Even following the guide I couldn't seem to activate the second Borge CG, Jostein's memories has a file that shows up as broken, and what does the feminine v masculine stat do exactly? Does it affect physical appearance/attributes/social interactions? And last I did the demo but I'd like to try playing the full version of what's there is there a version for purchase with more content or just the current demo?
Hi thanks for playing! I tested the Jostein memory gallery it works for me. Can you pm me with a screenshot? KKChar#8256
Sry the walkthrough was misleading - for Borge, you would need to get the archery test perfect and fire the arrow in the dark/night (you have to impress him!). The 2nd CG will not show if you wait for daybreak and fire. Also, check if you have red flowers in your inventory when you select the use red flower option.
If you check out the factions at the title page, each LI has different masculine/feminine preferences. For the demo CG, only Jostein has a feminine requirement to unlock CG. Otherwise, you will need to meet a minimum fem/masc level to enter into a relationship with them. Physical appearance changes will impact on fem/masc score later in the game, but high fem/masc score will not change your appearance. Becoming transgender or becoming hyper-masculine is tied to specific game choices in late game.
Currently, there is only the demo. I intend to publish by chapters (9 in total).
I did't activate the 2nd Borge CG either. I shooted the arrow in the night, grabbed Tomas, and had red flowers. But I can see the Borge's picture (including 2nd CG) in the memory gallery before I first played.
Hi Atuan, Borge second CG is unlocked when his affection for you hit 35 (means that his affection for you is increased twice). Did you get that in game?
Yes, Borge's affection upgraded twice. But I didn't activate the CG scene throughout the game. Also before I played the story, I checked the game interface including the memory gallery, Borge's picture already unlocked.
Hi Atuan, in that case, it might be a Tyrano bug. Not to worry, as the game will be migrated to Ren-Py later this month. This problem, along with other issues should be resolved.
Thanks for the interest! I'm talking to Renpy programmers to see if the feedbacks so far are doable. If it works out, multi-platform deployment should not be an issue.
I would like to share more thoughts and suggestions. Again, any innovations, corrections and additions are more work. But the developer wants feedback and suggestions - I've been allowed to open my mouth and I'm doing it. Again, this is not something that needs to be dealt with urgently, and I do not want to upset the author in any way - I am not an expert, these are just amateur observations and thoughts.
1. Change fonts in buttons and title. Later it will be possible to stylize them and find on the net some beautiful ones that look like runes, for example.
2. I guess you can hide all the buttons in the big one, like a stone tablet, scroll or notepad or other object - when the player clicks on it, the buttons will unfold on the screen either vertically (in a column) or horizontally (in a row). This avoids the problem of buttons blocking too much beauty on the screen - when hidden, they block almost nothing.
3. Add the ability to open this menu of buttons when moving between locations. Now it is only available in dialogues, and this is a bit uncomfortable.
4. Add pop-up labels (tooltips) to all foot icons (change locations) explaining where these icons lead.
5. Add an undo option to choices. For example, I have the ingredients for all the essences, but I don't want to craft any - if I click on the chemical instruments (alembic, retort, etc.), the game offer me to create the essence with no option to refuse.
6. Add a task log, where both the task itself and specific details will be indicated. For example, the task "I need to prepare a salve" and the explanation "For the salve I will need the following ingredients: ..." and you can even add new details that you can learn from one of the characters, for example, "Never use sugar instead of honey".
7. It may be appropriate to change the trading screen. I was confused at first when I went to the market and couldn't interact with anything other than the letters in the center. The images of items for buying and selling both on the trade screen and in the inventory are very small. I don't have very good eyesight, so it was hard to see the icons and be sure what they were and what they might be used for. There was a good suggestion here to add tooltips when hovering over item icons in the inventory or other UI windows.
8. After pressing the skip text button, the game starts to automatically scroll the text at a very high speed in all dialogues and scenes, which is why the skip cannot be disabled (or it's just difficult). Perhaps there is a button on the keyboard for this by default, but the player cannot find out the control anywhere in the game. A solution needs to be found. Options:
a) reduce the message skip rate or add a configuration that allows you to flexibly adjust the message skip rate - the one that exists now is already extremely high;
b) limit skipping messages only to the dialog in which it was enabled (new dialogs, scenes and texts will start without automatic skipping);
c) remove the skip text button and leave the automatic text scrolling, but make the automatic speed more flexible in the settings - x2, x3, x4, x5, x6 (this will allow you to use the automatic function for quick skipping).
There are probably other solutions, but I haven't come up with them.
9. Frequent change of poses of characters during a conversation is a plus, it gives dynamics and goes well with 3D graphics, you need to use it more often (for comparison, 2D graphics are much better combined with immobility; 2D - "frozen" comics, 3D - live and moving theater). For example, the scene when Britt gets dressed at the beginning of the game while talking to Borg looks great, thanks to a good change of poses - more like this is needed. From an erotic point of view, this scene also looks beautiful. A turn of the head, a slight change in posture - all this will be a plus in different dialogue scenes.
10. Now the facial expressions are fine, and I don't see the point in doing much more expression - it can ruin the narrative and make it comical. The ending of the demo is a little blurry - immediately after dinner, the scenes move at a frenetic pace; backgrounds, places and people change over and over again. I guess it's because the author wanted to show the idea of "to be continued". Therefore, it would be great if in the future both this fragment (the beginning of the first chapter) and the subsequent narrative went a little more smoothly.
That's all. I don't have any other comments or questions yet.
Thanks! Great suggestions - some of them I can fix on Tyrano, more varied poses etc. I would need to speak to a Ren-py programmer to see if the rest are implementable (cost and time wise). Thanks again, for taking the time.
The new fonts and cursor are fascinating. Love them! The size of the buttons in the dialog box is a bit small, perhaps there is a way to either make them bigger or add a slider in the settings to change the size of the buttons and fonts in dialogs for people with poor eyesight.
Also, the location change buttons have become quite tricky and mischievous. You altered them in a very interesting way - unexpected but original. It doesn't seem to be what I had in mind, but it's also what I wrote. It's still hard to figure out where a player is going, but at least the signs are different now.
I can't say anything about the change of gender. I was originally interested in the game because of the gay theme, I'm not attracted to women. So I have zero interest in the breasts of the feminine protagonist. Despite the fact that I have often been mistaken for a girl since childhood, and the fact that I strictly adhere to the "receiving" role, I have never had any desire to change gender. There is a chance that I will drop half of the game's routes at once just because I am not interested in an outcome in which it turns out that I played an otome. And I don't know anything about transgender topics: for example, if a guy became a girl, but dates guys, doesn't that make her straight in the end? I don't know.
The changes on the body under the skin of the masculine protagonist also cause mixed feelings. It looks beautiful and frightening at the same time. Although I find the idea of changing the character's appearance interesting, I catch myself thinking that ultimately I'm only interested in routes that won't contain any triggers. And that ends up discarding the masculine ones, too, even though I'm extremely attracted to men (not muscular ones, though).
Either way, I'm still interested in the game. I am surprised by the enthusiasm and unusual ideas of the developer.
Hi there, thanks for your great feedback! The option buttons will be bigger in the Ren'py version (especially so, for the mobile/Android players). Label/tooltips will also be added for locations in the Ren'py version update. If budget/time allows, the crafting/trading system will be improved too. Version 0.1 demo is a quick fix in Tyrano so that I don't have to update the assets separately in Ren'py later.
The gender/physical change is optional and is a small part of the game/specific endings in the later chapters. Players have to pursue a particular route to transform physically. It is entirely skippable.
This is an amazing start. Great work! Love the originality of the setting, the writing is clean and edited, renders are very solid and often stunning, I can't wait to see what else you do with this. Found out about this on my Discord channel and am going to pimp it on Twitter. Best of luck with your project!
I join the chorus of praise, this is a terrific start. Everything clicks: the original spin on the postapocalyptic setting, the music, the story and characters, the excellent graphics.
A couple of remarks, also suggested by other users:
1) the cursor is indeed not too practical, it's not always clear what you click on. On a related thing, it would be great if, when you hover on an item especially in the inventory, the game tells you what it is. This is particularly obvious when you buy stuff, as it doesn't say what are the things you can buy if you go over them with the mouse.
2) with so many characters (9 just for the love interests!) it's very easy to get dispersive, trying to do a bit for everyone so that the overall progress is slow. I'm pretty sure you know that but please be aware of the balancing act in the updates.
3) will there be explicit sex scenes throughout the game?
4) another question about the masculine-feminine. When a character is described e.g. 'more attracted' to feminine qualities, does it mean that if you have predominantly masculine qualities you still have a chance to go on his route but you need higher attraction threshold or something like that? or there is for example a limit to how much masculine you can be to have a route on that character? (I can explain with examples, I'm not sure I've been extra clear!)
5) you mentioned in other answers that you struggle a bit with the limitations of the platform you're building the game on (Tyranobuilder), are you thinking of changing it or doing something about it?
6) just to know, how will the funding work? Is the demo free and the next updates for people paying, like on Patreon? I'm happy to pay, for this product, I just wanted to hear what your plans are.
7) about other sites: I agree with others that it can be useful. One of the best ways to reach the maximum amount of people is probably F95Zone (where a page for Ergi already exists), but one has to be able to filter away the obnoxious voices (the community is generally fine but there are the occasional annoying people and the mods don't do much about it). Patreon of course is the next step but it might help having a decent base of people that could support the game before going there (not sure about this, but surely helps).
1. I will work on the control issues. Hopefully, migrating to Ren'py will resolve this.
2. I intend to update by Chapters (similar to Telltale game structure) instead of by character routes. All of the "romanceables" are integral to the plot, whether the player dates them or not. Hopefully, I can pull this off.
3. The game focuses on relationships (romantic/sexual or otherwise). The explicit scenes come later as part of the story/plot.
4. The player needs to meet relationship score thresholds (different for each character/personality). You don't need to be transgender to enter into a relationship with them. Though some game endings are specific to this choice.
5/6/7. I had initially intended for the game to be free. But that might not be possible if I had to do this on Ren'py and publish consistently. So I will probably gather the feedback, size up the scope, and decide how to fund this project. Will be great if you knew where I could find/speak to reliable Ren'py programmers. Thanks for the advice!
thanks! sounds like you have a plan, I'm curious to see how it unfolds.
A suggestion, I think some consistency (or at least not too spread out in time) in publishing would be very much appreciated and I also think people would be happy to contribute for such a project considering its reception (just manage your expectations, I'm afraid -think more of a help, not a full time job :D )
I freaking love the storyline! The atmosphere and music are spot on. The controls can do a bit of fixing but otherwise a very good demo. Looking forward to see the next chapter!
1. First, I want to ask: are there any forums or sites (Patreon, Twitter, etc.) where this demo was posted? I think it is better to collect feedback and suggestions on specialized resources, where it is more convenient to view messages, and where more people can look at the product. Of course, there is always the possibility of encountering unfriendly users, but still, more audience is needed for feedback.
2. Second. Cursor. Just mirror it horizontally so that the rake handle moves to the left instead of the right, and then aiming at objects with the cursor will become a little easier. The image of the rake is much larger than the real (in the "brains" of the program) cursor, which is why it is not always comfortable to use it.
3. Now the game is not far from the concept stage, so I don’t offer anything and I don’t insist on anything - first I want to understand a little better, and only then reflect. And that brings us to the next question: I want to know if the main character can be top or bottom with every available character? If so, it would double the amount of work (obviously), and make less sense, because character preferences and personalities would matter a lot less. If we can act in a different role for each individual character, then it might be a little confusing.
I guess the author's idea is not to put the hero under all other characters in every possible way, but to show how he will adapt to the desires and cultural norms of the people around him (I personally hate both this topic and the topic of social roles, but this is my PTSD). If the character sticks to one sexual role (presumably, bottom), then in terms of a given narrative, this simplifies the task.
4. Fourth, I find some of the details of the game interesting, and I like that it starts with a nice styling in the menu, and contains original, albeit rustic, images in the interface. For example, the tractor, the barn and the book look very cute. But at this stage of development, there is no point in discussing and focusing on the beauty of the interface - all this can be easily fixed at any stage of development, because this is a general component of the game, and not some piece of story or gameplay. Although someday the interface will need a lot of improvements, because at the moment it does not match the quality of graphics and storytelling.
5. Next topic. Music: a constant melancholic melody from the beginning of the game makes it a little difficult to focus on the narrative, sometimes you need a pause and just ambient - sounds can completely (and this is not an exaggeration) change the perception of anything, especially the game. For me, the melody creates the feeling that the life of the protagonist is about to end, although the game has just begun.
I don’t know what the general idea of the game is, and why, in this era of general interest in northern culture and mythology in video games (because games about Nords, Vikings and the like have been massively released for half a decade), the author decided to turn to such a complex topic, but I don't mind because the gay-oriented ones suffer from two problems: there are very few of them compared to any other, and most of them are of poor quality. Here we see at least a good start.
Final note (OFFTOPIC). I want to note that the understanding of the term used in the title is incomplete in modern times due to insufficient knowledge of the issue. Scandinavian mythology is known mainly from two large sources and small archaeological finds that indirectly help in the interpretation of the material. In fact, among the popular ancient cultures, this one remains one of the least studied. Of course, there are those who are examined even worse, but we are not in the competition.
For example, the use of the word ERGI goes back to the Christian period of the early Middle Ages... If you understand what I'm getting at, then it is obvious that this word is colored by the influence of foreign cultures. I am more than sure that initially the Scandinavians, just like all other cultures, did not have prejudices about same-sex love, and a number of myths indicate this. If there were prejudices, then this would have been clearly stated in at least one of the two Eddas.
Let's take Judaism as an example - in the Old Testament there are no prohibitions on same-sex love. Sodom and Gomorrah were punished not for debauchery or same-sex love, but for treachery and for trying to outrage Lot's guests - so for invading private property. Another ban did not apply to men in general, but specifically to prostitutes of pagan gods, which was equated with idolatry. Moreover, the love between David and Jonathan was clearly erotic, not platonic. But there is no insult to effeminate or gay men in the Eddas, nor is there any clear indication of this in stories where only males were involved in sexual relations. ERGI is a relic of Christianization of a later period, when the Viking tribes settled among the peoples of Eurasia, adjusting to the already rooted Christian radical norms.
The reason for this perception of the word is simple. The northern peoples were perceived by the "civilized" southerners as barbaric, despite having their own culture, mythology, writing, and the like. But they were considered degenerates, and that led to prejudice that the dominance of one man over another through sexual abuse - verbal or physical - is natural for them. And so the word ERGI was demonized, when initially, most likely, it was nothing more than a petty squabble between two men who shout hurtful words at each other. Like a scream and a fight between two monkeys - we see it every day. Because of this, swear words do not become terrible lifelong curses.
Of course, this is the same insult as the others, especially in sexual terms. But the stigma is something more terrible, and I see no evidence that that Viking culture in the pre-Christian period had a prejudice against gay sex.There is no evidence.
Thanks for your detailed feedback! They are very on point.
1. Cursor and icon/UI themes - excellent points! I will sort them out to be consistent with the tone/themes. I will check out other forums to post for feedback as well.
2. Sexual roles - the game focuses on the story and characters. Therefore, the sexual roles will be character-driven and how they develop. That is, Britt cannot top or bottom anyone he wants.
3. Ergi theme - You are spot on. The theme of this game is to explore what Ergi could have meant before the Christian/modern influence came in (the magical/mystical aspects to it).
Excellent.I will be glad to follow the development of the game.However, you didn’t answer one of my question: are there other sites or forums where a demo is published?I myself found this game through a third-party forum.Are there any more places where the developer collects the feedback from the demo?
Sorry, not at the moment... This game is built on Tyranobuilder. The export to mac/android is buggy. I will see if I can pull off a browser version of the demo later.
I'll patiently wait till a browser version arrive then or better yet when the export function isn't buggy. Thanks for the info! Good luck with your game
Sorry, not at the moment... This game is built on Tyranobuilder. The export to mac/android is buggy. I will see if I can pull off a browser version of the demo later.
Should really have a way to mute the music and sound, skip, and rollback to an early spot. Not everyone can or needs to have the music and sound that loud, or even on to begin with. Definitely a skip so people can skip to a more exciting part of the game and rollback if they want to play through that one little part again.
Thanks for the feedback! I built this demo on Tyranobuilder, so there are many limitations (e.g. cannot roll back etc). I will see what I can do about setting the music and sound early on.
Hi, I came across this game and I have to say that its amazing.
I love the world-building; is nice to find an erotic game that has a well structure plot, and how the elements of nuclear war are frame with the mystic and elements of Ragnarok; very well thought.
I had some problems with the cursor; it was kinda difficult to navigate sometimes.
And also, with the meat and corn; I had to restart because I didn't pass the practice and I wasted the money in flowers in the kr, hahaha.
But, except for that, everything five-by-five.
The CGs, the atmosphere, the music are amazing. (Jorgen wet CG is soooo hot, fuck, hahaha).
The intro song blow my mind; it truly makes you feel hopeless, because of what happen, but also hopeful, for a brighter future, even if its difficult to achive.
Overall, its a very consistent demo; I even dare to say that is the best demo from this type of games, by far. And if the demo is so expectacular, I can't imagine how great will be the future versions.
The characters are all handsome and hot (for now, my favorite is Jorgen, of course). Aaaand, these is where my feedback is gonna be more specific.
There's something that I couldn't quite understand.
In the menu, it says that the characters that you can romance are attracted to feminine or masculine qualities.
Does that mean to feminine or masculine bodies or rather if they have traditional masculine or feminine actitudes (e.g. cooking is femenine and hunting is masculine)?
Honestly, if I have to choose, I'd chose the second option.
I'm more fond on the idea of building the psycholocigal part rather than the physical, because I think is more interesting to see how the dynamics between the guys and your character shift because the choices you make, with more femenine aprroach (like protect, help, emotions) or more masculine aprroach (attack, been more agressive, command, etc.), rathen than a change in the anatomy.
And also, it would be kinda restriction, because maybe you want to romance someone who want feminine anatomy but you don't wanna change the body of your character.
What I'm saying is that, the idea of feminize/masculinize the MC is good, but shouldn't be determinate for the romances. Seeing how the romanceable characters treat you because of your feminine or masculine aprroach to life, I think is better because you can explore their psychological side too, mostly in a post-apocalyptic enviroment where everybody is in constant alert, viligance, danger; all very traumatizing, haha.
(EXAMPLE; In the case of Jostein: he only want to be with someone with feminine actitude, probably because he has a wife, so feminize the body would make Britt more close to the ideal of the wife he has. But, I believe it would be more interesting that you have feminine actitudes, but not body, and see how Jostein has to deal with the fact that maybe he's atracted to a masculine guy, but with a more submissive and feminine social role. That will make a more compelling story and we as player could empathize with his struggles (again, feminize Britt body could be an option too; having both choices to makes, can show what consequences each one develop, making a path more challeging than the other, for example)
How the dynamics shifts, helps to construct a better world-building for all the characters (even better because of the Factions, where usually some prefer one lifestyle/approch to life, different than other).
Also, that doesn't mean anything about the sexual orientation or sexual role of a character (e.g. One character may prefer feminine actitudes/choices, but then is more submissive/bottom).
I think, having 9 romanceable characters, you can play a lot with the psychology and the deep of everyone, making this a more immersive experience.
And that's it. Thank you for reading; I hope my feedback helped you with something. If you wanna me to expand or explain or help you with something, I'm willing.
Thanks for the helpful feedback! I will check on the cursor issue - so far, it seems most evident in the kitchen and grave area.
The romance dynamics consist of 3 bars (affection, attraction, admiration). The masculine/feminine qualities include both physical and psychological aspects. Different characters have different fem/masc pre-requisite levels to meet before gaining attraction scores. Britt can enhance it through hormonal serums (and play as a transgender person) or through making consistent choices.
Thank you for answering. It's amazing how you wanna structure the relationships dynamics. Completely in love with this level of deep and care. On board with this VN to the end.
And also valuable the option to choose to follow a trans-path. Representation is always good and needed.
Does that mean we can avoid physically feminizing Britt to romance the femininity-attracted characters or is there a baseline "femboy look" he has to attain before you can gain attraction?
Yes, you don't have to physically feminize Britt to romance the characters. Though choosing that option will boost the fem scores significantly. Hope that helps!
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So I have a couple of questions:
Even following the guide I couldn't seem to activate the second Borge CG, Jostein's memories has a file that shows up as broken, and what does the feminine v masculine stat do exactly? Does it affect physical appearance/attributes/social interactions? And last I did the demo but I'd like to try playing the full version of what's there is there a version for purchase with more content or just the current demo?
Hi thanks for playing! I tested the Jostein memory gallery it works for me. Can you pm me with a screenshot? KKChar#8256
Sry the walkthrough was misleading - for Borge, you would need to get the archery test perfect and fire the arrow in the dark/night (you have to impress him!). The 2nd CG will not show if you wait for daybreak and fire. Also, check if you have red flowers in your inventory when you select the use red flower option.
If you check out the factions at the title page, each LI has different masculine/feminine preferences. For the demo CG, only Jostein has a feminine requirement to unlock CG. Otherwise, you will need to meet a minimum fem/masc level to enter into a relationship with them. Physical appearance changes will impact on fem/masc score later in the game, but high fem/masc score will not change your appearance. Becoming transgender or becoming hyper-masculine is tied to specific game choices in late game.
Currently, there is only the demo. I intend to publish by chapters (9 in total).
Okay I'll send the screenshot and PM my full response since it'll be easier.
I did't activate the 2nd Borge CG either. I shooted the arrow in the night, grabbed Tomas, and had red flowers. But I can see the Borge's picture (including 2nd CG) in the memory gallery before I first played.
Hi Atuan, Borge second CG is unlocked when his affection for you hit 35 (means that his affection for you is increased twice). Did you get that in game?
Yes, Borge's affection upgraded twice. But I didn't activate the CG scene throughout the game. Also before I played the story, I checked the game interface including the memory gallery, Borge's picture already unlocked.
Hi Atuan, in that case, it might be a Tyrano bug. Not to worry, as the game will be migrated to Ren-Py later this month. This problem, along with other issues should be resolved.
Can wr have android Version?
Hi, I'm speaking to Ren'py developers to see if I can migrate the game over. As of now, the game engine only supports Windows.
Great and interesting start for the game, I can't wait for the next update.
Thanks so much! Glad that you liked it.
I'm hoping we can get this game for Android too in the future, i know you said it's buggy, but I'm still holding out hope, it could be done.
Thanks for the interest! I'm talking to Renpy programmers to see if the feedbacks so far are doable. If it works out, multi-platform deployment should not be an issue.
I would like to share more thoughts and suggestions. Again, any innovations, corrections and additions are more work. But the developer wants feedback and suggestions - I've been allowed to open my mouth and I'm doing it. Again, this is not something that needs to be dealt with urgently, and I do not want to upset the author in any way - I am not an expert, these are just amateur observations and thoughts.
1. Change fonts in buttons and title. Later it will be possible to stylize them and find on the net some beautiful ones that look like runes, for example.
2. I guess you can hide all the buttons in the big one, like a stone tablet, scroll or notepad or other object - when the player clicks on it, the buttons will unfold on the screen either vertically (in a column) or horizontally (in a row). This avoids the problem of buttons blocking too much beauty on the screen - when hidden, they block almost nothing.
3. Add the ability to open this menu of buttons when moving between locations. Now it is only available in dialogues, and this is a bit uncomfortable.
4. Add pop-up labels (tooltips) to all foot icons (change locations) explaining where these icons lead.
5. Add an undo option to choices. For example, I have the ingredients for all the essences, but I don't want to craft any - if I click on the chemical instruments (alembic, retort, etc.), the game offer me to create the essence with no option to refuse.
6. Add a task log, where both the task itself and specific details will be indicated. For example, the task "I need to prepare a salve" and the explanation "For the salve I will need the following ingredients: ..." and you can even add new details that you can learn from one of the characters, for example, "Never use sugar instead of honey".
7. It may be appropriate to change the trading screen. I was confused at first when I went to the market and couldn't interact with anything other than the letters in the center. The images of items for buying and selling both on the trade screen and in the inventory are very small. I don't have very good eyesight, so it was hard to see the icons and be sure what they were and what they might be used for. There was a good suggestion here to add tooltips when hovering over item icons in the inventory or other UI windows.
8. After pressing the skip text button, the game starts to automatically scroll the text at a very high speed in all dialogues and scenes, which is why the skip cannot be disabled (or it's just difficult). Perhaps there is a button on the keyboard for this by default, but the player cannot find out the control anywhere in the game. A solution needs to be found. Options:
a) reduce the message skip rate or add a configuration that allows you to flexibly adjust the message skip rate - the one that exists now is already extremely high;
b) limit skipping messages only to the dialog in which it was enabled (new dialogs, scenes and texts will start without automatic skipping);
c) remove the skip text button and leave the automatic text scrolling, but make the automatic speed more flexible in the settings - x2, x3, x4, x5, x6 (this will allow you to use the automatic function for quick skipping).
There are probably other solutions, but I haven't come up with them.
9. Frequent change of poses of characters during a conversation is a plus, it gives dynamics and goes well with 3D graphics, you need to use it more often (for comparison, 2D graphics are much better combined with immobility; 2D - "frozen" comics, 3D - live and moving theater). For example, the scene when Britt gets dressed at the beginning of the game while talking to Borg looks great, thanks to a good change of poses - more like this is needed. From an erotic point of view, this scene also looks beautiful. A turn of the head, a slight change in posture - all this will be a plus in different dialogue scenes.
10. Now the facial expressions are fine, and I don't see the point in doing much more expression - it can ruin the narrative and make it comical. The ending of the demo is a little blurry - immediately after dinner, the scenes move at a frenetic pace; backgrounds, places and people change over and over again. I guess it's because the author wanted to show the idea of "to be continued". Therefore, it would be great if in the future both this fragment (the beginning of the first chapter) and the subsequent narrative went a little more smoothly.
That's all. I don't have any other comments or questions yet.
<3
Thanks! Great suggestions - some of them I can fix on Tyrano, more varied poses etc. I would need to speak to a Ren-py programmer to see if the rest are implementable (cost and time wise). Thanks again, for taking the time.
The new fonts and cursor are fascinating. Love them! The size of the buttons in the dialog box is a bit small, perhaps there is a way to either make them bigger or add a slider in the settings to change the size of the buttons and fonts in dialogs for people with poor eyesight.
Also, the location change buttons have become quite tricky and mischievous. You altered them in a very interesting way - unexpected but original. It doesn't seem to be what I had in mind, but it's also what I wrote. It's still hard to figure out where a player is going, but at least the signs are different now.
I can't say anything about the change of gender. I was originally interested in the game because of the gay theme, I'm not attracted to women. So I have zero interest in the breasts of the feminine protagonist. Despite the fact that I have often been mistaken for a girl since childhood, and the fact that I strictly adhere to the "receiving" role, I have never had any desire to change gender. There is a chance that I will drop half of the game's routes at once just because I am not interested in an outcome in which it turns out that I played an otome. And I don't know anything about transgender topics: for example, if a guy became a girl, but dates guys, doesn't that make her straight in the end? I don't know.
The changes on the body under the skin of the masculine protagonist also cause mixed feelings. It looks beautiful and frightening at the same time. Although I find the idea of changing the character's appearance interesting, I catch myself thinking that ultimately I'm only interested in routes that won't contain any triggers. And that ends up discarding the masculine ones, too, even though I'm extremely attracted to men (not muscular ones, though).
Either way, I'm still interested in the game. I am surprised by the enthusiasm and unusual ideas of the developer.
Hi there, thanks for your great feedback! The option buttons will be bigger in the Ren'py version (especially so, for the mobile/Android players). Label/tooltips will also be added for locations in the Ren'py version update. If budget/time allows, the crafting/trading system will be improved too. Version 0.1 demo is a quick fix in Tyrano so that I don't have to update the assets separately in Ren'py later.
The gender/physical change is optional and is a small part of the game/specific endings in the later chapters. Players have to pursue a particular route to transform physically. It is entirely skippable.
Pretty and fun -- good start.
Thanks for playing the demo!
Or play in browser???
Hi, the browser version doesn't load on this page. I have contacted the Itch support team to see if they can resolve it.
ah...okeey......thansk for asnwer heehehe
This is an amazing start. Great work! Love the originality of the setting, the writing is clean and edited, renders are very solid and often stunning, I can't wait to see what else you do with this. Found out about this on my Discord channel and am going to pimp it on Twitter. Best of luck with your project!
Thanks for the encouragement and wishes!
BBN, maybe you can help (or help find people that can help) KKChar with Renpy? (see the answer to my question, below)
I'd be happy to talk with KKchar but I think he's talking to a programmer with far more Renpy/Python skills than I have. ❤️
I join the chorus of praise, this is a terrific start. Everything clicks: the original spin on the postapocalyptic setting, the music, the story and characters, the excellent graphics.
A couple of remarks, also suggested by other users:
1) the cursor is indeed not too practical, it's not always clear what you click on. On a related thing, it would be great if, when you hover on an item especially in the inventory, the game tells you what it is. This is particularly obvious when you buy stuff, as it doesn't say what are the things you can buy if you go over them with the mouse.
2) with so many characters (9 just for the love interests!) it's very easy to get dispersive, trying to do a bit for everyone so that the overall progress is slow. I'm pretty sure you know that but please be aware of the balancing act in the updates.
3) will there be explicit sex scenes throughout the game?
4) another question about the masculine-feminine. When a character is described e.g. 'more attracted' to feminine qualities, does it mean that if you have predominantly masculine qualities you still have a chance to go on his route but you need higher attraction threshold or something like that? or there is for example a limit to how much masculine you can be to have a route on that character? (I can explain with examples, I'm not sure I've been extra clear!)
5) you mentioned in other answers that you struggle a bit with the limitations of the platform you're building the game on (Tyranobuilder), are you thinking of changing it or doing something about it?
6) just to know, how will the funding work? Is the demo free and the next updates for people paying, like on Patreon? I'm happy to pay, for this product, I just wanted to hear what your plans are.
7) about other sites: I agree with others that it can be useful. One of the best ways to reach the maximum amount of people is probably F95Zone (where a page for Ergi already exists), but one has to be able to filter away the obnoxious voices (the community is generally fine but there are the occasional annoying people and the mods don't do much about it). Patreon of course is the next step but it might help having a decent base of people that could support the game before going there (not sure about this, but surely helps).
Thanks for the feedback!
1. I will work on the control issues. Hopefully, migrating to Ren'py will resolve this.
2. I intend to update by Chapters (similar to Telltale game structure) instead of by character routes. All of the "romanceables" are integral to the plot, whether the player dates them or not. Hopefully, I can pull this off.
3. The game focuses on relationships (romantic/sexual or otherwise). The explicit scenes come later as part of the story/plot.
4. The player needs to meet relationship score thresholds (different for each character/personality). You don't need to be transgender to enter into a relationship with them. Though some game endings are specific to this choice.
5/6/7. I had initially intended for the game to be free. But that might not be possible if I had to do this on Ren'py and publish consistently. So I will probably gather the feedback, size up the scope, and decide how to fund this project. Will be great if you knew where I could find/speak to reliable Ren'py programmers. Thanks for the advice!
thanks! sounds like you have a plan, I'm curious to see how it unfolds.
A suggestion, I think some consistency (or at least not too spread out in time) in publishing would be very much appreciated and I also think people would be happy to contribute for such a project considering its reception (just manage your expectations, I'm afraid -think more of a help, not a full time job :D )
Thanks, that's a fair expectation and good advice on the publishing gap time.
I freaking love the storyline! The atmosphere and music are spot on. The controls can do a bit of fixing but otherwise a very good demo. Looking forward to see the next chapter!
Thanks so much! Glad that you liked it :)
I can't wait for more this was amazing, music was great and the melancholy setting was top notch! Instantly connected with the characters.
Thanks so much! Glad that you liked it :)
TLDR: I like it.
1. First, I want to ask: are there any forums or sites (Patreon, Twitter, etc.) where this demo was posted? I think it is better to collect feedback and suggestions on specialized resources, where it is more convenient to view messages, and where more people can look at the product. Of course, there is always the possibility of encountering unfriendly users, but still, more audience is needed for feedback.
2. Second. Cursor. Just mirror it horizontally so that the rake handle moves to the left instead of the right, and then aiming at objects with the cursor will become a little easier. The image of the rake is much larger than the real (in the "brains" of the program) cursor, which is why it is not always comfortable to use it.
3. Now the game is not far from the concept stage, so I don’t offer anything and I don’t insist on anything - first I want to understand a little better, and only then reflect. And that brings us to the next question: I want to know if the main character can be top or bottom with every available character? If so, it would double the amount of work (obviously), and make less sense, because character preferences and personalities would matter a lot less. If we can act in a different role for each individual character, then it might be a little confusing.
I guess the author's idea is not to put the hero under all other characters in every possible way, but to show how he will adapt to the desires and cultural norms of the people around him (I personally hate both this topic and the topic of social roles, but this is my PTSD). If the character sticks to one sexual role (presumably, bottom), then in terms of a given narrative, this simplifies the task.
4. Fourth, I find some of the details of the game interesting, and I like that it starts with a nice styling in the menu, and contains original, albeit rustic, images in the interface. For example, the tractor, the barn and the book look very cute. But at this stage of development, there is no point in discussing and focusing on the beauty of the interface - all this can be easily fixed at any stage of development, because this is a general component of the game, and not some piece of story or gameplay. Although someday the interface will need a lot of improvements, because at the moment it does not match the quality of graphics and storytelling.
5. Next topic. Music: a constant melancholic melody from the beginning of the game makes it a little difficult to focus on the narrative, sometimes you need a pause and just ambient - sounds can completely (and this is not an exaggeration) change the perception of anything, especially the game. For me, the melody creates the feeling that the life of the protagonist is about to end, although the game has just begun.
I don’t know what the general idea of the game is, and why, in this era of general interest in northern culture and mythology in video games (because games about Nords, Vikings and the like have been massively released for half a decade), the author decided to turn to such a complex topic, but I don't mind because the gay-oriented ones suffer from two problems: there are very few of them compared to any other, and most of them are of poor quality. Here we see at least a good start.
Final note (OFFTOPIC). I want to note that the understanding of the term used in the title is incomplete in modern times due to insufficient knowledge of the issue. Scandinavian mythology is known mainly from two large sources and small archaeological finds that indirectly help in the interpretation of the material. In fact, among the popular ancient cultures, this one remains one of the least studied. Of course, there are those who are examined even worse, but we are not in the competition.
For example, the use of the word ERGI goes back to the Christian period of the early Middle Ages... If you understand what I'm getting at, then it is obvious that this word is colored by the influence of foreign cultures. I am more than sure that initially the Scandinavians, just like all other cultures, did not have prejudices about same-sex love, and a number of myths indicate this. If there were prejudices, then this would have been clearly stated in at least one of the two Eddas.
Let's take Judaism as an example - in the Old Testament there are no prohibitions on same-sex love. Sodom and Gomorrah were punished not for debauchery or same-sex love, but for treachery and for trying to outrage Lot's guests - so for invading private property. Another ban did not apply to men in general, but specifically to prostitutes of pagan gods, which was equated with idolatry. Moreover, the love between David and Jonathan was clearly erotic, not platonic. But there is no insult to effeminate or gay men in the Eddas, nor is there any clear indication of this in stories where only males were involved in sexual relations. ERGI is a relic of Christianization of a later period, when the Viking tribes settled among the peoples of Eurasia, adjusting to the already rooted Christian radical norms.
The reason for this perception of the word is simple. The northern peoples were perceived by the "civilized" southerners as barbaric, despite having their own culture, mythology, writing, and the like. But they were considered degenerates, and that led to prejudice that the dominance of one man over another through sexual abuse - verbal or physical - is natural for them. And so the word ERGI was demonized, when initially, most likely, it was nothing more than a petty squabble between two men who shout hurtful words at each other. Like a scream and a fight between two monkeys - we see it every day. Because of this, swear words do not become terrible lifelong curses.
Of course, this is the same insult as the others, especially in sexual terms. But the stigma is something more terrible, and I see no evidence that that Viking culture in the pre-Christian period had a prejudice against gay sex. There is no evidence.
Thanks for your detailed feedback! They are very on point.
1. Cursor and icon/UI themes - excellent points! I will sort them out to be consistent with the tone/themes. I will check out other forums to post for feedback as well.
2. Sexual roles - the game focuses on the story and characters. Therefore, the sexual roles will be character-driven and how they develop. That is, Britt cannot top or bottom anyone he wants.
3. Ergi theme - You are spot on. The theme of this game is to explore what Ergi could have meant before the Christian/modern influence came in (the magical/mystical aspects to it).
Excellent. I will be glad to follow the development of the game. However, you didn’t answer one of my question: are there other sites or forums where a demo is published? I myself found this game through a third-party forum. Are there any more places where the developer collects the feedback from the demo?
Not yet - Itch is my first stop, I will look for other targeted forums to collect feedback as well. Thanks!
Will a Mac or android release be made? Really want to try this game out, but I don't have a windows computer.
Sorry, not at the moment... This game is built on Tyranobuilder. The export to mac/android is buggy. I will see if I can pull off a browser version of the demo later.
I'll patiently wait till a browser version arrive then or better yet when the export function isn't buggy. Thanks for the info! Good luck with your game
Will this be on mac?
Sorry, not at the moment... This game is built on Tyranobuilder. The export to mac/android is buggy. I will see if I can pull off a browser version of the demo later.
Really enjoyed it, i can not wait for the next chapters.
Thanks! Glad that you liked it :)
I already love the game. looking forward for next updates.
Thanks! Glad that you liked it :)
Would love to be able to customize the protagonist! Hair, mostly :P
Thanks for your feedback! The protagonist's appearance will change later with the choices you make (more masculine/feminine body and hairstyle).
Should really have a way to mute the music and sound, skip, and rollback to an early spot. Not everyone can or needs to have the music and sound that loud, or even on to begin with. Definitely a skip so people can skip to a more exciting part of the game and rollback if they want to play through that one little part again.
Thanks for the feedback! I built this demo on Tyranobuilder, so there are many limitations (e.g. cannot roll back etc). I will see what I can do about setting the music and sound early on.
I don't get the comment on the music and sound, there is a mute button...
Also, there is the possibility to skip text (in game and with ctrl)
Hi, I came across this game and I have to say that its amazing.
I love the world-building; is nice to find an erotic game that has a well structure plot, and how the elements of nuclear war are frame with the mystic and elements of Ragnarok; very well thought.
I had some problems with the cursor; it was kinda difficult to navigate sometimes.
And also, with the meat and corn; I had to restart because I didn't pass the practice and I wasted the money in flowers in the kr, hahaha.
But, except for that, everything five-by-five.
The CGs, the atmosphere, the music are amazing. (Jorgen wet CG is soooo hot, fuck, hahaha).
The intro song blow my mind; it truly makes you feel hopeless, because of what happen, but also hopeful, for a brighter future, even if its difficult to achive.
Overall, its a very consistent demo; I even dare to say that is the best demo from this type of games, by far. And if the demo is so expectacular, I can't imagine how great will be the future versions.
The characters are all handsome and hot (for now, my favorite is Jorgen, of course). Aaaand, these is where my feedback is gonna be more specific.
There's something that I couldn't quite understand.
In the menu, it says that the characters that you can romance are attracted to feminine or masculine qualities.
Does that mean to feminine or masculine bodies or rather if they have traditional masculine or feminine actitudes (e.g. cooking is femenine and hunting is masculine)?
Honestly, if I have to choose, I'd chose the second option.
I'm more fond on the idea of building the psycholocigal part rather than the physical, because I think is more interesting to see how the dynamics between the guys and your character shift because the choices you make, with more femenine aprroach (like protect, help, emotions) or more masculine aprroach (attack, been more agressive, command, etc.), rathen than a change in the anatomy.
And also, it would be kinda restriction, because maybe you want to romance someone who want feminine anatomy but you don't wanna change the body of your character.
What I'm saying is that, the idea of feminize/masculinize the MC is good, but shouldn't be determinate for the romances. Seeing how the romanceable characters treat you because of your feminine or masculine aprroach to life, I think is better because you can explore their psychological side too, mostly in a post-apocalyptic enviroment where everybody is in constant alert, viligance, danger; all very traumatizing, haha.
(EXAMPLE; In the case of Jostein: he only want to be with someone with feminine actitude, probably because he has a wife, so feminize the body would make Britt more close to the ideal of the wife he has. But, I believe it would be more interesting that you have feminine actitudes, but not body, and see how Jostein has to deal with the fact that maybe he's atracted to a masculine guy, but with a more submissive and feminine social role. That will make a more compelling story and we as player could empathize with his struggles (again, feminize Britt body could be an option too; having both choices to makes, can show what consequences each one develop, making a path more challeging than the other, for example)
How the dynamics shifts, helps to construct a better world-building for all the characters (even better because of the Factions, where usually some prefer one lifestyle/approch to life, different than other).
Also, that doesn't mean anything about the sexual orientation or sexual role of a character (e.g. One character may prefer feminine actitudes/choices, but then is more submissive/bottom).
I think, having 9 romanceable characters, you can play a lot with the psychology and the deep of everyone, making this a more immersive experience.
And that's it. Thank you for reading; I hope my feedback helped you with something. If you wanna me to expand or explain or help you with something, I'm willing.
Hugs, keep the good work. Seeya.
Thanks for the helpful feedback! I will check on the cursor issue - so far, it seems most evident in the kitchen and grave area.
The romance dynamics consist of 3 bars (affection, attraction, admiration). The masculine/feminine qualities include both physical and psychological aspects. Different characters have different fem/masc pre-requisite levels to meet before gaining attraction scores. Britt can enhance it through hormonal serums (and play as a transgender person) or through making consistent choices.
Thank you for answering. It's amazing how you wanna structure the relationships dynamics. Completely in love with this level of deep and care. On board with this VN to the end.
And also valuable the option to choose to follow a trans-path. Representation is always good and needed.
Does that mean we can avoid physically feminizing Britt to romance the femininity-attracted characters or is there a baseline "femboy look" he has to attain before you can gain attraction?
Yes, you don't have to physically feminize Britt to romance the characters. Though choosing that option will boost the fem scores significantly. Hope that helps!
It does yes, thanks for the clarification and congrats on making such a nice looking demo :)
This game looks amazing!! And i cant wait to test it out ones im home 😘
Thanks! I hope you enjoyed the demo.
Hihi, there will be 9 chapters in this game. I hope to update it periodically. Not sure if I can keep to a monthly timeline, but I will try my best!
A really nice start and I'm interested how the plot continues. An interesting setting and societysystem. Keep it up! :)
Thanks for the feedback and encouragement!