Your games art style is amazing and the depth of worldbuilding is genuinely impressive. I would say that perhaps the reason the game did not receive a large immediate following is due to the fact that visual novels that are LGBT+ tend to get very little traction, and get even less traction if they do not feature sex or are short. It's a shame but there is very little that you could have done to help as this is merely a matter of Itch as a platform and visual novels as a medium being finicky and featuring audiences that are hard to capture at best and impossibly shallow at their worst. I mean all of this to say that you have done something truly impeccable with this title and I am personally ashamed to have not played it sooner nor discovered you and your work before a few days ago. I ask-with all the humility that I can muster-for you to continue working on whatever project you fancy, and to do so without straining your mental and physical health wherever possible. And-if i may-please remember that you are loved and appreciated in more ways than you can fathom.
Thank you, from the bottom of my heart💖 To be honest, I did have a feeling it could be because of a lack of NSFW in my games😵 I've been debating bringing that stuff more into my projects, but I was afraid it could scare away some potential future employers.... I was trying to play it more on the safer side.
That's very understandable, employers have extremely impressive algorithms and databases nowadays that allow them to essentially stalk their employees. However from the perspective of avid user of Itch I can say that almost all of the highest rated visual novel contain nsfw, and all but a handful of the Lgbt+ ones contain nsfw. Going by the first two pages of the top rated visual novel section only two are both Lgbt+ and do not contain nsfw. Funnily enough all but five Lgbt+ visual novels by my count are both nsfw and furry. Minotaur Hotel is actually one of the most consistently popular and highest rated visual novels on the platform and even though it's furry I think you'd like as it is rather close to your writing style in both tone and theme. Tangent aside-I think you should write whatever you get inspiration for and write it however horny you think the story calls for. So long as it doesn't get to fetishy I think most employer won't worry to much if they find it, and if you're in the field of either programming or writing it may even be beneficial as this would essentially be self-published work they could judge your skills on. As a final note if you ever want the browse tab has plenty of ways to see what the most popular, highest rated, and newest games in any given tag are; this might be useful if you ever want to see in what ways the platform is trending or get inspiration from other works of the same tag. But whatever you continue to make I certainly am looking forward to it.
Both the shallowness and average attention span of the audience really is an issue nowadays. I'm sure TikTok and social media in general is one of the biggest reasons for this mental change.
Although when it comes to VN, I like to experience romance instead of deep, complicated stories. I'm currently reading several long-running book series at once on and off.
What about you? What are your favorite (F)VN?
While TikTok and social media have had some affect on our overall attention spans, the way I look at it though tends to be that they are merely the symptom not the cause. After all, attention spans were shortening long before even Facebook was created and before dial-up was even common place. In my opinion I see that companies noticed how to take advantage of shorter attention span but were what started to create them. If I were to hazard a guess then I'd say that attention shortening is the natural state of the human race as the entirety of human history has been consistently filled with the concept of creating easier to consume recreation and media. Even religion can be considered to be apart of this instinctual need to focus not focus on anything that pertains to direct survival for a period. I'd also say that the best recorded and most palatable example of this would have to be in the way supermarkets and grocery stores slowly evolved to be constantly psychologically manipulating the customer, if you ever get the chance it is a fascinating subject.
On the note of visual novels I can say while I do love long term story-telling, especially as it pertains to romance, I have a very difficult time if the story is both heavily emotionally investing and incomplete. I've been known to fall into deep bouts of depression whenever I finish all that has been finished. As such while I can personally recommend both Sileo and Minotaur Hotel as being impeccable, I also must admit that I haven't touched either in well over a year now as I've promised myself to let them either finish or die before I go back due to the fact that my poor constitution simply can't handle the emotional whiplash, for this very same reason fanfiction has become a very rare treat for myself. Two others that I have been following and can recommend are The King's Hound and The Bastard of Camelot, two arthurian non-visual visual novels developed in twine and that were released within the same week. While both are similarly incomplete and feature even sparser updates I can say that I can follow the latter more then the first two due to the latter having a bit less emotional depth, thus allowing the cliffhangers and character growth to be less emotionally devastating to me. On a final note I would highly recommend twine game as while most visual novel readers maybe turned off by their little to no visuals, a lot of talented developer have created beautiful games in the program and it is often a shame how easily they are over looked.
(Also please forgive me for any grammar or punctuation faults, I am currently fighting a cold and haven't been finely combing my writing as usual.)
Sorry... but I don't think this many words to describe the shortening of attention spans was entirely necessary~
So basically what you're saying in a nutshell, is all the new inventions mankind makes cater to the requirement of using less brainpower, which results in a shorter attention span from generation to generation? And because a shorter attention span became more and more popular, companies began to take advantage of people in that way. For instance: ads, social media, comics/manga, your supermarket example to name a few. It sounds like an accute observation to me. Again, you're right, this is a fascinating subject to research and discuss. Maybe the natural order is us working toward inevitable decadence as well as complacenty, resulting in lowering our IQ/critical thinking bit by bit. If so, at least we're all in it together.
I'm currently working on revising the collections on my profile, meaning sorting all 500+ FVN & games into categories. One of my new main categories is COMPLETED FVN & FURRY GAMES. If what you say is true, incomplete and emotionally demanding FVN give you depression, perhaps you will make good use of that collection. Just know it's not exactly big (for now) or all that great, because my profile is like a hub for as many gay furry projects as possible, so not only FVN.
Sileo is one of the FVN I couldn't get into. None of the characters or love interests seem written in a compelling or rather unique way. Pass. I would like to know what dating the dragon would be like. You can't.
I've seen a lot about Minotaur Hotel, however, I'm not a fan of the protagonist being a bull (or minotaur?) I'm guessing I'll be trying Minotaur Hotel out at some point, until then there's many others to play. Have you tried Soulcreek, yet? Of course being new it's incomplete, but the story is pretty thrilling. Genre = post apocalyptic
In case you want to know which ones I enjoy, I've also made a list for them called "For those holding a special place in my heart". Once you open this collection, you will see an assortment of very different FVN, that's because sometimes only aspects of certain FVN are the reason why they made the list. Example: Password → Tyson
Thank you for recommending The King's Hound & The Bastard of Camelot. Will be looking into them! I'm an avid (actual) novel reader. No visuals doesn't turn me off. I could recommend you gay novels better written than any FVN on this website, if you are okay with emotionally devastating stories that already came to an end. One of them, a trilogy, has thousands of great reviews on Amazon.
You're perfectly fine, really. Your choice of words is much more eloquent than what I could ever come up with. Are you from an English speaking country? If not, I applaud to you, since to me you come across as a native. Furthermore, the way you carefully choose your words makes me think of a smart individual. (Although: than ≠ then ;)
Get better soon, @HenderHibiscus!
Thank you for your kind words, I must apologize for going so in-depth on a fairly off topic. I'm autistic and my fixations can cause me to very quickly take an interest in a topic and run for the hills without to much thought to appropriateness of time and place or whether it was necessary in the current conversation. Funnily enough it is mainly due to the ability to spend full minutes focusing on my wording that I come off so verbose, I am quite quiet and shy in person as live conversation tends to go by to fast for me to think on my words and phrasing enough. On here it can be to much of one category, in real life too little of the other. And yes, I am a native English speaker however sometimes my accidental repetitions make me feel like I'm not (then/than have always gotten me).
Thank you for the recommendation of Soul Creek! While my general misgivings of unfinished V/N and stories till hold true, it's development seems early enough that a damaging depth of emotional investment seems unlikely. I'm sorry for not looking at your page before I had replied, I went and perused after I had and realized my comments in regards to twine were certainly unwarranted for a curator such as yourself. In any case, I am glad to have now found it, gladder to recognize quite a few games you've collected there, and gladder yet still to have found many a new. I must rescind your regular erotica recommendations though as I am one the worst types of people, someone who starts reading too many novels and then has trouble ever finishing them. This mainly is caused by me requiring specific criteria for letting myself read more general types of literature, and said criteria either rarely occurring or passing by too fast for me to realize I could have been finishing the Song of Achilles five times already if I was more scheduled with my time. Anyway, I would just like to add that the Minotaur in Minotaur hotel is not the technical protagonist, he is simply the first and main love interest (however his existence and personal growth are essentially what the main plot revolves around, in that respect he is the protagonist and if that is what you had meant then I apologize for bringing all this up). The actual player character is a human who comes to own an ancient place that was created by the Olympians for reasons only gods know. There are several love interests actually, all of whom come to work at the establishment at your request and are (almost) all anthropomorphized versions of mythological creatures. For example: Minotaur, Eastern Dragon, Thunderbird, Gryphon, Demon, a Djinn (if I remember correctly), a Tapir, two different characters based on the Argus Panoptes, and even an aromantic and asexual option where you just get a pet wolf-dog.
Lastly, thank you again for complimenting my language skills. As said before, I get flustered easily and often can't find my words quick enough in normal conversation; I often feel like I over-compensate whenever I communicate textually. As such it was very nice to hear your comment and I sincerely wish you similar health as you have wished me.
Oh... Apologies, that is why you should never assume something you don't know for certain. In that regard we resemble each other a lot actually. Because I lack the necessary experience to quickly voice my words in a discussion, thanks to a lack of exposure, I too, tend to go overboard in text-form conversation. Which side on the autism spectrum are you on? I have ADHD or ADD/Asperger Syndrome. But although I'm generally confident in nature, not being able to express my thoughts properly gives me anxiety or at the very least embarrassment when I'm forced with facing people. Since you've looked at my profile there shouldn't be a need to tell you where I'm from~ Well, for what it's worth it took me quite a while to distinguish "than/then" correctly. However, talking to another American who(m?) I met on here – she uses her mother tongue quite elegantly and also accurately – for months greatly helped in polishing my English skills. She always used to point out inaccuracies, which I was grateful for.
Don't worry about it, it's of no concern to me. I wouldn't title myself as a curator, that's for absolute certain but thanks. When I got fed up with r/FurryVisualNovels and Discord I stopped playing FVN and engaging with other FVN enthusiasts. At least I continued updating my collection/now collections. Not gonna lie you're kind of raising my interest in Minotaur Hotel. Unfortunately I prefer (for the most part) – how should I say this – regular or common antropomorphized versions of animals as love interests for the protagonist in FVN...? While unusual and mythological creatures are perfectly fine in regular stories, my go-to are pretty much always anthro dogs/wolves and werewolves. Quite boring really~ There are few exceptions, either when the option is between humans and aliens/creatures, or beings such as Venom... who's an alien I guess. Yep, Venom is ho- AWSOME! (though really only the movie version appeals to me, maybe comics too I don't know yet)
Another element we have in common, wow... Again, I too, start reading or watching different series and then have trouble finishing them all. Right now I'm consuming 4 long-running novel series at once, read several FVN, and watch a couple of series. At the moment, however, the consumption has slowed down somewhat, so to speak. It also happens that I stop reading or watching a series for months, come back and simply continue where I left off. It can be a bit challenging but usually works out. Nobody forces you not to do the same. No?
If you were to trust my 'recommendation qualities', you seem to be happy with Soulcreek after all, I could refer to specific FVN you personally would enjoy. A few more hints on your part would also be helpful.
You're very welcome and thank you as well! I can definitely relate to that notion of wanting to over-compensate. It's always like I have to cover as much ground and be as adequate as possible with my answers, yet thinking deeply about your own answers is never a bad thing in text-form.
By the way, let me ask, again:
What are your favorite FVN, despite Sileo– "at this moment he knew he fucked up" I completely mistook Sileo for another FVN I forgot the name of! –and MH? Still, although the mystery of Sileo is very vague and therefore intriguing, the characters are just strange. Maybe they'll make sense soon I don't know.
I'm guessing you're not interested in gay novel recommendations? (Those are really good!)
Third question [Redacted] got too distracted
Everything you had said is perfectly alright, either my ASD or religious trauma quite often result in me over explaining my thought process in a very 'stream of consciousness style' pattern. My explanation was merely a result of that and not due to any impropriety or unkindness on your part (in fact it was more polite than some of the most polite things certain family members and family friends have said to me). In regards to my ASD I will admit that I am unfortunately self-diagnosed. However I am also glad to not have it on my medical files given the current situations in the UK that I may fear will become international trend (during the first year of Covid hospitals in the UK were mandated by the medical board to remove all disabled people-including any neurodivergent people-from ventilators in order to let them die and make room for the non-physically or non-mentally "deficient" as defined by them).
Your English is very good, I actually had no idea you weren't a native speaker until I saw your page. I have a German aunt and can say with great confidence that German people always speak and write secondary languages very well (far better-in my experience-than how most Americans fair with second languages). 'Whom' was correct by the way, it is just as tricky as 'then/than'. Those two pairs are particularly difficult because they are either absent or glossed over in speech (accents make 'then/than' completely interchangeable in speech), thus they are only really a problem in text formats. Also, I too will drop even shows I love for months and even up to a year or two, and then hop back on as if I hadn't just left for the shows entire life cycle to get cigarettes and milk.
Having simple or complex tastes in regards to kink is absolutely understandable; dogs and wolves may be an oldie, but dear lord are they a goodie (also the movie venom is absolutely the hottest...*ahem BESTEST version so far). In regards to recommendations, I must admit that I am quite particular in my tastes. Not in that I am particularly discerning, more so in that I have always had trouble trying anything new no matter how much I trust the person who recommended it to me. The choice to try something must be my own and not due to a social pressure, I've actually had problems in the past with people crossing boundaries to recommend things to me and then manipulating and punishing me because I did not consume the media they wished me to. This is of course not to say you are anything even close to those people, I am simply someone who prefers to take my time and decide by my own volition on which paths I walk. However I will explain my interests a little further since you've asked so politely and have provided truly delightful conversation. Lustful Desires, Hachienden, and Rapturous are all three games still within the V/N genre that I keep very up to date on. Only I Have Skills is also one that I wholeheartedly love and am waiting for few months of updates to accrue before I return to it. Generally speaking my preferences are implicitly neither towards V/Ns or furry content; I greatly enjoy furry content and many of the associated kinks, however I've never felt the same sort of comfort from the concept of being an anthro the same ways others within the fandom do. In fact my main interest within the fandom has more to do with vore being commonplace than animal characteristics (although animal characteristics are very high up there as well). The same can be said for interactive erotic fiction, I rarely write content off for It's format or platform however I prefer RPG mechanics and management sim mechanics to more straightforward CYOA style games. This of course does not mean I would ever refuse to play a game that has that as it's core, simply a matter of enjoying the first two genres regardless of smut insertion (pun intended).
In conclusion, you are far from being the rudest person I've had deal with my eccentricities (you're actually among the politest), and I think it is just as beneficial for me to be told when I've gone off on too much of a tangent as it was when your friend always corrected your English. Learning when, how, and why we've done an incorrect thing is essential for any personal growth. And finally I must apologize for my response being relatively late, and again for any spelling or grammatical errors (an actual earthquake decided to hit when I had just sat down to respond to you.... it's been a day). None the less, I wish you a very happy holidays, and thank you for having given me such wonderful conversation!
(edit. I removed some personal information from the comment, figured it would be better to not leave that up in a public forum)
Don't worry I'll answer later. But right now I to share my frustration with itch.io's sorting system and the creators or developers using it. You know how there's all of these tags gay, bara, yaoi, queer, lgbt (probably bl) and every creator uses different combinations or sometimes none of them, even though it's clearly an element in the game?
I'm really trying to create the most complete collections on this website for the categories we enjoy, but it's quite literally impossible, unless you want to spend days looking through every single tag associated with "gay" (could even just be "romance" and no one would ever know). Theoretically I would have to go through both the queer and lgbt tag graveyard, because let's be honest there's tons of abandoned projects creators were too lazy to remove! The problem is everyone creates their profile at some point in time, very few in the beginning. You would have to go ALL the way back *sigh*
Remember that you shared with me both The King's Hound and The Bastard of Camelot? Well, one uses the "queer" tag while the other one decided to go for "lgbt"! Such a headache smh
PS: Does green work as text color on my profile or is standard red better?