New Website/Blog

Ok, I'm finally doing what I should probably have done months ago and moving my blog.

Thanks for putting up with the clutter, guys!

The new website is at:

http://obscurasoft.com

It's still under construction but I'll post all my updates there.

This one will remain for...I dunno what purpose.  All the dick jokes, I guess.

Oh yeah, and if you missed the Kickstarter and are interested in preorders, email me at obscurasoft (at) gmail.com and just say you want to be put on the list.  You'll receive an email later this year and will able to get the game at a discounted price.

Update

Just letting you guys know I'm dealing with a bunch of emails (which predictably increased in volume at the end of the Kickstarter), accounting stuff, and forum issues (like, picking a color scheme that won't make your eyes bleed.)

As the dust settles, you should be hearing from me if you've sent me a message.

Thank You! And Thank You Again!

Annnnnnd it's over.

Thanks all of you participated in this amazing campaign!  Even if you were unable to pledge, I appreciate all the comments, interest, and questions with regards to the game.

Right now I'm going through my inbox, waiting for all the funds to finishing processing, and yes, just working on the game.  (That'll never stop.)

Just to answer some of your recurring questions:

When Do The Forums Open?

I have to wait to get a final list of backers  This will take about a week as various processing and credit card issues are resolved.  I'll be sending forum members an email with the relevant info once I have the final list.  

I Missed This Campaign/I Wasn't Able to Use Kickstarter/Amazon's Credit Card Services.  Can I Still Donate?

I need to figure out some issues with Paypal that make me a little hesitant to use them.  If I can get that going though, I'll post info as soon as I can.

How Much Will The Game Cost?

It'll be about $18-25 USD when it's released.

Can I Buy It Now?

No, the Kickstarter was to help me develop the game.  I will be paying for art, programming, music, etc.  This entire year will be devoted to completing it.  It's due for release in December 2013.  Add-ons will come afterwards.

If you want to be sent an email when it's ready for sale, let me know.  My email is on the left side of this blog.  Send me an email that says, "Put me on your mailing list".

Will It Be Censored?

No.  I hope you're prepared.

I'm Interested In a Less Raunchy Version.  Will You Have One?

I'll most likely have a blacked-out version shortly after the full game is a released (where all the adult scenes are centered), followed by a PG version several months later.

Can I Beta Test?

I'll be taking beta testers from my forums.  If I still need more beta testers, though, you can shoot me an email and I'll put you on the list.

Countdown

It's almost over, folks.

The last day of the Kickstarter campaign.  Less than 24 hours to go.

So. Close.

So the Kickstarter campaign ends in less than two days.  The proverbial bell will toll on Sunday, 10pm Pacific Standard Time.

BTW, I completely spaced out when I said it would be 7pm EST, going backwards instead of forwards.  Eastern Standard Time will be 1am.  

And of course, we've got a large number of international backers, with time zones all across the board.

Do you realize how much your contributions have changed the scope of the project?  One example: a month and a half ago, I was trying to figure out how to restrict myself to a small number of scenes due to the limited art budget.  I'll restrict myself to FOUR per guy, I'd tell myself, and limit the choices if necessary!  That's four scene illustrations per relationship.

Now I'm pondering the maximum number of scenes I can possibly commission in the span of a year...

Thank you so much, you utterly marvelous people.  Your contributions are allowing me and my team to build a fully-realized world and bring it to life.

And I can't wait to immerse you in it. 

C'est super!

Though I had to use Google translate to get the gist of it, I enjoyed reading this article about Coming Out On Top on Gameblog, a French gaming website.  Thank you, Maniax, for your interest in the game as well as the awesome write-up!

The Kickstarter campaign has three days left to go.  I can't believe January 20th's almost here.

Spending my most of my time writing now.  A personal note: writing will always be the most challenging and nerve wracking part of making this game.  I gotta keep you folks on the edge of your seats, and in this day and age I'm competing with a dazzling array of mobile devices, social networking sites, and games, movies, tv and youtube videos all downloadable on demand.  I don't know if most writers stress out about grabbing the attention of their readers with a viselike death grip, but I most certainly do.

As always, thank you for your generous support, comments, questions, and emails.  I hope this game will be everything you've wanted to play, and more.

Note to Pre-Paid Credit Card Users

Just an FYI, folks!  Not sure how many of you are using a prepaid creditcard, but please make sure the prepaid credit card covers your pledge plus one additional dollar.

Thus, if you're getting the $20 reward, make sure the prepaid card has $21 on it.  Then pledge $20 (not $21), just like you normally would.  It has something to do with the way your card will be processed.

A couple of you have $11 and $21 pledges.  I'm not sure if these are just an extra dollar for the campaign, but if you were using a prepaid card, you need to reduce your pledge to the $10, $20 increments, etc.

Again, this only applies to prepaid creditcards, not normal ones.

I'll be sending out an FYI in the upcoming Kickstarter update, but just thought I'd share this now.  Thank you, and apologies if there was any confusion!

Update

The sun's shining and it's a lovely day!  Can't wait to walk the dogs. 

At the moment though, I'm researching.  Research means any number of things for me: reading books--fiction and non-fiction, scanning articles, looking at pictures, watching *videos*, and sometimes asking people the most outrageous and embarrassing questions.

Five more days...

Seven more guys...

One Week Countdown

You know what's weird?  The feeling I'll get when this Kickstarter comes to a close.  I scheduled a 56-day campaign because I thought a single day of additional funding would make it or break it (example).  Kickstarter usually recommends a month-long campaign to keep spirits high for both yourself and your backers, but I was worried how busy people would be over the holidays...better safe than sorry.

For almost 50 days day straight, I've been waking up to a routine of checking stats, emailing, responding to comments, checking stats, etc.  (As anyone who has run a Kickstarter project knows, it feels like half your time is devoted to checking numbers.)  

Though I feel like I've been marketing and advertising nonstop, I've also been able to marvel in sheer and utter gratitude as many of you spread the word, without any prompting from me whatsoever.  Unlike most video game Kickstarters, very, very few people have found out about this campaign through any of the large gaming portals.  (I'll have a breakdown of the exact figures in my book.  If percentages get you hot and bothered, you can look at those instead of the art, 'k?  XD)  This campaign has relied heavily on your word of mouth, good will, and enthusiasm for the both the demo and the game.  I know I've repeated myself a hundred times now, but thank you for making this a stunning success.  

I've already been devoting many hours to working on the game, knowing that we're close to the finish line.  From here on out, there's a lot of work ahead.  All I can say is that I'm exceptionally thrilled with the story (it's scandalous, funny, hot, jawdropping, and heartbreaking, in no particular order) , and I think you'll be getting a very compelling narrative--with all the available art, programming, and music to back it up.

This campaign will end on Sunday, January 20th, 10PM PST.  With seven days left to go, I'm not sure what's around the corner, but I can't imagine anything that would top what's happened thus far.

Update

Coming Out On Top's Kickstarter is currently at 1300+ backers, $29,000+!  Good god.  Many of you know I was originally estimating getting funded for a little over 5K for this project.  Holy shit.

And hey there, new contributors!  Thank you for joining us with your awesomeness and impeccable good taste!  We're now into the 10-day countdown and I'm thrilled to have your support!

I've been busy with work and with writing the past few days.   Alex's story line is mostly done, including the addition of some extra scenes.

The main stories for Brad, Ian, Jed, and Phil are outlined, and I'm now in the drafting stage, with a target of 3000 words a day.  This should be going on for most of early 2013.  The first draft will be minimally 100,000 words long.  It's one of several drafts that I'll need to do before the entire script is in working order.  Writing and coding are definitely the lengthiest parts of making this game.

I'm working on Brad's script at the moment.  All I can say is...oh boy.  I can't wait 'til you guys play this!  In fact, I can't wait until you play all of the story lines and I get to discover which one generates the most "OMFG"-ness.

If you've played the demo you know I don't like to write any one specific way, neither making the game entirely comedic, romantic, or erotic.  I like to give you guys a bit of everything.  My main concern is that you  have a really fun time, from start to finish.

Thanks for checking the blog!  I'll be answering lots of emails and questions over the next coming days.

And thank all of you again for making this happen.

Less Than Two Weeks To Go!

Hi New Visitors!

First of all, new visitors to this blog who are wondering what the heck--this is the development blog for my gay dating sim.  Check out the demo if you haven't already, and join the other 1000+ extremely good looking and highly intelligent backers on Kickstarter if you'd like to support the making of Coming Out On Top, a gay dating sim.

Update

As per my last post, thanks for the recommendations for Japanese VNs!  I like how each VN got one recommendation, so I'm scratching my head on how to decide.  Please tell me this isn't how it's going to be in the forum, with 400 backers all suggesting one extremely unique type of Brofinder date.  HAHA!

As of this moment I'm doing some more work on the game (prepare to hear this for the next 300+ days).  I cannot tell you what a privilege this is!   I'm also trying to keep up & improve my art skills during this rather lengthy writing/coding stage...so I'll be throwing numerous sketches into the Tell-All book.  They won't all be penis drawings, I swear.