DrPinkCake
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Q&A Session - 2022 - Part 1/2
🕑 Added 2022-01-27 11:05:38 +0000 UTCThank you for all of your questions; there were a lot of them this year. So many that I had to split the Q&A into two parts.
I've read them and compiled the ones I wish to answer. Many questions would require me to spoil the game's future, so I haven't answered those. My about section Patreon page answers some questions, so I didn't answer those. As expected, there were also repeat questions from earlier Q&As, and I'll address some of these shortly.
In part 1, I will answer the questions divided into the categories: Repeat questions and Being a DIK. In part 2, which I will post at another time, I will answer questions about Game development.
Repeat questions
With the game's release in Steam and GOG, the load and stress increased. Will you hire more staff to help work on the game?
This is a popular question, and my answer has been the same from day one, and it won't change. This setup I have right now with being independent is just how I like it.
Many want me to hire more people because they want the game faster. But getting the game made faster doesn't mean it's the same product. The way I see it, if it were released faster, it wouldn't be the same game that I would create on my own. I know the game would suffer because I wouldn't enjoy making it that way. The reason why many enjoy my games is that I enjoy making them.
As for the load increase with Steam and GOG, the workload increase is now minuscule after setting everything up. After the Season 2 release, the workload has decreased back to normal, and I can focus on game development again.
Increased workload comes from increased popularity; more players means more time for customer support. Luckily, I have awesome mods/admins/testers and a whole community helping out with that.
I am confident I will be making games this way until I stop making games altogether. Expanding is not on the map for me.
Will you add voice acting to the game?
Adding voice acting to the game has become a monumental task due to the number of characters and the game's size. Originally, I wanted to do it, but it felt weird having partial voice acting at first, so I removed it altogether. I don't see myself adding it to the game at the moment. I haven't closed the door on it completely, but it's more shut than open right now.
Are you going to upload the macOS version to Steam/GOG?
No. It's not a signed application, and thus it's not accepted by either vendor. Patreon will remain the source of distribution for the macOS version. I hope there will be a way to change this in the future, but Apple is working against developers with their policy changes.
Has the outcome of the fandom altered the development of any of the characters in any way?
No. Aside from the polls on Patreon, fans don't have any say in what happens in the game. I do consider feedback in terms of gameplay and QoL improvements. Other than that, my rule is that: Players play the game, and the creator creates the game.
Being a DIK
Now onto mostly new questions.
Can I use my Steam/GOG saves in the new launcher with the Patreon version?
Yes. You can use the transfer saves as an entry point in the Patreon version, but not the other way around for technical and legal reasons.
So, if you don't have the Patreon Season 1 and 2 version and own Steam/GOG Season 1 and 2, you can continue playing Patreon Season 3 version when it drops.
Is Season 3 also going to be four episodes long?
My current plan is that Season 3 will consist of the Interlude and episodes 9,10,11, and 12.
The publishing period between episodes varies, with an inclination to extend. Should we expect it to grow even more, or was it situational, and we should expect the next episode sooner?
It certainly has increased, as have the included content. Episode 8 was a big one. Being the season finale, I wanted to squeeze in what I had planned for it, so I didn't let the episode size bother me during development, but I get that it was a long wait for it.
When it comes to faster releases, you're damned if you do, and you're damned if you don't. Waiting time and included content goes hand in hand. You cannot expect a short development time without being disappointed by the lack of content, vice versa.
I don't want the episode size to grow more, but I won't stop myself if it has to for some reason. The Interlude being a small episode, is very good for me. I think it will help me dial it back a notch in time for episode 9. Either that or you can use this quote in the future to laugh at me.
What is the time difference between uploading future patches and seasons to Patreon versus Steam/GOG?
Steam and GOG get finished products, Patreon gets in-development builds where each episode is released as it's completed. Patreon is the sole reason game development has worked, and that's why supporters get access to early in-development builds.
I have mainly a technical question, as I still can't imagine how the interaction between Season 2 and Season 3 will work. Can you elaborate on how I manage my saves and how they interact between seasons?
Season 1 & 2 and Season 3 communicate through the save transfer system. In Season 1 & 2, you save your game to one of the 20 available slots at the end of episode 8. As soon as you do this, you can import that save in Season 3.
This is the main menu of Season 3. If you click" Import", you will see all your saved transfer files and choose which one to load and continue your adventure with. The" Continue" button loads any normal save made within Season 3.
While playing Season 3, you save your game as usual in a save menu like this.
Saves from Season 1 & 2 won't show up here. Just like Season 3 saves won't show up in Season 1 & 2. They have separate save folders and won't affect each other.
If you could add copyrighted music to the game, which one would you choose?
I know what you mean with your question, but first, to clarify, every song in the game is copyrighted, but artists have different ways to license their music.
As per your question, I assume I could choose among all songs ever made without worrying about record labels saying no. And that is a very hard question.
I paused writing this answer for a few days, and I came back with "Sum 41 - Rhythms" as my first pick and as a close runner up "Millencolin - Farewell My Hell".
I really enjoyed the mansion and job management. Do you plan to continue this, and does our gained experience count for future episodes?
I'm thrilled that many players like that mini-game. It is the mini-game I'm most proud of to date. I believe in moving on and evolving when something has played its part, and for this mini-game, its purpose was to restore the mansion - the general theme of Season 2. It won't return in Season 3.
The mansion mini-game gave me plenty of meat when it comes to coding smarter, and I've been working on new mini-games for Season 3. One of which, I hope, tickles the same spot that the mansion mini-game did.
What was the most difficult scene/animation you made until now?
It's a tough question. Scenes with many characters are always tricky since you need to be meticulous about more details than in scenes with fewer characters.
I think that in episode 5, the free roam at the prep's mansion was a particularly tricky environment to work with. It's poorly optimized for geometry and textures, so it eats up RAM like few other environments. It also had many characters and cramped rooms, making the camera work and lighting harder.
When it comes to animations, I don't remember any animation as extra difficult. Maybe the cum animations would be my pick for difficulty. I do, however, remember the time it took for me to pose the 30-second blowjob Quinn gives MC in episode 4 on the rooftop. Sometimes, when making longer animations, I can feel "what did I just start?" as this will require a lot of work, but the result is almost always worth it.
One of the animations I'm most proud of to date is during the lewd morning scene with Bella in episode 8. The doggy style has a sideways motion which caused me to learn how to make circular sideways jiggle look good - it wasn't easy.
Are you open to adjusting - even slightly - a character's role/fate in the main story due to the way a character has naturally evolved?
Yes, for a very specific reason. I've seen a perfect example of the trainwreck if you don't respect the journey and how characters naturally evolve.
A TV series I loved threw away all character development and reverted characters to what they used to be at the start of the series because they had an idea that they didn't write perfectly towards. The ending didn't fit the journey and character evolvement, and it would be foolish if I didn't put my ego aside and take that into account when the end game is upon us.
A famous quote among writers says: "Kill your darlings", which teaches us just that. Don't love an idea and keep it alive if it doesn't fit the overall story. That said, at the moment, I can't pinpoint any large deviations from the planned story.
What character has been the most difficult to write?
The main character, because he's several characters at once. All other characters are pretty easy to write. They have their way of acting, motivations, language, and personalities.
When writing the main character, I must remember and account for possible differences in behavior due to affinities/DIK status/choices while also predicting what such player is feeling.
It's impossible to write a main character that's a copy of every player when it comes to thoughts, likes/dislikes, etc., and that's not a goal either. The blank slate character quickly feels detached from the story, so the main character needed to come with baggage, his values, and life experience. At times, I know many players lose track of this and feel that they are the main character, resulting in disagreement with some choices. This adds to the difficulty of writing him.
Of the general responses/feedback to the main love interests, what were some things you didn't expect or went way differently than you thought they would?
In general, I can predict how players will receive events; a lot of my planning goes into creating a roller coaster of emotions, and it's not that hard to guess what actions will be met with cheers or groans. However, everyone doesn't react in the same way to some events, which can be surprising at times. Sometimes, when a player group feels miserable about a story event, other players laugh at their misfortune. I find that behavior surprising and odd.
For many, topics like cheating and lying hit pretty close to home, and I was surprised by some responses. I expected more introspection, open-mindedness, and forgiveness in general.
Now that we are invested in the characters, would you be willing to forgo some of the lewd content to add more depth to the relationships?
Some players play for the story, and others play for the lewd scenes. We all have different preferences when it comes to that. Simply cutting the lewd content from the game wouldn't translate into more wholesome scenes; it doesn't work like that.
I like the current balance between story and lewd, and as characters grow closer new opportunities to write lewd scenes emerge, where I can add depths in relationships to the lewd scenes. A good example is Jill's lewd scene in episode 8, which offers both lewd content and a deeper connection.
In Season 1, especially Episode 1, there was a lot of good fast-paced rock/punk rock music. However, this has given way to more melancholy tracks and/or instrumental tracks. Will we see punk rock and, more generally, music with vocals/lyrics making a comeback?
I'm adding as many tracks with lyrics as possible, provided they fit. It's tricky because listening to songs with lyrics can make it hard to read the dialogue, so I'm being very careful when I add a song with lyrics to a scene.
As for more punk rock songs, I'd love to add more, but the selection is pretty poor in this area. There are next to no punk songs with good production values and correct license that I can use, which makes this more difficult.
Was there a thought process to giving MC a huge dick instead of a more average-sized one?
Coming from Acting Lessons, I wanted to work with a bigger one because animations become easier to work with if the member is bigger. Mainly, it allows for better camera angles and motions if it's bigger. In retrospect, it could have worked well with a smaller one, but I like how it's been added as a story element as a result. I would choose a tad smaller size if I made another game after this.
Some of the game's protagonists have more depth and character than those of other adult games. Especially the women. I wonder how many different people are working on the project, how many people are "DrPinkCake", how many of them are women, and how many of the game characters represent (partially) real people (with a few added erotic fantasies).
Thank you. It's just one borderline schizophrenic developer writing all of them. Joking aside, I grew up having many females as friends and relationships. While no character is based on real-life people, I have drawn inspiration from women in my life. I've learned a lot by listening to them and asking them why they think and feel certain ways when I can't relate.
Some girls in the game serve the purpose of comic relief and can be exaggerated, but even so, I like adding depth to as many as I can without going overboard. It's all about pacing when you have this big of a cast and slowly introduce more and more layers to them, and also about caring about them as if they were real.
So, when Tybalt ate melon on the balcony with Jill... Was it *the* melon?
Would you eat your spunk-filled lover? Maybe...
How do you get your inspiration to write someone like Derek? His jokes are always on point.
I practice jokes on my wife. The harder she punches me, the better the joke.
In real life, Derek's humor is pretty much my humor, so I often write my natural response for his dialogue lines. I practice a lot on it. When watching TV and the news, and there's a question being asked, I think of a funny response and say it out loud as fast as possible. It's a type of reaction comedy that helps me write funny jokes. My main source of inspiration for this comedy style is Anthony Cumia, who’s, in my opinion, the world’s greatest reaction comedian. Most of my biggest laughs ever have come from listening to his content.
Has much been cut from Being A DIK because it didn't work with the overall project?
Surprisingly little has been cut. I rarely start working on something I know won't make the cut. When I polish the episode, I remove dialogue here and there to make scenes tighter, but it’s not a lot of content being removed.
Do you think Lynette's (MC mother) scenes have lowered the main story's pace and need some action or make these scenes less frequent?
Not at all. I think her scenes serve an excellent purpose of altering the pace or making the episode feel fresh in the middle of it. During Season 2, her diary scenes have been one of my favorite types of scenes to create. Liking this part of the game comes down to personal preference, and I hope that players who play for the story appreciate these scenes as much as I do.
I know you've said in the past that you don't let feedback from players dictate the story you want to tell. But have you seen or heard a player theory contrary to your plans that made you wish you'd thought of it? How does it feel when someone figures out a major future spoiler?
I hear player theories contrary to my plans every day. Some make me go, "how the hell did you even think of that?", and others make me go, "that's another way of looking at it". As a collective community, players are way smarter than what I possibly can be, but that's just something I have to accept. After episode 1/2, many recent big spoilers were already guessed, and I wondered if I had made it too obvious, cliché or if the guess was shot off-the-hip.
Often, players aren't completely sure they have the right answer, and there are always players arguing that someone, who can be spot on, is dead wrong. Sometimes there's arrogance when people think they know the answer and aren't open to any persuasion. Haha, I look forward to the episodes when they get surprised.
I love this duality of the community. Some will be surprised, and others will feel proud that they figured something out ahead of time. It doesn't hurt if they have figured something out; in a way, it makes me feel good that the writing makes sense, even though I, of course, want some spoilers to be surprises. The only way that could happen is if there weren’t any time to reflect on the game between episodes.
As a whole, it's not the big spoilers that will make people remember the game. It won't be the start or the ending, either. It most certainly will be the journey.
Do you have a canon route/girl for the history on your mind for Being a DIK? I feel that Megan is the canon route in Acting Lessons, am I correct?
What would be canon for me wouldn't be canon for someone else, and thus it's not canon. I think it's bad practice to design a branching game with a canon main girl in mind.
With Acting Lessons, Megan was the glue for the story, and the forced attraction to her was necessary for the story to pan out the way it did. I wouldn't call her the canon main girl, though. I feel the options held weight too. I felt the Ana route had a symbolism I liked, with the MC understanding her better from becoming what she was to him. But I'd never call that route canon.
Do you agree that as a concept, a freshman going into a college and having a majority of the older girls available for him to date is a little weird? I know it's common in the genre and makes for great gameplay because it's like a power fantasy even though it seems unrealistic. I feel like Bella, Jill, and Sage would be unattainable to a teenager in the real world.
It's a dream scenario to have women saying yes left and right like that, but since your choices shape the story, you have the option to make it more realistic by choosing who you're going for. Often, this translates into players choosing as many girls as possible, but it doesn't have to be that way. So, you're pretty much setting the bar for realism yourself.
It's not unheard of that older women like younger men. My biggest age difference when I was a teenager was 18+ years, so it's about daring to go for it. In the end, it's a game for entertainment value, and even though I love to put details in the game and research areas of it to make it more relatable, it naturally won't be 100% realistic. That would make the game a bit boring, too, I think.
How much research goes into the development of the characters, their relationships, and the story? Would you say a psychologist would deem the personas realistic, or is it more your imagination and intuition?
Plenty of research goes into many areas of the game, especially areas where I'm not an expert. I don't research characters as much as other details; I often write them based on personal experience and feelings. I know their likes/dislikes, motivations, personalities, and where they are headed, so I don't need to research that a lot. Only if there is some obscure detail I want to add that I'm not 100% sure of, I will look it up.
I have no clue what a psychologist would say, but life is stranger than fiction, and in life, there are characters you could never write because they wouldn't feel believable on paper.
You said in a previous Q&A that you had planned the main story since day one. How long and how did you carry out the first phases of research and outline the story between the time you finished working on Acting Lessons and the start of the actual work on BaDIK?
It's tricky to answer this because the work of those two games overlapped. I started planning and writing Being a DIK around episodes 5-6 of Acting Lessons. Because of the overlapping work, it took me roughly six months to develop the first episode of Being a DIK.
The general story outline is what I planned at first. I see it as a living document in the sense that it can be updated throughout development if needed - only to become more detailed with time. I started mapping out all the big events for the game and then filled in gaps with time.
Was the "turtle" an Austin Powers reference?
No. I have some nods to movies and TV series here and there, but this wasn't one of them.
Thanks for reading part 1 of the Q&A session. Stay tuned for the second part, where I'll answer your game development questions.
Love
Dr PinkCake
Comments
Mathieu Robitaille
Thanks man!
Mr. House
Alot of the Bella fans make the mistake of forgetting the MC age is just 19. Hes not 29 and he is still immature at times and he does not understand Bellas Witty Smart humor as someone who is older would understand. So its going to be a difficult road on if Bella decides the relationship feels right or that she made a mistake
TheSkeptic
Having just subscribed today, but loving this VN deeply, I'm wondering if I've made a mistake by trying to outwit the path dynamics. Typically, you can tell what choices will close off a given path or open a new one, but with this VN it's not as clear. After reading this Q&A, I find myself wondering if Bella is simply unattainable as a steady and flourishing love interest, or if the dev is trying to savor the flavor because there's a hundred dudes who look just like me and want the exact same thing with her. The obvious response is to play through with different paths and affinities, but no matter how good it is I'm not the type to play through more than twice.
Scott
The answer "I run the jokes past my wife and the harder she punches me the better I know it is." LMFAO!, this is a Derek answer. Also, whoever mentioned the watermelon, lmfao! Good stuff. I couldn't think of any good questions, and it appears others covered plenty of good ground for me.
Garrett Pelak
Thanks as always for even doing these. For someone who's been around since acting lessons it's really a treat to get to see a little behind the curtain. Have a great year DrPinkCake :D
Teufelhunde DJI
I think it might be in the future because there is an "Others" option. So, it could be a plan to let you go in other directions. I know when I went there it gave you pictures of Quinn and Nora, as well as others.
Daisame
Thank you so much for making this game. I cannot wait for the next Season and love the writing and characters. You strive for an emotional roller coaster, and you deliver. Keep it up!
whodesignedthiswebsite64
Im not sure if this was asked/answered but is quinn a romance option? Also i love your work its my favorite game
Staffy88
oh god, the watermelon. i didnt even think of that. whoever asked that question, fuck you especially
Noah Gershon
I've only bought both your games on steam about a two week ago, and have probably sunk an unhealthy amount of time into them. Love what you are doing, and I'll try to bear the wait between updates. Thanks for putting so much effort into this, it really shows!
Giedrius
Doc thanks for that you are not the fan pleaser. how big this game is and how much fans it haves show that you are doing everything just perfect. so don't stop what are you doing and don't feel pressured for release dates. true fans of your work will wait as long as it needs to get the gem you are cooking.
Vande
I always love seeing how everyone reacts so different to certain events or characters. Probably one of my favorite things about the game is seeing how one person can absolutely love something and another person can hate everything about it. Also the community you have created is amazing and helpful. Thanks for all you do for us.
Ivan Jesensky
DrPinkCake, I am here just to say big THANK YOU for creating a game like this. Engaging, fun, sad, clever - just a whole emotional rollercoaster. Also you have my HUGE respect for doing this project all alone - you are a magnificent person. Thank you.
Ivan Jesensky
100% with you on this my friend :) Jill is unbelievable
Blacklabyrinth
Great Q&A. Explains so many of the reasons why this is such a great game. I love your commitment to staying true to your vision. Keep it up, here for it until the end.
MCharod
Really liked reading this Q&A and your view on developing the game further on your own as you want it to be your game without compromises and needing to take into account the views and opinions of others. SOme of the best indie games were made by 1 or a very small team....thinking about darkest dungeon which is one of the best small games that came out recent years and is absolute awesome because they as well didn't compromise their view on the game.
Pett Brenson
Great Q&A looking forward to part 2. One of your comments brought to mind a quote I once read from Edgar Allen Poe. He was asked why he wrote the type of stories that he did, and he replied that he wrote that style of story because he enjoyed writing them and people enjoyed reading them. I'd say that you are in excellent company with your approach to writing the game's story, I really enjoy following it.
Robert Hines
Thanks for taking the time to answer questions. As always these Q&As are insightful.
Ville Topi
this ^
Galaaz
both AL and being a DIK get players through a whole set of emotions on every path. I honestly wouldnt want you to change anything in your development process...yes Im eager to get new content but id rather wait aa bit more to keep your level of quality. you have my vote on that front. just keep doing it your way, it works perfectly!
mutlu percin
thanks DPC
Snowborn
I would love some sum 41 or blink 182 in the mix for music. Great work Pinkcake, can’t wait for the next episode!
AfterLife
About publishin period... its a hell of a time to wait, but always, I mean ALWAYS worth it. About minigames... Each minigame became more and more fun. Of course I also loved the mansion restoration. Hope you gonna implement similar or maybe bit more complex minigames. Definitely a fine addition and shows the added value. About the MC... you are doing great so far! Thank you for your work!
patr_neo
Thanks for answers ) Not surprised that you picked Sum41, many of their songs could fit the game atmosphere very well. I used to listen to them a lot but can't even remember "Rhythms". Time for spotify search, I guess :)
Wesley
I’m usually not overly interested in Q&A sessions, but yours are always worth reading DPC. That was a fun read, looking forward to part two. I couldn’t come up with any good questions to ask but I am enjoying the great questions everyone else has come up with. Good work brothers.
Alpha Protagonist
Anthony Cumia wrongly fired from Opie and Anthony back when. Anyway i love this game, mainly for the story, but the lewd scenes are great.
Tegramghot
Great QA and huge clap for sticking to your vision. Although if you ruin Bella I swear to all universe powers I'll find you and make you change your mind :) Keep up the great work and take time required to make the game as polished as possible for me to ruin my schedule to play every possible scenario.
Hans
I hope there will be a happy ending for MC and Jill at the end of the whole game..something like "happily ever after". Maybe I am too sentimental about it but.. I'd really wish that....because Jill is that kind of girl I would like to meet in real life. Who's with me? :)
Bruce Vahl
"my rule is that: Players play the game, and the creator creates the game." HOORAY! How refreshing that is to hear from a developer. I immediately abandon any game where a developer states he is going to base plot development on Patreon votes. I don't mean in QOL or in minor things like hair color or which dress to wear. But, I WANT a game where the developer has a clear way forward all the way to the end. BRAVISSIMO!
I love the game but I have to admit that I would not have been able to get through it without a walk through. The mansion scene was way to complicated and I have no idea how anyone would have been able to get through it without the walk through. Will these things be simpler or will there be "clues" to help?
Sadie Adler
Lovely read, throughly enjoyed 😌💖 Thank you for Bella
Portgas D. Luigi
Sum 41 and Millencolin, great choices.
P1nkGobl1n
You have ruined me on the games/books of the style... I picked up AL on steam for the lewd viewing and stayed for the story... the the complete mind F#$% made me run threw every possible ending I could think of... that ended with me seeking out more of your work and BAD had taken hold and sunk its hooks deeper into me than any other game or book or movie or TV story ever has. Your work had become a gold standard that I am having trouble finding somewhere else while I wait on your next episode....
mauricio vargas
Nicee
Alan white
Thanks
Mr. Charlie
Thank you for your honest answers. I am really lookong forward to season 3. Also, the series you refer to is HIMYM?
westenger
are we gonna ignore the fact that he shared the main menu from season 3 as a teaser? maybe thats from the interlude? Zoey getting a tattoo? (No blue hair though)
westenger
I thought he was talking about Game of Thrones, but HIMYM works too lol
Brian Borsching
I assume you were being purposefully vague in regards to the show with the unsatisying ending to not distract from the main message and start a comment war....but having said that I'm going to guess it was How I Met Your Mother haha. Great insight as always Dr. thanks for the detailed answers on the questions! It's very interesting to get your perspective as one of the greats and essentially a pioneer in this industry of fan backed full time AVN game development. You are the template many aspire to so these little TED Talks are going to help shape the path of those who follow in your footsteps.
John Carpenter
Thanks for the update. The two biggest attractions to your work are the strong, strong characterization and the tight story. So many "games" in this genre are just a loose framework to hang lewd scenes to. Yours actually has a plot and the game can be played just for enjoyment of the story, if that is the players wish. The Lewd scenes are internally consistent with the story. This is what sets your work so far apart from so many others. Thank you for that!!!
