure and thus gain popularity.

This isn't a pop at the matrix they decided on if that's the case btw. It's clean and simple. Prove that people like your game oh tiny dev and we'll give you a boost. Makes sense. But when one considers some of the kind words people say about H5 and indeed that whole "hey, she can write!" thingy that keeps cropping up perhaps we're busting more tropes than just storytelling/game ones

So, here is a question for you. How do we/I get people to play it? Perhaps there is something wrong with the front page? I dunno. Would welcome thoughts on this one.

*goes to do salt and pepper comments on the rest*



* always feels like a slut whenever she reads that one as it means she knows more about cocks than some men obviously...

 

[Nottravis]

Spoiler: Yes, I know sports

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*concedes this episode did pop into her head!*

Welcome to the club! I found out about this game from answering (via PM - which turned into a friendly convo) a question Notty asked in one of the developer threads. I checked out the first version, not expecting much, and bam! Hooked. I don't think I could've set my expectations high enough if I had tried.

She's a damn fine writer and funny as hell to boot! It helps that she's so good at creating believable, relatable characters and telegraphing where choices are going to go (without being blatant about it.) She's also sneaky, crafty, underhanded, conniving, slightly twisted, and totally fair. These are all GOOD THINGS™ for writers in general, and for game writers in particular.

If you haven't noticed, we all kind of run around her thread mucking it up with our fawning fanboy/fangirl swooning, but most of us here wouldn't hesitate to verbally (textually?) kick her ass if she pulled a bait and switch and just shit out a chapter of thoughtless dreck. I honestly don't know how (or why) she puts up with us, but she's a peach!

By the way, Nottravis, when the complete game is out, you should share a picture of your corkboard (or mind map, or whatever organizer you used to pull this game together). I know I'd be interested in a behind-the-scenes look.

Damnit frap! You had to mention saving for a render rig, now half the posts are about rendering rigs. ಠ_ಠ

Too kind, too kind.

Sure, if you want to see the mapping and things no worries. I suspect you'll be horrified tho at my system!

Some characters are strange,...

Only some?

But enough of that - what's the latest from Thea? Is she still terrorizing Patreon or has she moved on to another target?

Ready?

Spoiler: Thea is...

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That actually sounds like an awesome minigame.
Gotta make sure to disable the rollback key for that part though.

*is suddenly thinking on how to use this as an idea!*

Something else may be coming soon too; Thea may have gotten herself into all sorts of erm, stuff.

*looks intrigued!*

You could try rendering the elements separately and then use an image editor (gimp, photoshop, paint.net) to merge the renders. For example: each character on a transparent layer, then the scenery. Only issue would be the lighting...

Most of One and Two was done like that (I only had a 2GB card - don't judge!). The trick is to do one render with them in so the shadows etc are right.

 

[I'm Not Thea Lundgren!]

Nottravis Am I just slow or did everyone get the easter egg about Red Dead Redemption? I must admit that I thought I saw something the first time, but glossed over it, then I rolled back and thought; there is something here, what am I not seeing?, then it clicked; Rah Rah got Red Dead and Redemption (her money back), Look, I'm tired; I've been up for 18-ish hours, and it's almost breakfast time!

Anyway, in true Notty fashion, laters! *poofs out for now*


Ooh, I quite liked that, I might have to do it again! *poofs out for real this time*

 

[Nottravis]

The big point there being, have a plan before you begin.

I'm working on a project that probably won't see the light of day for another year or more - but I'm actively writing it and squirreling away cash for a render machine. When I do start rendering and putting a final product together the entire story (and all paths) will be written, and the only slow-down at that point will be rendering.

If I'm remembering correctly, that's pretty much what Notty's been doing with H5. The story's already set in stone, and the rest is the rendering.

What this means for me is, I can start writing on another project while one is rendering (if the one doesn't kill me - and I already know what it will be). I believe that's what Notty may be doing re: the Scarlet Pirate game - she's plotting and writing now, while rendering H5. The bonus for all of us is: another Notty game close on the heels of the finish of H5!

Yep, that's more or less it. Certainly the story and scene blocks/plot points are all down pat. I don't fully script the blocks however as I prefer writing them as I go. Largely because you never know when an additional good bit can pop into your head.

For example Channel 7 was defo not in the original plans but I was after something that got Thea in and also underlined Sarah's tech skills and it dawned on me that C7 worked better than what I originally had. Oddly, per the blocks, one of the smallest scenes ended up being one of the largest in the last chapter.

Spoiler: The booby trap

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That's in the line of something I posted somewhere on these forums (too lazy to look up my own post ).
BAD developers run out of ideas, look through the requests, and then go around asking "do you want me to add X/Y/Z?".
GOOD developers already have a plan for the game all the way to the final chapter, and IF someone makes a radical suggestion that the developer actually likes, but which falls outside the scope of the current plans, the good developer takes note and considers it for his/her NEXT game, but NEVER for the current.

Currently, there are some big discussions going on about NTR. And one of the complaints is with developers adding it halfway the development process "because some people asked it and it won the poll that was open to literally everyone and his dog."
About a year ago, the exact same discussions took place about futa content, and the exact same thing was happening back then.
Same thing happened with gay content, same thing happened with BDSM (in various variations, upto vore..).

It's quite tempting for a developer to give in, and maybe attract a bigger audience. But, there will always be loyal members of your current audience who feel betrayed. And even those who like or don't care about the change subconciously deem you untrustworthy. On top of that, the game as a whole becomes inconsistent, the addition just won't mesh right without redoing the entire project from scratch. So whatever it is: stick to the plan, save new stuff for the next game.

*nods furiously in agreement*

Right! For me Notty brings a little BIG revolution in how adult VN's are made and I hope others will take inspiration.

EDIT: Factual mistake corrected.

*laughs* Oh, I wouldn't go that far surely!

Our love and adoration isn't enough, now she wants R.E.S.P.E.C.T.?!?!

Damned tooting I do!

 

[Nottravis]

Nottravis Am I just slow or did everyone get the easter egg about Red Dead Redemption? I must admit that I thought I saw something the first time, but glossed over it, then I rolled back and thought; there is something here, what am I not seeing?, then it clicked; Rah Rah got Red Dead and Redemption (her money back), Look, I'm tired; I've been up for 18-ish hours, and it's almost breakfast time!

Anyway, in true Notty fashion, laters! *poofs out for now*


Ooh, I quite liked that, I might have to do it again! *poofs out for real this time*

*laughs* I don't think so. Not many people mentioned it. Or it could have been too bad a joke of course I'm sorta used by now to mebbe half my stuff being missed except bar the odd one or two. *is cool with this tho*

 

[Nottravis]

Those 5 titles actually represent only 3 devs, DrPinkCake, PhillyGames and Notty. That's a helluva club to belong to. He's not wrong.

Crikey...I hadn't spotted that. Pretty exclusive company for a tiny dev like me!

I really must make sometime to play Philly's latest (although I suspect I'll cry comparing my renders to his!).

You don't have time for hobbies though, eh?
No games since March? how do you cope?

Alcohol?

 

[Nottravis]

She's also sneaky, crafty, underhanded, conniving, slightly twisted...

*preens!*

 

[Akamari]

So, from what I have read around the forum if we can get 1,000 people to like the OP, it can be put on the carousel at the top of the front page of the whole site! That means more visibility for the game and hopefully more patrons for Notty! Now, we just need to come up with a cunning plan to make it happen.

I thought it's a more curated selection than just one number.

 

[Nottravis]

I thought it's a more curated selection than just one number.

*isn't sure but imagines they could well use likes as a first cut for them deciding what to have a look at given the number of games that come out*

 

[TheDevian]

*laughs* I don't think so. Not many people mentioned it. Or it could have been too bad a joke of course I'm sorta used by now to mebbe half my stuff being missed except bar the odd one or two. *is cool with this tho*

Oh no, not only did I notice it the first time around, but it was one of the main things that endeared Sarah to me. I almost busted a gut when I first saw it.

 

[Akamari]

So, here is a question for you. How do we/I get people to play it? Perhaps there is something wrong with the front page? I dunno. Would welcome thoughts on this one.

Nothing wrong with the description (and I use the a lot to filter out new games. If the description is dull, so is usually the game). It's one of the best. I remember being instantly intrigued and hitting the download button.

Maybe refreshing the screenshots? I think there are plenty of nice candidates from Chapter 3. I admit that is also one of the deciding factors for me whether to download a game or not. If none of the pictures impress me I tend to move on.

 

[Akamari]

*isn't sure but imagines they could well use likes as a first cut for them deciding what to have a look at given the number of games that come out*

Well, I imagined it something like all staff members pitch games and then someone makes a selection out of that. Some numbers probably do play a role. I think the thread activity could count as well, so perhaps we won't get unnoticed next time. It's all just speculation though.

 

[Nottravis]

Well, I imagined it something like all staff members pitch games and then someone makes a selection out of that. Some numbers probably do play a role. I think the thread activity could count as well, so perhaps we won't get unnoticed next time. It's all just speculation though.

The last thing we want is mods noticing this thread! XD

 

[Akamari]

*laughs* I don't think so. Not many people mentioned it. Or it could have been too bad a joke of course I'm sorta used by now to mebbe half my stuff being missed except bar the odd one or two. *is cool with this tho*

Not a bad joke but something of a sore spot. Still waiting for PC ports!