Behind-The-Scenes: The Story

* The picture above is the first Main Menu background I made for the game, which I ultimately changed to showcase more of the characters.

The whole project started with me stumbling upon the world of choice-based visual novel games as I was searching for gay-themed games to play.  Now, I have played one many years ago that I enjoyed (dispite how disturbing it was), but I had sort of forgotten about the genre.  

I played a few and found that I really enjoyed these types of games, but the idea of doing one myself didn't occur until I learned that many of these were made by just a single person - that is was possible for a single person to make such games.  Then it was just finding out if I could be one of those.

I'm not good at drawing, but 3D rendering should be feasible. I can't code, didn't even know where to begin, but a program like Ren'py looked simple enough. And then came the question; what should I write? What story should I tell? 

The Plot:

I made a few little notes about what I wanted.

1. NSFW - I knew I'd like some spicy scenes in the story.
2. All characters had to be over the age of 18, but I wanted them to be on the younger side so they were still at the age of sexual exploration.
3. A lot of different characters with their own little story, which the player could unfold if they chose to. 

The Setting:

Choosing the setting was harder.
I've played a few college-themed ones, and I could see definitely see the advantages of having the characters based in an environment where they could easily interract with each other. But, since some of them are my favorite VN's, I could easily be tempted to take too much inspiration from their stories. 

A small town would sufficient. The characters live relatively close, they have a interconnected social cirle, they have jobs, and their own seperate lives. 

Originally I had planned for the MC to have lived there their whole life, along with their parents and step-brother. The problem was; how could I introduce the characters to the player if the MC knows them all, and had for years? It would be very difficult for the player to get to know the characters in a natural way without the MC basically introducing them in his mind each time he sees them.

And so the idea that the MC had moved away, right in their formative teenage years, so they had to get to know them again when they came back - while still having that sense of connection and a way of getting in contact with the others.

I also scrapped the whole 'parents living there'-thing too, mostly because they would be in the way, which I later used as a plot-point as to why Nathan and Oliver hadn't seen each other for a long time too. 

The Characters:

Oliver:
As the MC I wanted him to be young, curious, slightly naïve, and easily likeable. He had to be just a bit shorter than the others and have a more innocent look. 

Jamie:
From the very beginning Jamie had been planned as Oliver's best friend. He's the outgoing, mischivious friend that would often 'take the lead' in their duo. I chose to go with blonde and slightly tan to contrast Oliver. 

Nathan:
The older, protective step-brother. I like this trope; a character the MC can trust, yet has conflicted feelings about. And he's the perfect reason for why Oliver comes back to his home town, and can be the one that sort of binds these characters together. When it comes to his character design, I'll sheepishly admit I mixed up half-brothers and step-brothers, so I had to do a few teaks to make them look a little more different from each other. 

Trent:
The tough jock type - I wanted it, I needed it. A tall, masculine bad boy, with a more mysterious personality.  First I planned on calling him Ethan (which he's still called in some files), but since I already had Nathan, I thought that would be too alike. 

Martin:
Orginially Marty. The other friend of Nathan - and someone Oliver had never met before. The friendly, composed guy with a hobby (that I later changed to his job) that different from the others. I wanted him to be tall, blonde, and skinnier than his friends.

Frank:
Oliver got a job and needed a boss - and why not make that boss interested in his newest hire? I decided on having him in the middle of his thirties,  red hair, and be a doctor (for potential spicy reasons).

Gregor:
And finally we have Gregor. I wanted a buff, daddy type - and it wasn't until after I chose the character design that I decided he could be Trent's dad, and it was a way for Oliver have a reason to interract with him. 

I could probably write tons and tons more, my mind has been spinning on this - gaining and discarding ideas - for a long time. What I have written down here has been the main steps for how I chose my story.

TL;DR: Lots of thinking, many decisions = The Life of Me.

*Short note: Still working hard on the new update.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me :)

-Thonduil