Thanks for the thoughtful feedback on prose! It’s a large aspect of what I’m thinking about while working (actually THE biggest thing…), always happy to hear someone weigh in. So, I tend to agree that overall (not specific to one scene) I’d like to see a bit more variety in vocab, specifically in narration. It’s a tough balance, because without limitation, I easily fall into the trap of overwriting a bit too much (which is my weakness that NM helps keep in check).
For me, the sweet spot is a little more, but not too much. I’m less stuck on the “narration should sound like Morty” thing, and more worried about the large amount of people who enjoy the game but have English as their second language (if the forum is any indication). If we don’t impose a limitation somewhere, those people would probably have a difficult time with the prose that comes naturally to me, and I don’t want that. I usually find myself simplifying on my own before Night Mirror has to tell me, because I know where his tolerance level generally is, and I agree I can’t get too flowery. Despite the limitation, I do really try my best to avoid falling into a game-wide cliche, but… there’s also only so many ways to describe sexual acts before you get into more abstract language… which I don’t mind doing, but at the same time, I understand that more unique prose in sex scenes doesn’t always translate to wide sexual appeal. I was raised off of a healthy diet of literotica/fanfiction, so my tolerance is higher, but I know what I like isn’t necessarily the norm, at least outside of the niche subculture of (predominantly female) writers on Fanfiction.net
Usually, I try to find the unique momentum/dynamic of a sexual encounter and pull that story to the forefront so that each scene feels like it stands on its own. Sometimes a scene is more pleasure focused, and you get a bit more description, sometimes it’s more mental, and you get some internal dialogue, and sometimes it’s more of a conversation. I also try to give each girl their own sexual traits which helps set them apart from the others. For example, Wild Summer didn’t originally have the trait of stronger internal muscles, or a breeding fetish, but it felt right when you look at her character. Beth gets more motherly/mature language, while Morticia is more cute and cuddly. There’s also the challenge of the birth control system, because it exists as an opt in choice, there’s usually an incentive in most scenes to tease impregnation risk… I say challenge because there really *is* only so many ways you can do it, and while I’m happy to go there (I like the kink) it’s work to keep it fresh.
Anyway, thanks again, always happy to talk the nitty gritty about this aspect, that’s where my head is usually at when I’m working.
