VN Ren'Py My Dorm [v0.28.4 S4 Ch.1] [Tropecita Games]

[Nadira]

Never piss off a short woman!

Just means you have to shelve the poison higher...

 

[Jaga Telesin]

They criticized the chemistry between the girls and the MC, as if it wasn't believable. While I was writing it, I felt something was off, but that happened a lot in other scenes, and then they (and you) liked them, so I usually wait until their review before continuing to the next scene (they usually only make small suggestions to improve the scenes).

That's one of the casualties of your skill improving as the months go by. People enjoy the good scenes, hot sex, funny moments, and heartfelt interactions. You end up being held to a higher standard the better you get.

Take it with a grain of salt - not all scenes can be monumentally good. My appreciation for Maddie's "marriage" scene is an example; it was so good I rate it among the best you've ever done. But in the same breath, I can't hold you to that standard going forward - only hope to see it again sometime. If you even get 80% of the way there in all other scenes, I'm happy for what you've accomplished.

It's nice to have that sort of timely and honest feedback from people close to you... but always include a grain of salt. Don't hold yourself to the highest standard you can, just to one you can feel happy with. The alternative can be burnout re-writing things, which no one wants to see.

 

[Trope95]

That's one of the casualties of your skill improving as the months go by. People enjoy the good scenes, hot sex, funny moments, and heartfelt interactions. You end up being held to a higher standard the better you get.

Take it with a grain of salt - not all scenes can be monumentally good. My appreciation for Maddie's "marriage" scene is an example; it was so good I rate it among the best you've ever done. But in the same breath, I can't hold you to that standard going forward - only hope to see it again sometime. If you even get 80% of the way there in all other scenes, I'm happy for what you've accomplished.

It's nice to have that sort of timely and honest feedback from people close to you... but always include a grain of salt. Don't hold yourself to the highest standard you can, just to one you can feel happy with. The alternative can be burnout re-writing things, which no one wants to see.

I partially agree. "Perfect" is the enemy of "Done".
I need to arrive at compromises (especially when it comes to renders and animations) so the update can be released.
I don't like to arrive at compromises about writing, but I know the scenes can vary wildly in "quality" (for lack of a better word). There are a lot of things involved: My mood while writing, the tone of the scene, the "what" and the "how", and the scene properly (if I try to make every scene hyper-wholesome, no scene would be).
My work pipeline is: Writing the scene. Read it (and retouch it). Render it (adding sentences here and there and modifying the initial ones to reflect the real renders instead of what I had in mind). Test it alone (change small bits). Test it with my stepson (first) and my wife (second), and add their suggestions (my stepson's are added before my wife tests it, if they are minor). Send it to Erica for testing and proofreading the Spanish version. Translate it (changing small bits that don't work well in English). When 60-70% of the update is done, send it to Crow for testing and proofreading. Add his corrections. Repeat for the other 30-40%.

As you can see, it's iteratively modified so, sometimes my mood while writing is totally different from my mood while rendering or testing, and that means that what I considered a good idea at one time isn't a good idea anymore.

Sometimes, I understand George RR Martin.

 

[MarsUltor]

Bad news about the update.
My wife and stepson strongly disliked one big scene, and I've rewritten the whole thing. They still haven't tested the new version.
That means the past week has been two steps forward and one step back, and my plans for a release before the end of the month are impossible now.
Full progress report on Patreon/SS.

Having your very own built-in editing/proofreading/testing team is a great benefit!

Funny... but... even Trope felt that something was wrong...

Only someone that has had to delete thousands upon thousands of words knows the pain, but, it is also those that know the joy of finally getting it right. I've tried to persist on a chapter, insisting that I would see it trough, that it would fix itself. Only to have to cut it all out. It hurts, you feel the temptation to keep that version, just to know you have a fall back. The truth is, you'll delete it later.

Some critiques are hard to swallow. It's part of the process.

Peace

One of the hardest things for a writer, especially a new writer, to do is to submit their creation... their baby... for editing, because the natural tendency is to be protective of the work into which they've poured their time, effort, and creativity.

I speak from experience, because, although I mostly work as a nerdy number-cruncher IRL, I also have a creative streak and consider myself something of a "wordsmith"; consequently, I have the opportunity write copy for presentations and for reports for public consumption. Years ago, when I first started doing this, I found it difficult, almost painful, to have my creative work which I had labored over to get "just right" picked apart and revised. I soon learned that having different qualified perspectives applied to my work made what I believed to be good writing even better. When I was able to develop a "thick skin" with regard to my creative work and began to rein in my ego, the process improved considerably for me, and my creative work improved, IMO.

I guess the takeaway is that editing is an important part of the process; one that Trope uses to great effect.

 

[Trope95]

Having your very own built-in editing/proofreading/testing team is a great benefit!


One of the hardest things for a writer, especially a new writer, to do is to submit their creation... their baby... for editing, because the natural tendency is to be protective of the work into which they've poured their time, effort, and creativity.

I speak from experience, because, although I mostly work as a nerdy number-cruncher IRL, I also have a creative streak and consider myself something of a "wordsmith"; consequently, I have the opportunity write copy for presentations and for reports for public consumption. Years ago, when I first started doing this, I found it difficult, almost painful, to have my creative work which I had labored over to get "just right" picked apart and revised. I soon learned that having different qualified perspectives applied to my work made what I believed to be good writing even better. When I was able to develop a "thick skin" with regard to my creative work and began to rein in my ego, the process improved considerably for me, and my creative work improved, IMO.

I guess the takeaway is that editing is an important part of the process; one that Trope uses to great effect.

"Unknown" (I think) misc fact: The first release was published here on April 22, 2022. It sat, finished, in my imaginary drawer for almost a month because I was ULTRA scared of publishing it and reading the harsh comments I knew were coming. There were some rough comments, but way fewer and less harsh than I expected.
The excuse I told myself to delay it was that I could advance in v.0.2, so it would take less time to release it. But it was only that. A lame excuse.
Having my work scrutinized by hundreds or thousands of unknown players who could write whatever they want about the work I spent five months doing (and that some of them would take advantage of the internet anonymity to be especially harsh) was scary as hell.
I don't know if "imposter syndrome" can be applied here, but it's how I felt then (still feel sometimes?).

I'm still scared with every new update. Would the players like it? Have I been able to convey the message I wanted to transmit? Will the subtler things and the subtext in the update be understood? Will the jokes hit or miss?

 

[MarsUltor]

"Unknown" (I think) misc fact: The first release was published here on April 22, 2022. It sat, finished, in my imaginary drawer for almost a month because I was ULTRA scared of publishing it and reading the harsh comments I knew were coming. There were some rough comments, but way fewer and less harsh than I expected.
The excuse I told myself to delay it was that I could advance in v.0.2, so it would take less time to release it. But it was only that. A lame excuse.
Having my work scrutinized by hundreds or thousands of unknown players who could write whatever they want about the work I spent five months doing (and that some of them would take advantage of the internet anonymity to be especially harsh) was scary as hell.
I don't know if "imposter syndrome" can be applied here, but it's how I felt then (still feel sometimes?).

I'm still scared with every new update. Would the players like it? Have I been able to convey the message I wanted to transmit? Will the subtler things and the subtext in the update be understood? Will the jokes hit or miss?

I understand that, and can relate. I think it's basically "perfect is the enemy of good" (or "perfect is the enemy of great") syndrome.

I have the beginnings of a Tom Clancy-esque techno-thriller novel that sits, unwritten, mostly due to fear that I would devote countless hours of my life to writing a 75,000 - 90,000 word story that would be a flop... consequently, I wrote... and re-wrote... and re-wrote a prologue and part of the first chapter of the story, and eventually just set it aside. I actually have story concepts for a series of three or four stories related to the one I started, and FWIW, it wouldn't take much to turn them into AVNs...

 

[Jaga Telesin]

I'm still scared with every new update. Would the players like it? Have I been able to convey the message I wanted to transmit? Will the subtler things and the subtext in the update be understood? Will the jokes hit or miss?

No need for that feeling of fear or insecurity. You've already given the AVN community a part of yourself that you created, something you're personally invested in and care about. Some may not appreciate it (everyone's different), but MOST people do. And you've been told (and shown) over and over you're talented - it should only serve to fuel the creative fire more in the future. Be proud of what you've accomplished, and happy to have shared something great with the world.

Remember that going forward - the future of My Dorm is bright, just have fun working on it and sharing those parts of yourself.

 

[FatGiant]

"Unknown" (I think) misc fact: The first release was published here on April 22, 2022. It sat, finished, in my imaginary drawer for almost a month because I was ULTRA scared of publishing it and reading the harsh comments I knew were coming. There were some rough comments, but way fewer and less harsh than I expected.
The excuse I told myself to delay it was that I could advance in v.0.2, so it would take less time to release it. But it was only that. A lame excuse.
Having my work scrutinized by hundreds or thousands of unknown players who could write whatever they want about the work I spent five months doing (and that some of them would take advantage of the internet anonymity to be especially harsh) was scary as hell.
I don't know if "imposter syndrome" can be applied here, but it's how I felt then (still feel sometimes?).

I'm still scared with every new update. Would the players like it? Have I been able to convey the message I wanted to transmit? Will the subtler things and the subtext in the update be understood? Will the jokes hit or miss?

That's why my work as a writer will only ever be published posthumously. IF, whomever survives me, even wants to. I leave no obligation nor prohibition.

Why do I do that? Because it is the only way for me to be able to write. I am not the most thick skin person, generally, as you all know, but, regarding my writing, there's simply no skin. I have no protection at all. A simple frown while reading is enough for me to delete the whole thing. I have no tolerance, patience or even space for criticism. Why? Because I have been as a brutal a critic as I imagine anyone can be, I fought the feelings of inadequacy on every single word, I bled each scene, I've wept each sentence. I have no more room for being criticized.

You spoke of imposter syndrome, I am one. I can't ever shake it off. Each time I read a work of mine, I blush. Not because I think it's bad, but because I think it is too good to have been done by me. Then I feel scared that I am aiming to high, then I have to fight the impulse to delete it.... to delete it all.... to ever again imagine that I can do it. Then, normally, I enter into depression, again and again and again...

No, writing is something too precious for me to allow it to EVER be read in my life.

Peace

 

[HornyyPussy]

Bad news about the update.
My wife and stepson strongly disliked one big scene, and I've rewritten the whole thing. They still haven't tested the new version.
That means the past week has been two steps forward and one step back, and my plans for a release before the end of the month are impossible now.
Full progress report on Patreon/SS.

I was gonna make a bad joke about milking here but the fact that it was your wife and stepson who criticized it.........yeah, I got nothing.

Never piss off a short woman!

Most of us here know what you're talking about, we have Avaron on this forum after all

 

[groudor]

"Unknown" (I think) misc fact: The first release was published here on April 22, 2022. It sat, finished, in my imaginary drawer for almost a month because I was ULTRA scared of publishing it and reading the harsh comments I knew were coming. There were some rough comments, but way fewer and less harsh than I expected.
The excuse I told myself to delay it was that I could advance in v.0.2, so it would take less time to release it. But it was only that. A lame excuse.
Having my work scrutinized by hundreds or thousands of unknown players who could write whatever they want about the work I spent five months doing (and that some of them would take advantage of the internet anonymity to be especially harsh) was scary as hell.
I don't know if "imposter syndrome" can be applied here, but it's how I felt then (still feel sometimes?).

I'm still scared with every new update. Would the players like it? Have I been able to convey the message I wanted to transmit? Will the subtler things and the subtext in the update be understood? Will the jokes hit or miss?

now it's more "I wonder how many memes and theories the players will create after playing the update"

 

[johnpouljones]

One of the hardest things for a writer, especially a new writer, to do is to submit their creation... their baby... for editing, because the natural tendency is to be protective of the work into which they've poured their time, effort, and creativity.

Sometimes the best solution is to let the work go. When you have them with you, you feel a constant need for constant improvement.
Mikhail Bulgakov destroyed the first version of The "Master and Margarita", and revised and changed the next one for many years, so that it was published only after his death.

 

[Trope95]

Sometimes the best solution is to let the work go. When you have them with you, you feel a constant need for constant improvement.
Mikhail Bulgakov destroyed the first version of The "Master and Margarita", and revised and changed the next one for many years, so that it was published only after his death.

Why have I never heard of Bulgakov until today? His story looks interesting as hell!

 

[Trope95]

Coincidences ft Stacy and Beth from Dragon of Callon Valley
Coincidences do happen.
Our beloved mother and daughter visit a psychologist to treat their addiction to cosplay and lingerie, and there they meet the beautiful Beth and Stacy. Dressed exactly like them! And, obviously, they start to bond.
Norah is loving her new dance partner, the gorgeous Beth, while Erika encourages the amazing Stacy to take the floor.
Both Stacy and Beth are from Dragon of Calon Valley, by my friend Fire Valley Games.
Can you guess which render is his and which one is mine?

You can wishlist Dragon of Calon Valley on Steam

You must be registered to see the links

.
And My Dorm is also on Steam

You must be registered to see the links

(sales start on October 27th)

 

[snakeplisskin]

Coincidences ft Stacy and Beth from Dragon of Callon Valley
Coincidences do happen.
Our beloved mother and daughter visit a psychologist to treat their addiction to cosplay and lingerie, and there they meet the beautiful Beth and Stacy. Dressed exactly like them! And, obviously, they start to bond.
Norah is loving her new dance partner, the gorgeous Beth, while Erika encourages the amazing Stacy to take the floor.
Both Stacy and Beth are from Dragon of Calon Valley, by my friend Fire Valley Games.
Can you guess which render is his and which one is mine?

You can wishlist Dragon of Calon Valley on Steam

You must be registered to see the links

.
And My Dorm is also on Steam

You must be registered to see the links

(sales start on October 27th)
View attachment 5360198 View attachment 5360200

His the first render, yours is the second.

Edit: based on Trope's reaction i am wrong. And this is why you go with your first guess.

 

[coretex]

Yea could tell Trope's was the first cause Erika's hair was correct.

 

[Reniere]

I was to busy looking at ASSS

You can balance a cup on that thing

 

[FatGiant]

Everything screams Trope in the top image. Lights, posing, scene.

The bottom image, well, it is a completely different style. Starting with the camera height, the chosen angle of the shot (specifically aimed at those fabulous gluteos maximus), the posing is overtly sensuous, flirty and it screams sex. The setting is also too garish for Trope, his skill set with discreet shadows under soft lighting, would never work there. Then there's the clothing choices, while I do like to see Norah in such a getup, it's not something we are used to see her do.

BTW, there's nothing wrong with either image, each have a different style, aim at different feelings and are good if not excellent renders.

Peace

 

[e6mill]

while I do like to see Norah in such a getup, it's not something we are used to see her do.

Pretty similar actually.

 

[FatGiant]

Pretty similar actually.
View attachment 5360539

Right... because we wear the same in our kitchen as we do in a club............

 

[e6mill]

Right... because we wear the same in our kitchen as we do in a club............

I've heard people say you should always fry up bacon naked - because you'll do it at a lower temp to avoid getting spattered.