VN Ren'Py ReConnect (Game Development Thread)

[L8ERALgames]

ABOUT
Reconnect is a short Visual Novel designed to be romantic and somewhat fluffy. With incest. And Black Metal because love is scary.

It will be released Complete and no further updates other than (hopefully no) bugfixes will be added.

The tentative release date is on or around 21/5/2022. The current state of the game is mostly complete (roughly 15 renders to go at time of writing and that's it) and will be released to Supporters the week prior to general release.

MAIN PLOT
Reconnect is an incestuous tale of romance and the rediscovery of a love thought lost. The MC is abruptly confronted by his cousin, who he lost contact with when he ran away from home six years before. At the time, the two were exploring their sexuality and this has left both feeling their relationship was never fully defined.

In one short evening, the MC will have the chance to repair the damage he caused when he left her behind.

MAIN CHARACTERS

• MC: MC left home shortly before his 16th birthday. He spent the next 6 years making a living and wallowing in self-pity. During this time, he discovered Black Metal. That's not important to the plot, but does add colour. Mostly black.
• COUSIN: MC's cousin spent her six years without the MC feeling lost and alone. She's confused and hopeful. Don't hurt her feelings.
• BARISTA: There has to be a bartender, or in this case a Barista, to give some happy life advice. No, you can't bang her. Don't be a dick to your cousin, fam. Besides, your Barista is Italian and her uncle would fuck you hard in the ass and dump your body in the bay if you so much as blinked at her. He would, you know.

DIALOGUE CHOICES
The game has only one ending, so there's no real need to consider dialogue choices as anything more than cosmetic. Having said that, the choices WILL change the dialogue along the way in unexpected and (hopefully) fun ways.

There is no rollback feature in this game, and to be honest it is pointless to have one. Your choice doesn't always have an immediate effect and every choice is remembered so will change dialogue throughout the game.

Some dialogue options may not be present if relevant choices were not made previously.

That doesn't mean there's a sneaky one-way to play where you'll get all the choices in one play through. EACH choice has its effects and dialogue both immediate and in the future. Feel free to choose the one you like the most and you'll be fine.

Trust me...

MUSIC
I couldn't pirate my favourite Black Metal music for this (for fairly obvious reasons, fam) and had to rely instead on music I paid to use. I chose the best I could find which matched the basic feel. If you feel the need to point out to me the music isn't Black Metal enough, please feel free to direct your emails to idontgiveashit@someemail.com. I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

If you don't LIKE the music, there's an option to turn it off the same way I'd turn off your Justin Bieber music if you played it in front of me. If you'd like to register your rage at my daring to include music you don't personally approve of, feel free to email me at ireallydontgiveashit@anotheremail.com and I'll definitely consult you for musical choices in the future.

​

 

[Canto Forte]

Thoughts on the black in my metal:

MAIN CHARACTERS

• MC: MC left home shortly before his 16th birthday. He spent the next 6 years making a living and wallowing in self-pity. During this time, he discovered Black Metal. That's not important to the plot, but does add colour. Mostly black.

MC should hook his metal in some chick, be it his cousin, be it his barista, the server, the mall cop, the dancer.
Those metals hang on eachother and the dangling sond of them touching is piercing enough to the ear to startle you.

• COUSIN: MC's cousin spent her six years without the MC feeling lost and alone. She's confused and hopeful. Don't hurt her feelings.

Cousins are there to hang about and wing man you into a false sense of love for your fellow human being.
Sure enough you shluld proffit all the hugs, the kisses, the flirts, the banter, jokes off of them so you can feel alive.
what starts in a hug could end in a kiss ... you can escalate into skinny dipping and then body to body heat transfer
to warm up together and ward off the cold in your lives.

• BARISTA: There has to be a bartender, or in this case a Barista, to give some happy life advice. No, you can't bang her. Don't be a dick to your cousin, fam. Besides, your Barista is Italian and her uncle would fuck you hard in the ass and dump your body in the bay if you so much as blinked at her. He would, you know.

You put a girl mixed up in drinks, you will get all the eyes on her, all the tongues to the floor, all the dirty talks.
She is into advices so why not convince your metal into her hard and throbbingly deep? Why not?



Why you melt my heard this hard? Poof - my heart is gone! Now, me heartless will go deep into your eyes with the thoughts of happy feels.

 

[L8ERALgames]

Thoughts on the black in my metal:

MAIN CHARACTERS

• MC: MC left home shortly before his 16th birthday. He spent the next 6 years making a living and wallowing in self-pity. During this time, he discovered Black Metal. That's not important to the plot, but does add colour. Mostly black.

MC should hook his metal in some chick, be it his cousin, be it his barista, the server, the mall cop, the dancer.
Those metals hang on eachother and the dangling sond of them touching is piercing enough to the ear to startle you.

• COUSIN: MC's cousin spent her six years without the MC feeling lost and alone. She's confused and hopeful. Don't hurt her feelings.

Cousins are there to hang about and wing man you into a false sense of love for your fellow human being.
Sure enough you shluld proffit all the hugs, the kisses, the flirts, the banter, jokes off of them so you can feel alive.
what starts in a hug could end in a kiss ... you can escalate into skinny dipping and then body to body heat transfer
to warm up together and ward off the cold in your lives.

• BARISTA: There has to be a bartender, or in this case a Barista, to give some happy life advice. No, you can't bang her. Don't be a dick to your cousin, fam. Besides, your Barista is Italian and her uncle would fuck you hard in the ass and dump your body in the bay if you so much as blinked at her. He would, you know.

You put a girl mixed up in drinks, you will get all the eyes on her, all the tongues to the floor, all the dirty talks.
She is into advices so why not convince your metal into her hard and throbbingly deep? Why not?

View attachment 1775402

Why you melt my heard this hard? Poof - my heart is gone! Now, me heartless will go deep into your eyes with the thoughts of happy feels.

i would read your poetry book.

 

[jufot]

Like all your work, this looks brilliant, and I can't wait to play it! I like that the story revolves around a pre-existing couple, and choices are for flavour. Good luck with the release

 

[L8ERALgames]

Like all your work, this looks brilliant, and I can't wait to play it! I like that the story revolves around a pre-existing couple, and choices are for flavour. Good luck with the release

Thanks! I'm looking forward to releasing this one. I put a bit more effort into the number of choices and making sure they had some continuity beyond the next few lines of text.

 

[yasenib]

you got me with the RC shirt, wanna try this one out

 

[L8ERALgames]

all images are rendered. will be rolling out to supporters from this weekend.

 

[RedPillBlues]

A new L8eral game? Count me in baby, its been too long.

 

[L8ERALgames]

A new L8eral game? Count me in baby, its been too long.

i know!

next one won't be, though. PC is now working and much faster. i've already moved on from 'Reconnect'. it went out to my first round of subscribers yesterday. so, should be up here on/around 20th.

 

[jufot]

Wow, your Patreon looks criminally undersubscribed. Let's correct that! The Peach tier is a bit too rich for my blood, so Banana it is. I'll just have to wait a few weeks to play

 

[L8ERALgames]

Wow, your Patreon looks criminally undersubscribed. Let's correct that! The Peach tier is a bit too rich for my blood, so Banana it is. I'll just have to wait a few weeks to play

next week for banana.

 

[L8ERALgames]

Wow, your Patreon looks criminally undersubscribed. Let's correct that! The Peach tier is a bit too rich for my blood, so Banana it is. I'll just have to wait a few weeks to play

in fairness, i'm slow to update. i don't give out monthly updates, so i don't get on the front page all that much. i think my games get missed a lot.

plus two have sort of been left by the roadside due to issues with patreon/pc.

patreon screwed up my plans for penny/sth2, and my pc just screwed my files for the management and i've lost all my custom textures. then nvidia screwed it more by changing how ghost lights work. all my sets for that had jillions of ghost lights to get specific effects. those are now all broken. so, it's in the "this gave me tears" basket.

having said that, i'm testing reconnect to audiences as it's a "small" game, but complete, to see if there's enough love for it for me to do a few more like that instead f big sprawling games which take years to complete. i think i'd prefer in the long run to make a game every 2-3 months instead of what i've been doing. maybe make one big game every 2-3 years instead.

 

[jufot]

in fairness, i'm slow to update. i don't give out monthly updates, so i don't get on the front page all that much. i think my games get missed a lot.

Oh, I don't care about speed at all. I support

You must be registered to see the links

(who puts out maybe 1 short update a year) at a high tier because he's creating something uniquely amazing, and I want to support that. Your games likewise are utterly unique. I always imagined you've had tons of supporters, especially with completed games under your belt like Shag The Hag. Imagine my surprise...

patreon screwed up my plans for penny/sth2

Speaking of which, do you prefer SubscribeStar, then? I'm happy to switch over after this month.

then nvidia screwed it more by changing how ghost lights work

I'm sure you're aware, but

You must be registered to see the links

...

having said that, i'm testing reconnect to audiences as it's a "small" game, but complete, to see if there's enough love for it for me to do a few more like that instead f big sprawling games which take years to complete. i think i'd prefer in the long run to make a game every 2-3 months instead of what i've been doing. maybe make one big game every 2-3 years instead.

As long as the quality of your work (primarily writing, visuals to a lesser degree) doesn't change, I think most people will be happy with whatever frequency. Do what feels best

 

[RedPillBlues]

in fairness, i'm slow to update. i don't give out monthly updates, so i don't get on the front page all that much. i think my games get missed a lot.

plus two have sort of been left by the roadside due to issues with patreon/pc.

patreon screwed up my plans for penny/sth2, and my pc just screwed my files for the management and i've lost all my custom textures. then nvidia screwed it more by changing how ghost lights work. all my sets for that had jillions of ghost lights to get specific effects. those are now all broken. so, it's in the "this gave me tears" basket.

having said that, i'm testing reconnect to audiences as it's a "small" game, but complete, to see if there's enough love for it for me to do a few more like that instead f big sprawling games which take years to complete. i think i'd prefer in the long run to make a game every 2-3 months instead of what i've been doing. maybe make one big game every 2-3 years instead.

Well if money is the motivation, then a large game with consistent updates is generally the way to go. And if anything I dont want Shag the Hag 2 to be short, considering how hit or miss your games are for me.

 

[L8ERALgames]

Oh, I don't care about speed at all. I support

You must be registered to see the links

(who puts out maybe 1 short update a year) at a high tier because he's creating something uniquely amazing, and I want to support that. Your games likewise are utterly unique. I always imagined you've had tons of supporters, especially with completed games under your belt like Shag The Hag. Imagine my surprise...


Speaking of which, do you prefer SubscribeStar, then? I'm happy to switch over after this month.


I'm sure you're aware, but

You must be registered to see the links

...


As long as the quality of your work (primarily writing, visuals to a lesser degree) doesn't change, I think most people will be happy with whatever frequency. Do what feels best

In all honesty, I don't mind Patreon or SS, though Patreon is more likely to one day turn around and kick me off its platform for some reason or another and are directly responsible for my having pulled back on Penny Conspiracy and STH2. They didn't like the content.

Having said that, SS is also a bit hinky because it's founded on gaffa tape and pretty sure it could also one day just collapse out of the blue...

So, really, whichever way is easier for you is good for me I appreciate it all.

I WISH I had more supporters, and it surprises me some games have more. Especially some which are deader than mine. But it is what it is, and people will choose who they like enough to throw a few bucks here and there to. I won't complain. I just do my best, mostly because I enjoy the creative process to be honest.

 

[L8ERALgames]

Well if money is the motivation, then a large game with consistent updates is generally the way to go. And if anything I dont want Shag the Hag 2 to be short, considering how hit or miss your games are for me.

Yah, STH2 is a rather large game already. I built quite a bit into it, though I might go back in and peel some layers off. I think I was aiming too high and it'd take years to complete. I'm thinking lately of peeling it back to something more in line with the length of STH1, but with a few more features and better questing as I already built a decent quest process into the game.

We'll see.

It's always on my mind and I tinker with the code fairly often while trying to decide on the story changes.

Ideally, I want to be known for doing different kinds of game experiences. Some more heavy on story, and some a bit different. That always has the risk of failure. But it keeps my creative switch always on and I don't just phone in something shitty I'm ashamed of. At the very least I always hope there's something halfway decent in every game.

It hasn't helped I've had a bit of a bumpy last year and half. My day job is fairly stressful and often has me working late hours on a regular basis, so I tend to get bogged down in that, and my PC was showing its age last year.

This year I have a more positive view on things and hope that shows in my next works. Also think the PC issues at least will speed things up a lot! What I've done this weekend alone (I was up until 10am this morning, and then got up again at 12.30 - was just working on a new thing), is more than I could have done in a few weeks before.

so... positive vibes, I hope.

 

[L8ERALgames]

for those of you following, the game is out and you can find it here.

 

[XxRandom_NamexX]

next week for banana.

Bananas are Cool