I'm honestly loving this game, it's the story and the character development that gets me to play it for hours! Keep up the great work! I just finished Ch 8, I am really looking forward for what's to come for them. :)))
still in the middle of playing, wanted to give some feedback tho.
first: AWE-SOME! first time i see a 3d VN that doesn't make me cringe. i love VN, i love 3d - and i love yaoi/BL/MM. but up to now i never stumbled on a good 3d VN, ESPECIALLY not a MM one... your renders are great, and there's such a sheer number of them, like wow, new set of scenes all the time for every occasion. kudos on the amazing amount of work behind that. the characters are well done, and Zack is hawt AF. excellent posing/expressions/scenes setup too. i like that you use full renders for your scenes, and not VN style just a BG and sprites. and the animated scenes (2 images? i cheated and checked the folder... now i can have my own private 2-image slideshows lol), hmmmm. yesss. yup, i mean those scenes XD. it's fun too to see their clothes melting into nothing when they strip. language is real, i appreciate, and those two are hilarious, i lmao'd a couple of times real loud ^^ good idea with the topics that can be unlocked for conversation. there's a good balance of earnest stuff, slice of life etc, humor, hawt scenes (even if up to now it was solos, it was sensual and amazingly done. ok, said as a 3d dude lover but still... :D), and the story flows nicely. there's a lot of feeling there, and i can see why people identify with/understand Zack (i would too if i was a guy into dudes, which i sadly am only in my fantasy :/). and to see him slowly falling for Braden, more and more, emotionally and physically, while trying to respect him and not risk/fuck up their friendship - the gay man's balancing act... Z & B not being stereotypes, i like that too, cause there are as many nuances of colors in the rainbow spectrum as there are individuals, and not all shine bright and flamboyant, but every single one is beautiful.
i'm not judging/commenting on where the story goes, where thru and who does what and why, or if drama here/there needs be or not - it's your story, your characters, and up to now, i like it. ^^ (atm i'm watching Zack sitting on a bench asking himself why he's doing psy as a major).
i don't mind the slow burner, it makes the wait worth it, if it comes too early/easy, there's like a disappointing moment just after... and geez please to those who expect easy porn, those sparse but well made solo scenes just at the right moment have riled me up more than some hardcore scenes in other VN. like when you go wtf watching a porny pic... instead of yum ~
the interface is slight, which i appreciate, it doesn't take unnecessary space and frills for nothing, but looks design and fitting all the same. (1 only thing, that you might even have fixed by now because it's a flaw: the speaker's name without background, unlike the text = not good, barely readable and just off design-wise, should be made like the text, like a tab over the text field. also the skip etc texts need a BG, they're barely visible). the idea of giving them objects is awesome too and the objects are nicely rendered - tho there again, white square frame = meh, could be even more awesome with a colored BG + rounded frame, or as transparent png..
finally, did i mention this whole game is awesome? :D
so, looking forward to the rest of "my" game and possible updates! thanks for creating and sharing this adventure with us ^^ - and proving that yes, 3d in VN has a future, and even a present!
more funny than minus: - Zack describes Braden in the beginning as a hairless twink... but B's legs are freaking HAIRY! 0_o - they must be starving on a harsh diet, cause when they go to the cafeteria, no food no drinks! NEVER! XD
EDIT: i saw you mentioned sound and license in another comment... doesn't Incompetech give away music for very cheap or even free?
Yo, first off...thank you for the insanely detailed post and comments. I appreciate the time you took. I'll be honest, the part I think I'm the most excited about (for you) is that you're enjoying the game so far and you're still in the part of the game that I consider the weakest part. This game starts off slow because I had no clue what I was doing. It really starts to only develop around Chapter 3 imo. I really wanna go back and fix the earlier parts but I'm really stoked you enjoyed it anyway. Honestly, I'm more excited at your reaction moving forward. It's just fun to read posts where people get all worked up about the project. Thanks for the thoughts. it really means a lot :)
Bruh. This was supposed to be weak so far. I played it for like five minutes got addicted and played it for several hours every night I was so upset when I realized that I had reached all you had done so far. I am so excited to see where this goes man. I've never read a better more accurate depiction of what runs through someones head. If I had money to spare I would certainly have pain probably 30 dollars just for the game. Please keep up the good work. Oh p.s. the romantic scenes are my very parts so please make sure you keep those up.
heh, the beginning is def the weakest. I didn't really have a writing style or anything. I've gradually gotten more confident and better and accepted that it's better to take things slow rather than rush them. Plus, having another guy that's more experienced with writing and that I trust with my life helps to give me feedback and pointers. That makes a world of difference in the flow of the story and the overall tone.
Dont worry about the financial support though, i'm not a greedy person. Kind words work for me as well. You can always spread the word about the game, too. Honestly, there's about a million ways to be supportive rather than just paying and I appreciate all of them. Game is free for a reason and it's already gotten far more donation support than I ever imagined possible.
And there's plenty of romance. TBH, my fav two scenes in the game are both imo the most romantic. I love those scenes and they're incredibly intense to write. There's gonna be more :)
PARTIAL SPOILER ALERT!
sooo… now that i just finished VIII, i KNOW what you meant about it getting better. everything i said before multiplied by a bunch! the renders have improved a lot, i think just after i wrote the last comment. especially various cool cam angles and a lot of new locations. love it when you totally go off from VN style into a real, free 3d story! the whole going out of the dorms/college is excellent, way to go! actually everywhere they went, i liked. also Braden’s toony slidermania side smile is finally gone, lol (didn’t comment on that one, i knew - or at least hoped - you’d fix it ^^). generally Braden looks sexier, i suck at comparing things but whatever you did worked! Z’s makeover too. the quality of everything just improved. then also yeah, action-wise, some wicked scenes too ^___^ … now we’re talking! guess i had to pick my jaw off the floor too XDD. btw, also loved the 1st kiss anim, it was beautiful! the beach games and drunk B were too much, man, i laughed my ass off so hard there were tears and it almost hurt XDD. and then.. yeah, i laughed less. but the 3 way bonding was great. also the pool lesson was awesome. i noticed you had woven a lot more seriousness into the story, introspection, drama, heartwringing situations. however… nothing could have prepared me for the last last part… 0_o … i’m still reeling. me too, i’m still standing out there, gaping. soo glad they went for this lesson omfg. still, really looking for the next chapter, just to know how they fare…
EDIT: y’know.. what i really like with this story is the feeling of being one of the guys, sitting there listening to them. to their daily hilarious chitchat about everything and nothing, banter, messing with each other… to such extent, i think i’ve never seen that, not even in fanfiction. i wrote sth in that direction once but it was all imagination… to any dude it’s just what you live - for me it’s so detailed i appreciate cause yeah.. fat chance i’ll ever experience it ~
The game has always had a serious purpose and tone to it. I like to think that it's more "adult" in the sense based on it's issues rather than the actual content. I just chose to make a story without any real limitations and I like that. I'm glad you stuck it out through the first part, that i thought was weaker because I think it does get a lot better once I figured out how to write better. Hopefully, i'll continue to improve with the help of the other two guys I have propping me up. I'm also glad you appreciate the banter. I think that's what truly makes it a real slice of life story. The banter, while sometimes funny and comedic, provides insight and background at the same time and has it's own way of providing character development. Plus, i think conersations like that are just part of real life, debating random shit that doesn't matter with friends is something most of us have probably done. But yeah, thanks for the love and I'm glad you like it. We still got some story left to tell, too
Itch.io only let's me put one link up from what I can tell but you can download the MAC version from the Patreon site. Here's the most recent link for ya:
Working on it now. Each chapter seems to take longer because we try and do new things. That last one was probably the best one we've done though. I'm trying to work on upping the graphic quality for this next one
Heh, thanks a lot. It's been a really passionate project..both with the writing and just the emotional experience and relationships I've made through it.
I so can imagine, man. Both your characters and you deserve a hug. The story is very deep and strong, a feature almost non-existent in gay themed games. Thank you again!
I wish I could just hug really tight both Zack and Braden, they're the cutest, and that's thank to you.
Second, I'm quite new to the Visual Novel area, and I'm loving it, but from the novels I've seen, most of them have the "Gallery" section where you can find some of the most important or remarkable moments of the story, do you intend to (can't think of any other verb, I'm really sleepy and english is my second language, so I'll probably misuse the word) put this Gallery stuff on the game?
That's all, I'm loving your novel and can't wait till the next chapter! (they were so cute at the pool and then the dorm was like that???? so much I wanted to see, and now so much goes through my head "what they're going to do now? where they'll stay? WHAT ABOUT THE PICTURE???? was anybody in there? how that happened?", a lot of questions and I just want to see those boys happy together) thanks for your work and hope everything goes well! ^^
Thanks for the love and I feel like Zack and Braden could both use a hug right about now. So in terms of the "gallery" feature, I'm going to give you an honest response to this question. I have no idea how to do it. lol. Basically, each update, I try and learn a little something new with the coding and stuff. I know a lot of people were interested in the gallery feature early on so I just left all the images unlocked in the game directory. What you'l notice on a lot of games is that they archive all the images in the game into one file (usually an .rpa file) and you can't see them. I don't do any archiving with Str8. So if you go into the game folder and look for an images folder, you can browse every pic in the game. That was my early answer to a "gallery." Eventually something like that may be added in game but honestly, there's sooooo many pictures I don't know how how to start the process of picking which ones would go in the gallery. But for now, if you want shots like that you can just look in the images folder and do what you want with them.
In terms of the game moving forward....yeah.... people were pretty surprised i think with the cliffhanger and that shit hurt my soul to even write it. But we move onward and hopefully you'll realize it had a purpose. Hell, I still have questions... good news is the next update won't be as emotionally rough as this one was. That last chapter was freakin' HEAVY.
Thanks for the reply, now I just wanna hug em more ^^
I didn't really know about the image folder, totally checking that later (or right now, probably now), and don't worry about the gallery stuff, it's hard, not only to do the coding (which I respect you so much for (you and Blayke already do so much (I get tired just thinking of all the work, every step, it's a lot))), but to pick just a few pics to put there, so being able to check them all is efficient and save you from a lot of stress.
And you're killing me - YOU'RE KILLING ME - I was so happy and then Braden goes to the locker room - I died a little there - but everything turns out okay, more then okay, THEN the beach, I actually cried - and died a little harder - but again things were fine. And then, the dorms... I'm dead, but okay. Thanks again for the story, I can totally relate to Zack and this makes things really meaningful to me, can't wait for the next chapter (you're cliffhanger totally worked, I'm super hyped ^^)!!!
Hi! I love love the game so much, i can't wait the next update, i know it's an annoying question, but when do you publish the next update? Sorry for my bad english.😊
Glad you like the game so far. And it's not an annoying question at all. Honestly I appreciate the interest. Thi gs have been going really slow with the next update. Basically we're trying to do some outlining moving forward to make sure pieces click into place. Plus, I was exhausted after the last update and it had been around 6 months since I had a day off so I sorta just crashed. Hopefully going to finish up some outling this weekend and get started on the writing part.
yo, i know i said hey to you earlier on the discord but that's a great place to get info on the game along with the Patreon. We're also slowly getting active on Twitter for in-the-moment kinda stuff. Thanks for the luv though. Glad you enjoyed it so far ;)
I love this game. I haven't reached the end yet, I'm at the part where Beautiful Braden gives Zack his First Kiss -- it was beautiful. I'm going to contribute to the development as soon as I can. And btw, I loved the dialogue; I thought it was very realistic. The models are all beautiful. And the story is real well written. It's so nice to read such a beautiful visual novel. I'll be in touch again.
hey thanks a ton. Hell, if you love it now, i think you'll be even happier later... didn't really hit my stride until that update in particular. Def stay in touch and let me know :)
Neither use entirely one model. I ended up mixing a few variations from a few different models but most of Zack is the Malachi model and Braden is mostly the Max model. Both are gen 3
Hey! So I downloaded the game a few weeks ago, and I can leave my first impressions here!
So first and foremost, I'd like to say to the developer, that the game is very fun, engaging, and rewarding! I also really enjoy the concept and the new take on it, differing from other developers!
Now to the good stuff, my criticisms, so I know the developer was going to revamp the first part of the game due to confusion and poor development and make it more story orientated. And I totally agree, the beginning was repetitive and I got stuck a few times.
With that being said, there are a few problems or potential fixes I could recommend, as I've played the whole story up-to-date. Firstly, the dialogue, it can get very repetitive and very meta. The whole "bUt I wAnT yOu tO bE coMfOrTabLe" and the whole "BrAdEn ArEnt YoU cOmfY wItH mE?" "yOu'Ve SeEn mE nAkEd BefoRe AnyWayS" (sorry for the typing, its how i read it in-game) was very annoying. At times I was thinking, do people actually talk like this? I can understand that Zack is a bit insecure and Braden is discovering himself, but still it can seem unrealistic and plain cringy.
Other than that, I'd like to see more customization with the characters, more options, more different stylistic personal preferences, like for example in the popular dating sim "coming out on top" you could choose which characters had body hair and which had a beard. Just more customization in general, though it could interfere with the whole zac trimming his pubes bit, but I would still like more options. I know this sounds far-fetched, but a list of kinks you could assign to each character that changes their dialogue and what they find attractive on other characters, things that make the story more personalized and unique to the player.
But yeah! Take everything with a grain of salt, but thanks for reading this far! And keep up the good work! I love the game.
So I'll try and respond to this the best I can. Yes, the beginning will be restructured as the first portion of the game was mirror after other game norms at the time and I don't really like the feel. However, I did a poll on this awhile back and it's honestly about 50/50. About half of the players at the time actually preferred the repetition part because they wanted to try to "solve" it and figure out how to progress the story. However, I've made the decision to change it and make it more narrative and less game.
That being said, the dialogue that you find "cringey" really won't change. Actually, if there's anything that I'm the most proud of about the game, it's the dialogue. To answer your question about there being people out there who actually talk like this: yes... thousands of them for sure but probably closer to millions. The dialogue structure is actually a mix between various slang because I wanted to bridge the age gap for players. There's references on multiple age groups here and I like that because it broadens the audience. Perhaps the biggest counter to your suggestion is that you call the dialogue "unrealistic" and that's the first time i've heard that since the game was created. I actually have thousands of messages of players who can relate to specifically the parts you don't. The most common word I hear from people is "realistic." Which brings me to one of the ultimate purposes of the game. Zack's character, in particular, is built to be stubborn to the reader because he's a manifestation of someone who is uncomfortable with himself. He fights against the grain of acceptance repeatedly. This is what anxious people do and I wanted to give that a realistic voice--both to validate those who live like this but also to give those who don't an idea of how difficult this journey is for others. Basically, the "cringey" moments are the things I get the most fan mail about and it's usually people saying how much they can relate to the characters. Is the dialogue awkward at times? Hell yes. They're 18 and 19 years old with limited experience. They're going to act cliche at times and other times inconsistent. They're going to do/say embarrassing shit because that's what you do when you're 18 or 19 and you don't have any experience. I'm simply normalizing this because it's a step that people who have no experience at this need to get past. It's also something that people without anxiety probably won't understand. It's easy to become frustrated with a character who is less comfortable or resistant to doing things that come easy for you naturally. And for some people, seeing fictional characters do it, has allowed many players/readers to ascertain the courage to do so in their own lives and for that I'm extremely grateful that the game had the intended impact. That's what it's written that way. I seriously struggled with my own sexuality and that's what you're seeing Zack's character do. It's just not that easy for some people. I've never ever pictured Zack being "cringey" or whiny though--maybe that's just a matter of taste. His ton to be was away authentic... like he's realistically torn at several times during the game.
The other point you made about character customization is something that would be nice to include but it's pretty much impossible. I honestly wanted to do something like this in the begining. You reference Coming Out on Top (COOT) as an example and to compare it to this format is unrealistic. COOT uses sprites. Of which you simply toggle the body hair once and it's on the sprite every time it slides onto the screen. Basically it's super easy to customize things like that. For me to change body hair, I would have to redo thousands of pictures. So if the game has 4000 renders of Braden now, I would have to redo all 4000 pictures again with body hair. Then render all 4000 a third time with a different hair style with body hair. Then render all 4000 a fourth time with the different hair style but maybe the original body hair. Now times all this by two because you would have the same options for Zack. I could literally spend a year of development making mods for body hair and still probably not touch the surface for customization. To further complicate this, I would have to code in every possible variable for each type of hair style/body hair into every line of code for every picture. The current build of the game (v018.2 has 35,000 lines of code). Adding in mods like that would probably double it at least and writing the game this far has taken me around 2.5 years. To add Body hair to COOT, you make one hair overlay for each sprite (which was like 5 guys) and then drop an overlay on each CG (so probably like 30 pics and you're done).
Felt in debt for playing without paying so sharing my thoughts is the least i could do. Basically, love the way the story builds up, there are flaws but it's good. It really has the potential to become great. Hope you continue to work on this. cheers!
Hey thanks. I agree with you on the flaws. I just started a reread and I cant believe how bad the beginning is written...def have come a long way. But on a more serious note, dropping me a note is def appreciated. U dont have to pay or anything like that. I appreciate the feedback and just knowing you enjoyed it...that goes a lot further than a few bucks does. <3
I've never related to a random video game character from an erotic visual novel so much before. Character build up and dialouge is a solid 10/10! I eagerly await the next update! :)
thanks a lot :) this is really what I'm going for here. Zack is the spirit animal of unsung multitudes out there. I wanted a MC that really fights against himself and I think the buildup and the length of the game shows that. Zack is a frustrating character but a lot of our own insecurities can be frustrating to others who can objectively see the big picture when we, ourselves, cant
It was good. I love your ability to story tell, especially when it come to the Zach Character. If there was one thing that I was disappointed in with this part vs the first part is there was not enough sex. Or even the allure of sex. With the first part you had the complete sexual cat and mouse of the two main characters but you also had the scene where he see's his swimming partner fucking his roommate in the shower. which is the same route you should have taken it " Just how hard did he Mikhail have to work for that open pool door. a little too story driven with this one I get more sexual stuff from my merge nymphs. But other than that it was very good. Just maybe make the next one a little more XXX. :-)
imo That is why Straight?! is so great and sets it apart from the rest. It isn't porn; if you wanted that there are a TON of Japanese VN's out there with little to no dialog to get your rocks off to. Those that do have dialog have atrocious writing, spelling, and grammatical errors as most of them are attempts at translation from Japanese.
I got a lot of feedback like this in the beginning and I specifically went against it for the purpose of the story and I have zero regrets. The concept of the game isn't a porn game first; instead it's a story that chooses to not edit anything out. Allowing for an unfiltered approach to the story content and including adult content allows for limitless storytelling possibilities. It's possible we could do a primarily adult content story in the future but that's not the primary point here. I wanna do something different that purposely stands apart from the rest. The part of the story you like the most is actually my least favorite and thr mostly poorly written. I recently started a reread to start outlining the next part and I feel like the beginning is pretty bad now. Theres only so much you can do with porn scenarios and with the number of games flooding the market, they all have the same reused scenarios. Its definitely not the direction I wanna go. Adding sex into the game at the point where you suggested would have compromised the entire Zack character.
I'm curious if you, maybe, might be interested in translate it to other languages so the game could reach more public or something. If you do, let me know and i'll be happy to help with the project translating it to the brazilian portuguese. Thank You.
i'm not doing any translations right now because this is only the alpha/rough draft of the game. we need to go back through and fix some early game stuff, which may change the dialogue/translation. After that, we may look at translations
Haven't started yet. it's going to be awhile. to get this one done in the time frame we did, i've had zero days off in months so i'm resting up a bit. But then we have to do outlining and prep work. The majority of updates on game progress come from the actual patreon page just to keep people in the loop
yeah I am having a hard time getting this new file to start off where I think we all left off them all going to the beach. have any recommendations on how I can do that?
1. So the update is currently only available to the $5 Patreon supporters. This is basically how I cover costs and stuff. I take donations. However, 3 weeks after Patreon release, it goes free to everyone. The game will always be like that. After it's public, then i post the link on a few other sites.
2. Your best bet after an update is to just delete the previous one and play the new one. However, don't use old saves. There's a warning at bootup when you play the game but someone always tries to load an old save anyway and then messages me saying their game has errors. If you use an old save, the game will crash. So when you get the new update, just click New Game and then follow the red "update" choices. It'll ask you a few questions about your past choices and then drop you off just prior to the end of the last update--so basically it'll feel like you're loading an old save anyway.
3. The new full game with v0.17.2 is almost 1.6 gigs. So if you delete the old one and then just drop this one in instead, it won't be that much bigger
When I was playing this game/VN, I had a strong impression that Zack, Braden and Mikhail would become a three person couple. Any chance that might happen?
I won't confirm or deny any future spoilers. At this point, there's several hundred active game supporters that would be furious if i gave away an ending somewhere
the newest update just dropped last Saturday on the Patreon. I'll update the link on the Patreon site for the free download of v017 on January 25. Patreon supporters get the updates 3 weeks earlier than the free folks. We've had the largest positive reaction to this update over any other one in the game's history. Warning: it's an emotional rollercoaster
Hey, I love the way the story goes but choices doesn't make that much of a difference for now, I think. Still, great work tho.
Good luck with that project.
And I just want to know one last thing. (Im kinda "wanna know end of the movie before watching it" type of guy) At the end, will they be together finally? I'm not interested in details. Just "Yes" or "No" would be enough. Thanks xD.
The choices matter but more so to customize the experience to the reader moreso than completely changing the story. The plan was to have two "perspectives" rather than actual separate "routes." This basically means that the story is written one way but based on your choices and perception, it can chance things. We haven't gotten to the biggest difference between them but there are very subtle differences already places throughout the game.
In terms of the ending, there's no way i could spoil that. I've always answered that question as this: "I feel the ending will be appropriate for the journey we've been on." It must fit with the story or nothing mattered the entire time.
I want to make a point, tho. The game looks kinda "lacking" without music, in my opinion. Some kind of sountrack can fill a lot of space. Actually I played the game with music that I opened at the background. Music adds some kind of "feeling" to games in my opinion.
Have a nice adventure, my fellow game developer! Can't wait to see the full game.
Yeah, it's on the list. i just dont have time to add everything right now. it's a slow progression. This is just the rough draft. Think of this like the practice version of the game. I honestly want an entire soundtrack but that's going to be really expensive to purchase music rights. So we've elected to go silent for now
Aaryn, when the time comes I suggest doing searches on YouTube for up and coming artists (especially LGBT artists). They probably would provide cheaper music (or even free) and would love to be more exposed.
Ok, so this game is actually soo amazing though when I first downloaded this game I did not expect it to be so good I relate to Zack like so much its honestly disturbing how much me and him have in common, although I have some critiques for the first part of the game sometimes it can sorta feel like a time loop until you do the right thing because the dialog repeats, but other than that its pretty damn good, I look forward to the finished version. Also this is kind of sad but I actually missed these characters yesterday when I finally hit the "to be continued" screen, you've done a pretty good job if i'm actually missing these characters like they're actual real life friends of mine. So hey, kudos to you I can't wait to see the finished version.
to be honest, i have the same problem. Every time i try and take a break from this game, the characters beckon me back and i tend up writing another chapter. you're right about the beginning of the game. it does repeat because that's how the majority of these games were setup so i just cloned that style in the beginning but i ended up hating it so i moved away. This is still the draft version so we'll go back and fix the first part for sure. Also the art sucks in the beginning and I got a lot better so all of that will be redone too
Hey Aaryn ~ Man ! I totally fell for this game .. like head over heels .. TBH It took me through a ride along my own story , all those bittersweet feelings over and over again ! I love this novel so so so sooo much <3 loads of love <3
Ahh btw very very eagerly waiting for the next episode ! been checking daily XD Braden is such a sick darling i just love him <3 and Zack ! gosh he reminds me of myself soo much !! They both are so so so very relatable ! I really liked Mikhail too , yeah and that "mom-fucker" hahah he was very cute tbh , what's his name anyway .. did i miss it or did you not mention it xD
All the very very best for this and coming games ! ALso cheers to your future , Hope you'd have a very bright one <3 love from India
heya, thanks for the love from India. It's super humbling to get approval of this project from all over the world. One of the early goals of this was to make it applicable to different people, beliefs, ages, cultures, and perspectives. It's just really cool when i get that validation.
Glad you're digging the characters. In terms of good ole MF, we haven't seen his name specifically in the game yet. I just did a public post on the Patreon and I'm dropping the new update tomorrow over there. Then 3 weeks later it'll go public for free.
Hope you have a bright future as well and Happy New Year from the United States :)
you could probably start with Part 2: Chapter 5. The new update dropped today on the Patreon and finishes up Chapter 8 so you got plenty to catch up on. TBH, you haven't even gotten close to where the game actually gets good imo. Chapter 6 is usually where people say they got hooked
Hi ! :) I was wondering something: are translations ever planned? If not, and if possible, I wouldn't mind helping or doing everything lol. (I'm French, so in French, lol. As an amateur of course, i only translate manga.) Otherwise, the game is great :p A few mistakes, but nothing to wry abt
Waiting for the next update~~ And, happy holidays!
Hey, you too. I have people who have expressd interest in translations. One person has even completed a French translation, I'm just not sure how to release them. The other problem is that this is still the rough draft version of the game so it is likely going to change. I didn't want people to spend time translating something that is just going to change.
Hope you have an awesome holiday too. Thanks a lot :)
I don't have Discord. But I guess I will have to go get it now.. ;-) Oh and on the subject of your game. Bravo. the whole day that I was playing it I had to keep reminding myself that I didn't have anything nearly as sensational or magical as the two lead characters in Straight!? I was like "Oh yeah that first time boy love is happening in that game I'm playing , not in my life. which was kind of a bummer . for me. but that means that you and your game are doing what they are supposed too. which is draw me into a world that does not exist . but in every way feels as though it does. The only thing I have a problem with is how long its taking you too come out with the next part!! lol Kidding take your time and do it right. Thanks for letting me ramble. is your screen name at Discord aaryn.reese as well? Good Luck. and good job!! And happy Holidays!! Alan P
Hell, man. I have a problem with how long it's taking for the next part but i just announced a goal date for the release to the Patreon supporters so it's hopefully coming in the near future.
I'm glad you're enjoying the story and it's drawing you in. Hopefully, it will continue to have an impact on you. I have dozens of reasons for making this game and maybe it will help give you the motivation to seek out something magical :)
The beginning (i wanna say first 3 chapters) are setup a bit different than the rest of the game. At the time i started this project, a lot of adult games were stat based and grindy. Because that was the common and popular way of creating these games, I followed suit. However, i didn't like it. In a fairly early build, i ended up scrapping stats completely and went for more story. To fix and transition from the state-based play to strictly story, you get the current setup of the beginning of the game. Basically, if you're getting repeats in the game, it's because you keep picking the same stuff, try something different. There's certain conditions that have to be met that will pop up new choices then you should be good and the game moves forward
And no, there's no ending to the game yet, it's still be worked on. The game is released episodically. So at the end of this current build, you'll get a screen that will say "to be continued." But if you're still on the repetition stuff, you got a loooooong way to go (probably a good 10 hours or more of story). If you dont like the reptition, it won't last that long. The plan is to go back and rewrite the beginning and eliminate the repeated stuff completely once the game is done. This entire project is still in pre-alpha build. Hopefully, if you play it long enough, you'll see that i got better as i learned what i was doing and added a couple other guys to the project. So no repeats after chapter 3
Once I skipped over Part 1, it was really great. I enjoy playing this game/visual novel. Zack, Braden and Mikhail definitely have three way couple potential vibes. Would really like seeing that.
Dude, I like, LOVE this game to the point where it hurts. I legit spent the past two days or something playing through it and was heartbroken when I had been through all the available chapters. Like, that scene where they're playing tag and hide n seek and then that kiss, I LEGIT squealed. PLEASE update the game as soon as you possibly can!
heh. thanks a lot :) Seriously glad that scene moved you cause it meant the world to me writing it. Fav scene in the game tbh (well, until the next update i think). It's in the works, it's just a really involved and seriously impactful update that's next so it's important to get it right. Thanks for the love though :)
Hey... I don't know if you still come here... I'm trying to get in touch with you! Your game is just awesome in lot of ways... I want to help you for that but I don't really know how and first I'd like to know where you're going and if you're still up for completing the game.
I hope you'll read this com and we can talk further more next time!
heya, thanks for the love. Yep, I still check in here and I get an email when people post. You can hit me up on the patreon site or check out our discord too (the link is available through the patreon site and is free).
Yes, the game will be completed. This next update is just really complicated so it's taking awhile
Oh boy, where do i begin. This game... This game is something else. Once i started playing it i couldn't stop. It felt like i was playing it with my heart rather than my brain. The story, the environment, the scenes, the characters, BRADEN!!!
First of all i want to thank you for making this game, for putting time in your life you create this masterpiece. I wish i could meet you in real life to give you a big ass hug. I will gladly donate $10 and become an Elite Patreon member; i wish i could donate more but being a "Broke College Student", i can't.
Now, about this beauty of a game. I fell in love with it, mostly because of Braden being such a cute ass guy and the guy of my dreams, but the game itself is something i can't quite describe, It's EVERYTHING. The way the characters act and how they look, the choices that are given making you feel part of the story. Just AGHghg... This game changed how i see some things in life; it made me see what love is, what it feels like and showed me that i yet have to experience love. You or Ya'll, im not sure who made this, if it was one person or a group of people, are amazing at creating a story!
I love both the characters, but Braden took my heart, since the first time the game introduces him i felt something click inside of me. I'M IN LOVE WITH HIM! Which i don't know if it's a good thing. It just makes me really sad knowing he isin't real and i'm kind of embarrassed to share this but i cried myself to sleep knowing he doesn't exist. Just the way he acts, an athlete, is really humble, and overall freaking CUTE! I hope to one day meet someone like him, but enough feeling sad for myself.
I'm really sorry to make a comment an essay but this game is really special to me, for a person who is not emotional and really hard to make them cry, this game made me do just that. And i thank you. I wish i could show my appreciation by giving $millions to you but i don't have that. I was going to beg to you to continue this story or make another one with Braden but i saw the game is still a work in progress and that the story is to be continued so it just makes me even more excited! Although, i do have one request, you can't add it, i understand, but i would like to see a little of foot action. Maybe just for 3 slides, but it would be nice if you show something like Zach sucking on Braden's toes... ok this just became awkward. Let's move on. Also, if you don't mind me asking, what program did you use for the models and the environtment? If you don't want to answer to that, i understand. And if you ever add audio it would be cool if you add environmental sounds and sound effects not just music.
And one last thing, what kind of BMW does Braden have? just curios since im a little into cars. I'm thinking is a 2015 BMW M4 Coupe, but i could be wrong, if you don't know either it's ok. I would also like to see what Zach drives and see Braden's reaction, but that is just me, my additions might not work well with the story so i understand if you can't add them.
Anyway, i love ya'll so much for making this game and i hope yall keep continuing this story for a while. I can't thank ya'll enough and i hope the best for you all.
Made an account just so I could keep this in my collection and check for updates every few days haha. I wish I could do patreon but I just can't afford it :/ I would have loved to at least see the logs of the updates.
Dont worry about it. Dont short yourself. I will say that I keep better information on the Patreon site than over here so, you can still check out the site. The Overview tab shows the completion percentage. The next update is longer so it's taking a long time. I'm always humbled when people make accounts just to post a comment about the game. Means a lot :)
Updates are pretty slow right now because of the level of detail i'm trying to cram into the next version. It's still a ways out. You can check the Patreon Overview tab and it'll show the current percentage of where I am. That's all free stuff on there. I don't update much on here sadly. It's just too much to try and keep track of
Such a hot game! Hopefully in a future update the player can play with the characters sexually by touching and having them do various sexual things, including fetishes, as if they were your actual boyfriends! Beautiful characters and extremely fine graphics. I'm 19 too, so it was slightly in what my footsteps would be :) if I had extra money I'd become a patron!
Storyline nearly made me cry. And yes it made me hard lol (that's one point of the game right?) I absolutely love it!!!! Never found a game that satisfies gays like me, so this is legit when I'm this excited over this one. Keep up the excellent work aaryn! ;*
P.S: how awesome would it be if Adam Rippon played and enjoyed this game so much he became a patreon immediately?!?
I considered things like that in the early builds but was too amateur to actually code it. There won't be many fetish things in the game other than really what's been included. I wanted a fairly vanilla approach to things so that people wouldn't be deterred by the content and still be able to experience the story.
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I'm honestly loving this game, it's the story and the character development that gets me to play it for hours! Keep up the great work! I just finished Ch 8, I am really looking forward for what's to come for them. :)))
yo, thanks a lot for the luv. Glad you liked it. There's still some story left. Just slow progress right now but it's still in the works
still in the middle of playing, wanted to give some feedback tho.
first: AWE-SOME! first time i see a 3d VN that doesn't make me cringe. i love VN, i love 3d - and i love yaoi/BL/MM. but up to now i never stumbled on a good 3d VN, ESPECIALLY not a MM one...
your renders are great, and there's such a sheer number of them, like wow, new set of scenes all the time for every occasion. kudos on the amazing amount of work behind that. the characters are well done, and Zack is hawt AF. excellent posing/expressions/scenes setup too. i like that you use full renders for your scenes, and not VN style just a BG and sprites. and the animated scenes (2 images? i cheated and checked the folder... now i can have my own private 2-image slideshows lol), hmmmm. yesss. yup, i mean those scenes XD. it's fun too to see their clothes melting into nothing when they strip.
language is real, i appreciate, and those two are hilarious, i lmao'd a couple of times real loud ^^
good idea with the topics that can be unlocked for conversation.
there's a good balance of earnest stuff, slice of life etc, humor, hawt scenes (even if up to now it was solos, it was sensual and amazingly done. ok, said as a 3d dude lover but still... :D), and the story flows nicely. there's a lot of feeling there, and i can see why people identify with/understand Zack (i would too if i was a guy into dudes, which i sadly am only in my fantasy :/). and to see him slowly falling for Braden, more and more, emotionally and physically, while trying to respect him and not risk/fuck up their friendship - the gay man's balancing act...
Z & B not being stereotypes, i like that too, cause there are as many nuances of colors in the rainbow spectrum as there are individuals, and not all shine bright and flamboyant, but every single one is beautiful.
i'm not judging/commenting on where the story goes, where thru and who does what and why, or if drama here/there needs be or not - it's your story, your characters, and up to now, i like it. ^^ (atm i'm watching Zack sitting on a bench asking himself why he's doing psy as a major).
i don't mind the slow burner, it makes the wait worth it, if it comes too early/easy, there's like a disappointing moment just after... and geez please to those who expect easy porn, those sparse but well made solo scenes just at the right moment have riled me up more than some hardcore scenes in other VN. like when you go wtf watching a porny pic... instead of yum ~
the interface is slight, which i appreciate, it doesn't take unnecessary space and frills for nothing, but looks design and fitting all the same. (1 only thing, that you might even have fixed by now because it's a flaw: the speaker's name without background, unlike the text = not good, barely readable and just off design-wise, should be made like the text, like a tab over the text field. also the skip etc texts need a BG, they're barely visible).
the idea of giving them objects is awesome too and the objects are nicely rendered - tho there again, white square frame = meh, could be even more awesome with a colored BG + rounded frame, or as transparent png..
finally, did i mention this whole game is awesome? :D
so, looking forward to the rest of "my" game and possible updates!
thanks for creating and sharing this adventure with us ^^ - and proving that yes, 3d in VN has a future, and even a present!
more funny than minus:
- Zack describes Braden in the beginning as a hairless twink... but B's legs are freaking HAIRY! 0_o
- they must be starving on a harsh diet, cause when they go to the cafeteria, no food no drinks! NEVER! XD
EDIT: i saw you mentioned sound and license in another comment... doesn't Incompetech give away music for very cheap or even free?
Yo, first off...thank you for the insanely detailed post and comments. I appreciate the time you took. I'll be honest, the part I think I'm the most excited about (for you) is that you're enjoying the game so far and you're still in the part of the game that I consider the weakest part. This game starts off slow because I had no clue what I was doing. It really starts to only develop around Chapter 3 imo. I really wanna go back and fix the earlier parts but I'm really stoked you enjoyed it anyway. Honestly, I'm more excited at your reaction moving forward. It's just fun to read posts where people get all worked up about the project. Thanks for the thoughts. it really means a lot :)
Bruh. This was supposed to be weak so far. I played it for like five minutes got addicted and played it for several hours every night I was so upset when I realized that I had reached all you had done so far. I am so excited to see where this goes man. I've never read a better more accurate depiction of what runs through someones head. If I had money to spare I would certainly have pain probably 30 dollars just for the game. Please keep up the good work. Oh p.s. the romantic scenes are my very parts so please make sure you keep those up.
heh, the beginning is def the weakest. I didn't really have a writing style or anything. I've gradually gotten more confident and better and accepted that it's better to take things slow rather than rush them. Plus, having another guy that's more experienced with writing and that I trust with my life helps to give me feedback and pointers. That makes a world of difference in the flow of the story and the overall tone.
Dont worry about the financial support though, i'm not a greedy person. Kind words work for me as well. You can always spread the word about the game, too. Honestly, there's about a million ways to be supportive rather than just paying and I appreciate all of them. Game is free for a reason and it's already gotten far more donation support than I ever imagined possible.
And there's plenty of romance. TBH, my fav two scenes in the game are both imo the most romantic. I love those scenes and they're incredibly intense to write. There's gonna be more :)
PARTIAL SPOILER ALERT! sooo… now that i just finished VIII, i KNOW what you meant about it getting better. everything i said before multiplied by a bunch! the renders have improved a lot, i think just after i wrote the last comment. especially various cool cam angles and a lot of new locations. love it when you totally go off from VN style into a real, free 3d story! the whole going out of the dorms/college is excellent, way to go! actually everywhere they went, i liked. also Braden’s toony slidermania side smile is finally gone, lol (didn’t comment on that one, i knew - or at least hoped - you’d fix it ^^). generally Braden looks sexier, i suck at comparing things but whatever you did worked! Z’s makeover too. the quality of everything just improved. then also yeah, action-wise, some wicked scenes too ^___^ … now we’re talking! guess i had to pick my jaw off the floor too XDD. btw, also loved the 1st kiss anim, it was beautiful! the beach games and drunk B were too much, man, i laughed my ass off so hard there were tears and it almost hurt XDD. and then.. yeah, i laughed less. but the 3 way bonding was great. also the pool lesson was awesome. i noticed you had woven a lot more seriousness into the story, introspection, drama, heartwringing situations. however… nothing could have prepared me for the last last part… 0_o … i’m still reeling. me too, i’m still standing out there, gaping. soo glad they went for this lesson omfg. still, really looking for the next chapter, just to know how they fare…
EDIT: y’know.. what i really like with this story is the feeling of being one of the guys, sitting there listening to them. to their daily hilarious chitchat about everything and nothing, banter, messing with each other… to such extent, i think i’ve never seen that, not even in fanfiction. i wrote sth in that direction once but it was all imagination… to any dude it’s just what you live - for me it’s so detailed i appreciate cause yeah.. fat chance i’ll ever experience it ~
The game has always had a serious purpose and tone to it. I like to think that it's more "adult" in the sense based on it's issues rather than the actual content. I just chose to make a story without any real limitations and I like that. I'm glad you stuck it out through the first part, that i thought was weaker because I think it does get a lot better once I figured out how to write better. Hopefully, i'll continue to improve with the help of the other two guys I have propping me up. I'm also glad you appreciate the banter. I think that's what truly makes it a real slice of life story. The banter, while sometimes funny and comedic, provides insight and background at the same time and has it's own way of providing character development. Plus, i think conersations like that are just part of real life, debating random shit that doesn't matter with friends is something most of us have probably done. But yeah, thanks for the love and I'm glad you like it. We still got some story left to tell, too
So... when do we got the chapter IX?
Working on it. You can stay up-to-date from the Patreon page or our Discord server. It's just slow progress to do it right
Hey Could You Please Make It For Macbooks Too
I Really Want To Play This
Itch.io only let's me put one link up from what I can tell but you can download the MAC version from the Patreon site. Here's the most recent link for ya:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/33425607
I love your work!! <3 Keep doing amazing things!! When are you gonna upload the next part? I cant wait!!
Working on it now. Each chapter seems to take longer because we try and do new things. That last one was probably the best one we've done though. I'm trying to work on upping the graphic quality for this next one
This game is so amazing, my head is spinning. Thank you! You put a lot of passion, love, thought into it.... Thanks a million times! <3
Heh, thanks a lot. It's been a really passionate project..both with the writing and just the emotional experience and relationships I've made through it.
I so can imagine, man. Both your characters and you deserve a hug. The story is very deep and strong, a feature almost non-existent in gay themed games. Thank you again!
Hey, first of all, I love your work
I wish I could just hug really tight both Zack and Braden, they're the cutest, and that's thank to you.
Second, I'm quite new to the Visual Novel area, and I'm loving it, but from the novels I've seen, most of them have the "Gallery" section where you can find some of the most important or remarkable moments of the story, do you intend to (can't think of any other verb, I'm really sleepy and english is my second language, so I'll probably misuse the word) put this Gallery stuff on the game?
That's all, I'm loving your novel and can't wait till the next chapter! (they were so cute at the pool and then the dorm was like that???? so much I wanted to see, and now so much goes through my head "what they're going to do now? where they'll stay? WHAT ABOUT THE PICTURE???? was anybody in there? how that happened?", a lot of questions and I just want to see those boys happy together) thanks for your work and hope everything goes well! ^^
Yo,
Thanks for the love and I feel like Zack and Braden could both use a hug right about now. So in terms of the "gallery" feature, I'm going to give you an honest response to this question. I have no idea how to do it. lol. Basically, each update, I try and learn a little something new with the coding and stuff. I know a lot of people were interested in the gallery feature early on so I just left all the images unlocked in the game directory. What you'l notice on a lot of games is that they archive all the images in the game into one file (usually an .rpa file) and you can't see them. I don't do any archiving with Str8. So if you go into the game folder and look for an images folder, you can browse every pic in the game. That was my early answer to a "gallery." Eventually something like that may be added in game but honestly, there's sooooo many pictures I don't know how how to start the process of picking which ones would go in the gallery. But for now, if you want shots like that you can just look in the images folder and do what you want with them.
In terms of the game moving forward....yeah.... people were pretty surprised i think with the cliffhanger and that shit hurt my soul to even write it. But we move onward and hopefully you'll realize it had a purpose. Hell, I still have questions... good news is the next update won't be as emotionally rough as this one was. That last chapter was freakin' HEAVY.
Thanks for the reply, now I just wanna hug em more ^^
I didn't really know about the image folder, totally checking that later (or right now, probably now), and don't worry about the gallery stuff, it's hard, not only to do the coding (which I respect you so much for (you and Blayke already do so much (I get tired just thinking of all the work, every step, it's a lot))), but to pick just a few pics to put there, so being able to check them all is efficient and save you from a lot of stress.
And you're killing me - YOU'RE KILLING ME - I was so happy and then Braden goes to the locker room - I died a little there - but everything turns out okay, more then okay, THEN the beach, I actually cried - and died a little harder - but again things were fine. And then, the dorms... I'm dead, but okay. Thanks again for the story, I can totally relate to Zack and this makes things really meaningful to me, can't wait for the next chapter (you're cliffhanger totally worked, I'm super hyped ^^)!!!
Hi! I love love the game so much, i can't wait the next update, i know it's an annoying question, but when do you publish the next update? Sorry for my bad english.😊
Heya :)
Glad you like the game so far. And it's not an annoying question at all. Honestly I appreciate the interest. Thi gs have been going really slow with the next update. Basically we're trying to do some outlining moving forward to make sure pieces click into place. Plus, I was exhausted after the last update and it had been around 6 months since I had a day off so I sorta just crashed. Hopefully going to finish up some outling this weekend and get started on the writing part.
Hey, I Just reached the end and Im hooked on this. I need more its soooo goood. Thank's alot <3
yo, i know i said hey to you earlier on the discord but that's a great place to get info on the game along with the Patreon. We're also slowly getting active on Twitter for in-the-moment kinda stuff. Thanks for the luv though. Glad you enjoyed it so far ;)
I love this game. I haven't reached the end yet, I'm at the part where Beautiful Braden gives Zack his First Kiss -- it was beautiful. I'm going to contribute to the development as soon as I can. And btw, I loved the dialogue; I thought it was very realistic. The models are all beautiful. And the story is real well written. It's so nice to read such a beautiful visual novel. I'll be in touch again.
hey thanks a ton. Hell, if you love it now, i think you'll be even happier later... didn't really hit my stride until that update in particular. Def stay in touch and let me know :)
I signed up on your patreon page as an elite member (i.e. the $10 per month deal) and now I'm downloading the latest: 0.17.2
Thanks for your hard work. Can't wait to continue with the game/novel.
I just finished Chapter VIII, is that all for now. Are there more chapters?
Thanks,
Emrys
What models do Zach and Braden use? just curious
Neither use entirely one model. I ended up mixing a few variations from a few different models but most of Zack is the Malachi model and Braden is mostly the Max model. Both are gen 3
Hey! So I downloaded the game a few weeks ago, and I can leave my first impressions here!
So first and foremost, I'd like to say to the developer, that the game is very fun, engaging, and rewarding! I also really enjoy the concept and the new take on it, differing from other developers!
Now to the good stuff, my criticisms, so I know the developer was going to revamp the first part of the game due to confusion and poor development and make it more story orientated. And I totally agree, the beginning was repetitive and I got stuck a few times.
With that being said, there are a few problems or potential fixes I could recommend, as I've played the whole story up-to-date. Firstly, the dialogue, it can get very repetitive and very meta. The whole "bUt I wAnT yOu tO bE coMfOrTabLe" and the whole "BrAdEn ArEnt YoU cOmfY wItH mE?" "yOu'Ve SeEn mE nAkEd BefoRe AnyWayS" (sorry for the typing, its how i read it in-game) was very annoying. At times I was thinking, do people actually talk like this? I can understand that Zack is a bit insecure and Braden is discovering himself, but still it can seem unrealistic and plain cringy.
Other than that, I'd like to see more customization with the characters, more options, more different stylistic personal preferences, like for example in the popular dating sim "coming out on top" you could choose which characters had body hair and which had a beard. Just more customization in general, though it could interfere with the whole zac trimming his pubes bit, but I would still like more options. I know this sounds far-fetched, but a list of kinks you could assign to each character that changes their dialogue and what they find attractive on other characters, things that make the story more personalized and unique to the player.
But yeah! Take everything with a grain of salt, but thanks for reading this far! And keep up the good work! I love the game.
Heya,
So I'll try and respond to this the best I can. Yes, the beginning will be restructured as the first portion of the game was mirror after other game norms at the time and I don't really like the feel. However, I did a poll on this awhile back and it's honestly about 50/50. About half of the players at the time actually preferred the repetition part because they wanted to try to "solve" it and figure out how to progress the story. However, I've made the decision to change it and make it more narrative and less game.
That being said, the dialogue that you find "cringey" really won't change. Actually, if there's anything that I'm the most proud of about the game, it's the dialogue. To answer your question about there being people out there who actually talk like this: yes... thousands of them for sure but probably closer to millions. The dialogue structure is actually a mix between various slang because I wanted to bridge the age gap for players. There's references on multiple age groups here and I like that because it broadens the audience. Perhaps the biggest counter to your suggestion is that you call the dialogue "unrealistic" and that's the first time i've heard that since the game was created. I actually have thousands of messages of players who can relate to specifically the parts you don't. The most common word I hear from people is "realistic." Which brings me to one of the ultimate purposes of the game. Zack's character, in particular, is built to be stubborn to the reader because he's a manifestation of someone who is uncomfortable with himself. He fights against the grain of acceptance repeatedly. This is what anxious people do and I wanted to give that a realistic voice--both to validate those who live like this but also to give those who don't an idea of how difficult this journey is for others. Basically, the "cringey" moments are the things I get the most fan mail about and it's usually people saying how much they can relate to the characters. Is the dialogue awkward at times? Hell yes. They're 18 and 19 years old with limited experience. They're going to act cliche at times and other times inconsistent. They're going to do/say embarrassing shit because that's what you do when you're 18 or 19 and you don't have any experience. I'm simply normalizing this because it's a step that people who have no experience at this need to get past. It's also something that people without anxiety probably won't understand. It's easy to become frustrated with a character who is less comfortable or resistant to doing things that come easy for you naturally. And for some people, seeing fictional characters do it, has allowed many players/readers to ascertain the courage to do so in their own lives and for that I'm extremely grateful that the game had the intended impact. That's what it's written that way. I seriously struggled with my own sexuality and that's what you're seeing Zack's character do. It's just not that easy for some people. I've never ever pictured Zack being "cringey" or whiny though--maybe that's just a matter of taste. His ton to be was away authentic... like he's realistically torn at several times during the game.
The other point you made about character customization is something that would be nice to include but it's pretty much impossible. I honestly wanted to do something like this in the begining. You reference Coming Out on Top (COOT) as an example and to compare it to this format is unrealistic. COOT uses sprites. Of which you simply toggle the body hair once and it's on the sprite every time it slides onto the screen. Basically it's super easy to customize things like that. For me to change body hair, I would have to redo thousands of pictures. So if the game has 4000 renders of Braden now, I would have to redo all 4000 pictures again with body hair. Then render all 4000 a third time with a different hair style with body hair. Then render all 4000 a fourth time with the different hair style but maybe the original body hair. Now times all this by two because you would have the same options for Zack. I could literally spend a year of development making mods for body hair and still probably not touch the surface for customization. To further complicate this, I would have to code in every possible variable for each type of hair style/body hair into every line of code for every picture. The current build of the game (v018.2 has 35,000 lines of code). Adding in mods like that would probably double it at least and writing the game this far has taken me around 2.5 years. To add Body hair to COOT, you make one hair overlay for each sprite (which was like 5 guys) and then drop an overlay on each CG (so probably like 30 pics and you're done).
Felt in debt for playing without paying so sharing my thoughts is the least i could do. Basically, love the way the story builds up, there are flaws but it's good. It really has the potential to become great. Hope you continue to work on this. cheers!
Hey thanks. I agree with you on the flaws. I just started a reread and I cant believe how bad the beginning is written...def have come a long way. But on a more serious note, dropping me a note is def appreciated. U dont have to pay or anything like that. I appreciate the feedback and just knowing you enjoyed it...that goes a lot further than a few bucks does. <3
I've never related to a random video game character from an erotic visual novel so much before. Character build up and dialouge is a solid 10/10! I eagerly await the next update! :)
thanks a lot :) this is really what I'm going for here. Zack is the spirit animal of unsung multitudes out there. I wanted a MC that really fights against himself and I think the buildup and the length of the game shows that. Zack is a frustrating character but a lot of our own insecurities can be frustrating to others who can objectively see the big picture when we, ourselves, cant
It was good. I love your ability to story tell, especially when it come to the Zach Character. If there was one thing that I was disappointed in with this part vs the first part is there was not enough sex. Or even the allure of sex. With the first part you had the complete sexual cat and mouse of the two main characters but you also had the scene where he see's his swimming partner fucking his roommate in the shower. which is the same route you should have taken it " Just how hard did he Mikhail have to work for that open pool door. a little too story driven with this one I get more sexual stuff from my merge nymphs. But other than that it was very good. Just maybe make the next one a little more XXX. :-)
imo That is why Straight?! is so great and sets it apart from the rest. It isn't porn; if you wanted that there are a TON of Japanese VN's out there with little to no dialog to get your rocks off to. Those that do have dialog have atrocious writing, spelling, and grammatical errors as most of them are attempts at translation from Japanese.
Never said I wanted to "get my rocks off" but a creeping boner would have been nice.
I got a lot of feedback like this in the beginning and I specifically went against it for the purpose of the story and I have zero regrets. The concept of the game isn't a porn game first; instead it's a story that chooses to not edit anything out. Allowing for an unfiltered approach to the story content and including adult content allows for limitless storytelling possibilities. It's possible we could do a primarily adult content story in the future but that's not the primary point here. I wanna do something different that purposely stands apart from the rest. The part of the story you like the most is actually my least favorite and thr mostly poorly written. I recently started a reread to start outlining the next part and I feel like the beginning is pretty bad now. Theres only so much you can do with porn scenarios and with the number of games flooding the market, they all have the same reused scenarios. Its definitely not the direction I wanna go. Adding sex into the game at the point where you suggested would have compromised the entire Zack character.
Dude, that is some amazing storytelling, I can't believe how much I relate to Zack, the whole identity crisis is really appealing. Good job ^-^
thanks a lot. I think it def hits close to home for a lot of people, which is a big reason for the game in the first place.
I'm curious if you, maybe, might be interested in translate it to other languages so the game could reach more public or something. If you do, let me know and i'll be happy to help with the project translating it to the brazilian portuguese. Thank You.
i'm not doing any translations right now because this is only the alpha/rough draft of the game. we need to go back through and fix some early game stuff, which may change the dialogue/translation. After that, we may look at translations
Do you have the walkthrough for Straight??
if you look in the game folder, theres actually a .text file with the walkthrough for the beginning. After that, it's more linear.
I love it, i can't wait till the next part is online.... Is there a date? I know its a lot of work. but i really wanna know how it goes on ^^
Haven't started yet. it's going to be awhile. to get this one done in the time frame we did, i've had zero days off in months so i'm resting up a bit. But then we have to do outlining and prep work. The majority of updates on game progress come from the actual patreon page just to keep people in the loop
It's the 25th..? lol
Just went live on the Patreon site, i'll update the link over here when i get a chance but you can snag it for free off the public Patreon post now
yeah I am having a hard time getting this new file to start off where I think we all left off them all going to the beach. have any recommendations on how I can do that?
1. Do i have to spend Money to See the Update link?
2. can i keep the pls Game, or completly new istallation?
3.How „Big“ will the update be ? (Dont have much free place on my pc left)
1. So the update is currently only available to the $5 Patreon supporters. This is basically how I cover costs and stuff. I take donations. However, 3 weeks after Patreon release, it goes free to everyone. The game will always be like that. After it's public, then i post the link on a few other sites.
2. Your best bet after an update is to just delete the previous one and play the new one. However, don't use old saves. There's a warning at bootup when you play the game but someone always tries to load an old save anyway and then messages me saying their game has errors. If you use an old save, the game will crash. So when you get the new update, just click New Game and then follow the red "update" choices. It'll ask you a few questions about your past choices and then drop you off just prior to the end of the last update--so basically it'll feel like you're loading an old save anyway.
3. The new full game with v0.17.2 is almost 1.6 gigs. So if you delete the old one and then just drop this one in instead, it won't be that much bigger
When I was playing this game/VN, I had a strong impression that Zack, Braden and Mikhail would become a three person couple. Any chance that might happen?
I won't confirm or deny any future spoilers. At this point, there's several hundred active game supporters that would be furious if i gave away an ending somewhere
When is the next chapter being released? I can't wait for more of Zack, Braden and Mikhail.
the newest update just dropped last Saturday on the Patreon. I'll update the link on the Patreon site for the free download of v017 on January 25. Patreon supporters get the updates 3 weeks earlier than the free folks. We've had the largest positive reaction to this update over any other one in the game's history. Warning: it's an emotional rollercoaster
Hey, I love the way the story goes but choices doesn't make that much of a difference for now, I think. Still, great work tho.
Good luck with that project.
And I just want to know one last thing. (Im kinda "wanna know end of the movie before watching it" type of guy) At the end, will they be together finally? I'm not interested in details. Just "Yes" or "No" would be enough. Thanks xD.
Good luck again. :)
The choices matter but more so to customize the experience to the reader moreso than completely changing the story. The plan was to have two "perspectives" rather than actual separate "routes." This basically means that the story is written one way but based on your choices and perception, it can chance things. We haven't gotten to the biggest difference between them but there are very subtle differences already places throughout the game.
In terms of the ending, there's no way i could spoil that. I've always answered that question as this: "I feel the ending will be appropriate for the journey we've been on." It must fit with the story or nothing mattered the entire time.
Well thanks anyway xD.
I want to make a point, tho. The game looks kinda "lacking" without music, in my opinion. Some kind of sountrack can fill a lot of space. Actually I played the game with music that I opened at the background. Music adds some kind of "feeling" to games in my opinion.
Have a nice adventure, my fellow game developer! Can't wait to see the full game.
Yeah, it's on the list. i just dont have time to add everything right now. it's a slow progression. This is just the rough draft. Think of this like the practice version of the game. I honestly want an entire soundtrack but that's going to be really expensive to purchase music rights. So we've elected to go silent for now
Aaryn, when the time comes I suggest doing searches on YouTube for up and coming artists (especially LGBT artists). They probably would provide cheaper music (or even free) and would love to be more exposed.
Ok, so this game is actually soo amazing though when I first downloaded this game I did not expect it to be so good I relate to Zack like so much its honestly disturbing how much me and him have in common, although I have some critiques for the first part of the game sometimes it can sorta feel like a time loop until you do the right thing because the dialog repeats, but other than that its pretty damn good, I look forward to the finished version. Also this is kind of sad but I actually missed these characters yesterday when I finally hit the "to be continued" screen, you've done a pretty good job if i'm actually missing these characters like they're actual real life friends of mine. So hey, kudos to you I can't wait to see the finished version.
to be honest, i have the same problem. Every time i try and take a break from this game, the characters beckon me back and i tend up writing another chapter. you're right about the beginning of the game. it does repeat because that's how the majority of these games were setup so i just cloned that style in the beginning but i ended up hating it so i moved away. This is still the draft version so we'll go back and fix the first part for sure. Also the art sucks in the beginning and I got a lot better so all of that will be redone too
Hey Aaryn ~ Man ! I totally fell for this game .. like head over heels .. TBH It took me through a ride along my own story , all those bittersweet feelings over and over again ! I love this novel so so so sooo much <3 loads of love <3
Ahh btw very very eagerly waiting for the next episode ! been checking daily XD Braden is such a sick darling i just love him <3 and Zack ! gosh he reminds me of myself soo much !! They both are so so so very relatable ! I really liked Mikhail too , yeah and that "mom-fucker" hahah he was very cute tbh , what's his name anyway .. did i miss it or did you not mention it xD
All the very very best for this and coming games ! ALso cheers to your future , Hope you'd have a very bright one <3 love from India
- Aki <3
heya, thanks for the love from India. It's super humbling to get approval of this project from all over the world. One of the early goals of this was to make it applicable to different people, beliefs, ages, cultures, and perspectives. It's just really cool when i get that validation.
Glad you're digging the characters. In terms of good ole MF, we haven't seen his name specifically in the game yet. I just did a public post on the Patreon and I'm dropping the new update tomorrow over there. Then 3 weeks later it'll go public for free.
Hope you have a bright future as well and Happy New Year from the United States :)
Hi I have followed your game for some time, and I love it.
I love the way you stand as a non/payed creator, the idea to let the players chose without giving them a penalty sounds awsome.
Will Zack ever get to...well...fuck his roomate? I mean a complete thing.
(note: I havent palyed the game in a while. I got to the strip part but diden't know from what chapter to continue)
heya thanks. Are you talking about the poker game?
After it. wil the Male Protagonist get to slide his c*** in his friends a**? or in the future?
No spoilers :p
haha good answer.
wich was the chapter after the poker game?
you could probably start with Part 2: Chapter 5. The new update dropped today on the Patreon and finishes up Chapter 8 so you got plenty to catch up on. TBH, you haven't even gotten close to where the game actually gets good imo. Chapter 6 is usually where people say they got hooked
Hi ! :)
I was wondering something: are translations ever planned?
If not, and if possible, I wouldn't mind helping or doing everything lol. (I'm French, so in French, lol. As an amateur of course, i only translate manga.)
Otherwise, the game is great :p
A few mistakes, but nothing to wry abt
Waiting for the next update~~
And, happy holidays!
Hey, you too. I have people who have expressd interest in translations. One person has even completed a French translation, I'm just not sure how to release them. The other problem is that this is still the rough draft version of the game so it is likely going to change. I didn't want people to spend time translating something that is just going to change.
Hope you have an awesome holiday too. Thanks a lot :)
Thanks ! :)
I get it.
If there's ever a need for help with proofreading in the future, I'm always here.
Have a g'day !
And gl with the game :)
See ya~ (And Braden is too cute ~~)
what do you look like bro?
I loosely based my Discord avatar off me
I don't have Discord. But I guess I will have to go get it now.. ;-) Oh and on the subject of your game. Bravo. the whole day that I was playing it I had to keep reminding myself that I didn't have anything nearly as sensational or magical as the two lead characters in Straight!? I was like "Oh yeah that first time boy love is happening in that game I'm playing , not in my life. which was kind of a bummer . for me. but that means that you and your game are doing what they are supposed too. which is draw me into a world that does not exist . but in every way feels as though it does. The only thing I have a problem with is how long its taking you too come out with the next part!! lol Kidding take your time and do it right. Thanks for letting me ramble. is your screen name at Discord aaryn.reese as well? Good Luck. and good job!! And happy Holidays!! Alan P
Hell, man. I have a problem with how long it's taking for the next part but i just announced a goal date for the release to the Patreon supporters so it's hopefully coming in the near future.
I'm glad you're enjoying the story and it's drawing you in. Hopefully, it will continue to have an impact on you. I have dozens of reasons for making this game and maybe it will help give you the motivation to seek out something magical :)
Android going to be released soon?
not in the near future but I may be able to look into it after this next release is out
This game is repetitive. Same choices over and over again. Is there even an ending to this game/novel? I honestly have no clue.
The beginning (i wanna say first 3 chapters) are setup a bit different than the rest of the game. At the time i started this project, a lot of adult games were stat based and grindy. Because that was the common and popular way of creating these games, I followed suit. However, i didn't like it. In a fairly early build, i ended up scrapping stats completely and went for more story. To fix and transition from the state-based play to strictly story, you get the current setup of the beginning of the game. Basically, if you're getting repeats in the game, it's because you keep picking the same stuff, try something different. There's certain conditions that have to be met that will pop up new choices then you should be good and the game moves forward
And no, there's no ending to the game yet, it's still be worked on. The game is released episodically. So at the end of this current build, you'll get a screen that will say "to be continued." But if you're still on the repetition stuff, you got a loooooong way to go (probably a good 10 hours or more of story). If you dont like the reptition, it won't last that long. The plan is to go back and rewrite the beginning and eliminate the repeated stuff completely once the game is done. This entire project is still in pre-alpha build. Hopefully, if you play it long enough, you'll see that i got better as i learned what i was doing and added a couple other guys to the project. So no repeats after chapter 3
Once I skipped over Part 1, it was really great. I enjoy playing this game/visual novel. Zack, Braden and Mikhail definitely have three way couple potential vibes. Would really like seeing that.
When will the new update be available?
Still working on it. Hopefully soonish
will there be any new updates
yep, there's still quite a bit of story left. The next update is just really detailed and taking forever
wishing you the best of luck
Thanks a lot. Def need it :)
Is the project dead?
no, why would you think it's dead? I dont post on here as much cause it's not my primary site but it's still only been 5 days since the last reply.
Dude, I like, LOVE this game to the point where it hurts. I legit spent the past two days or something playing through it and was heartbroken when I had been through all the available chapters. Like, that scene where they're playing tag and hide n seek and then that kiss, I LEGIT squealed. PLEASE update the game as soon as you possibly can!
heh. thanks a lot :)
Seriously glad that scene moved you cause it meant the world to me writing it. Fav scene in the game tbh (well, until the next update i think). It's in the works, it's just a really involved and seriously impactful update that's next so it's important to get it right.
Thanks for the love though :)
Hey... I don't know if you still come here... I'm trying to get in touch with you! Your game is just awesome in lot of ways... I want to help you for that but I don't really know how and first I'd like to know where you're going and if you're still up for completing the game.
I hope you'll read this com and we can talk further more next time!
heya, thanks for the love. Yep, I still check in here and I get an email when people post. You can hit me up on the patreon site or check out our discord too (the link is available through the patreon site and is free).
Yes, the game will be completed. This next update is just really complicated so it's taking awhile
Oh boy, where do i begin. This game... This game is something else. Once i started playing it i couldn't stop. It felt like i was playing it with my heart rather than my brain. The story, the environment, the scenes, the characters, BRADEN!!!
First of all i want to thank you for making this game, for putting time in your life you create this masterpiece. I wish i could meet you in real life to give you a big ass hug. I will gladly donate $10 and become an Elite Patreon member; i wish i could donate more but being a "Broke College Student", i can't.
Now, about this beauty of a game. I fell in love with it, mostly because of Braden being such a cute ass guy and the guy of my dreams, but the game itself is something i can't quite describe, It's EVERYTHING. The way the characters act and how they look, the choices that are given making you feel part of the story. Just AGHghg... This game changed how i see some things in life; it made me see what love is, what it feels like and showed me that i yet have to experience love. You or Ya'll, im not sure who made this, if it was one person or a group of people, are amazing at creating a story!
I love both the characters, but Braden took my heart, since the first time the game introduces him i felt something click inside of me. I'M IN LOVE WITH HIM! Which i don't know if it's a good thing. It just makes me really sad knowing he isin't real and i'm kind of embarrassed to share this but i cried myself to sleep knowing he doesn't exist. Just the way he acts, an athlete, is really humble, and overall freaking CUTE! I hope to one day meet someone like him, but enough feeling sad for myself.
I'm really sorry to make a comment an essay but this game is really special to me, for a person who is not emotional and really hard to make them cry, this game made me do just that. And i thank you. I wish i could show my appreciation by giving $millions to you but i don't have that. I was going to beg to you to continue this story or make another one with Braden but i saw the game is still a work in progress and that the story is to be continued so it just makes me even more excited! Although, i do have one request, you can't add it, i understand, but i would like to see a little of foot action. Maybe just for 3 slides, but it would be nice if you show something like Zach sucking on Braden's toes... ok this just became awkward. Let's move on. Also, if you don't mind me asking, what program did you use for the models and the environtment? If you don't want to answer to that, i understand. And if you ever add audio it would be cool if you add environmental sounds and sound effects not just music.
And one last thing, what kind of BMW does Braden have? just curios since im a little into cars. I'm thinking is a 2015 BMW M4 Coupe, but i could be wrong, if you don't know either it's ok. I would also like to see what Zach drives and see Braden's reaction, but that is just me, my additions might not work well with the story so i understand if you can't add them.
Anyway, i love ya'll so much for making this game and i hope yall keep continuing this story for a while. I can't thank ya'll enough and i hope the best for you all.
Much Love, RoWaldo
Made an account just so I could keep this in my collection and check for updates every few days haha. I wish I could do patreon but I just can't afford it :/ I would have loved to at least see the logs of the updates.
Dont worry about it. Dont short yourself. I will say that I keep better information on the Patreon site than over here so, you can still check out the site. The Overview tab shows the completion percentage. The next update is longer so it's taking a long time. I'm always humbled when people make accounts just to post a comment about the game. Means a lot :)
I'm supportive of the game no matter what! Take your time! I bet this update will be awesome!
Updates are pretty slow right now because of the level of detail i'm trying to cram into the next version. It's still a ways out. You can check the Patreon Overview tab and it'll show the current percentage of where I am. That's all free stuff on there. I don't update much on here sadly. It's just too much to try and keep track of
Such a hot game! Hopefully in a future update the player can play with the characters sexually by touching and having them do various sexual things, including fetishes, as if they were your actual boyfriends! Beautiful characters and extremely fine graphics. I'm 19 too, so it was slightly in what my footsteps would be :) if I had extra money I'd become a patron!
Storyline nearly made me cry. And yes it made me hard lol (that's one point of the game right?) I absolutely love it!!!! Never found a game that satisfies gays like me, so this is legit when I'm this excited over this one. Keep up the excellent work aaryn! ;*
P.S: how awesome would it be if Adam Rippon played and enjoyed this game so much he became a patreon immediately?!?
I considered things like that in the early builds but was too amateur to actually code it. There won't be many fetish things in the game other than really what's been included. I wanted a fairly vanilla approach to things so that people wouldn't be deterred by the content and still be able to experience the story.