R.J. Rhodes
patreon
Update 16 Post-Mortem
🕑 Added 2023-12-08 17:20:47 +0000 UTCHey everybody! Now that Update 16 is out and most people have had a chance to play it, I'm going to do a little wrap-up on production for the Update before I move completely on to Update 17. I'll share with you some of my thoughts on the Update, as well as my thoughts on making the update and on the release in general. This is going to be a long one. I also didn't re-read or proof-edit any of it. So sorry if it's rambling or there's typos or grammar problems or anything. I'm just gonna be open and honest and off-the-cuff. Read it if you want. <3
There will be spoilers following, so if you haven't played Update 16 and don't want to get spoiled, maybe go play it and come back to read this later.
I'm going to just go down through the list and talk about any of the content that I have thoughts on.
Dating Lisa
For the first time, you can actually take Lisa on dates. This was something that I have been looking forward to for a while, but I couldn't really put it in the game until you are able to tell Suzy about the relationship.
I haven't implemented it yet, but next update, I'm going to make it so that you can tell Suzy about the relationship with Lisa without her finding out the way by just walking in on you two. This will end Suzy's relationship though. Suzy would not continue to date you if she knew you were dating her mom earlier. I've tried not to put paths in the game that end other paths, but there are going to be a few and this is one of them.
Also, for those who keep asking if they can have a Suzy/Lisa threesome. No, I'm sorry. Patreon rules don't allow that, and Patreon is still my primary consistent form of income. I'll likely continue to push that boundary a bit, but the two of them will never be doing anything together.
Suzy/Tammy Anal Scene
Somebody in Discord joked about this being the anal update. I think I made that joke to my mods while I was making the update as well, haha. There's a lot of first time anal in the update and there's a lot of threesomes. Some people might not like that, but this has been building up and some people love it. Including me. I love it.
So this scene... I thought was extremely hot. It's something that's been in my head for a long time... and I didn't really even finish it. I had more dirty stuff in my head for this scene, but I kinda moved it to a different scene that will show up next update. So, this is really kinda Suzy/Tammy Anal Part 1. Anyways, it was fun.
Voice Acting
This was also the voice acting update! I cast 6 new actresses in roles, including Adrian, Brandi, Mi-Cha, Mrs. Mills, Ms. Welch, and Suzy.
Casting voice acting has become much more difficult for me, since I've left Twitter after Mr. Musk enshittified it. So, I don't see a lot of voice actresses anymore.
But for this update, a couple of other voice actresses helped me make a casting call in a voice actress Discord server and I was bombarded with auditions. There was a lot of good voice actresses out there who were excited to be in the game, and I had a hard time choosing people for different roles, but I really like how they all turned out.
I was really hoping to get Izzy cast this update too, but finding black voice actresses has been extremely difficult for me. I'm still hunting for the right voice though and hopefully I'll be able to cast a few more for the next update. I'd really like to have Lisa and Izzy cast next time.
Besides the new voice actresses, I also requested more work from MimiHung (Mari), who I just love working with and she nails every single line. And from Daisy4Dayz (Jamie) who also does a fantastic job with everything I give her. I'm going to continue to have full scenes voice acted in the future, when I feel like it would benefit the game or make the scene more impactful. These two do such a great job with the dramatic stuff that I'd get them to voice everything if I could.
Suzy's Voice
Suzy was voiced by CarlyCruz, who was fantastic and professional and did an excellent job with the role.
Originally, I had actually chosen CarlyCruz to do Brandi's voice, but after talking to my alpha crew, they suggested that they thought she would be better as Suzy and Suzy's voice actress (Vanessa Elise) would be better as Brandi. I put it up as a poll on the patron-only Discord and the patrons agreed. So I swapped them.
I think it was the right call. I think both of them could have done either role very well, but CarlyCruz has this sarcastic bite to her voice when she needs to and a sweetness at other times that I think really fits Suzy. Looking forward to working with her more in the future.
The Sara Death Scene
I had known for a while that I wanted to bring Sara Death back and have some sexy time with her. I like muscled women. I think they're super fucking hot.
I also think I did a good job of updating her character model to make her look better now than she did earlier in the game. I wanted to go back and redo all the images of the earlier fight, but I didn't quite get around to doing that. Eventually, maybe.
Honestly, I've had thoughts of regret about making Tammy as petite as she is. I kind of wish that I would have made her more muscled. But, I know that a lot of guys don't like that. I know this because there has been some backlash about the Sara Death scene. As always, it's a vocal minority though. Still annoying. But that's why I made the scene optional. You can turn it down with no repercussions. Like most of the scenes in the game that I assume a lot of guys won't like.
Personally, this scene is probably my second favorite in the update. I loved writing it. I love Sara Death as a character. I wouldn't be surprised to see her pop up in a future game. I'd like to tell more of her story.
The Lack of Mari Content
I think this might be the first time that I've not added any new content for a character in an update. No writing and no new images at least.
I originally had a repeatable sex scene planned for Mari, but I was trying to trim down the update a bit to get it out at a reasonable time and I ended up cutting it. So some new voice acting and a change in her sex menus is all that Mari got this update.
I'm not sure if Mari or Jamie has the most content right now, but it's one of them. Mari's story is pretty close to being over at this point and now we're just filling in content for her until the end of the game. So, unfortunately, when something needed to be cut, I felt like this repeatable sex scene was the easiest for me to do away with.
She'll have some content next update. I don't think she has any more STORY left though, until the endgame.
Juliana and her Grandmother
This scene was fun. I've been wanting to do a scene with her grandmother for a while, but just never found the right opportunity. Juliana's story is one that I've struggled with a bit, because the story is more about Juliana's internal struggle to be liked and accepted, and not really about anything external. It's a hard one to tell from an outside perspective. If I was writing in Juliana's POV, it'd probably be a bit more interesting.
But, this scene was there as a bit of humor and to set up some anal sexy time with her. But also to show that she does have people in her life that love her, even if she feels alone a lot.
Juliana Meets Izzy
THIS is a scene I'm looking forward to. I've been wanting these two to meet for a while. Izzy and Juliana are opposites in a lot of ways, which is always fun to write.
I've actually already written the scene with the two of them that will be in Update 17 and I think it's fantastic. Can't wait to share it with you.
Izzy Playing Catan
My favorite scene of the update. This scene was not in the original outline, but a lot of people thought the throwaway joke I had the MC make about playing Catan was hilarious... and the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to do it.
Getting a model of Catan that would work in Daz to make those renders was not easy though! I looked everywhere for models that had already been made and I could import easily, but nothing quite worked right. I think I ended up spending like two or three days, just trying to get a Catan board and pieces into the game.
In the end, I actually pulled out MY copy of Catan, with its missing pieces, some of which had been replaced by cardstock. And I set the game up on my dining room table. And I 3D scanned the whole thing with my phone.
It's definitely not perfect. Up close, the pieces look melty and mushy blobs. But from a distance, I think it gets the job done. And it was super easy to do as well, even for me, who did not have any equipment or experience with it.
May do more 3d scanning in the future. We shall see.
The scene itself though was just so much fun to write. I was laughing while I was writing it and I genuinely think it's hilarious. Plus it goes a little further to establish that Izzy is the MC's girl, but Izzy gonna do what Izzy gonna do.
I do wish I would have put some player consent at the beginning though. I kind of forgot to do that. I will add an opt out at the beginning of the scene somewhere for players who don't want to see sharing scenes. But I mean, if you're going this far into the game with Izzy, I figure you kind of know what you're in for at this point.
Adrian/Bai Threesome
Another scene I've been wanting to do for a while. My only two love interests with dicks. Gotta get them together at some point.
I also really liked the setup here though. Bai being a little uncomfortable around a transgender woman, but Adrian kinda easing him into it. It's okay to be a little uncomfortable. That doesn't make Bai a bad person. He just doesn't know exactly how he should act because he hasn't had experience.
There are a lot of people out there like that. The important thing is being open and understanding on both sides.
Also, the sex was really hot.
Adrian's Voice
I wanted a transgender woman to voice Adrian, obviously. And I actually had quite a few people apply for the role. They all sounded great as well. Lami though had a passion for the part unlike anybody else. She loved the character and loved the lines. And she was very easy to talk to and did a great performance. Loved working with her and will definitely get her to do a few more scenes in the future.
Nora and Flora
This scene was tough for me. Nora and Flora have changed a lot since the original outline. Originally, I had Flora being in love with Nora and this relationship sort of turning into a throuple, but with Flora really only being there for Nora.
As time went on, this whole idea felt too much like Tammy and Suzy. I felt like I was just telling the same story again. So, I changed it. A few updates ago, I decided to go a slightly different direction with Flora. I reduced her part in the story a bit and had Flora be more like a protective, almost motherly, figure for Nora.
This is probably going to be the only scene with Flora in it. I wanted the threesome scene, because threesomes are hot, but it's also sort of a wakeup call for Flora. She sees that Nora has a good guy now, that Nora doesn't really need her for protection anymore. So now Flora needs to go live her own life and find somebody who wants to be with her.
Anyways, their story got a little truncated and probably wasn't as clear as I would have liked it to be. But it's still there a bit.
Also, the sex was really hot.
Nora's Voice
BakuSatsu was amazing. She was so passionate about the role. She's so funny and fun to talk to. I feel like we would get along really well if we were to hang out lol. She's great.
And I think she's hilarious as Ms. Welch. I think she nails the voice perfectly. This kinda throaty, a little over-dramatic, passionate character. I love her.
Pete Joins in the Fun
Mrs. McGee's content was always intended to be just sexual. She's in a happy marriage with Pete. They both enjoy bringing another guy into the bedroom with them. There's no chance of a long-term relationship with her. This is all just fun.
It was always the plan to have Pete join in at some point. I know a couple people have wanted it. I don't think it's a huge crowd-pleaser or anything, but it's fun for me.
And yeah, there's likely going to be some (completely optional) male-on-male threesome content with Pete in the next couple of updates.
Mills Bondage
This one was fun too. I like writing Mrs. Mills when she's being mean. I had a couple of people tell me that I should make the part at the end where Mrs. Mills puts the MC's own cum into his mouth optional.
Hell no, that's not optional. MC is tied up and gagged. She's not giving him an option here. Eat it, fuckboy.
Anyways, that was fun.
Mrs. Mills' Voice
I'm so glad that I found AifeTheDarkElf for this role. I wasn't really even planning on casting Mrs. Mills right now. She's not one of the most popular characters (of course) and she doesn't really have any big story moments. But damn, Aife was just perfect for the role.
I loved her performance so much and she had such fun playing it. We talked some afterwards about how her husband ALSO enjoyed her playing this role. She's so much fun. Can't wait to do more scenes with her.
Brandi's New Cam Show
I mean, this was the obvious course for Brandi's story, right? I know I had a few people who weren't super happy that it went this way. But, this was the plan from the beginning.
I think that over the last few years, stuff like Onlyfans and cam girls have been destigmatized a little, but obviously people still look down on them. I know that a lot of guys are going to be like, "I would never date a cam girl." But I wanted to show that these girls are generally very smart and very empowered when they chose to do these things.
I did have the option to not join in on the scenes, or to stop dating Brandi. But the player doesn't get the option to tell Brandi that she can't do what she wants to do. As a boyfriend, you should not have that option. You can date her if you want, but you don't get to change her.
I had a few people surprised and disbelieving at the amount of money that Brandi made in her show, but I don't think it's very unrealistic at all. Somebody with a pre-established audience who decides to switch to some sexy content is going to make bank, at least at first.
Anyways, I thought the show was fun. It's always fun to write all the silly Brandi chat. Though, I do feel like the Brandi chat jokes have run their course a bit.
Brandi's Voice
I talked a little before about how Suzy and Brandi's voice actresses were switched. Vanessa Elise, I felt, could have done both roles perfectly. She was a great professional and hit every note perfectly.
As far as I know, this is the first adult voice acting she's done, but she did amazing with the role. We had one little snag during the recording. I usually ask the voice actresses to just give me some moaning and improv any vocals and stuff. When Vanessa sent me back her audio, there was a few times where she moaned "Oh, God."
But Brandi never says "Oh, God." It's always "gods". This was important enough to me that I had to ask Vanessa to redo the moans. She was awesome about it though. Was just kind of a funny situation.
Whitney's New Hoop
We're getting close to the endgame at this point and I'm trying to tease a little of the "main story", but there's not much left to do until we hit the end of Update 18.
Things are getting serious here. I don't have a lot to say about the scene, I guess, but it's probably the last "main story" stuff until the endgame.
Bai Beats Bigots
I ended up liking this scene a lot. I wasn't sure about it at first. I wasn't sure I even wanted that negativity in the game. I especially went back and forth about using the word "faggot" at all in the game. The way it's used here is so hateful.
But, I wanted a scene where Bai gets a chance to stand up for himself. I wanted a scene where we see Bai get to be a badass. Bai is usually very reserved, very shy, very sweet. I wanted to give Bai a moment where he can really get angry. Then I wanted him to just pound the MC lol.
Anyway, I thought the scene was really good and the feedback I've gotten from it has been great. So, good job, me.
Mi-Cha's Voice
I honestly thought that finding a voice actress who could speak Korean for Mi-Cha might be the most difficult casting of the game, but when CremeChu sent her audition in, it was perfect.
I believe that CremeChu is actually Japanese, not Korean, but she speaks Korean very well and was able to do a convincing job on the couple of Korean lines I gave her. I thought she did a really good job as Mi-Cha. Definitely going to have her do a couple more scenes in the future.
Gertrude / Mi-Cha Threesome
So, originally, this was going to happen a little later and was going to be part of their character stories, but I couldn't ever find a good place to fit it in. Then, it started feeling like I didn't really need it in their stories and I was only including it for fan service.
Which, that's pretty much the case. This scene is just here for fan service. Because I wanted a threesome scene with Mi-Cha and this was really the only one that sort of made sense. It felt like eventually somebody had to walk in on Gertrude and the MC fucking in the office all the time.
But, since it is pretty much just a fan service scene, I decided to make it a bonus scene for patrons and premium edition only.
Lisa's Image Menus
You might have noticed that all of the menus for taking Lisa out on a date, having breakfast with her, having sex with her, whatever. Those are all images now, instead of text menus. And they use the same, if their pink there is new content, format, getting rid of all the text menus that have (NEW CONTENT) next to things.
This is something I'm going to do for all characters eventually. The (NEW CONTENT) text menus was just a placeholder. I want a more visual way to represent that, and I think the way I did Lisa's menus is working pretty good.
I always test a change like this with one or two characters before doing it with all 20 though, so that's why Lisa's is different now. Next update, I'll try to do more (or all) of the characters like this.
Affection Menus Completion Visuals
Ever since I removed the percentages from the Affection screen, I'd been struggling with how I want to implement them back into the game. The percentages the way they were coded did not work correctly. The code was too messy and caused a lot of issues. Plus, if a person didn't want to do some of the content for a character (a threesome including another character they don't like for example) that character's profile would always show like 92% or something. It's not very satisfying.
The more I thought about it, the more I came to the conclusion that the percentage itself doesn't matter too much. Nobody cares if they're 40% finished with a character. They only care if they're FINISHED.
So, I came up with the idea of having a cumsplat on their face if their story is finished. I liked this idea a lot. I think it visually accomplishes exactly what I want it to. Then, when I was implementing it, I decided to have the colors change as well, so it's easier to see when skimming the screen.
Feedback on this has been mostly good. I've had a few people say that they wish they could turn the cum off and see their faces normally. Eh, I don't think that's worth the trouble of coding.
The Reception So Far
I'll be honest. The reception for this update hasn't been exactly what I would have hoped for.
Overall, I think most patrons really liked the update. I've had a lot of good feedback and support from you guys.
Over on Steam (and other places), the reception has been more mixed. Actually, it's probably more like 90% of players liked the update a lot, and my stupid brain just focuses on the 10% that are being jerks.
I've had a tough time the last week or so. Between people who just don't like the game because of the content (group sex and lgbtq stuff), people who don't like the game because they think I'm part of the liberal woke agenda, or people who do like the game but think it's helpful to nitpick every single thing. I've grown exhausted of hearing people's negative opinions. There's a big difference between critiquing something so that a developer learns and changes and critiquing something to simply silence a developer. I've been feeling a lot of the latter.
And of course, I know, I shouldn't listen to these people. I shouldn't let them bother me. But it's hard. Even if they're only a small percentage of players, it's hard to look through reviews and comments and see the negativity. It takes so much more positivity to drown out a single negative comment. It's hard to go online and see people talking every day about how shitty the thing is that I've spent the last four years making. Even if there are twenty other comments talking about how great it is, that one fucking comment still gets to me.
Which, I know is ridiculous. It's stupid that my brain works that way. I know I'm never going to please everybody. I know that most people love the game. I know I have a ton of support. But it still makes me feel bad every single time.
I've been trying to pull myself away a bit. To not look at feedback as much. To not read the reviews. That is also very hard to do, because I crave that positive feedback. But I think I have to do it anyway. I can understand why other creators don't interact with their players as much as they get bigger. It's not because I don't appreciate it. It's not because I don't love talking to my supporters. It's because all it takes is one person to bring me down and the more popular the game gets, the more often that one person gets through.
Anyways, I don't think anything is going to change right now. I've been doing this for three and a half years. I've dealt with a lot of negativity in that time. I'll deal with this too. I don't think there's a way to fix it really. I just have to keep toughening up and keep working. I have to try to focus on the people who love the game and ignore those that don't. So much easier said than done.
Conclusion
Wow, this has gone on for WAY too long. If you read through all of this, damn.
I appreciate all of you guys for supporting me and I appreciate all the positive feedback that I've gotten for the update. If you want to leave some more positive feedback below, let me know what you loved about the update. Let me know what your favorite scene was. I would love to read some more good stuff.
I still love making the game. I still love the game I've made. I'm working hard on the next update, and I'm loving it so far as well. I'll share some of it with you next week.
Love you all and hope you have an amazing weekend.
Comments
RedDirtBoot
This was a wonderful update, I had a lot of fun with it. Mari not getting new content, what her being my favorite, was disappointing but totally understandable with the insight you gave into the development end of things. Keep up the awesome work. Please and thank you
Troy B.
Okay, so I haven't read most of this because you said there are spoilers and I'm behind (started over - again. That's my saved file name, in fact.) But I really wanted to hear the voices from the get-go, and I'm glad I did! I don't know which update you added Ms. Welch's voting rant, but it was *chef's kiss*. Well worth starting over for. I like her a lot more now. (I know the words were always there, but the voice actor you chose really put heart into it.) I am sometimes "eh" when it's just a one-word blurb like "Hey!" or "Okay!", so it's a nice surprise when it's a whole monologue. =) I will admit I'm slightly speed-running through the early game content, mostly to see what, if anything, changed in it. (I'm guessing mostly voice work at this point.)
