phanes
patreon
Check-in, 0.37 Reflection, and 0.38 Preview
🕑 Added 2021-03-10 19:54:19 +0000 UTCHi, perverts! It's been a bit. I usually do my best to put out at least two releases a month, but the past few weeks have been super rough for me health-wise. Multiple nights in a week without sleep, inability to get much of anything done, even eating properly. As you might imagine, it's hard to write sexy stuff in such a state. The good news is that I'm on the upswing, so I'm feeling up to resuming work. Thank you all for your patience, and I always understand if you need to adjust your support during a dry spell.
I've heard other creators say things similar to this, but whenever I have a longer dip in how much I'm able to work, I tend to feel guilty, which makes it even harder to be communicative and get back in the routine of creation. I know that's not too helpful, but it's something I have to learn deal with, and I really appreciate your understanding. Everyone has been super cool about dry spells, and it helps.
The most recent poll concluded with a gangbang option for Theresa's graduation. If you don't want to share her, don't worry; there will be other options! Something has to be implemented first, but I fully intend to support a monogam-ish approach to the game for those who are inclined toward such depravity. 😉
Reflecting on Dreams and Desires
I liked adding more stuff to do in the mansion! My original vision for the game was far more mansion-focused, before I did more design and decided it was important to have more varied settings and characters. Still, I definitely like the idea of slowly discovering all these weird-ass devices and rooms in this place you're living.
I hope the dream perversions feel like a good way to expose Theresa to erotic horror. It's tricky getting her to that point for two reasons. First, she's just not an adventurous character in that way: while she does go on one expedition, she's not really in a physical or mental condition to be taking huge risks in the waking world.
Second, I'm super conscious about modelling consent in Ruin Me. I definitely enjoy games that involve CNC and dubcon themes, but that's not what I'm trying to make... additionally, Patreon is both strict and capricious about what it can support. With the player, I do my best to always provide a way to opt out or back out of scenes, but Theresa isn't controlled by you. So placing Theresa's scenes in the dream-Elsewhere, where she can wake up at any time, is hopefully a good way to let things get sexy and weird while maintaining an out.
I gave a more-or-less subtle nod to this in the text, but the "Toccata dal Labirinto di Carne" sequence owes major inspiration to the excellent Mystery Flesh Pit universe created by Trevor Roberts. Check it out if you want only-somewhat-sexy horror set inside a cavernous, eldritch being.
It's nice having Theresa showing more agency in the game. I feel like just the limited way that she requests activities in this update helps to make her feel a little more real and a little less like just a plaything.
I struggle a bit with art, still. I know that the best way to improve my skills is practice, but a bit of the same doubt that makes it hard to recover from stretches of poor health also makes it hard for me to keep up a practice schedule. I'd love to be able to fund outside artists, but that's not currently possible, so I intend to keep making gradual improvements and hopefully get better and better at translating what's in my head to the game.
Next Release
I'd like to add more dream scenes! I have a concept for each level of Depravity and I intend to gradually get them written and released. Additionally, there are play scenes picked by a recent poll that I want to get in: pee play won out, but the top choices also include anal sex and coitus, both of which definitely make their current absence felt in the game. I'd like to get at least one of those options written for next release.
I'd also like to add the option to make body markings permanent, prompted by William's request in the last reflection. If I can manage to get my drawing in order, I'd also like to add piercings.
I'm excited about writing the graduation sequences, but those are complicated enough that I don't know if the first one will end up in this upcoming release. We'll see!
Thank you all again for your support and I hope you keep enjoying what I'm releasing! If you have any suggestions, questions, or issues, please comment here, PM me on Patreon, or write phanes@phanes.me .
Comments
William
Looking forward to exploring more area's of the mansion, hopefully with sexy outcomes and more degradation of Theresa. Got to say I like the consent or choice options, even on non consent fantasy I feel there should be a choice.
Phanes
Thank you so much! I enjoy the silly unrealistic genre conventions of porn games well enough, but since this is a story about a huge sex geek corrupting another sex geek, I try really hard to get details right. And if it expands players' own knowledge, that's even better! Personally, I'm a huge sex geek and think talking about sex is super hot, so I'm glad that comes across. I really appreciate the praise and your sharing the game: I know that's not always easy at all to do! And thank you for teaching me about hollow-backed Huldra... I hadn't encountered them before, and they seem VERY promising.
Green-Eyed Monster
Hello! I'm a new patron who just wanted to express my extreme appreciation for your game. This is seriously *so*. *good*. I got the free version only last weekend and knew fairly early that you deserved money for this, but I couldn't stop playing to actually give you that money - I didn't get that far until I started getting messages about content not being fully implemented yet. But I've done it now, yaaaay! Anyway. Did I mention I love this game? I love this game. I particularly love how *informed* it is. (Also consent! I love the consent. The consent and opt-out options are *amazing*. More of that, please! In, uh, other things. You've got it covered.) I'm not sure if you're just really knowledgable or really good at research, but man, I keep being amazed at how thorough both of the aspects of this game is. I'm loving the variety of mythical beings, the detail put into them all, the fact that we can get both kappa and selkies and krasue (or is it penanggalan?) in a single game, and it feels perfectly natural. All of them are embedded into the narrative in such a seamless fashion. It's beautiful. (Now if you take suggestions, I'd love a Swedish hollow-backed Huldra. I already find them sexy and disturbing, so it seems like a fit.) But the thing that really blew me away was the sexual education. The *sexy* sexual education. I love learning all this super cool stuff about anatomy and just... how things work! I swear, I've learnt so much more from this game than from any other single source of sex ed. And *not once* did it make me feel awkward, it just wanted me to put the knowledge into practise and get down and dirty with Theresa~ I'm just... I didn't know you could get this in smut games. You've seriously changed my standards for ever, and I'm going to have trouble finding more games to play. Guess I'll just have to replay this one... (Seriously, though. I've even patron'd another game I thought did really well on the choice levels, letting me play with the kinks I wanted, and the level of consent I wanted, but when I messaged the creator to voice my concern about first time penetration "tearing the hymen" and hurting, the reply I got was that they knew this was factually inaccurate, but it was what was expected/wanted of the genre. WTH. That pledge didn't last, if you're wondering.) This is also the first time I've ever reccomended a sexy game to anyone. I'm not particularly comfortable doing that, but this was just. SO. GOOD. I had to tell someone or I would explode. Anyway. I guess that's all I wanted to say. Well, one more thing, maybe: THANK YOU. Thank you so, so much for making this. Did I mention I love it? I love it. Seriously. You're amazing, your game is amazing, I can't wait to see what happens next. Thank you.
