Straight!?
A downloadable game for Windows, macOS, and Android
Straight!? is a work in progress cinematic visual novel that specifically focuses on NSFW male/male and gay content. It is free-to-play and is funded solely from donations through sources like itch.io or Patreon. It is primarily created by one first-time developer complimented by a small team of friends to help complete his first passion project.
If this is your first time playing Straight!?, I would recommend starting with the Revamp. While it's not the full story that the original version has, the quality is far superior. Many people are currently starting with the Revamp and then jumping back to the original if they can't wait to see the end
Story
Straight!? is a coming-of-age tale that follows the main character, Zack, a 19-year-old student on his first day of college and the personal journey that ensues after he meets his new roommate: 18-year-old Braden. While Zack initially reports being comfortable with his attraction to guys, we slowly learn how truly uncomfortable he really is. As they grow closer, each is forced to embark on an existential journey to confront their own feelings on sexuality, attraction, labels, and the impact these have on the way they define their relationship, themselves, and the world around them. Along the line, we’ll meet a cast of supporting characters that will each challenge Zack and Braden in their own way as they try to put all the pieces of themselves together and come to terms with who they really are.
In contrast to many NSFW games, Straight!? is a realistic "slow burn" where the primary focus is on dialogue and character development. While there is NSFW content, it is used to enhance the story and the character interactions and to openly deal with issues related to sexuality without censorship. Players commonly report beginning the game with intent to speed through to NSFW scenes, but then find themselves completely invested in the characters and the world around them.
This story has everything. It’s an emotional rollercoaster with flawed and relatable characters full of sarcasm, humor, wit, triumph, and tragedy. It will ask very hard questions of the characters and the readers alike.
About the Project
Straight!? is a cinematic novel and is my first attempt at game development with no previous art, coding, or storytelling experience. While it began as a side hobby back in 2017, the popularity of the story and characters moved the project to full-time development in 2021.
You can expect Straight!? to operate much differently than other visual novels and adult games. With a background in psychology, the writer uses interactions with the character to form a template for how to communicate in relationships and potential ways for someone to work through their own sexuality issues while still keeping the narrative engrossing and fun to read. This doesn’t show the way towards sexual self-acceptance but it does show one stubborn and relentless character’s journey to accept and find peace within himself.
This project is very character driven. These characters have a depth far beyond the typical depictions of the sexual stereotypes you see in the media. The adult genre has always been shallow and this game wanted to set a new standard. Why can't an adult game have a good story? Additionally, you may see characters struggle with social issues or completely ignore major cultural expectations associated with their sexuality or community simply because it’s not who they are. I did this not to be offensive but to highlight the depth and fluidity of the character’s viewpoints as they struggle to find who they really are in a desirably inclusive world increasingly defined by clashing societal expectations and categorical labels. Over the years, I’ve gotten thousands of letters regarding the impact of this project on the lives of people across the world.
For more on the original intent of the story, you can reference this article.
Updates and Current Development
Straight!? is still actively in development and there are currently two versions of the project available:
V0.021.4 is the original “rough draft” of the game and was finished in 2022. This version includes the full first draft of the story and begins developmentally “rough” and progressively improves in writing and visual quality as the game unfolds and I gained experience. This version is no longer being updated and is viewed as practice. You can download it below or from other mirrors here.
The current development is focusing on revamping the original version with enhanced graphics, better writing, and an engaging soundtrack to help enhance all of your favorite moments all over again. This version is denoted by “revamp” in the title and will progressively follow the story of the rough draft. If you’re new to the game, you should probably play the “rough draft” first before this version. The first three screenshots on the right are from the current revamp build. You can download it below.
The plan is to release the “revamp” as the final version of the game when it is finished and the original “rough draft” will be discarded.
Updates are released to $5 Patreon supporters first. Three weeks after the Patreon exclusive, all known bugs are fixed and the new version is released publicly for free on Patreon and posted here.
Game updates can range in developmental time depending on the needs of each individual update. However, development has only increased since 2017 and is now full-time thanks to the generosity and popularity of the story.
Supporting the Project
To support the project, you simply have to play it. The download here is FREE and you're more than welcome to ignore the donation page. Please do not donate if you're not in a financial position to do so. If you'd like to support on an ongoing basis or unlock additional content, you can visit my Patreon page.
Other ways you can support the game beyond financial support include:
1. Rating the Game here on itch.io
2. Sharing it with friends and encouraging them to share it as well
3. Following the developers on social media and helping them to expand the audience
4. Joining the Discord and just saying hello
Official Patreon Page: https://www.patreon.com/aaryn
Follow the Devs:
Aaryn- Lead Dev/Writer/CGs : https://linktr.ee/aarynstr8
Blayke- Co-Writing and Editing Support : https://blaykeapollostudioslgbt.carrd.co/
Jordyn - Technical and Image Editing Support: https://linktr.ee/jordynstr8
Discord: We have a public Discord that is FREE to join. Only requirements are to be 18+ and to be nice. We're a pretty chill bunch. You can join Here
Download
Click download now to get access to the following files:
Development log
- v14 Live on Patreon and BlueSky Stuff!!1 day ago
- Straight!? Revamp v0.13.1 Public Release!51 days ago
- Straight!? is included in the 2024 Queer Games Festival Showcase56 days ago
- Straight!? Revamp v0.012.1 Posted98 days ago
- Straight!? Revamp v0.11.1 FREE Public ReleaseJun 07, 2024
- Straight!? Revamp v0.10.1 FREE Public ReleaseMar 27, 2024
- Straight!? Revamp v0.09.3 FREE Public Release and Merch Store!!Jan 21, 2024
- Straight!? Revamp v0.08.2 ReleaseNov 11, 2023
Comments
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.
Good long game. thx
thank you so much. i don't even know what the final version clocks in at... i was thinking around 15 hours or so. may have to ask the community that one. glad you enjoyed it, though, and thank you so much for playing and letting me know you liked it
Only a few games have such depth and are at such a high level in terms of plot. In the game, you meet biochatters who look like real ones, not the created creations written on paper in some high-budget games. Here, the plot slowly develops, and with it the characters. The main character sometimes acts in an illogical and sometimes inconsistent way, which only works to the advantage of the story. When it comes to feelings, people can behave irresponsibly or chaotic. If you need the help of a translator to translate the text from English to Polish. Or help with the plot, to give some suggestions, I will be happy to help, although I think you are much better at creating stories and characters. PS. I haven't quite finished the game, but I don't mind the length of this title, I think that's a plus. PS.2. Thank you for taking the time to write back and respond, working on projects can take a lot of time.
thank you so much. i'm glad you appreciated the slow burn and sometimes inconsistent take on this. I wanted complicated characters for this story that started out fairly superficial because i feel like that's what people expect in these types of games. irl we learn more about people through conversation, behaviors, or their opinions on things and that's really what's showcased here. i wanted more of a story that unfolded through dialogue than i did something with a ton of action or complicated choices
And it turned out better than good for you.
🙏
I started this because there was a cute twink, but I actually got invested. It really caught me off guard.
glad it hooked ya. i really appreciate you giving it a chance :)
I downloaded this game Saturday morning (the revamp, then the rough version), at first for the NSFW part, but... wow ! I just kept playing for the whole day, barely finding time to eat, and I finished it on Sunday night.
Like both characters, I've asked myself a lot of questions when I was younger. I'm now a 40 year-old man, I've been with my boyfriend for 14 years, and this game made my realize how lucky I am today, and how much I love him.
This game left me with the same feeling I've had finishing great books or great TV series : I just don't want the characters to leave, and I feel I need to know more about them. Looking back on the first pictures of Braden moving in, I already feel nostalgic !Straight!? was truely a very personnal experience, and I think leaving this comment is for me a way of finding closure after finishing it.
If I had improvements to suggests, I would say :
1. not being a native English speaker, some dialogues were long and tiring to read. Maybe, in some scenes were all the dialogue isn't necessary to the plot, you could offer the "Nothing else" option a little more often, in order for us to skip not so relevant parts.
2. another solution would be to have translations, but I've read in other comments it's a option that has been considered
3. I love the fact that not everything is perfectly smooth, and for instance I love Braden's design, with a very realistic body. In the last NSFW scene, the fact that everything doesn't go as planned, and the "checking on your phone" part was really funny. However I was frustrated at the end of the game not seeing this scene going well : I think it could really be a climax of their relationship (how distressing it is the first time you ARE ready but still fear how it's going to happen) and I felt something was missing to fully end their story. Unlike other comments, I don't want to see a sequel because I like to think the characters are going to live their lives on their own, in this imaginary world we all build differently in our head, but I feel a last NSFW scene would "help" me in knowing they are on the right track and that they will enjoy themselves.
That being said, it is one of the most moving game I have ever played (reminded me of "That dragon cancer" or "Firewatch" in some sense) and, I'll just wait for the full revamp version to play the game again. Really, you did (and are still doing !) a great job, keep it like that !
Heya, thank you for the well written note and I'm stoked that it impacted you in such a way as to give you a new perspective and renew some love for your bf. Also, congratulations on 14 years. that's a pretty long time and should be respected and i hope it continues to grow for you both.
in terms of your suggestions: yes, i plan on translations eventually but i think it will be difficult just because i apparently write with sooooo much slang. i never really expected non-english speakers to even get through it originally so it's been incredibly rewarding to hear that people are motivated enough by the project to wade through this thing, lol. I do plan on trying to work with people on the discord to get it as accurate as possible but we'll see. languages are complex and inconsistent obviously so who knows how that translation will turn out.
i see what you're saying with dialogue and maybe that's something i could add. there's a few spots in the later parts of the game where i did that. i just very much see all the random stuff that seems less important as still being character development or giving you background that may come into play later. when i sit down and read books, i usually like massive ones with a ton of details. but i also think that conversation is how relationships naturally evolve so i really focused on a lot of dialogue that spans everything from serious to existential to anger to teasing the crap out of each other. I definitely think it's a lot for a non-native English speaker to struggle with 'cause i get really wordy sometimes :p
things like that may come after the revamp project is completely finished where i may be able to go back and just do some touch-up updates and stuff :)
Hi Aaryn, it's the first time I'm writing to you. I read your "Water Fix Image Pack" on the patreon page. I 've made it. I use a PC and downloaded the zip file and overwritten the pool images. And then I've tested the 0.13 version from the beginning..cause i really love your job. Just to inform you that everything went fine. I've tried all the different paths and choices and never get an error or missing alert from the renpy IDE. I tried to write on patreon without success, so I hope I'm not breaking any rule writing you here. Thanx for showing me exactly how i see the love between two people. thank you veeery much. I appreciate your work. Can't wait for your next updates.
heya, well thank you for reaching out first off. and yes it's absolutely fine to post here. i'm not sure why you were unable to post on patreon. that should have been a free public post where anyone could reply so sorry you had that experience but here is certainly fine :)
but thank you so much for running through stuff and testing it. it seriously does help me out and save me time while i'm working on all the future stuff. all of those new image updates will be including in the next update too. It's coming soon. i promise. little more work than i expected but i'm on it
appreciate you and appreciate the support and follow <3
This isn't the first time I've read Straight!? but I feel like every time I reread I pick up another relatable thing from it. Zack thinking about his highschool experience and how even though he had friends he never really knew if they were actually friends because of how much he hid from them really fucking hit me hard. I'm fucking 38 years old and have been out for decades at this point, but I'm fairly sure I still have issues being vulnerable with people and forming genuine connections with them because of how much I felt I had to hide as a gay kid growing up in the 90s/00s.
heya, thanks for checking in and thank you for the multiple reads. i've said this before but when i started working on this thing i never expected it to go global-- sure, it's on the internet and everything is technically global, i guess-- but i never expected it to hold up in so many different places, cultures, lifestyles, etc. And because of that, i never grow tired of hearing the experiences of others. I truly value posts like this and I thank you for sharing it.
I think there's power in hearing from the experience of others: hearing or reading something that you've experienced yourself, and realizing that you're not crazy and you're not alone. With all the division in the world, it's nice to feel connections with others so i'm glad this small part of the story resonated with you. It's also fun to just hear all the parts that resonate with different people because the world is a diverse place.
You spoke about this vulnerability and I think the next update that I'm working on now, returns to that again briefly, but it can be scary. If you've had past experiences that have taught you to protect yourself, it becomes advantageous to defend yourself and be very leery of outsiders. Giving them too much information could hurt you. But the flip side to that is that is the connection that comes from shared vulnerability. when you find people that you can be yourself around-- drop that filter. it can be terrifying but that's what gives it its power: when you're vulnerable with them and they, in turn, do the same to you; and neither of you uses that vulnerability for harm. obviously, you need to be safe and calculated with that and much of that is based on our past experiences.
i think for me: i've made bad decisions in the past. some of those have allowed people to hurt me just as much as my own stupidity has hurt others. at some point, i have to decide which of those experiences needs to become a lesson i learned the hard way and which of those are the painful shackles that are preventing me from moving forward to learn new lessons. It's like any other investment-- there can be profound gains or painful losses-- but i think the currency of meaningful relationships is vulnerability. But that's just how i found acceptance in my own head.
i truly wish you the best and i hope you find acceptance and peace in your own way. stay safe and may all of your future relationships be rewarding. thank you for reading :)
Any femboys? Sissy? Crossdressing?
Heya. This project does not contain any femboys, sissy, or crossdressing content. In fact: it's almost the exact opposite. Character interactions and personalities could be described as cis and are probably more "bro" and sarcastic with an existential twist than anything else. While I openly support any of those identities, lifestyles, and any similar content, I tend to be pretty masculine and I've always heard to "write what you know."
There's plenty of LGBTQ+ talent out there with far more insight into those lifestyles than I have and the world would be better served to hear their voices over mine. They would do them more justice than I ever could.
I recently discovered your work, played revamp up to v0.13.1 and I have to say: how incredible! I loved the way you developed the novel, the script, its characters, the details of the scene and the sound design; It really is an engaging, inspiring and very well done virtual romance, which goes far beyond the hottest scenes. It's like a series that I hope for more, please keep up the wonderful work, I'm loving following this story and getting to know its characters. Have you ever thought about creating a sequel to this story, with the boys' next years of study? I'm sure it would be a huge success and it's something I'd really like to see. A big hug from your new brazilian fan <3
heya, greetings from the US and thanks for reading. i'm glad you're enjoying the revamped version and since you're finished the story, you already know the revamp is just now getting to the good parts. In terms of a sequel, it's been a common question but no plans right now. i don't multitask well so i only work on one project at a time. right now, i'm finishing the revamp (to conclude this game). as i near the end of the revamp, the workload should reduce a bit and i may start looking towards the future then. without stating spoilers here, i worked hard on the ending for this to check a lot of boxes for people so i'm going to be very careful if i ever choose to continue things. i dont want to just run a story into the ground like a lot of movies do
This was wonderful. I would love to see a second installment to see how things go next school year.
thank you so much. i'm glad you enjoyed it. thank you so much for reading. if you're still interested in the characters, the revamp is a great way to scratch that itch for wanting more.
Thanks for working on this game! You put a lot of thought into it. I am playing the remake and had a question about how updates work. When we launch the game, we get a warning that starting an old save when playing an update will crash the game. There are have been some text that references choices in previous chapters and I wonder how starting a new game at a later chapter impacts that. Is updating as simple as deleting the old folder and just starting from the new one? Does it remember what previous choices you made?
heya, first off thanks for playing and I'm glad you're enjoying the project. To answer your question, first you need to know that I'm not a coder or game developer in any professional capacity. I went to school for psychology so i'm completely self taught for this based on reading forums and watching videos. I'm still learning in real time-- that's why the quality of the original game changed so much as it progressed. So if there's a way to avoid this issue, I'm not sure how to do it. I'll give you a pretty lengthy but detailed response though-- just know that I probably won't sound like I know what I'm talking about. lol
So "choices" in the game are based on declarations within the code. When the game starts, all known variables and declarations within the game will be loaded. I load all of mine as "false" when you start a New Game. When you make a choice in the game, the variable assigned to that choice then becomes True. Later in the game, if that choice becomes important, the game will remember that the variable is true and your story will follow that "true" path.
The problem and the requirement for starting a New Game after each update is because as the story progressed, I added new variables. So for example, if you played the first Update of Chapter 1, your New Game would not have loaded all the chapter 10 variables yet because that chapter wasn't written yet. The game has to load all variables within the game at the start or it'll crash when that variable becomes required (usually the error message will say something is "not defined.")
One criticism of this is obviously that I could have just loaded all known variables for the entire game when I first started writing the story back in 2017. The problem with that is I wasn't sure where things were going. I'm a fan of the story myself so I didn't want to plan a lot out, I wanted to be surprised along with the reader so the story wrote itself each time. Another problem with that stems from people that are actual coders. Without exception, there's always a segment of readers that break into my code every update (especially in the original version) and looked for spoilers or clues to where the story was going. Hell, I even had a few fans that have never actually played the game-- they download each update and just break into the code script and read that like a novel-- they never even boot the game: just the code. To avoid hackers finding future story spoilers, I just never included any future information-- including those variables that would prevent the game from crashing.
The Fix: So the reason that boot message is there is that during each update, you need to start a New Game. The newest version of the game will load all variables--including the new ones just added into the story when you click New Game. But then immediately following that, you normally will have some choices to answer. Those answers will modify the code to flag things as True and essentially recreate your old save file and choices based on what's required for that update. Then it'll drop you right at the end of the last update with all your old choices.
Hopefully that makes sense. If not, feel free to ask :)
Thanks for the info. And happy to support your Patreon! I reached up to the point when the Revamp currently ends and went a bit past that in the (I guess we can call it) legacy version, and I think I'll enjoy it best by continuing as you release updates for the Revamp.
I recently discovered the game an what can i say - i can't stop playing it! :) And i'm not done yet either.
The story has gripped me and i find it more exciting from chapter to chapter what will happen next night. And it always makes me horny! ;)
I'm happy for you for the nomination :)
thank you so much. i hope you continue to enjoy it. i progressively just got more comfortable doing my own thing rather than try and do the typical VN stuff so hopefully that works for you. lemme know if you end up liking it (not sure if you're playing the original or the revamp) by the end :)
I downloaded on a horny wim, ended up utterly engrossed in the story and characters. Practically sobbing by the end. I love this game, I want more from these characters - especially one that left a plant behind.
haha, thanks for sticking around through the original intention. that means a lot. sorry about the tears but i seriously appreciate the investment. and the character you mentioned was a surprise fan favorite to everyone. i think he ended up being as popular or more popular than the MCs
he's a ton of fun in the most chaotic way :p
Full goblin mode chaos from that character and I would love it if you ever explored his journey from the end of the story. Thank you again for this experience, I truly love your characters and world - I didn't expect to be so moved.
he totally is full goblin mode, lol. yo, thanks for the read. glad to have you on board <3
I played this back in 2020(?) and, at the time, it resonated with me; I was a man questioning my sexuality, and Braden was not only the spit of what I was going through at the time, but also a cute, well-written protagonist. The game helped me explore who I was, and it was such a beautiful messege!
I recently finished up the old version, and I am about to play the new version :) but as a man who recently decided to 'embrace' his sexuality and give a go at dating guys, I have to thank you. Thank you so much for this beautiful game!
aww, this is amazing. i know i dont know you but i'm so proud of your progress and your ability to find peace and acceptance in who you are. I'm always humbled when people state that this story was involved in any way in their journey or as an impetus for change. that's still one of the best compliments i could ever receive but I think it's always important to kick the majority of that credit back to the reader because you're the one who was willing to listen to yourself and find your own path. thank you so much for reading and thank you for giving the revamp a try. i hope you enjoy it even better than the original-- i've worked really hard to do nothing but improve it. same story. just everything looks, sounds, and feels better. please take care of yourself. i wish you and those important to you nothing but the best. thank you so much <3
Someone please help me... idk how to progress in this game. I got the cleaning supplies but idk how to start cleaning. I'm stuck playing the same narratives over and over
heya, first off thanks for playing. from where you are in the original game, you should be able to go to class and that would unlock a TV discussion with Braden and open pool access.
since you're playing the original, you're stuck in the frustrating part of the game. when i started this thing, you basically had to keep trying different combinations of things to unlock the progress forward. that's how a lot of sandbox games were built then. since then i've learned to hate that method and i promise that goes away after chapter 3. if you want to completely avoid all of that, then just play the Revamp version, it's not the full story but it'll get you through the first 5 1/2 chapters without having to worry about any of that stuff. then if you still like the story you can jump back to the original and pickup the story while you wait on the revamp version to be completed.
There's also a .txt file in the game folder that has a walkthrough of all the choices and how to get through the first 3 chapters quickly. i promise i got way better. i can't stand the beginning (hence why there's a revamp). hope this helps :)
Hi, I think this game is amazing. I'm really enjoying it. I haven't finished it yet, but I already want to know more about what this story is like. It's flowing really well. I feel like the story is really deep. I really identify with everything that happens in the story. Even though I'm from Latin America, I try to translate as best as possible. I would like there to be a Spanish translation, I was wondering if it could be added soon, it would be more convenient for Spanish speakers.
heya, greetings from the US and I'm humbled to have you onboard. I've tried to make the story pretty deep, especially for the adult genre. it definitely has it's heavy moments but there's a bunch of fun nonsense, too. so in terms of translations, i do have people on the discord who have been interested in translations. i originally got some interest then got busy learning more things for the Revamp and it go put on hold. I do know there is still interest tho and Spanish was one of the most popular requests. a full translation won't be soon but it is something that I'd like to do and would likely include the community to do it. lot of people have wanted to help with this project and that's definitely something i can't do alone. i'm very much against AI so i'd rather have people doing it-- which will likely take longer but it's more rewarding
Hi. I just played the 12.1 revamp version and I played the original completely first and so far the revamp is incredibly great. I am just confused about something in the story. Was it intended for Mikhail's backstory to be exactly the same as Zack's backstory from the beginning or (and please don't take this the wrong way) were you just being lazy in your story telling. I do not remember, at the beginning, anything that suggested that the backstory was not Zack's and was him just repeating what Mikhail told him so I am confused as to who's backstory is real and what the story is telling me. I really like this story but I need some clarification on this so it makes sense to me.
heya, so nothing changed from that scene in the original story versus the revamp.
[SPOILER]
in that scene with mikhail, mikhail is indeed referencing the beginning prologue of the game. the beginning of the game was intentionally misleading to make the reader think it was zack but it wasn't. throughout the original story (and the revamp) we will get extremely limited backstory of zack. i didn't want zack backstory in the game, i thought that it was more powerful to have his backstory ambiguous and left up to the reader, allowing them to justify some of his decisions or mindset. but in terms of the mikahil scene: that scene was done for a couple of reasons. i wanted zack to view mikhail as this powerful character but i wanted mikhail to actually have some backstory where he wasn't and i wanted him to be able to empathize with zack while coming from that part of himself. i also wanted to depict the idea that being strong isn't necessarily something you're just born with. mikhail's character is pretty consistent in that many of his weaknesses are things that he learned to overcome. i think that's a hopeful message and i think it's something that makes mikhail a much stronger character. it's also a hopeful message to zack in that he is very stuck within his own head and sometimes hopeless and to realize that a powerful friend of his, that he looks up to, has actually struggled with the same idea before and overcame it is incredibly validating and hopeful. i'll also say that the prologue was intentionally shot in black and white so it helps mask the skin tones a bit but if you look closely at the prologue pictures, it was clearly mikhail in the prologue pictures and not zack, mikhail was just a bit younger then so his frame is thinner and he didn't have his tattoo yet but facial structure (what parts you see) as well as his hair and other physical features are all the same. the first time we see zack in the game is in the dorm room.
Ok that makes sense now. Thank you for the reply. I look forward to the rest of the updates.
thanks a lot. glad to clear it up. i think it was less obvious in the original because i had very limited scenes in the prologue, which is one of the reasons it was completely redone with new visuals but i like introducing mikhail very early like that. it means he's always been present in the story and it's one of the very few cases in the game where we see anything that happened prior to when the story started. thanks for reading and hope you enjoy the rest of the revamp <3
do you know how long it will take for the revamp to be 100% complete? any plans after that?
so the short answer is i'm not sure. The beginning part of the story was going to take a lot longer. there was a lot more work during the early parts of the story and then gradually less work as the story progresses. however, then i've learned more skills in the process so i ended up adding more things like animations and stuff like that. as of right now, i'm probably about halfway through it so maybe another year give or take.
in terms of plans after that, i'm not sure. i didn't plan a lot of this and sorta let it write itself. however, i dont multitask well so i really only want to focus on one thing at a time. but as a near the end of this, i'm expecting the workload to drop more which will leave time to start looking towards the future. i have a folder with some ideas in it
Hey, I just finished the revamp. I don't really want to play the rough draft but I'm looking forward to the next chapter:)
I felt so called out as I am in a similar spot. Different in many ways but the conflict in Zacks' brain is crazy accurate to mine. I don't have many to contribute via money sadly but I would if I could. Thank you and the team for your amazing work ;)
heya, no worries on waiting on the revamp. I think it's honestly worth it. i was always worried about people starting with the revamp then jumping back to the original because of the quality difference but lately people have reported that it worked for them. in contrast to how long it took to do the original, the revamp is going much quicker because i dont have to really outline or write. updates so far have been about 2 months or so on average. it just really depends what i'm trying to do.
i'm also glad the story rings true for you. zack is complicated. there's a lot going on for him to unpack and work through and you're definitely not alone. seriously appreciate you reading and i hope you continue to enjoy the story. dont worry about the money stuff. people have been generous. i release it for free for a reason. too many greedy developers out there nowdays. just know that i appreciate you for giving the story a chance and for taking the time out of your day to come say hey and let me know you're enjoying it. that's good enough for me <3
Just finished playing it. I started in the Revamp (which looks so good!) but I got so addicted that I finished it in the original version. I'm not familiar with this genre of games, I've only played a couple gay dating sims, but this was one of the best gay stories I've seen in a long time. I loved the characters and their developments (especially Ash), the writing was so real and entertaining. I cried a few times, and the ending got me sooo happy. Congratulations in creating such a good story ♥ Looking forward to replay it!!
thank you so much. i'm glad you found the genre and thanks for giving this one a try. there's a lot of stories out there so i'm happy you found mine. Yeaaahhh.... Ash is a fan fav for sure. Def the most fun to write out of all of them but they all have a special place in my heart for the time I've spent with them. I'm also happy that it worked jumping from the Revamp to the original. I've come a long ways and while I didn't like the beginning of the original story's quality, the middle and beyond started to pick up. However, after working on the Revamp, I can't believe the difference and I always worry about people jumping back to the original. It's still very popular on the Discord because fans really enjoyed watching the growth of the project and for most, that was how they first experienced it. It was a first for all of us. But the Revamp is on another level and I'm way more proud of it.
I dont know if this is ever mentioned or cleared up (I'm only mid(?) chapter 10) but, from Braden's thoughts and doubts regarding sexuality about himself--- I think he's definitely demisexual! Basically a label for those only able to have sexual attractions with someone that they feel deep connection to, no matter the gender. I've had the same doubts and feelings of guilt myself--- and scared also that people would think I was just "pretending," until I stumbled onto that term myself. It was so relieving to see I wasn't alone in that, and not only that, but the fact that it was called something. It felt more valid. I've never seen that portrayed in most media before, so it's nice to see it here, even if it's unintentional. That being said, being unlabled is so nice to be, too. Honestly, I prefer that. Sexuality, gender identity... I believe it's all too fluid anyway to have an exact label. We should just be living our lives the way that it makes us the happiest. <3
Heya :) so in terms of actual labels in the game, i've never officially confirmed anything. However, the demi-route you're discussing has been widely considered by a lot of readers. I have my own head canon but I never openly confirmed things just because i like to leave it up to the readers. your ability to relate to what you've read so far is a good example of why. if i confirmed something that was opposite to what you gained from it, I'd fear taking that from you and i dont want to take anything away from a readers ability to relate to a character or situation. so i've just decided not to do that. you're definitely allowed to put labels on the characters and there's definitely enough evidence in the story for you to draw that conclusion-- many have. So once again, you're not alone :)
The revamp is SO beautiful and real. It's been a few years since I've watched Brian Sandbox dramatize it. Don't remember what's different, but the writing is just great. My heart's been broken a few times by the story. Keep it up. This project is something really special.
yo, thank you so much for the response. glad you're enjoying the revamp. I really felt like i had to make a case for why i was going back through things but it seems like people are onboard with this once they actually see it. I will say Brian did a good job on the story. He brought some really good points into the reading of it as well as sharing personal things and adding things that I left out or just didn't even think of-- i think that's what makes a good stream on something like that: just taking the source material and adding something of your own to make it better. I know he was able to reach a lot of people that I couldn't and I appreciate that. He did a good job and i'm grateful for that. thank you for reading :)
is this really the end ?
it cinda ended on a cliffhanger so I just wanted to know so it doesn't keep me up
heya :)
so no plans on a sequel right now. the ending was really purposefully done to tie up a lot of things and really focuses on the story that i wanted to tell here. it checked a lot of boxes for a lot of people. that being said, i'm open to a sequel but it would have to be better than the original for me to even do it. I'm not a fan of just running stories into the ground with dozens of sequels and stuff.
This story was AMAZING, i got so connected to the characters! i REALLY hope a sequel happens at some point, i think a lot of people would agree with me. I truly thank you for this story!
well thank you for reading. i seriously appreciate the support and the energy. <3
Fuck! It totally gave me book hangover! I've played before the first draft it was completed and now I've played all what it's published and I cried like a bitch!
I love the writing, how you can feel all the storm that is Zack head! I relate to him so much! And Brendan too, he's experience remind I bit of myself, whom is self labeled as demiromantic. Maybe you didn't intend for that but, that's what I'm reading as.
The scenes! Fuck the pool scene! It was so beautiful! And the end fuuuuuuuuck. Have you ever watch the 3 season of skam specifically? This gave the same feelings when I first watched.
Brilliant!
haha, sorry about your hangover. but super glad you enjoyed it and all the feels hit the way they were supposed to. In terms of how you interpret the characters and stuff, i really wanted to leave that part open so people could look into them the way they wanted to of whatever appeals to them the most. sexuality is a big discussion in this game and it's really hard to take a complete stance on what that is or isn't. it's complicated and diverse so i really wanted to leave it up to the reader. I've never heard of Skam here personally but it looks kinda interesting. i can add it to my list and maybe get to it eventually :)
You should watch it. It is a Norwegian series but it got famous because the 3th season and now there are a lot of version out there, but nothing like the original. I still have it saved on my old Megadrive
sure thing. i'll look into it :)
do you plan on adding voiceovers for the dialogues in the future. At least for the important scenes?
heya :)
So no plans for voiceovers for a couple of reasons. 1) Logistics. The amount of dialogue in this game is insane. The original script had over 50k lines of code. It would be hard to try and record some parts and not record others. Recording that would take months and coding it in and editing it would be a nightmare. I honestly don't think it would be worth the time and would likely delay updates, prolong development, or just prevent me from starting something else. There's just never been a lot of demand and I don't want to be a developer that just spends forever redoing and adding to the same project. 2) Voices can ruin head canon. So this second point is honestly more important to me and is the primary reason I'm about 99% sure we'll never see voiceovers. I think visual novels, especially one of this length, kinda blend that novel and game genre together. However, the length of this one really pushes more of a "novel" than a game. I think that causes a lot of people to read it like a book where you get to make the voices up in your head. There's also a lot of readers that have developed head canon about these characters including voices, accents, ethnicities, and all kinds of diverse characteristics. That freedom allows the reader to identify more with the characters and that's proven powerful to thousands of readers over the years. I don't want to take that from them. I think the characters are more powerful and diverse being silent and left to the imagination of the reader with this project and I want to protect that.
However, that being said, cinematically it would be pretty sweet to have voices and it would make doing music way easier
So I really like the music in this game I was trying to find the audio/sound files. Is there a way to access them, or where are they located in the game's files? I could discover most of the songs but there are a few I couldn't manage to identify.
heya, glad you like the music I chose for it. I don't lock any of the media files down even though I've been urged to do it. You should be able to find all the audio stuff in the base game folder/game/audio/music folder :)
I found it thanks, yes I really think the music fits each scene very well! I'm impressed and curious how you managed to find such great music.
good deal. glad you found it. and thank you. I've really tried hard on the music aspect. while i respect that music taste is objective, I've really tried hard to find things that make me feel the moment when i'm writing the stuff while still remaining within my price range because.... bruh... the music stuff is expensive as hell, lol. But i'm happy with the tracks so far and i'm seriously glad you're vibing to them.
Yeah, I definitely could tell you put a lot of thought into it. I write music myself so I can understand the cost aspect haha. I look forward to seeing what you add to the game in the future!
thank you very much. also good luck with your music stuff too <3
I really loved this game, tbh it's kind of the few that, after completing it I instantly feel shit (because its perfect and I wanted more of it). Yesterday I saw the reworked version (I played the older one) and I'm gonna play it *straight* after I completed the non=reworked one.
All I got to say is that I am happy there are people like you working in these kind of games and you did great in this one (and I haven't even played the reworked one). I hope you make us proud once again with the rework. I usually don't trust using my credit to any website (even if its itch.io) but I wanted to share (even if it is a small amount) for your effort.
I know there are quite few people that want to say things like this comment and maybe are shy. We are here, we thank you and we want more like this.
Stay strong and good job.
P.S.:I know I might be greedy but I honestly would die to play more of this... I don't know if you have planned to show things like what happens after the end of semester, like part 2 or something like that... What I'm trying to say is, it's your choice (ofcourse) if you are gonna make more after this, but I'm sure there are a lot of people who would LOVE to see this.
sorry i'm slow on the response. Really happy you enjoyed things but sorry it left you sorta lost after you finished it. I'll take that as a compliment :) Lemme know how you like the Revamp. I've grown a lot during this so it's definitely something I recommend if you liked the first one. It's way better from the opening scene. I think it grabs you much earlier and it's just fun to see the characters look 1000 x better.
but thank you for your kind words. I know people don't always say stuff and that's ok. I'm pretty shy and quiet myself so I'd probably be one of those silent type, myself. Hell, on the discord i talk because I'm the admin but otherwise I'd probably be waaaay quieter. But I'm just really glad you appreciated the story and the angle I chose for this whole thing.
No plans for a sequel right now but i didn't really plan this thing in advance either. apparently, i do ok just winging it so we'll see where the future goes. I'd only seriously consider a sequel if i thought I could blow this one out of the water
No problem with the slow response... I like the revamp very much :) With those changes (characters, music, effects etc) it does grab you much earlier.
I read about how comments like these help you and make you feel good, so I'm trying to aswell ^^
Anyways, you're doing good, and I'm a fan of what you do so keep going. Also thanks for letting me know in the end about your future thoughts, I really appreciate it. (No need to reply, it's enough to see you read our comments and you are trying :P)
The comments really do help with the game visibility. Itchio bumps up projects that are "active" from comments so every bit helps. It's nice to get feedback but it's also nice to hear reactions to the story or even the stories of other people who have had similar experience is even something completely opposite. Tons of people read through this stuff and even if they end up not playing the game, you never know who you're going to impact so that's nice too. we're all in this crazy life thing together.
This game is truly a masterpiece! It's just unfortunate that there's no Portuguese language support, which sometimes makes the story difficult to follow. But, the game, the story, the characters... Everything is perfect! Great Job, Aaryn! :)
heya! thanks so much for playing and i'm glad you liked it. yeaaaah... Portuguese has been a popular request. It's on the list to get it done at some point and i know there's a lot of you out there that have been excited about it. We have had discussions about translations on the discord server so it kinda got pushed on the backburner right now. But I would like to get it done at some point. I seriously appreciate you going through all the extra steps you had to just to read this thing, though. I really appreciate that and I'm glad you enjoyed it <3
So when the next update
Not tryna be rude, but if you look at the dates in the Development Log section, it seems to take between 2 and 6 months between updates. It's been 2 since the last one, so it'll probably show up sometime by September or October.
Just some clarification here: the original version of the game took much longer for updates for several reasons. 1) i was super new and literally learning how to do this in real time. 2) i had to write it plus do each outline for each update. I didn't like working ahead. 3) i've just overall gotten much faster now.
that being said, the Revamp updates are waaaay quicker and are usually closer to the 2 to 3 month mark. The next update has already dropped on Patreon on May 17. I drop it there first for donations then put it over here as well as Patreon for free 3 weeks later. Which means the next update here is gonna be June 7. That update will be the second half of Chapter 5. I'm already working on the next update after that now :)
I wasn't too far off for a guess XD. But yeah, looking at the dates again, it's consistently been nearly every 2 months. Where'd I get 6?
lol. i'm not sure on the 6. i think the longest ever was close to 4 but that was a really big update and was a couple hours long. There's definitely a speed difference between the original game and the Revamp. with the writing now, i'm just polishing mostly. the beginning of the revamp was a ton of work tho but i was anticipating it would get faster and it mostly is (until i add a bunch of new stuff and make it complicated, lol).
also, the dev logs over here are really inconsistent. this isn't really my main base. I just do quick stuff here. I do post stuff on my social media or discord links tho about update progress
Well, I'm sure we both appreciate the confirmation, and I can't wait to see how the Revamp handles everything. I have to admit to being apprehensive about it when it was first being released, because I truly love the original. I've been keeping up with this project since you were about halfway through the original, but I didn't play the Revamp until the day I commented here. It's the first visual novel I ever played, and I can't wait to see what you do next! (I would follow you on socials, obviously, I just don't use them nearly enough to bother). The Devlogs work for me, I just check for updates when I realize it's been a minute.
Okay, first of all. TBH i'm totally went for the porno stuff and all that.
But as i keep playing the game, i actually can relate to some of the characters, and they just seem so real to me. It's like they actually live around you.
I couldn't help but really stuck in the game, moved by the plot, they all just seem so soft and tender, I mean, no matter what sexuality's you are, you can always find something to relate on it, and it also doesn't have to do with any sexuality, it can be your life experience about relationships between friends and family and all of that.
Throughout this whole journey, i kept message my friends telling them how wonderful the game is.
THANKS ALL OF YOU!!!
AARYN, BLAYKE&JORDYN for bringing a such great game, i can tell that you guys put a looooooooot of work in there.
And now i must have to download the revamp, can't wait to see the update for revamp.
LOVE YOU GUYS!!!
haha. awww. one of my fav scenes too. thanks for reading and i'm glad you enjoyed it and got sucked in. also thanks for the recommendation to your friends. i always appreciate that because it just helps spread the word (i'm a terrible marketer, lol). let me know what you think of the revamp, i promise it's waaaaaaay better. also, make sure your sound is turned on because it actually works this time :p
Wow. Just wow.
I honestly didn't think much about the game content going into it. I thought I could just speed-pass into some NSFW scenes, but I couldn't have been more wrong.
I haven't been so engrossed by a story and its characters in a long time. The connection both Zack and Braden share is unrelenting and palpable that I completely forgot about the NSFW scenes. It just ended up as bonus content at this point.
How Straight!? depicts self-love, self-sabotage, and self-acceptance is so accurate and relatable to the queer experience. This is so much more than a game, it truly was an experience.
Keeping everything open may feel a little bittersweet, but I think that's the beauty of Straight!?.
I feel like I can discuss this game for forever, but this comment will have to do.
Thank you, Aaryn, Jordyn and Blayke. As someone who struggled (and still struggles) with self-acceptance, this game was extremely healing.
- Boy in (less) Crisis
Heya, I know I ended up talking to you when you joined the Discord but I'll still respond here. Glad you enjoyed this thing. I'm always happy to hear people downloading because it's NSFW but then completely forgetting about that while they're playing. It's a fun compliment that I just really appreciate. Lot of people have called it an "experience," which i think is super fun, too. I'm glad the story gave part of you a voice and helped you sort through some stuff. I think that's a lifelong journey. I know I seem to do it pretty often now and I think that's healthy :)
thanks for reading, thanks for commenting, and thanks for joining our little discord community <3
Hey. Just finished the original game and I enjoyed every bit. The storyline really was amazing! I identified a lot with both characters, but if there's one that I really felt close to, it's Braden.
I'm not actually an emotional kind of guy, but I still found myself really moved by some of the scenes (won't give details so I don't spoil anyone). That story really is very strong, nearly got me in tears more than once. Not gonna lie, I came in here mainly because of the NSFW scenes (which I still enjoyed a lot, not gonna lie about that either), but as the comments already predicted, the story quickly took a place at least as important as that.
Just wish we heard more of what happens next. I've read that you want to leave the story as open as possible, but I can't refrain myself from wishing to see what happens after the end of it. It ended too soon for me (not that I could ever get too much of Braden and Zack anyways!)
I really look forward to seeing the finished revamp version!
Hey, thanks for the comment and really glad the story won you over. And yep, over the years I've read thousands of messages and comments and I really tried to stay intune with how the story was affecting the community. Open was the way to go. Let the readers make several assumptions throughout the game and I just really didn't want to take that from them by have very specific "what happens next" kinda situations. There's stuff to go with, for sure. But this project began back in 2017 so it's very much a commitment for another chapter. We'll see. I'm not closed to the idea. For now, I told the story that I personally wanted to tell :)
Revamp is looking (and sounding) great so far. Next part drops over here on June 7 FREE and finishes up Chapter 5. Chapter 6 is next and it's a doozy.
Thanks for reading and glad you enjoyed this thing. Seriously appreciate the comments <3
Hiiii! So I recently finished this game and I don't normally comment on stuff (in fact I made an account just to say this) but I honestly couldn’t NOT say something about this game (sorry if I ramble too long!):
Little story actually, my first encounter with Straight!? was actually a gameplay video. At the time I normally didn’t take porn games seriously so I wasn’t too focused on the story and just wanted to see some really bad sex scenes (my first mistake).
After a while the game just popped back up in my mind and I would think about it every once in a while so I decided to check it out myself. I saw it on a random porn game site (second mistake btw) and noticed something different. The graphics and everything changed since I last saw it! It was like a completely different game and I was astonished, it was freakin’ gorgeous! So what did I do? Skipped through most of the dialogue because why not? (3rd mistake lol)
That was until I (Minor spoiler!) got completely SPOOKED by an animation of Braden going to town on his bed- I was even more surprised. Animations?? And they’re smooth as straight up butter?? That's when I knew I had to finally give in and really give this game the attention it deserved (No, Braden beating his schmeat didn’t give me that realization- it was the dedication!).
And I’ll tell you, I’m so glad I did.
I started with the revamp and first thought maybe I’ll just wait for the full revamped release THEN go back to the original (which made no sense lol) buuut I couldn’t take it. I was so invested that I had to continue from the original and oh my god…I’ve never been so emotionally invested in a story in my LIFE. I loved everything about this, the characters, the humor, how natural the conversations felt, everything. Every time I’d try and put the game down, not even 15 minutes later I’d open it back up cause I NEEDED to know what happened next.
I felt myself honestly relating to each of the characters in a way, Zack and Braden especially. Despite being female I completely understood how they both felt, as someone who overthinks their damn self. Every time they’d explain why they felt a certain way I’d go “Yep. I completely see what you mean” (Well…sometimes lol)
Don’t think I forgot the other two! (Spoiler!: I literally started freaking out when I noticed Mikhail behind Zack in his Psychology class and Ash is just such a big ol’ sweetheart…despite being wild AF- getting some friends like them is a life goal hell- I wanna BE them.) and good GOD don’t get me started on that final chapter and the epilogue-
Still trying to recover from that roller coaster…
I just love how naturally Zack and Braden’s relationship progresses over the course of the game, it’s really sweet. Even when they got upset and seemed just a little unjustified, I completely understood why they felt that way. And I love how they’re just a bunch of unexperienced goofs (Spoiler!: The ending ‘sex’ scene was just so silly I loved it! I reallyyy liked how the end goal was never for them to have sex, it’s sweet that they just enjoy each other's company.)
Also this could just be me cause I love this stuff but I really like the subtle differences between the respect route and the Perv route. (Spoiler!(?): Like when Zack and Mikhail go to surprise Braden and his reactions are completely different. After playing a ‘certain route’ beforehand I really liked that difference in particular knowing why they were so different, just little details like that)
Literally ever since I finished this game I have not stopped thinking about it, it is trapped in my head rent free like WOW. I can't wait to see more of the revamp, the progress is gonna be in-SANE! The end product is gonna be so freakin’ GOOD. It’s amazing to see a game like this go from another soulless porn game (no offense lol) to one of the greatest, most heartwarming stories I've ever witnessed!
You did such a great job, man! You’ve come such a long way <333
Heya :) Such a fun post to read. Thank you for this. No judgement on your list of mistakes-- they were fun to read :P Honestly, it's meaningful that the game slowly just chipped away until you sat down and read it. As someone who's never done this before, that's a very meaningful compliment. I just really appreciated reading this. Actually, I've read it a few times but just have been too busy to comment back yet. I also want to acknowledge that you mentioned being a female reader. The game audience has mostly been male but it's always super fun to have another female reader in here. I've had a few over the years and it's just a fun demographic that brings an entirely new perspective to things and I just really appreciate that and appreciate having you in the audience.
Stay tuned with the Revamp, I definitely think it's going to continue to upgrade the entire story like we've already seen in the beginning. I have grown a lot with this and it's super cool you noticed that so thank you. Thanks for reading, thanks for your energy, and thanks for making an account just to check in and tell me how much you enjoyed it. Super fun post to read :) Stay tuned! There's more coming! <3
Yes! I’m so glad you liked my post!
Ngl to you I read this over a few times lol, I was just so glad you appreciated it so much and so I’m super freakin’ glad my energy came through!
I figured there weren’t too many female readers of this story since I think it’d be a little hard to put yourself in Zack’s place as a female (not to mention the full male cast of course lol) though personally, I didn’t feel it was that hard. I feel like it’s structured in a way where (like you said) anybody can be in that place.
I saw that you’ve finished chapter 5 and on your Twitter you were starting Chapter 6, don’t burn yourself out and for the love of GOD take breaks! Jk! (sorta) <3
Haha. Yeah, you're energy came through. I'll admit to making some assumptions while reading it that you write exactly like you talk-sorta like I do. I could hear a voice in the comment and it was just fun.
You mention the "all male cast", which is honestly something that I was a bit ashamed of by the end. I like diversity in characters and I really tried to come up diverse personalities and combatted a lot of stereotypes here. However, in the process of that-- I completely left out female characters. Since this as a first writing attempt, I sorta went the direction of "write what you know." I don't know that I can write a good female character-- at least what my goals for the character would be so I very much stuck to my comfort zone in terms of gender. I wrote a very "bro" story here and I'm fine with that. However, it does kinda suck that we don't have female characters (I did sprinkle them in as secondary characters throughout so females do exist, lol). But with the story, I felt like I was already trying to do a lot and I was worried I'd end up writing a cliche female character and that would be almost more offensive than not including some.
In terms of gender and their relation to the Zack. I think that can really depend on the person. I tried to include a lot of generic struggles and hopefully those had enough of a reference point that people could relate to something in their own life just to be able to empathize with the characters in that moment. Gender is certainly a variable here as also is culture, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and tons of physical characteristics that are included in the story. As a female, i'm glad you were able to relate at least to some degree and hopefully the all male cast wasn't too exclusive.
Chapter 6 is coming up. I'm good. 6 is a difficult chapter so I'm ready to get started with it. I do take breaks but there's also a ton of work to do on this stuff when you mostly develop it solo. There's not a lot of time to take breaks but I am pretty good at self care most of the time. I've taken my motivation seriously on this project-- it's easy to get burnout doing that and that impacts the community, characters, and me so it's important I avoid that. I'm good :)
You take care of yourself too <3
braden is btm
you can have whatever head canon you'd like :)
Hi! Hope you're doing well. I just wanted to say that i loved this game and its characters. I related to zack and fell in love with braden(like he could top me and I'd be jumping for joy lol). I just had two questions. Will the revamp have any new nsfw scene added to it possibly and my other question is that after the revamp will you be making a new different game and if yes do you have any ideas what it could be about(also any hints?) that's about it. Thanks for making this amazing game :)
Heya:) glad you're enjoying stuff. So with the Revamp, I didn't plan to have any extra NSFW scenes; however, I didn't make a lot of plans with the original game and it sorta just wrote itself. So the short answer is they're not planned but that's always possible. There are a ton of changes in the Revamp visually-- some of which include NSFW content-- either adding more in some scenes or using new tricks to obscure stuff more artistically. Almost every scene in the game has expanded CGs now so that could easily translate into more NSFW images to make the same scene. The Revamp is planned to follow the same story tho-- it's just waaaaay better quality in every way.
So in terms of another game: i haven't officially announced anything. Truth is that I'm terrible at multi tasking and i dont do well splitting my attention. When you're doing most of this solo, there's a lot of jobs to do already-- trying to take on another project while doing all the work that Str8 requires, is just not something I naturally excel at. The work with Str8 will gradually get easier with each Revamp update. I'm through the roughest parts of the writing now so that's getting easier and the end of the game will just need some image touch-ups so that should go super quick. That extra time should help me plan any future things. I've also began the process of learning more animation and tyring to techniques in Str8 that could apply to future projects on purpose. I will say I have a secret folder on my computer and another notepad on my phone tho with some things I'm tossing around :p
amazing game, but.. Who is top and who is bottom??
thanks. glad you're enjoying it. In terms of the top and bottom role thing, there's an extended scene near the end of the game that talks about that in a lot of detail. I won't spoil it.
gracias! <3
Hey, playing this for the first time (original ver) after hearing about it a few times. Is there meant to be no audio? I'm not far in but it's completely silent so far, not even any BGM.
yep. Original is very much a work in progress or a “rough draft.” I wanted legal music but couldn’t afford it when I started the project so I kept the original without audio. The Revamp does have a licensed soundtrack and sound effects though. If you’re playing for the first time, the game starts rough. I promise I get better. It’s also repetitious at the beginning and requires the right combination of activities to progress otherwise it loops. There’s a walkthrough file included in the game folder if you need it. That mechanic was annoying tho and goes away by the third chapter. It’s completely removed in the Revamp because I didn’t like it.
I don't mind the loops as much, I'm still seeing dialogues I never saw before - I read through 4 chapters in one sitting. Is the original version a complete story by the end?
yay, that makes me happy you made it that far. you're getting out of the roughest parts of the story then in terms of me being soooo new. around chapter 5 i got more community support and encouragement so I really started to push the story to a more mature narrative than just a smutty adult game.
if you're playing the original v0.21.4 it is the complete story. it's 10 chapters and they progressively get longer. like i said before, the quality is a bit rough at the beginning but i promise it gets better. all that stuff is ironed out in the Revamp but the Revamp is only the first 5 chapters right now.
I've finished the original ver now, I liked the friendship dynamic between the 4 characters towards the end but I felt like it ended way too quickly. Would've liked to have seen more of the 4 of them before the whole "nothing lasts forever" - even the writing letters to Ash/Max and them getting the picture of Bradens phone picture never happened. And the whole parting ways at the pool with your bestie 'for the last time' - felt a bit too bittersweet for my liking. It was an almost happy ending. But kudos to you!
i won't go into a lot of detailed spoilers with the ending (lots of people check comments down here before downloading so you can really spoil things if you're not careful) but the ending was very purposeful for me. It checked a lot of boxes and tied up all the loose ends while still leaving a lot of things open to reader head canon. over the years, a lot of people have related to these characters in many different ways and the community around this story has really grown. I've received thousands of letters and messages and personal stories just based on these character interactions and how important they were to people. As the story progressed, I found that I really wanted to write things in a way that was specific to the characters but also left openings for the reader's own head canon and fan theories about things. So trying to keep the majority of those as possibilities was definitely a goal for me for the ending. you sound like you interpreted things in a very different way than most and that's ok. that's the first I've heard of a "bittersweet" reaction to the bestie plans but I'm glad you like the friendship dynamic. that was a big part too. The majority of this story is just guys hanging out :p
There's also hints throughout the game on things like the phone picture that end up popping up on the patreon page as additional content sometimes. most patreon pages have monthly CG extra they put out. I used to do that frequently but then found that it delayed the game development so now I do it a bit less. I mostly use a lot of those photo sets as practice for other development and visual skills that I want to use in game later. Over time, i thought it would be fun for those pictures to end up actually playing a roll in the game somewhere so that everything is connected. They're not required for the story but it was just an attempt to make supplemental content there actually matter. There's a photo set on there that's unconfirmed if it's the actual one he's talking about but it could be. This is also just a first attempt at all this for me so I'm learning as I go-- mistakes and all. I've thing I ever wrote before this was research papers for school :p
That would be nice if you put a "hide" button, if is possible, of course. Amazing story, btw
Heya, thanks a lot. Glad you’re enjoying the story. To hide text in game just tap H. If that isn’t working for some reason, go to the Options screen and there’s a Controls setting there where you can change that or it’ll list some other default for your system :)
This story has been nothing but love and strong emotion, i just really loved the storyline of it all
heya, glad you liked all the feelings in a game like this but you may wanna include spoiler warning or something like that so you don't ruin that experience for people that scroll down here and read the comments before playing :)
I just started playing the revamp after playing the original a couple years ago (after it was finished already).
I'm not far, just at the shower scene, and just had a minor thing I wanted to express my opinion on: The revamp shower seems a bit too bright for having half the lights out/uneven lighting.
heya. glad to see you pop back in for the revamp. yep, the entire game is brighter overall now to be in par with the quality of the ending of the original (well... it's actually gotten better than that as you'll see if you go further into the Revamp). one thing that i continue to struggle with artistically is dealing with white. there's a pic set on the patreon page of Braden in the white hoodie and i've continued to try and just create opportunities to work with lights and white backgrounds or white tile or whatever. white blows out really easily and i still haven't figured it out yet. i've gotten better but it's definitely a struggle for me
God. I have to say.. This was an amazing story. I started with the revamp, but I couldn't take the wait, so I ended up reading the original. I will now follow the revamp because there are definitive differences between the two. I am excited to see how the story unfolds again. I had so many emotions during the story and I am very happy with the ending. Would love to see what happens after though too. I got so invested I binged the entire story in a matter of a few days, just absorbing the content every second I could. Thank you Aaryn for a great story!
heya, thank you so much for the comment. i like hearing from people that started with the Revamp and went backwards. i was worried about the shock of that transition given that the original has no sound and is so empty on the campus but I think you did it at a good time. Hopefully it will continue to be excited to see how those same iconic scenes later in the game translate to the Revamp. i'm intimidated by some of them but that just means i'll be careful :)
thanks for playing and i'm really glad you enjoyed it <3
It is an amazing and beautiful story. Probably the best visual novel I've ever experienced. The animations and graphics are also amazing. It's just great. I would be very happy if the story continued. Great thanks to all creators!
thank you very much. this is very kind and i'm glad you enjoyed it :)