Q&A Session - 2024 - Part 1/2

Another year, another Q&A session. Thanks for your questions! I've read all of them but can't answer most questions due to spoilers.

If you're interested, you can read all past Q&As here. These Q&A events have already addressed many repeat questions.

Q&A 2023 part 1/2 

Q&A 2023 part 2/2 

Q&A - 2022 - Part 1/2

Q&A - 2022 - Part 2/2

Q&A - 2021

Q&A - 2020

I will answer your questions about my games in part 1, which you're reading.

In part 2, I will answer your questions about game development.

There might be some updated answers to repeat questions in the mix. Enjoy the reading!

If you haven't played episode 10 yet, this post has potential spoilers. I'm not spoiling future content. Read my answers at your own risk.

How many episodes total will DIK be? Has the count raised or lowered as you write the story? 

The episode count has increased since the start of the project. Originally, I thought I'd need something close to 8-12 episodes to tell the story, with way shorter episodes. Today, I'm fairly sure that Season 4 will be the final season. I also suspect it won't be a traditional season, as it includes the endings. How many episodes Season 4 will have isn't decided yet, but I know the rough outline of the final season, and I will enjoy every moment of creating the conclusion to the story.

We are getting closer to the end as episodes start answering more questions than asking new ones. I believe my previous estimate was 15-17 episodes, and depending on how the episodes will be counted in the final season, I believe we're looking at something like 14-16 episodes total for the game. I know I need up until episode 14, for sure. At that point, it gets blurry, but I'm not stopping until the endings are what I want them to be. I don't want to rush the end of the game, but I don't intend to linger to extend it beyond what's needed.

How long do you plan to make BaDIK?

Until it's done. There's an end in sight, but I couldn't guess when that is. Going into the project, I estimated the game would take me five years to create. We're past that point now, and I'm happy the project grew even more ambitious than originally intended. I have no maximum number of years I allow myself to work on the project. I only intend to finish it, no matter how long it takes.

When first creating the different SGs, did you ever imagine that they would get such a big following? 

I thought the nature of their roles would be more of a supporting role and that the story would focus on fewer characters. I quickly realized that this wasn't possible. It wouldn't make sense to have these hollow shells walking around campus, not having goals and motivations.

The first viewport render of Riona's completed model.

So, I expanded on many of them, and as their characters grew with time, so did their following. Many good things came out of it organically. Picture if only Sage, Quinn, Camila, and Riona were the HOT girls who got scenes and dialogue while all other HOTs were in the background, never contributing to the story. I doubt there would be such extensive discussion about the story and characters in the game if I had kept characters in background roles.

Being a Dik has achieved quite a lot of recognition and been rather well recieved. Was there ever a moment where it struck you just how big it had gotten?

I try not to think about it too much. The game doesn't define me as a person, and I've learned to separate work and my real life throughout these years. I get too many messages to read, and it becomes a blur. In those messages, I receive a lot of love and praise but also a lot of malice. I disconnect from all of it - good and bad - to cope with the recognition. I use jokes often to cope - I always had that defense mechanism, which works great for me.

When you start thinking about how many players are waiting for you to do something and do it well and fast... It adds pressure to every word you type and every render you make. Disconnecting from those thoughts helps me focus on the game and not let the pressure get to me and affect my work. I hope that when I'm done with game development, I will better appreciate my games' impact on this part of the industry. These games have changed my life in ways I couldn't have imagined going into this.

What other alternative names did you have before coming up with DIK?

I'm unsure whether you're referring to the frat name or the game title, so I'll answer both. I knew the frat name from when I made Acting Lessons, so I never considered other options. I planned to make Being a DIK a prequel to Acting Lessons and started flavoring the prequel in Acting Lessons. But I scrapped that idea and kept some ideas I liked a lot.

Regarding the game title, I know I played around with the DIK name a lot before settling on Being a DIK, but I remember it being a fast process. In August 2018, while I was working on the last episode of Acting Lessons, I came up with the name. I had started making the models for the main girls when I mentioned the full title for the first time to a close friend.

The first time I mentioned the game name to someone.

It appears that a lot of the groundwork for the remainder of the season has been laid. Do you foresee similar dev length cycles for the remaining episodes, and if so, will it be for the purpose of adding more content to the story, or is this still something you play by ear, and when you feel the episode is done, it's done?

Yes, the groundwork has been done for many big areas of the season - mini-games and the in-game phone. I can focus on the meat of the story for the remaining two episodes of Season 3 faster than Episodes 9 and 10.

I can't predict the length of development cycles, and I don't want to work that way with deadlines that get pushed and trust that gets affected as a result. I don't stand anything to gain from the stress of setting a fixed development cycle length. On the other hand, I'd lose a lot from doing it. I'd lose the freedom to feel inspired, and I want to be able to add more in areas I think need it. I have worked this way since the start of this project and will continue to work this way until it's completed. I always let my gut decide when the episode feels balanced enough and where to limit content.

When the final episode is finally published, do you think you would want to remaster the early episodes to bring them up to the current standards? Comparing season 1 to now shows a massive improvement in render quality, so I was curious if you'd want to try and make it more uniform.

A remaster can at least be considered when the game is complete. Remastering earlier than that is pointless, as I'd rob that remaster of any further improvements I make while developing the remaining episodes. There is a lack of consistency in art and coding, and you can see the journey of improvement throughout the game.

I'd be interested in remastering parts of the game, but I want to keep the same soul as the original renders. Since I have saved every .duf file (the art files for DAZ3D) I've ever produced, I could revisit them and update the lighting and settings for static renders to improve them. On the other hand, animations would require much more work as they would almost have to be remade from scratch to be properly remastered to my current standard.

Remastering the game is a big task, with a lot of manual work involved. We are not talking months; we are talking years. I would not jump on it before making plans on how to do it and where to limit it - e.g., Season 1 only or Season 2 as well. I will think about it later when it's relevant.

Any plans to update the old English class tests with new mechanics?

See my previous answer for my thoughts on remastering the game. When/if that happens, I'd update the English class in Seasons 1 and 2; I love how it came out in episode 10.

For episode 10, I improved the English mini-game because I felt it was easy and fast to do. It's not the first time I've done such an upgrade to an existing mini-game. Brawler is in its third version now. Not many remember or will ever have played the original version.

The original Brawler version from Episodes 1 and 2.

What has been the most pleasant surprise about the fandom/community that has grown around the game through the years?

I am blown away by the passion players have for the games I create. I didn't expect people to care this deeply about my stories, to the extent that they talk about every minute detail they find. Seeing this amount of passion from fans has been a very pleasant, overwhelming, and humbling surprise. It fuels me.

The relationships with the mains and others are very complex and thought out; when you planned their original backstories, did you plan on it being this complex and thoughtful, or has this been something you have done as you've created more episodes?

The complexity has certainly grown with time, but most backstories have been written since the early days. As episodes progress, more layers are added to the characters, and they will evolve in ways I couldn't have planned early.

I always keep their backstories and end goals in mind when writing. Still, they do get fleshed out more than originally intended because the project also has gotten bigger than I anticipated.

Why is there an uptick as of late to push seemingly unimportant elements in scenes a certain way? A perfect example is Anal being the only option in certain lewd scenes. If this was just with the "side" tracks, I get it, but not the mains, especially when other mains have almost every option under the sun. 

Players like different things during lewd scenes, and anal sex is a popular fetish. With recent examples in mind, I wanted Sage and Bella to get dedicated anal sex scenes because the narrative fit, and it felt new and fresh for them. Some players have waited since episode 1 to have anal sex with those girls, and it was finally time to spoil them with those lewd scenes. I'm aware that players who don't like anal sex won't enjoy such lewd scenes, but that won't stop me from adding them when I see fit. Lewd scenes will be different occasionally to keep things fresh and exciting, and they won't be according to everyone's taste - that's impossible. I'm sure there will be scenes that you will enjoy in the future, too.

Something easy to lose track of is the bigger picture of the game. When the game is complete, I doubt you will feel like it's all about anal sex or whatever fetish you don't enjoy, but that there's an overall balance of scenes and variety. At least, that's what I aim for, which means there will be episodes where people enjoy lewd scenes to different degrees.

If the storylines of other characters and the MC are not concluded, would you consider incorporating additional chapters for the supporting characters once the MC's narrative is completed?

Rest assured, when I'm done with the game, the storylines will be concluded as I intended. I'm not planning on making a sequel to the game, and I'm not interested in making any spin-off games focusing on some of the characters. While I'm certain players will want more, and it will be a sad moment when everything ends, those are the feelings and memories I want to leave players with.

Do you enjoy seeing the theories people come up with for how the story will progress and seeing who followed the breadcrumbs well and who couldn't be more wrong?

I find reactions and discussions of theories fun. It's interesting to see if someone spots meticulously placed details and how players' theories change with time and as more story is revealed. It's also fun to see how players' perceptions of characters change with time. I view the characters in my way, and it's insightful to see others come at it from another angle.

I've seen all kinds of theories, correct and incorrect. I've seen the community agree on correct theories, and I've seen the community agree on incorrect theories and even shoot down correct theories that didn't get enough afterthought before being dismissed.

Theories make the reactions even better to me. People who've guessed it correctly get rewarded by revelations, and others get possibly mindfucked by the real answers. I enjoy mysteries in fiction, which makes it fun to create some of my own and watch others try to solve them. It is very entertaining and a privilege to experience this as a writer/developer.

Obviously, you have the overall story for the game and for each episode planned out, but how much do you change or add to it during development, for example, adding another scene for a character that has become popular with the players (or changing the girl), adding a scene to further character development or even just adding/changing a scene on a whim because you feel it might be better this way?

I add scenes during development based on what I know the overall story will be. Sometimes, scenes are added to give desired character development. So, there's a mix of what's already planned and creating scenes in the moment.

One in-the-moment scene I created for episode 10 was Sage's overnight stay in MC's room. Even though it's a minor scene, it does a lot for her character and their relationship, and I love how it came out. It also makes replays of the game more interesting, as that free-roam variation is unique to her branch.

So far in Season 3, I've wanted to deepen the characters' relationships with the MC, so I've added scenes that fit that theme. I don't add scenes based on popularity among players; the overall balance often decides who gets another scene.

I'd like to know, does fan/Patreon feedback/response to a chapter impact your plans for future updates? If so, how much of an impact does it have, and are there any examples of this from past chapters you can talk about?

Story-related feedback/response does not affect planned content. With no intention of sounding rude, players' opinions about the story, who gets screen time, or lewd scenes don't matter to me. Players are in for the ride but not driving the car.

The only feedback I consider are QoL improvements to the game, bug reports, and typo reports. I make occasional surveys to see if I can improve in some area, but other than that, I don't want fans/players to have a say in what's being created. I don't like when developers change their ideas to cater to or in response to the audience - I don't think any true author does. Planning everything as much as possible in advance makes it easy to stay true to the original ideas. Among the QoL improvements from the community I have implemented, you can find typing in English class, color-blindness support, the fast travel system, the optional black text box behind dialogue, and middle-clicking to open/close apps on the phone.

Which of the paths was the most fun for you to work on in the last update? What were your favorite scenes to make in Episode 10?

Most of all, I enjoyed writing the canon story for episode 10, and that's almost always the case. There were some big reveals and plot developments that I'd been waiting a long time for, and I got all giddy and excited when I finally got to write them. And then I realized that this is what I will feel with every episode from now on, as we're approaching the end of the game. But to respect your question, I didn't have a favorite among the different branches.

My biggest issue with episode 10 was finding a good balance between them - especially the Josy and Maya branch. I knew that this episode was going to lean heavily into the canon story events of Maya and had to keep that in mind when writing content for the branches so as not to overwhelm the screen time of one girl. There could be similar issues in the future, too, for example, if another girl gets canon story focus and less content on their branch.

I loved working on Bella's lewd scene and everything before it. Her dialogue in the scene on the sofa and during beer pong made me laugh a lot while writing. I felt inspired while posing animations for her and developed new animation tricks because of it.

I enjoyed the reveals that came with Jill's branch and the visit to her home. I also loved working on her lewd scene and creating new animation types for her model. Jill's lewd scene marks the point where I decided to go all in on 60 fps animations.

Sage's date scene was a lot of fun, and I loved working on the restaurant scene because of the beautiful environment. But her date also posed a great deal of issues with one animation. Her walking animation took me five tries until I was happy with it - sometimes, this happened when it had been rendered to completion. Every time I see it, I kick myself for the issues I let slide because I tend to be a perfectionist with details.

A frame from one of the botched animations

While also canon scenes, I loved working on Josy's and Maya's solo scenes - pillow fort and movie night scenes. I can't decide which of the two scenes I like more, and that's what I aimed for when creating them.

The Others branch had several scenes I loved creating. I have difficulty deciding which scene is my favorite. I'm very happy about Quinn's car ride animation and its song choice.

The scenes I had the most fun making in the episode were the yoga scene and the long intro to the DIKs' BBQ. I love writing interactions between the DIKs, and this moment made me reminisce about the DIK scene in episode 6, where they celebrate MC's birthday.

Which character has evolved the most, in your opinion, since the start of the story? How much of that was preplanned or a natural part of the story growth?

It's a difficult question to answer because of the game's timeline. Some events happened before MC was born, and until now, the better part of the game has happened during a few months of his life. Just like in real life, time and events make you evolve as a person, and I would argue that most characters you see in the game haven't evolved much, but it's been revealed more and more who they are as persons - you've gotten to know them.

It would be a cop-out to say that Neil, MC, and Zoey have evolved the most because you see them at different stages of their lives. Some characters won't grow as much as others in a short period, just like in real life. To give somewhat of an answer, I'd say I like how Maya, Quinn, and Sage reveal more and more of their characters - they feel very dynamic and fleshed out by now. The growth you see comes naturally as the plot moves toward its destination.

What is the name of your MC? What name do you always use when you play?

For obvious reasons, as a developer, I name them "Pink," "Pink DIK," and "Pink CHICK." I always go with Miller as the default last name, too.

The music in BaD is so good that it deserves a soundtrack release. Is that something you can make happen? I am sure I am not the only one who would purchase it.

I love the soundtrack, too, but sadly, what you ask cannot happen because of the nature of the licenses. Most songs are licensed for one-time use within the game, and I cannot resell those songs - they aren't mine to sell. I can't upload them to YouTube or any other site; it would be illegal. And I cannot sell songs with a CC0 license, either. The only songs I can sell are the ones I produce myself, but you can get those for free on my Discord server.

If you weren't making BaD and were just a player, would you prefer to have discovered the game after it's been completed or be a part of the journey waiting for each episode?

To be a part of the journey, hands down. I love having things to look forward to. While playing everything at once can be nice, you'd miss out on fun things like theory-crafting, reflecting on content, and playing a new episode for the first time after waiting for it. With a game this long, I fear I'd rush through it because I had to see what happens next immediately and not savor the experience. I prefer to have many things to wait for and be excited about, whether it be games, movies, TV shows, albums, concerts, events, or activities. Life is much more enjoyable that way to me.

Without spoilers, is there any scene between episode 10 and the end of the game that you're more excited to make and/or see fan reactions for than any other scenes? What episode is it planned to appear in?

Without spoilers, the only way I can answer this one is "An emphatic yes. Holy fuck, yes. I've waited many years for this. Yes. Yes. Yes!".

Can we get the option to turn on and off individual mini-games? I kinda liked the science game and the party planner, but I'm sure others didn't so they could tailored to individual choices.

The short answer is no. Long answer: this is how the game was designed, and that's why it was prompted when you started the game to disable mini-games or not. I use many variables from the mini-games in the story, and how I handle those differs from mini-game to mini-game. For instance, in the party planner mini-game, I use individual happiness as a parameter to flavor the story. Turning on and off mini-games at a whim wouldn't work with that integration, and it would also mess with the balancing of the money system (perks, upgrades, wallet, free-roam money, money spent during choices, etc.). The seemingly simple task of turning on and off selected mini-games becomes less than trivial with all that and more in mind. It's easier to have a binary on or off switch for all of them at the start. I'd recommend having a healthy mix of saves with and without mini-games if you find them tedious while replaying. Also, nothing says you must get a "perfect score" every time you play mini-games. Go ahead and fail mini-games; maybe you will discover something new.

So. Dawearts and the whole arieth model thing. Is there some history between DPC and Dawe that see them and Arieth in the way they are? Curious is all, and if it's bad blood, kudos... 

Haha, there's no bad blood there. Dawe is a friend of mine and an awesome person. There is a fun story behind it, but I'm unsure if I have shared it on Patreon before.

In 2018, I had a team of moderators/admins on Discord that I wanted to thank extra by letting them name a character in an upcoming game (Being a DIK). I asked Dawe something like, "Do you want to name a nerd or a jock?". He said he wanted his name for the character as long as he was straight in the game, and he wanted to be a jock. So, the Dawe character was named after him, but his role in the story was already planned and had no connection. IRL Dawe also makes 3D art as a hobby, and I asked him if he wanted his model Arieth in the game as Dawe's girlfriend - to make it extra special for him. And he was excited about that.

Now...the thing with me that you understand once you get to know me is that I can be a bit of a troll and dick with people I love, and I love making friends laugh. And Dawe sure got more than he asked for. Knowing he's this good, funny guy who can laugh at things, I surprised him with what Arieth and Dawe (in-game) would become. He found it hilarious, and writing jokes for Arieth is one of the best things I know because it's on such a different level of comedy than the rest of the game. There's no connection to IRL Dawe aside from their shared online name. And while Arieth's appearance in the game may taint the art IRL Dawe still makes for Arieth's model on his end, it should be treated as something separate. I have nothing but love and respect for the guy.

What has been your favorite part of each episode in season 3 so far?

It depends on what lens I'm looking at the episode through. The answers would differ from a developer's and a player's point of view, so I'll give you both.

Developer point of view:

My favorite part about the Interlude was writing new characters from scratch and condensing their stories into one episode. Replaying it and reading the dialogue, I genuinely feel it's some of my best work. It feels so different from the rest of the game, yet familiar. To me, it reaffirmed that I could create something new from scratch and still make it interesting and that a female MC was interesting to write.

In episode 9, I most enjoyed making the party planning mini-game. Especially how it added to the gameplay and shaped the party throughout the episode. I also loved making the three longer cutscene animations in the episode. They took a long time to create, and I'm very proud of them.

In episode 10, my favorite part to make was the BBQ party. I laughed a lot while creating the scenes where the MC eats shrooms and ended up creating this free-roam, which plays vastly differently depending on that major choice.

Player point of view:

I particularly love the scene where Zoey gets her tattoo and the scene after it when she talks to Bret on the roof. The music, the ambiance, the emotions, the dialogue - I love it!

In episode 9, I loved seeing all the main girls interact. It took many episodes to reach that point, and finally, seeing those scenes felt so good. I think this answer is a bit biased from the developer's point of view.

In episode 10, my favorite scenes are the yoga - Dick butt energy. Activate! - and BBQ scenes.

What was the most sentimental scene for you in episode 10?

The most sentimental scenes of episode 10 were the ones with Helen. Writing something so personal into the game was a weird kind of torture, and I struggled to read those scenes without crying. The living hell of auto-immune disease hits home for many, but past DrPinkCake was a cunt and said it should be in the game, yet present DrPinkCake wasn't prepared to write it.

What would you say was most fun about writing the dynamic between Maya and Derek's parents for episode 10?

I wouldn't describe their characters as fun to write. Helen's and Patrick's scenes were the most difficult parts to write in episode 10 as their story got me very emotional. Among the details I liked to create with those characters involved, I appreciate how their home goes from a homely environment with many plants and flowers to a much colder home as Helen's health deteriorates and Patrick can't keep up. That's a detail I like a lot.

Their scenes provided a good opportunity to show character growth as well. It allowed players to understand Patrick more. While a horrible revelation, it was satisfying to finally write the "Do you see?" moment that had been successfully hidden in the game from most players. That's a big payoff moment that gave me chills to create. A lot of subtle foreshadowing and planning went into that part of the story.

Episode 10 touched upon some very serious and potentially triggering topics also with major things happening in the story itself. My question is whether the player base reacted to all of that the way you expected it to, and if not, to what scene/topic did their reaction differ the most from the one you imagined?

I anticipated and hoped that the intro scene would cause an emotional response from invested players, and I'm happy that it did and that many could relate to the overall story of the Baileys. There's a comfort and togetherness to be found in knowing others deal with similar hardships. Just like writing about serious topics helps me vent and is highly therapeutic, scenes of that nature might help players process their emotions or open up to someone.

With my history in this business, I prepare mentally for the worst kind of response whenever I put an episode out. Today, the overall response is rather mild because players who know me expect me to pull on their heartstrings and surprise them. I'm writing a lot of comedy, but I'm also writing a lot of drama. And drama can get dark. I'm not a stranger to writing about serious topics, nor will I shy away from them. With Episode 10 released, I hope players who got triggered or sad reflect again on the multiple warnings the game comes with for their own sake.

Thanks for reading!

Part 2 of this year's Q&A will be published later this month.