VN Ren'Py Abandoned High Life [Ep. 1 Elite] [Erosion]

[RomanHume]

The Romans built the Colosseum in 8 years, yet no contractor today can do it in under 10.

They're not a 100 employee studio, but 3 friends who enjoy this as a side project. The renders take great hardware, and still requires 20+ minutes per frame to render, not including the posing, camera settings/angling, and lighting. Then there's the custom assets being employed, which takes a good amount of time to make. And still, there's the coding and scripting, which again, takes quite a bit of time, even more so when branching the dialogue and story.

Most Devs rarely do less than 30 days between releases (usually longer), and this is still the highest quality work I've seen.

(In my best Jersey Foreman Voice) That's because the Romans didn't have to pull fucking permits or wait for these goddamn building inspectors to go over every inch of my guys' work. They also didn't have to wait for the utility companies to come in and lay a few thousand feet of natural gas pipe-line or these slow fucking line-men who are wiring up the goddamn main panel. And while you're waiting on all that shit to get done you gotta renegotiate with the goddamn unions four or five times before you can even lay the foundation. And God fucking help you one of your guys doesn't have an accident and OSHA has to come in and shut the site down for a week while they work out the fucking worker's comp claim and green light the site's safety record. Factor in the mandatory union breaks, paid days off and fucking vacations and you'll be lucky if you're watching lions eating mother fuckers before the end of the decade.

 

[Walg]

(In my best Jersey Foreman Voice) That's because the Romans didn't have to pull fucking permits or wait for these goddamn building inspectors to go over every inch of my guys' work. They also didn't have to wait for the utility companies to come in and lay a few thousand feet of natural gas pipe-line or these slow fucking line-men who are wiring up the goddamn main panel. And while you're waiting on all that shit to get done you gotta renegotiate with the goddamn unions four or five times before you can even lay the foundation. And God fucking help you one of your guys doesn't have an accident and OSHA has to come in and shut the site down for a week while they work out the fucking worker's comp claim and green light the site's safety record. Factor in the mandatory union breaks, paid days off and fucking vacations and you'll be lucky if you're watching lions eating mother fuckers before the end of the decade.

Clearly it's not a personal topic for you

No the Romans didn't have any health and safety etc issues that you mentioned but they did use the fear of floggings, beatings, employ the constant fear of death on the workers and oh don't forget they "asked" 50/60,000 Jewish slaves to "help" them

But yeah, anybody that questions the quality and quantity of content this game has, should play all the routes just to see what exactly there really is, playing just one route isn't enough to determine that at all
As for me, I question nothing, I play only one route, and I'm happy with the amount of quality content I get for that route on a monthly basis or what I get every 2-3 months, I appreciate the devs work and efforts very much

The club scene where Ele sees that mysterious girl, even though there was nothing sexual there, but damn it somehow felt exciting and and intriguing, erotic even, it was just a short scene, and yet in itself it was one of the most memorable scenes I've ever seen in all of the over 140 adult games that I've played, it was just so sexy and that whole atmosphere and the mood and everything, just perfect, haha. If I was in Ele's shoes, being in that club having a good time, dancing in the middle of the crowd and suddenly I see a girl like that, yeah, if she was a bit more confident and experienced, she could've just told the girl "you're coming home with me tonight!"

There's so many developers who pour their heart and soul into their projects and hope that they get a following to make a small living from this and there's so much talent (@RomanHume is definitely one of them) that's on display. Then Erosion come along and push the envelope once again to show what's possible from 3 friends with a passion.

As @Eerie Entity pointed out, the club scene is just a great understanding of visuals, story and execution. From a v0.1. Just sit back and think about that. Sure it's awesome to keep playing through updates asap but to get this quality, you need to spend time to get it right and I for one don't really mind if they take a little longer if this quality continues to come out (I'm not a patron so obviously my opinion doesn't matter to Erosion).

 

[BonusDuck]

The Romans built the Colosseum in 8 years, yet no contractor today can do it in under 10.

They're not a 100 employee studio, but 3 friends who enjoy this as a side project. The renders take great hardware, and still requires 20+ minutes per frame to render, not including the posing, camera settings/angling, and lighting. Then there's the custom assets being employed, which takes a good amount of time to make. And still, there's the coding and scripting, which again, takes quite a bit of time, even more so when branching the dialogue and story.

Most Devs rarely do less than 30 days between releases (usually longer), and this is still the highest quality work I've seen.

I agree with that. I would rather they took the time they needed rather than stick rigidly to a schedule and rush things out. This game oozes quality like nothing else out there, and while I'm eagerly awaiting episode 2, I'd rather they maintain the standard they've already set (if anything, from the stuff they've shown since E1 they seem to have kicked the quality up a notch).

I do miss the weekly development updates though, they did (and would) make the wait between eps much more bearable.

 

[BonusDuck]

Oh, and look!!!

I guess the devs thought Aggie deserved to be on the banner - and I'd have to agree.

 

[BonusDuck]

You must be registered to see the links

• 
  
  
• You must be registered to see the links
• You must be registered to see the links
• 
  

You must be registered to see the links

Unlocked
Development Update #9: 3rd December 2018
Hi everyone,
Let's begin with the obvious! As you can see above, we've updated the High Life cover art. We love it and we think you will too, which is why we've included three full-size posters that you can use for whatever you'd like. They make great desktop wallpapers! Let us know what you think in the comments.
What's coming in Episode 2?
Now time for some news. We've had a lot of questions! What's coming in Episode 2? What can we expect in terms of story and setting? We're hard at work on Episode 2, crunching through scenes and continuing to explore plans for future Episodes as ideas emerge. Episode 2 is going to carry on exploring some of the branches established in the first Episode: if Eleanor joined Ignite, her relationship with Aggie and her friends, her relationship with her mother and family, and so on. It will also add new branches and continue to explore the darker paths coming. We'll see parties, drugs, new boys, new girls...
We're also going to jump around in time more, so whereas Episode 1 spanned one significant day, Episode 2 and future Episodes will cover longer periods - days, maybe weeks of Eleanor's life. No longer following her day-by-day. This also means we'll get to university sooner than originally planned, which is good because it means we can devote more time to exploring the tons of opportunities and events that university opens up.
Paths
Talking about the story in terms of paths is a bit reductive, because we're trying to reflect the reality of life as a real teenage girl: messy and disjointed, no decision black and white or clearly labelled. The 'path' you're on might not become clear until later. However, we're devoting equal attention to all the routes available to the player, whether Eleanor is good and looking for a serious romantic connection with her idealistic boy, or is on a course to something darker and more obscure.
Almost every decision in Episode 1 is going to re-emerge later in the game. A moment as simple as telling Aggie you think it's a bad idea she opens herself up to being gay, when stacked up with other moments could somewhere down the line be the difference between Aggie suppressing her sexuality for the sake of her friendship, or deciding Eleanor no longer fits in her new life. All of the team have their own opinions about where they want to take Eleanor on their playthroughs, so giving as much weight to each route as possible is helping to keep tempers down!
We're also looking into opening a Discord server for High Life. We have no experience with it though, so bare with us. If anyone would like to volunteer their knowledge, go ahead!
Finally, we have a few additional surprises in store that we're working hard on, that we'll hopefully be able to reveal more information about soon.
Thank you for your wonderful support, don't forget to download the new cover art!
- Erosion

 

[smut]

This had such a good start that the only thing I'm worried about is too many resources being spent maintaining too many branches.

That said, it would be really sad if the only path was corruption with minor cosmetic differences, because we've see that all too many times.

And I hope the consequences down the line for minor choices make sense, because its frustrating making the best effort in choosing in line with how you want to develop the character, and then boom something major that you had no way of even guessing is the consequence way later.

Awesome start that really pulled me in, so I don't mean to complain, this looks really promising and its already a couple of levels above similar games here.

 

[Ignazzio]

Well, branches are indeed often problematic but if GGGB can do it this one can do it as well. The whole purpose of such games is a choice you can make. I also hope it won't be overly focused on anything major - corruption is a general theme of every FMC game but innocent path is something I look forward a lot. So far it might sound a bit focused on a lesbian choices (nice but nothing really exciting for me) and I feel some incest vibe (I really hope it won't be a thing - it's hard for a more irrational and moronic scenario). So far nothing is set in stone and future updates will tell if choices really matter and to what extend.

 

[LP83]

You must be registered to see the links

Unlocked
Early Riser
Here's Eleanor's mother Anna, relaxed and up early to get ready for work. If for some reason Eleanor hasn't slept well last night, maybe they'll bump into each other...
We've been working on some of the night-time and early morning scenes upcoming in Episode 2, and creating small glamour shots like this one to improve things like lighting and to practice finding the right 'mood'. Dark scenes are super difficult, because you lose a lot of the natural reflection from the sun onto the body, and that reflection is the key to making things feel a little more lifelike. Ignoring the gown, this is roughly the final style of how we want night scenes to look.
Let us know what you think once you've downloaded and had a look at the 4000x5000px shot attached below!

Goddess like figure!!

 

[Eerie Entity]

This had such a good start that the only thing I'm worried about is too many resources being spent maintaining too many branches.

That said, it would be really sad if the only path was corruption with minor cosmetic differences, because we've see that all too many times.

And I hope the consequences down the line for minor choices make sense, because its frustrating making the best effort in choosing in line with how you want to develop the character, and then boom something major that you had no way of even guessing is the consequence way later.

Awesome start that really pulled me in, so I don't mean to complain, this looks really promising and its already a couple of levels above similar games here.

But it is so in real life too, the decision you make today, the consequences may not reflect on you tomorrow or a week, not even 6 months later, but they eventually will catch up, life is unpredictable, and High Life story emulates that =P

 

[smut]

Oh, yeah thats most certainly true. I was thinking more in line of game mechanics. Life is messy, but for a game to be enjoyable it needs to respect your choices. The story itself can take significant and completely unexpected turns which people mostly just accept no matter how absurd, but when small choices one makes in good faith throws you for a surprise that really impacts the story in a way you never could have foreseen, then it creates frustration.

I realize this is really meta, and I have no reason to believe it will turn out bad in this game, but when the story of a game is really good and draws you in, it also has the potential to create powerful negative feelings when it misses a step. There is a reason why there are so many discussions about choices and fear of messing up the future consequences in choice heavy games like Mass Effect, Dragon Age, The Witcher, Life is Strange, etc. People are investing a lot of time and emotion into their character, while they know that the story can throw them nasty surprises, they hate it a lot more when their own choices mess with them.

 

[reyty]

i just hope that no one wiil die

 

[Asuminoya]

As long as I can create the ultimate lesbian harem for my goddess Eleanor, I won't complain.

 

[BonusDuck]

Oh, yeah thats most certainly true. I was thinking more in line of game mechanics. Life is messy, but for a game to be enjoyable it needs to respect your choices. The story itself can take significant and completely unexpected turns which people mostly just accept no matter how absurd, but when small choices one makes in good faith throws you for a surprise that really impacts the story in a way you never could have foreseen, then it creates frustration.

I realize this is really meta, and I have no reason to believe it will turn out bad in this game, but when the story of a game is really good and draws you in, it also has the potential to create powerful negative feelings when it misses a step. There is a reason why there are so many discussions about choices and fear of messing up the future consequences in choice heavy games like Mass Effect, Dragon Age, The Witcher, Life is Strange, etc. People are investing a lot of time and emotion into their character, while they know that the story can throw them nasty surprises, they hate it a lot more when their own choices mess with them.

Respectfully disagree sir. I think the uncertainty surrounding the choices is what will ultimately make this a game and put the player on the same emotional rollercoaster as the characters.

I think the more tiny, insignificant-seeming choices with potentially big consequences there are the better! For example, say Eleanor wakes up late and has to meet Aggie, you could be faced with a multitude of mundane choices, like have breakfast, quickly get ready and leave or tidy dorm. Now, after her catchup with Aggie, Eleanor could come back to the dorms to find her serious boyfriend making a surprise visit... now, if Eleanor chose to rush out and meet Aggie and not tidy up, her boyfriend would see evidence of a one night stand she had with a boy (or girl) the night before in the form of her cum stained knickers on the floor, used condoms or sex toys.

Would the above seem like an unfair and totally random consequence for the player? Not exactly, not if they were observant and noticed that both Eleanor and Aggie were prone to lateness, and turning up late to meet her wouldn't have mattered anyway.

I don't know what Erosion have planned, but I think this quote from Aggie...

"The best kinda girl is the one that just looks innocent. You can't see her ferocity or her unbridled side, and she doesn't dress any differently to the rest of us. But under the cover of darkness, she's wild..."

...Is basically describing who Eleanor could become by the end of the game. A girl who still appears to be virginal, innocent and angelic to the world - even after all the wild sexual encounters she's been through. That for me is the hottest thing about this game, and where the fun really lies - getting Eleanor into all those sexual situations, while protecting her from any potentially harmful consequences, to her studies, to her relationships and to her reputation.

 

[♩♪♫ ŤЦ尺尺ØЛ ♫♪♩]

so...this is released via episodes---not in 0.0001 thingy like the others? like if there is an update/episode 2---its like a complete episode?

 

[Pavali]

Respectfully disagree sir. I think the uncertainty surrounding the choices is what will ultimately make this a game and put the player on the same emotional rollercoaster as the characters.

I think the more tiny, insignificant-seeming choices with potentially big consequences there are the better! For example, say Eleanor wakes up late and has to meet Aggie, you could be faced with a multitude of mundane choices, like have breakfast, quickly get ready and leave or tidy dorm. Now, after her catchup with Aggie, Eleanor could come back to the dorms to find her serious boyfriend making a surprise visit... now, if Eleanor chose to rush out and meet Aggie and not tidy up, her boyfriend would see evidence of a one night stand she had with a boy (or girl) the night before in the form of her cum stained knickers on the floor, used condoms or sex toys.

Would the above seem like an unfair and totally random consequence for the player? Not exactly, not if they were observant and noticed that both Eleanor and Aggie were prone to lateness, and turning up late to meet her wouldn't have mattered anyway.

I don't know what Erosion have planned, but I think this quote from Aggie...

"The best kinda girl is the one that just looks innocent. You can't see her ferocity or her unbridled side, and she doesn't dress any differently to the rest of us. But under the cover of darkness, she's wild..."

...Is basically describing who Eleanor could become by the end of the game. A girl who still appears to be virginal, innocent and angelic to the world - even after all the wild sexual encounters she's been through. That for me is the hottest thing about this game, and where the fun really lies - getting Eleanor into all those sexual situations, while protecting her from any potentially harmful consequences, to her studies, to her relationships and to her reputation.

Literally could said it any better, Sir!
Theatrical chapeau to you!

 

[Tanwise]

Based on this explanation of episode 2, the devs are already becoming too overly ambitious and having internal struggles in their team. Not to mention the fact that based on what they said here, the only "good girl" route is to have a serious relationship with a guy, there's no "good girl" lesbian route. The only other route is to have her become wild.

That's the problem with the devs of all the adult games, many start out with a decent or even good concept, but then get ahead of themselves and end up ruining their game.

I can already see this happening here, because of this sentence among others, "All of the team have their own opinions about where they want to take Eleanor on their playthroughs, so giving as much weight to each route as possible is helping to keep tempers down!" In other words they didn't write up a plan or storyline before hand, they're creating it as they go.

And that right there is a recipe for disaster.

By the way, why is it that in games with a "corruption theme" were the MC is a male, he is the one corrupting the female characters. But when the MC is a female, she is still the one being corrupted??? That's unbalanced.

You must be registered to see the links

What's coming in Episode 2?
Now time for some news. We've had a lot of questions! What's coming in Episode 2? What can we expect in terms of story and setting? We're hard at work on Episode 2, crunching through scenes and continuing to explore plans for future Episodes as ideas emerge. Episode 2 is going to carry on exploring some of the branches established in the first Episode: if Eleanor joined Ignite, her relationship with Aggie and her friends, her relationship with her mother and family, and so on. It will also add new branches and continue to explore the darker paths coming. We'll see parties, drugs, new boys, new girls...
We're also going to jump around in time more, so whereas Episode 1 spanned one significant day, Episode 2 and future Episodes will cover longer periods - days, maybe weeks of Eleanor's life. No longer following her day-by-day. This also means we'll get to university sooner than originally planned, which is good because it means we can devote more time to exploring the tons of opportunities and events that university opens up.
Paths
Talking about the story in terms of paths is a bit reductive, because we're trying to reflect the reality of life as a real teenage girl: messy and disjointed, no decision black and white or clearly labelled. The 'path' you're on might not become clear until later. However, we're devoting equal attention to all the routes available to the player, whether Eleanor is good and looking for a serious romantic connection with her idealistic boy, or is on a course to something darker and more obscure.
Almost every decision in Episode 1 is going to re-emerge later in the game. A moment as simple as telling Aggie you think it's a bad idea she opens herself up to being gay, when stacked up with other moments could somewhere down the line be the difference between Aggie suppressing her sexuality for the sake of her friendship, or deciding Eleanor no longer fits in her new life. All of the team have their own opinions about where they want to take Eleanor on their playthroughs, so giving as much weight to each route as possible is helping to keep tempers down!
We're also looking into opening a Discord server for High Life. We have no experience with it though, so bare with us. If anyone would like to volunteer their knowledge, go ahead!
Finally, we have a few additional surprises in store that we're working hard on, that we'll hopefully be able to reveal more information about soon.
Thank you for your wonderful support, don't forget to download the new cover art!
- Erosion

 

[BSoda]

By the way, why is it that in games with a "corruption theme" were the MC is a male, he is the one corrupting the female characters. But when the MC is a female, she is still the one being corrupted??? That's unbalanced.

The reason for that is quite simply. Men are generally not seen as "pure" or "innocent". The fetish needs a stark contrast (e.g. prude to slut) to really work. For male characters the "fall" would simply be too small.

 

[Olivia_V]

I can already see this happening here, because of this sentence among others, "All of the team have their own opinions about where they want to take Eleanor on their playthroughs, so giving as much weight to each route as possible is helping to keep tempers down!" In other words they didn't write up a plan or storyline before hand, they're creating it as they go.

First off, I think the "keep tempers down" bit is a joke. Second, I don't see any indication that they have no written plan or storyline. What I do see is them having several routes planned out already and having to decide which ones to pour energy on for the next release.

 

[drpavelcia]

I like how the character's name is Eleanor; I was thinking she looked sort of like Kristen Bell, then I remembered Bell's character on The Good Place is also named Eleanor.

 

[BonusDuck]

They've planned up until her coming back home from University after her first term.