westane
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6.0 - The Casting Couch
🕑 Added 2018-10-10 07:00:02 +0000 UTC Greetings everyone!It's been a great first week of work implementing Chapter 3 into the game. The new event system is coming along nicely (currently being referred to as "Personal Events") and all the groundwork for the new character has been laid.
I'll touch more on those things in a bit. For now, let's get straight into it!
Pre-Alpha Status
Oh my poor, poor pre-alpha testers. I'm so grateful to all of you for putting up with the endless broken builds, save resets, and other shenanigans all in the name of building a stable release. Seriously, though, despite my best efforts to make this phase as easy to test as possible there's still been plenty of bumps in the road, so I wanted to thank you all for bearing with me as we get this thing off the ground. I expect the content pace to pick up in the coming weeks so definitely look forward to that!
Additionally, I want to clarify that the current "hard stop" in place at the end of the available story in pre-alpha is only going to be there until the Chapter 3 story has been fully implemented. Once that's done, I'll revert it to the old open play system.
Casting for Chapter 3
Speaking of pre-alpha, those in that pledge level have already had the chance to meet Lauren, your new coworker at The Company. Lauren, played by Lauren Phillips, will be a central figure for Chapter 3, but she's not the only new character being introduced. In addition, you'll have for first encounter with one of The Company's executives, Dr. James Klein, and it's him I wanted to talk about today.
When I choose models for The Company, their personality is a non-factor when it comes to selection. This should be glaringly obvious to anyone who's watched any videos with pretty much any of the actresses (or actors for that matter) in the game. When I need a character, I think about how that person would behave and speak, and then find someone who could match that character physically. When I started considering choices for Dr. Klein, there was only one face I could picture. I'm of course talking about James Deen.
Now, for those in the know, James Deen is a controversial figure... by which I mean kind of a horrible person. While he's my prime (read: only) candidate for this role, the last thing I want to do is to alienate or otherwise trigger my community, so I'm happy to open this to discussion. That said, remember that with the local version of the game you're free to change any images used, not use images at all, or eventually use the 2D artwork pack.
And that's all I have to say about that!
So About That Artwork?
Right, so it's been a while since I've shared any new artwork. In my absence I told my artist to spend the month of September working on his other projects. After we reconnected this month, we both decided that the current way of handling images was too inefficient to realistically maintain, and would inevitably lead to burnout on his part and a half-finished commission on mine. In that sense, we've gone back to the drawing board and mapped out what looks to be a much more sensible method of converting the existing images to 2D art assets. Once the first batch of images is complete you can expect to see them here!
I'd also like to take this opportunity to reiterate the fact that development of The Company is not contingent of development of artwork, and will continue to prioritize using the current system of live models until the end of development.
One More Thing...
In the spirit of character transformation, I'd like to announce to you all that I, myself, have been TF'd with the help of shady government agencies!
While once I was Westane, the man (the bear?), I am now Westane Digital Entertainment LLC! That's right, we're legit now! The need and desire to create an S-Corp LLC and become a real business would have never come about without all the support from every one of you over the last year and a half. I seriously can't thank you all enough, but for good measure, thank you.
On that note, that's it for this week. I'll have more to share next Wednesday as we progress further into Chapter 3 towards the release of Alpha 6.0!
As always, thank you all for your continued feedback and support.
Comments
Since you are not paying him for his images, go for it. Hes got a good look and plenty of material to use. Also alleged sexual assault and filed/charged with sexual assault are two very different things
Badlulu
Use what works for you.
Never heard of the guy and for what its worth I don't particularly care if he is used or not. If you think he is best for the role and worth putting in thats good enough for me. Does this mean we are getting another guy we can drug soon?
ChristyMorrigan
Awesome work! I have no words...
ChristyMorrigan
Agreed!
Choppytehbear
Manuel Ferrara looks very similar to James.
Blottscrunk
Just Googled James Deen. As far as I can tell these are all facts, not opinion or conjecture: 1. None of his accusers have actually filed any lawsuits against him for rape or sexual assault. It is therefore legally incorrect to describe him as guilty of these things. 2. He gave a detailed and coherent denial of these allegations in 2015, in the form of a long interview for The Daily Beast. 3. Footage exists that directly contradicts some of the allegations made against him. Comments from his accusers exist online that contradict some of their own statements as well. I don't want to antagonise anyone on here unnecessarily, but I feel like I have to say this: Given the above facts, it is both foolish and unfair to hold a strong negative opinion about this guy.
Haseo
Yeah I also don't like Deen. Even before the news of him came out, I was never a fan. Someone like Charles Dera, Micheal Vegas, or Mick Blue would be better alternatives based on the brief info you have shared for the Dr. It's your game in the end man, but luckily there are thousands of alternatives.
Don't really know who he is but by the sounds of it I probably don't want to know more beyond he's got a pretty face. Personally I don't really mind who you use, if I have a problem I'll just switch out the images. I am curious though if he'll have possible m/m content attached to him. Don't think I've seen any added since before I discovered this game almost a year ago now. While I do swing both ways one of the biggest things I loved about this game was the ability to "seduce" both genders. Congratulations on becoming legit. One of the best games I've found on patreon, keep up the great work.
Blottscrunk
Oh and congrats on your professional transformation. I can tell that you put a lot of work (and heart) into this project, and I think you deserve to see your enterprise flourish.
Blottscrunk
I don't know who James Deen is, but from the sound of it I think I would fall in the "don't care" camp on principle. Unless you're giving him money (are you?), then his real personality and history seem completely irrelevant to the idea of using his images. Also I second the idea that a poll would be best. If the majority of people don't want to see his face then that's fine by me too.
Abaddon
Personally, I'm indifferent as long as people have the option to change any of the characters. I might suggest an actual guide for all of the characters, going into detail: > What pictures are needed, > Where they should be saved, > What to call them so they replace the existing ones. Yes, it would potentially spoil what will happen to that character, but I think having the option would be beneficial.
You wouldn't need to sacrifice all the photos. All you'd need to do is go into the images file and locate all the James Deen pics and replace them with an actor/actress you're comfortable with and make sure you give the new ones the same name and are the same file type.
krazygloo19
Out of the loop on James Deen, don't personally care about who he is as compared to the whether he fits the scenarios (especially since I'll probably end up TFing him ASAP like John if I can), but I can see why people might object
I don’t know who James Deen is, don’t care, and am fine if you use his picture. Perhaps a poll would be the best way to gauge your audience’s preferences.
Westane
Thanks for the input. I'm going to stay out of the Deen discussion for today before making any kind of response tomorrow. I'm reading all comments on it though.
Please no Deen. Jordan Ash for example is a fine substitute choice with tons of material to choose from, a lot which is similar. It sounds like you know it's a bad idea but want to do it anyway. This will just lead to needless facepalms in the future.
HaikenEdge
Honestly, I'm really not comfortable with alleged sexual predator as part of the photographic cast, and I'm even less comfortable with the idea of having to sacrifice all the photographs in the game just to make him disappear. In a sense, it kind of feels like you condone sexual misconduct, or at least are indifferent towards it, which is a message I'm kind of uncomfortable with despite be a terrible person myself. Congratulations on everything else, tho.
Congrats on the new business and I look forward to 6.0
That's great news, keep up the good work!
Offshore - Adult Games Developer
Thanks for the news! Keep up :)
