VN Ren'Py Straight!? [Revamp v0.15.1] [Aaryn]

[Torvis]

Hey Torvis...

I totally will be supporting you! He really did enjoy it! We both thought it was a very nice story we can't wait for the next continuation to come out!

 

[MagiLord]

thanks wookie
So with the newest update, Blayke (my new co-writer) sorta had minimal input on that update. I don't say this to minimize his role but we were still working out some organizational aspects to our system. By the time I got things to him, there really wasn't much time to get a lot of input in from him. I say that so that if you're dissatisfied with any aspect, that he's not roped into the blame on that end.

Heh, in terms of endearing qualities about the story. IDK...that's probably an indivdual thing. I know that I'm breaking a lot of narrative rules with this including my long use of banter and pointless conversation but I think that's what makes it interesting but maybe that's just me

I must say the banter about nothing in particular does help out to set the tone and build the story along. Feels a lot more complete.

 

[Aaryn]

I must say the banter about nothing in particular does help out to set the tone and build the story along. Feels a lot more complete.

Thanks. Apparently it's a big literary no-no but whatever...I'm done with school so I can do what I want now

 

[potatoastronaut]

once i save up enough spare money ill surely donate!

i've just found about this game today, and im stuck at the very first part ( ive taken the wall down in the showers, but seem to be stucked there, ive tried every single possible interaction, but nothing new pops up) is there a walkthrough?

 

[Aaryn]

once i save up enough spare money ill surely donate!

i've just found about this game today, and im stuck at the very first part ( ive taken the wall down in the showers, but seem to be stucked there, ive tried every single possible interaction, but nothing new pops up) is there a walkthrough?

I think you're at the beginning of Chapter 2 then, right?

-Choose Sports from Braden's options after school.

Did you do that?

(The good news is that all that problem solving stuff you're dealing with now changes pretty quick. As I've learned things and settled into the game's identity, that part changes. A lot of people still like trying to stumble around and find things but I prefer an uninterrupted story the more I got into the game. I actually started to make a walkthrough back in the day but noone really used it.)

I feel like the game gets sooo much better after all this running around in the beginning. Def something I wanna look at when we start polishing it

 

[Engelstein]

I would use the walkthrough, I hate finishing a game and finding out I missed stuff because I chose the wrong thing or I wasn't at a certain point in time, etc.

 

[Aaryn]

I would use the walkthrough, I hate finishing a game and finding out I missed stuff because I chose the wrong thing or I wasn't at a certain point in time, etc.

Honestly, you wouldnt miss anything in the beginning. It's just a matter of finding the right combination of things to move the story forward.

However, the one thing that is universally missed by people is in the bathroom when you have the option to push Braden or not. If you dont push him, it unlocks a dinner conversation that's one of my fav Braden stories but like nobody ever finds it. Apparently everyone pushes Zack

 

[sansot]

This game is a solid 10/10, I like the content and the story so much. All the interactions, options and dialog are literally perfect. I like all the small snippets too with all the banter and jokes out of nowhere. I was so invested in the game that I was literally disappointed when I came up to "to be continued" lol

It's one of the very few games where you can actually feel the characters .. where they are developed in depth to the point you can immerse yourself, as weird as that sounds.

Thanks for that, I guess. And lmao at the inclusion of Max from BB

 

[Aaryn]

This game is a solid 10/10, I like the content and the story so much. All the interactions, options and dialog are literally perfect. I like all the small snippets too with all the banter and jokes out of nowhere. I was so invested in the game that I was literally disappointed when I came up to "to be continued" lol

It's one of the very few games where you can actually feel the characters .. where they are developed in depth to the point you can immerse yourself, as weird as that sounds.

Thanks for that, I guess. And lmao at the inclusion of Max from BB

Wow, thanks sansot,
Pretty high praise. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Really tried to go in a different direction than most games and legit make characters that people really react to. There's still a lot of story left so glad to have you onboard

And yeah...my joke cameo ended up sticking around longer than I thought he would..

 

[sansot]

Wow, thanks sansot,
Pretty high praise. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Really tried to go in a different direction than most games and legit make characters that people really react to. There's still a lot of story left so glad to have you onboard

And yeah...my joke cameo ended up sticking around longer than I thought he would..

Yeah it's a good thing you didn't go with the mainstream on the storyline, because it was honestly more engaging. Only after my post did I find out you're pretty new to this stuff, so I have to say that you're doing great, because on the quality side it's as good as any (and I think the renders got better towards the latter half of the game?) No idea if you're planning to do anything after this, whether this is just a hobby or something more, but it's definitely something you have a talent for as this could comfortably be placed with the rest on the 'popular games' section even in its current unfinished release.

Moreover great work in general on the literary side, or whoever else in the team did it. Rarely do games actually have good literary content - not sure if authors don't bother, catering to a demographic or lack of English knowledge but either way this is one of the few games where that's a positive. Don't dumb it down! To be honest I often just skip (spam the spacebar until I see an option) new downloads, because the writing is weak, but this is the first time I started the game again after reading some of the lines lol.

Anyway, originally I was going to write a much longer reply with a bit more critique and feedback plus some suggestions. But it was the end of my uni exam week and that called for celebration, so I thought I'd do it later with a quick thank post. However, after thinking about it I'll honestly say that you/your team have been doing a great job so far, clearly not yet run out of ideas and I wouldn't want to spoil your fun. I found the update points in this version and definitely noticed improvement in most aspects, so I guess I'll hang around and see where it goes.

The only thing I could say at this point re. feedback is that the routes are a little tenuous with not much difference between the two (but small changes in language and mood are def. noticeable) but I can imagine this would be hard to structure it together with episodic updates, but the current way would make sense if all you're trying to do is reach the same end point via different ways rather than offshooting into a different story depending on the choice. Not that I'm some expert on storytelling or literature, heck, a good year is when I read half a book. But it feels like it's good, so it must be, eh?

Anyways sorry for the long post (of not much substance!) but at least I saved you reading a longer one haha

 

[Aaryn]

Yeah it's a good thing you didn't go with the mainstream on the storyline, because it was honestly more engaging. Only after my post did I find out you're pretty new to this stuff, so I have to say that you're doing great, because on the quality side it's as good as any (and I think the renders got better towards the latter half of the game?) No idea if you're planning to do anything after this, whether this is just a hobby or something more, but it's definitely something you have a talent for as this could comfortably be placed with the rest on the 'popular games' section even in its current unfinished release.

Moreover great work in general on the literary side, or whoever else in the team did it. Rarely do games actually have good literary content - not sure if authors don't bother, catering to a demographic or lack of English knowledge but either way this is one of the few games where that's a positive. Don't dumb it down! To be honest I often just skip (spam the spacebar until I see an option) new downloads, because the writing is weak, but this is the first time I started the game again after reading some of the lines lol.

Anyway, originally I was going to write a much longer reply with a bit more critique and feedback plus some suggestions. But it was the end of my uni exam week and that called for celebration, so I thought I'd do it later with a quick thank post. However, after thinking about it I'll honestly say that you/your team have been doing a great job so far, clearly not yet run out of ideas and I wouldn't want to spoil your fun. I found the update points in this version and definitely noticed improvement in most aspects, so I guess I'll hang around and see where it goes.

The only thing I could say at this point re. feedback is that the routes are a little tenuous with not much difference between the two (but small changes in language and mood are def. noticeable) but I can imagine this would be hard to structure it together with episodic updates, but the current way would make sense if all you're trying to do is reach the same end point via different ways rather than offshooting into a different story depending on the choice. Not that I'm some expert on storytelling or literature, heck, a good year is when I read half a book. But it feels like it's good, so it must be, eh?

Anyways sorry for the long post (of not much substance!) but at least I saved you reading a longer one haha

Yo,
Hey, no worries about the long posts. Obviously, from the length of my game, you know that I'm no stranger to longly written things

But nah, thanks man for the feedback. Yes, I am new to this, although I'm over a year into development on this one now so it feels less new now. You can definitely notice my progression the longer you place the game. I'd downloaded Daz like a month before the first release so as you play, you're actually seeing me improve. It's terrible at this point for the game but it's kind fun to see the evolution since this entire thing is still a rough draft. Early on, I was struggling to find the identity of the game and I've sorta just let it write itself thus far. So up until the current update, I did this all solo. Recently, I got a buddy that has joined and he is helping me with idea generation, structure, editing, and serves as a co-writer and confidant on this entire thing. I still do the writing, coding, and graphics, but then I shoot stuff over to him as a second opinion. I'm glad you appreciate the literary side of it. I don't understand why other games don't have more deeply written characters or actually have a story to them besides randomly fucking people. Your comment about spamming through the dialogue made me laugh because I do that with a lot of these games, too. I'm actually pretty stoked that you stopped your playthrough and restarted it to actually read it.

You're also right with the choices. The game has grown to be linear and I'm ok with that because of the way the episodes release. However, if you go back through and play it from the beginning, things should be consistent across the episodes. Certain things you do early on, should play a role in conversations later on to pull things together. It's just reallly hard to do with episodically during each release for a litany of coding reasons (some of which may be true limitations and others may be ignorance on my part). But yes, the way the game is planned now is there's one ending but two routes to get there so it deviates a little bit. I had two specifics ways to tell the story and couldn't make up my mind, so I'm doing both but I'm trying to write them both at the same time but still release it episodically.

 

[jenny777]

is there a walkthrough?
thank you

 

[Aaryn]

is there a walkthrough?
thank you

Investigate the School after class
Investigate School after class again
Skip Class to fix the heat
Talk to Ernie after school to get cleaning supplies


Attending class will unlock Braden tv discussion for pool access
Watch TV at night with Braden to trigger pool access
Go to Class and access Pool after


After obtaining the cleaning supplies
Go to shower in morning and clean
Talk to Ernie after class to get lightbulb and toolbox
Bathroom in the morning
Fix the lights

Chapter 2:
-Choose Sports from Braden's options after school
-Clean bathroom to find the singlet
-Talk with Ernie after class to clean the singlet
-Choose Sports after class to give Braden the singlet
-Choose Physical in the morning to hit the Doc Office with Braden


Chapter 3:
-Pretty linear from here on out honestly

 

[jenny777]

thank you

 

[topgamer]

wow things got hot up pretty fast~ first the kissing then some buddy bounding~
And poor Zack being teased by Bradenjajajaja

 

[Aaryn]

wow things got hot up pretty fast~ first the kissing then some buddy bounding~
And poor Zack being teased by Bradenjajajaja

Things are def speeding up. Hopefully they still move at a justified and relatable pace

 

[AngreeWookie]

Just played the new version (Patreon ftw) and, man, this story just keeps getting better. It's kind of funny that I reviewed it so many versions ago because the renderings, the story, the improvements have just been more and more outstanding. I know when it gets uploaded here that the followers will be like "Omg! Braden!"

I just had to tell you Great job Aaryn

 

[Aaryn]

Just played the new version (Patreon ftw) and, man, this story just keeps getting better. It's kind of funny that I reviewed it so many versions ago because the renderings, the story, the improvements have just been more and more outstanding. I know when it gets uploaded here that the followers will be like "Omg! Braden!"

I just had to tell you Great job Aaryn

Awww. Tha is man. Ueah, I dropped it a day early. Gonna try and post it tomorrow here if I get a chance. But thanks man. Thanks for all your support over the ...damn..been a year anyway probably... so thanks man. This little project is starting to get serious

 

[assholisms]

I hate you so much Aaryn.

Since Tumblr went to shit I started playing every other game in this website, even the straight incesty ones, and nothing came close to giving me my Straight!? fix. I really wish you started giving writing classes. Still can't believe it's been over a year since I checked it out solely for the smut and stayed because of the great writing and the cutest romance I've ever seen.

And as always you're such a tease with the cuteness I've developed a habit of changing to the next line with my eyes closed to prepare for the inevitable end of the update. I never thought I'd have this strong of an emotional attachment to any piece of media, so I can only hope you're doing well and that you keep it up. God knows you're basically carrying the entire gay romance genre in VNs on your and your co-writer's back.

 

[assholisms]

Just played the new version (Patreon ftw) and, man, this story just keeps getting better. It's kind of funny that I reviewed it so many versions ago because the renderings, the story, the improvements have just been more and more outstanding. I know when it gets uploaded here that the followers will be like "Omg! Braden!"

I just had to tell you Great job Aaryn

The game has overall improved a lot to the point I can barely remember the early releases. And I thought I wouldn't like Braden transitioning out of twink status but he looks really hot. I didn't like Zack's new hair but honestly I couldn't give less of a shit when they're this adorable with one another.