VN Ren'Py Karlsson's Gambit [v0.8.2 Test] [Grym Gudinna Games]

[TessSadist]

Hi everyone!

I can't spend too much time reading everything so I am so sorry, but a Patron thought I should at least send a message about what is happening so here is what I am contemplating:

1) I do not have any problems/issues with "haters" or triggered people that dislike the game factoring into this Patreon poll except with Anais a little. Of course I have haters, but they are not relevant to me in the grand scheme of life. Most people that take more than fleeting moments of their time to "hate" in a detailed manner ANY game are frankly irrelevant people to me. They are more likely than not invisible people in the real world, so I'm fine with that type because this is often one of the only ways they can merit not being invisible...even if for a moment.

Highly successful and confident people that are happy in life rarely bother with this kind of behavior but just move on if they encounter something they dislike. I do this with incest games for example that I dislike. (I just move on, but don't bother anyone else)

Frankly, I consider my own opinion of my own game more important/persuasive than the combined collective of every human being on the planet. I will never deny I am extremely ego centric and that if something doesn't agree with my own mind, it does not matter how many people try and convince me otherwise. One single good statement/argument by one person can trump thousands of people parroting something I just don't agree with/care about, etc. I do believe I have a couple of mentally weird people that are haters, but they are not really relevant to what I am talking about here except to the specific one(s) that are bothering Anais, which does irritate me. But I wouldn't change anything based on haters.

2) The issue is with people that like a certain path TOO MUCH. I will try and give a decent analogy without being specific. Let's say a game has incest with the father/daughter vibe. I think many people know I personally DETEST this kink and I think it's creepy and gross, but I do NOT assign moral judgement on people that enjoy playing this kink because I do not believe 99.9% of people would really act out in such a way. I believe most people are sane and healthy and understand that a game is just that...a game. But unfortunately what I am discovering is that percentage for my game is lower than 99.9%.

So I dislike the kink, but I never become a hater and blast the game/dev/players. But let's say a dev making that game is now receiving a disturbing picture or two related to that specific kink. It's not because of hate but rather over enthusiasm so to speak. This is not really a hater issue, but rather people that are TOO enthusiastic about a fantasy game in disturbing ways. I don't want to be more specific than this, but this is about people that like the game too much, not too little.

3) I have not made up my mind yet, but this is a data gathering process for sure.

4) That's it. Just a feeler for now. But I don't want people to think it's because of negative hate for the game, it's actually because of the opposite problem -- way overzealous "lovers" more than anything else.

I do apologize in advance as it is unlikely I will be good at responding but I do miss/appreciate some great F95 people!

Thanks! (working on Final Version!)
Tess

 

[MilesEdgeworth]

Jesus, you literally just proved her point.

Tess, you have no need to explain any of this to us. This is your story; do whatever you feel is right. I imagine it must be tiring to receive demands/suggestions from such individuals about the deviant stuff to put into your game after a while.

 

[DarkerThenBlack]

Let's say a game has incest...

Your game has incest



Regarding hate(not the valid criticism), the best thing to do is to completely ignore it, don't even mention it. The more clout you give the haters, the more fuel you give them, because they see it gets to you.



Good luck with this massive game, hopefully it won't get banned for incest and your team will be able to work it out till the sweet conclusion.

 

[Dr Huge Vee]

is there a new content in this update?

because I started episode 8 and I feel like I have already played it.

 

[DarkerThenBlack]

is there a new content in this update?

because I started episode 8 and I feel like I have already played it.

there is, similar to all the stuff you've seen before but enjoyable, at least for me

 

[Stan5851]

A few thoughts on the thesis of the "falsity" of the Dom...path. Yeah, that post has already been deleted, but I'll just leave my 2 cents.

To me, KG is kind of like Game of Thrones in a dystopian post-apocalyptic world. But if you try to draw parallels between KG and GoT, I would compare Kane's (Dom) path to power to that of Daenerys Targaryen. Remember where she started and how long it took her to get to her goal, going from almost a slave to a very powerful person. Both Kane and Daenerys have things in common - both belong to the royal family, both are very important. Of course, Kane's path to power is different, but there are commonalities that can't be overlooked - trials/challenges, setbacks, gaining new allies, weaving palace intrigue - all in order to gain power and still stay alive (sorry, Daenerys, its not for you). (Yes, no one has fucked KaneDom from behind like Daenerys, and that's a plus too, haha ) and in general, KaneDom routes is quite comfortable and enjoyable.

So, in my opinion, it's silly to expect that within the scope of this massive epic story, Kane would immediately find himself on the KG Board with a personal harem of all the sisters. Gaining power for a man at the bottom of the food chain is not a quick process, but if someone likes AVN, where "mommy's boy Giga Chad" fucks the entire female population within a mile radius from the first minutes of the game and "dominates" without understanding what it is, KG is definitely not such a game, and those who expect such things from it should pass by.

 

[Stan5851]

Your game has incest

Mate, there's no incest in the game. Olivia is not Kane's real sister. As for Delilah, I haven't played ep8 yet (I'm waiting for the final version), but I'm sure that since we've already been able to enjoy a sex scene with her in past episodes (Dom route), it can only mean one thing - she's not Kane's blood relative, despite the last name. As for Nadia (who is apparently Kane's real sister), we won't have sex with her, I have no doubt about that.

 

[Maviarab]

Mate, there's no incest in the game. Olivia is not Kane's real sister. As for Delilah, I haven't played ep8 yet (I'm waiting for the final version), but I'm sure that since we've already been able to enjoy a sex scene with her in past episodes (Dom route), it can only mean one thing - she's not Kane's blood relative, despite the last name. As for Nadia (who is apparently Kane's real sister), we won't have sex with her, I have no doubt about that.

A few thoughts on the thesis of the "falsity" of the Dom...path. Yeah, that post has already been deleted, but I'll just leave my 2 cents.

To me, KG is kind of like Game of Thrones in a dystopian post-apocalyptic world. But if you try to draw parallels between KG and GoT, I would compare Kane's (Dom) path to power to that of Daenerys Targaryen. Remember where she started and how long it took her to get to her goal, going from almost a slave to a very powerful person. Both Kane and Daenerys have things in common - both belong to the royal family, both are very important. Of course, Kane's path to power is different, but there are commonalities that can't be overlooked - trials/challenges, setbacks, gaining new allies, weaving palace intrigue - all in order to gain power and still stay alive (sorry, Daenerys, its not for you). (Yes, no one has fucked KaneDom from behind like Daenerys, and that's a plus too, haha ) and in general, KaneDom routes is quite comfortable and enjoyable.

So, in my opinion, it's silly to expect that within the scope of this massive epic story, Kane would immediately find himself on the KG Board with a personal harem of all the sisters. Gaining power for a man at the bottom of the food chain is not a quick process, but if someone likes AVN, where "mommy's boy Giga Chad" fucks the entire female population within a mile radius from the first minutes of the game and "dominates" without understanding what it is, KG is definitely not such a game, and those who expect such things from it should pass by.

This, this...this...that....this ....

 

[DarkerThenBlack]

Mate, there's no incest in the game. Olivia is not Kane's real sister. As for Delilah, I haven't played ep8 yet (I'm waiting for the final version), but I'm sure that since we've already been able to enjoy a sex scene with her in past episodes (Dom route), it can only mean one thing - she's not Kane's blood relative, despite the last name. As for Nadia (who is apparently Kane's real sister), we won't have sex with her, I have no doubt about that.

Spoiler: spoiler

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[Crosaith.]

This is the full patron post from Tess

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Hi everyone!
I greatly appreciate the feedback I have been getting on the Test Version, and I am outlining some changes and a workflow plan for this week to finish up the Final Version of the game. I never want to give a hard deadline because I never know when something may go wrong, but I hope to have the Final Version out by roughly Friday this week.
I will be adding a few scenes, a few Easter Egg scenes, an outro, if I can find all the masks an intro mask shot, and selecting/adding all animations that I think make everything work better. (I usually reject about half of the animations that are created and keep the other half and include in game.)
So I hope to have this update out soon, and will stagger the release first to $8 tier up and give a bit of feedback time for this group but I will work to quickly get it out to $5 tier too if nothing is wrong.
Please make sure to carefully go over the save screens tutorial I put up in a prior post here on Patreon or on Discord in the save tutorial channel. It is important you save under the proper slot to ensure saves carry over properly. Most testers have got saves over ok, but a few had issues so I helped walked them through getting their saves compatible. The best indicator is that you have to type in a save name with a numbered slot 1-8 on the mask screens, not typing in a saved game name on the "normal" save screen where you see boxes/pictures on the screen.
Ok, this last item of business is a tough one for me to talk about but I always want to be transparent and discuss everything relevant in my mind. I primarily do this game for enjoyment and creative exercise, as it helps me in a lot of ways outside of KG. I have always been ok making less money if my enjoyment is not hindered too much. (I understand nothing is always perfect and happy, so I'm talking more normal stuff.)

I'm not going to go over ad naseum some issues I have faced, but the bottom line overall is that I have had issues ranging from the worst levels of harassment to lighter stuff that has impacted me otherwise. In short, bad actors. But the reality is that almost all of these bad actors are primarily fans of a very specific path of Karlsson's Gambit.
That path is generally classified for me as "dom/evil" on the extreme end. For those of you that can dig in the code, it's Kane with the "demon" flag and Olivia with the "demoness" flag combined together. I am NOT talking about a very strong and assertive Kane that takes power and can gain harem/romantic interests, but being very specific to the extreme evil path. For those that have played Episode 8, not to spoil it for those that haven't, this flag applies to one scene with Dom Kane, Juliette, and Mercy. I think those that have played can understand which scene I mean.
What does it mean if I seriously do consider taking it out? What it practically would mean is that I would abandon the demon flag and make deeper paths on the good dom, secret sub, and flesh out more of the normal dominant Kane path where he can be assertive and form relationships/harem females over time. A bit more "normal" versus extreme evil possibilities. This is not a change I love from my own personal writing standpoint, as I like writing about the extremes, but I am also getting weary (weary is the perfect word) from constant bad actors pushing on stuff related to this specific path. While I have had minor issues from 1-2 slaves on the extreme sub side because they get a bit needy, it is NOTHING close to what I have experienced on the other extreme. It just is not close, people would absolutely feel I should sue people for what I am seeing sometimes.
My primary goal in all of this is to keep the game going and retain my enjoyment as that's what drives me to keep writing...but I am putting up a poll here. Other than I think way back the poll that created Veronica Karlsson, this might be the most critical poll in possibly shaping what kind of decision I make moving forward. So please help me out by indicating how you play the game, and which paths you like, etc. I am not necessarily making any decisions based just on a poll, but I really do want to get a temperature check on my current Patrons and get a sense of how many "good" actors (not the bad actors but just regular people) that enjoy this specific path and might be unhappy about losing it.
So you can vote for more than one poll answer if it's relevant too (like you enjoy the sub and dom paths both for example) Just give me an indication...thanks! I know the choices might not be perfect with mindset, but I am just trying to guess as best as I can...
Please note none of this remotely impacts the sub path, or the very evil paths on that side, as I frankly have had no issues (read: bad actors) on that at all.
And as I said, I hope to have the next version out by I hope this Friday! Thanks!



I play the dom path, and love the extreme evil dom path and would be greatly upset losing it.
13


I play the dom path, and like the extreme evil path, absolutely would miss it.
37


I play the dom path and don't care too much about the extreme evil path. I won't miss it too much.
31


I play the dom path and prefer the good path.
26


I play the dom path and prefer a more normal/dominant harem/romance gaining power Kane without extreme evil.
51


I play dom path but primarily for secret sub path, but love the extreme evil path.
1


I play dom path but primarily for secret sub, but like the extreme evil path.
6


I play dom path but primarily for secret sub, don't care about extreme evil path.
13


I play dom path but primarily for secret sub, prefer good path.
12


I play dom path but primarily for secret sub, prefer normal assertive/dominant Kane gaining power/females path.
17


I play mostly/all sub path, but love the extreme evil dom path.
6


I play mostly/all sub path, but like the extreme evil dom path.
8


I play mostly/all sub path, but don't care about the extreme evil path.
18


I play mostly/all sub path, but prefer good dom path.
3


I play mostly/all sub path, but prefer normal Kane assertive/dominant harem/romance path.
6


I play mostly all/sub path, completely ignore the dom path except secret sub
23


I play mostly all/sub path, completely ignore dom path entirely.
14


Side ask from here o n down for research: I like the sub path, prefer more extreme content
36


I like the sub path, prefer a mix of extreme and gentle
38


I like the sub path, prefer a more gentle path generally

Well fuck... just found out about this game the other day and my fav paths might be getting axed. Was planning on supporting it.

 

[MagicMan753]

Mate, there's no incest in the game. Olivia is not Kane's real sister. As for Delilah, I haven't played ep8 yet (I'm waiting for the final version), but I'm sure that since we've already been able to enjoy a sex scene with her in past episodes (Dom route), it can only mean one thing - she's not Kane's blood relative, despite the last name. As for Nadia (who is apparently Kane's real sister), we won't have sex with her, I have no doubt about that.

Yeah, it is not true incest, but it is kind of pseudo incest in a way since they still call each other brother and sister, and they grew up together, So even though even though it is just pseudo incest, it is still kind of hot, and I like it.

 

[Sharpshooter890]

Damn, looks like I've missed quite a bit.. Anyways, I'll try to avoid the thread and wait for the final version + wonderful Sancho Mod, don't want some accidental spoilers to ruin the fun.

P.S. Thank you Tess for your work!

 

[tm2804]

Doubt it. Based on the comments here, I think that might be #1 on popularity, followed by [evil?] Sub path at #2. I fear it would be good Dom, considering they will be apparently left out of the game show content, but I'm worried about how that will affect Callista story elements... of course she's supporting evil Veronica, so I guess Tess already abandoned that story thread [sadness]

taken from the patreon page
That path is generally classified for me as "dom/evil" on the extreme end. For those of you that can dig in the code, it's Kane with the "demon" flag and Olivia with the "demoness" flag combined together.
this is the path that Mistress Tess is talking about

 

[Maviarab]

taken from the patreon page
That path is generally classified for me as "dom/evil" on the extreme end. For those of you that can dig in the code, it's Kane with the "demon" flag and Olivia with the "demoness" flag combined together.
this is the path that Mistress Tess is talking about

Welcome to the party, that was worked out last night though (even before Tess explained it herself) lol. Do keep up.

 

[Stan5851]

Welcome to the party, that was worked out last night though (even before Tess explained it herself) lol. Do keep up.

Well, its a typical rookie mistake is replying to someone's post without reading the last few pages of the thread, hehe.

But in terms of what you write, I personally wasn't sure if it was about the extremely evil offshoots of Evil Dom path, but I have an excuse, haha!...these days I read our thread very superficially and cautiously so as not to accidentally stumble upon spoilers from the test version. And yesterday, I hovered over a game that was new to me to get a little distraction from the wait for the final version. So until today's message from Silver_Crow117, I mistakenly thought it might be secret sub..

taken from the patreon page
That path is generally classified for me as "dom/evil" on the extreme end. For those of you that can dig in the code, it's Kane with the "demon" flag and Olivia with the "demoness" flag combined together.
this is the path that Mistress Tess is talking about

Fragments of Tess's full post? Nah... we have the full patron post, as well as a detailed post from Tess.

 

[Sancho1969]

This is way too much drama over what I view as a nothing-burger and circumstance that shouldn't even be considered to begin with at the end of the day. So, I've made my own executive decision:

If for some reason the Ep8 DomEvil scene(s) does/do get axed I will reinvoke them within SanchoMod. Again, I'm not a fan of that fork and tbh I despise the Sub forks (don't get me started how Olivia is completely bipolar in that story arc) but I've never been a fan of censorship even if I don't personally impart on or appreciate the content to begin with.

Why stick my neck out? I always have for fellow site members and developers I collab with, and the reason I've been a black sheep on this site since day 1. I can live with my work being oppressed from many VN OP listings (until that ridiculous practice changes), etc but I won't change my stance on standing up for what I believe is correct. I'm a stubborn old redneck to a fault at times, and this is one of them.

So, fear not you DomEvil freaks... you won't lose any current content if I have anything to do with it.

With all that said I won't debate nor nit-pick any semantics regarding the issue as everyone is entitled to their opinion... but no one is entitled to oppression. Fuck that. I just can't help but get the ultimate impression that this is truly about rolling over rather than sticking up for one's own work when the rubber meets the road.

Carry on. I have the developer's back no matter what she chooses, but will progress SanchoMod for KG according to my own prerogatives.

 

[gregers]

Spoiler: spoiler

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Yeah, it is not true incest, but it is kind of pseudo incest in a way since they still call each other brother and sister, and they grew up together, So even though even though it is just pseudo incest, it is still kind of hot, and I like it.

The dev has been more specific elsewhere: The game does not and will not have sex between biological siblings. As you say, it does have (and likely will have, in the case of Olivia and Kane) other content that may meet the definition.

 

[gregers]

(don't get me started how Olivia is completely bipolar in that story arc)

Not just in that arc either. But now your not getting started is getting me started.

 

[Don Sucio]

To clear up the speculation, the path that might be getting cut is the (extreme) evil Dom Kane path.

Hell no man!!! I´m in love with that path .

It´s an absolute pain Tess has to go through all of this harassment stuff, but i think change the plot and delete now this path is not professional... I understand the situation and i would never know what to do if i was she but you can´t change the story like that...

Of course i will accept whatever the decision will be but i don´t think this way is the best.

Anyway, i´m a sub player too so if i can´t play Dom/Evil Kane path i still can play my subroute or begin a new one being Doom/Good...

 

[MilesEdgeworth]

dom evil kane will become more smug kane. Where he's not really doing evil shit but walking around with a shit eating grin while others get punished/ tortured