#we're a queer studio making queer games

[vertebrae-entertainment]

FANGST is a 2D action fishing game set in Norway 100 years after an apocalyptic flood swallowed the world, spawning a new Devonian age of sea monsters🌊🎣

Read more here!

Want to keep up with development? Follow us here, on Twitter or join our Discord!

[portsandstars]

Revisiting Red Spring Studio's Interview with Blerdy Otome - Select Quotes

It's been almost a year since RSS had this interview, but I think that many people have not listened to it, or recently revisited it. I thought I'd highlight some quotes from it, though the entire interview is worth watching! Some of these quotes I have lightly modified for clarity or succinctness but the majority are direct transcripts.

23:30: "Touchstarved is a horror romance visual novel where the entire cast is made up of characters where you're like, "I can fix them!" but you actually can't. I think that Touchstarved is a very complex and mature story with really really complex themes and interwoven routes and obviously it's very sexy at the same it's a romance - and I think it's one of those games that I've always wanted to see exist and I think that a lot of the team has always wanted to see this game exist as far as being this kind of like dark, broody, moody, but also very deep, right, and authentic and honest exploration - Monsters, and the feeling of being a monster - feeling of being an "other", right, whether you're queer or POC or anything like that… we've created a game that's not only really fun and action-packed and bloody and all that kind of stuff… but very heartfelt in a way that I hope readers can pick up on.

Imo, this line of reasoning ("you can't fix them", and the cast's monstrous nature and how it intrinsically ties to/is an analogy for being queer, or POC) - makes me think that even in the good endings for the game, your character won't be minimizing the character's monstrousness. For example, even if your character has the Power of True Love, it's not going to make Vere nonviolent or absolve Kuras's guilt.

25:35: "These themes are pretty complicated in a way that's messy and honestly bloody and I think for that reason is why we're looking at a mature rating - that said, when we set out to make the game our goal wasn't really to be explicit, it was much more to focus on sexiness . . ."

Just clarifying that there won't be explicit sex scenes in the game.

28:55: "What are some aspects of the story that you are most excited to showcase?" "I'm so excited that people get to die terribly, that just gets me so pumped up. Like in previous jobs I have not been allowed to brutally murder . . . main characters permanently and it's very important to me that I now have the power to write really just messed up awful endings…Don't worry, there's also good endings there too, they just get as much passion and all that stuff as the bad endings… but the bad endings, oh my gosh, those are some of my favorites."

This line makes me curious about whether the main characters are just MC, or if the other characters will brutally die as well!

30:50 "A little while ago we posted Kuras's character reveal and people really like the fact that he can't cook so for me it's really cute and innocent seeing people obsess over that fact and I really just want them to see the contrast between that version of Kuras in their head and what he's actually like in his route. Like I just really want to see them react to like the terrible things he's going to do. . . They're all awful in different ways that I'm really excited for people to see it - it's very funny to see everyone be like _Literally name any of the characters of the cast and be like "they're my little meow meow" and it's like, oh. good. I hope this continues once they learn more about the characters. Obviously they're all wonderful - right, the characters are all awful but they're also all wonderful".

32:26 : "the theme of monstrousness and how each character kind of approaches it differently . . . because they're all monsters, even if they're not literally monsters . . .it also plays into each character's brand of horror in their own way as well that ties into their monstrous nature."

This line especially (to me) hints at how Leander is likely not SPECIFICALLY a monster, but a human with a monstrous nature.

34:30: - Ais was the first character they made and each of the other characters build upon him, so they spent a lot of time getting him right. Vere was the easiest to create and they made him in a weekend. Kuras was the hardest to create (especially visually).

38:00 "This is a romance game and a big draw of the game is making a love connection with these characters - do you all plan on including platonic friendship routes in addition to romance routes, or is it strictly romance?" The way that we planned out this game is that we wanted to focus on the intimacy of these individual relationships between the main character and the love interest and the route that they're on, right, so this is the way we had planned the game from the beginning. We really like poly romances, for example, and friendships, but we think that it wouldn't have made much sense for the characters in the story that we had written for them because this entire story - with who the main character is and why they're having to turn to these mysterious monstrous strangers - there's a level of intimacy involved in the themes and stories that we really focused on for how we're writing…

It's almost like a narrative design intentionality we did early on because each route that you'll be able to play from the main five cast is very driven and each character is like a ticking time bomb in their own way. So if you choose to romance Vere, Kuras's route still continues and you can see the effects of what not choosing Kuras is in Vere's route when you're playing Vere's route. So the world is meant to be very interwoven and interconnected where you can see the ripples of everyone's choices even when you're not romancing them and in that way we've designed this cast that's woven together. So if we did want to do a poly route, we would probably have to do entirely new characters . ."

43:30: "One of the fundamental goals of this game was to have, as you've been saying, a living world - a world that's evolving, and one of the ways that we wanted to communicate that was with the idea that these characters are not doing great… um, they're all in very very bad situations, uh, they're all essentially doomed if you do not go with them and it's seeing that carried out in each route that I hope will be really interesting for people.. it will be very sad, in a good way".

ARGHHH this is the WORST. This means that if you choose a character, you're essentially dooming the others. Though this will undoubtedly manufacture delicious angst, I'm soooo sad at imagining each of the other characters faltering and ultimately failing on their paths because you didn't chose them. Though, I wonder if there are some routes where multiple characters turn out ok, or if the entire cast is doomed as soon as you don't select them (in different ways depending on the route)?

54:30: "I also want to clarify too that even though we've been talking about blood a lot and all that kind of stuff and death and we love those parts of the story, um, if you get those endings there's a reason why, you know what I'm saying - you have to actively try to get those endings - poke the bear with a stick."

Definitely referencing Vere's bad ending in the demo. Personally I am too curious to avoid them, but it's encouraging that some of the MC deaths appear to be because you deliberately make dangerous choices, rather than simply "tricking" the player and surprising them.

Let me know what you think of these quotes, and the whole interview is definitely worth a watch if you haven't seen it!

[14sunnydaze]

Heya everyone, pushing for another round of ads for our game before we close the early access on Steam. We're a very small team of (2) developers from New Orleans who need your help with spreading the word on our project!!

We've been working on this game for about 5-6 years and just sold our 200th copy! We are very excited to push it before we close early access because we've made some improvements already and want to share them with the 🌎. We are hoping to be able to use the funds from this push to finish the game and start developing the next one.

Our game emphasizes choices and replayability. It contains multiple endings and really is a lot of bangs for very small bucks! It's an adorable 3D JRPG with some charming characters and a world that will only become more queer and diverse as we continue to update it over time. It has a fantastic soundtrack that features a few local NOLA artists.

It's the culmination of a lot of work and heart from two people (one of whom is trans) who want to make diverse games that raise the bar and include people who haven't previously been included. And we want to show that it's possible to make good games without a huge studio backing you.

I've included a few teaser gifs so y'all can see what we're capable of and a bit of the world of Aura and Co.

[visitsugartop]

Envisioning a better world, one game at a time.

WHO

Hello there! We're Oxtail Studios, a fledgling creative studio for a small group of writer friends whose dream is to create the dating sim RPG they've always wanted to see out in the world. The thing all of us at Oxtail have in common is a love of story-rich games, and we're currently working on Sugartop, a pixel RPG with vestiges of the farm life sim genre - a small town of wonderful NPCs (16 romances), adventure, and a lush, green backdrop full of mysteries and intrigue.

THE GAME

In Sugartop, you play as a financially struggling person in Los Angeles who one day gets what looks like a spam email with the headline, "MOVE TO SUGARTOP FOR FREE!!! (FREE RENT)" - too good to be true, right? But the circumstances are dire, your savings have shriveled to near nothing, and desperate, you experience a lapse in judgment, deciding that the antivirus on your laptop will have to do some heavy lifting as you open up the video attachment.

It's a scrappy ad trying to convince you to go live in this small town called Sugartop located on an island off of the coast of Southern California. Do you continue to live your life as is, in dire straits, or do you take the risk of investigating further?

WHY

Unfortunately, as many creatives tend to be today, we are struggling to make ends meet as underemployed and unemployed creatives who have to worry about bills month to month and have little to no savings to fall back on. We're dealing with the aftermaths of layoffs in our individual careers in an increasingly brutal job market, and we urgently need your help to keep the lights on at the studio.

If you want to play a hand in helping a group of queer Black and Brown creators give life to their creative visions and love narratively compelling video games with a lot of heart, please consider supporting us today.

WHAT

Although we would be overjoyed with making even $50 total, our goal is to be able to fund our overhead costs (studio rent, accounting fees, attorney fees, fair compensation for visual artists) for five years of operation to lessen the financial burden on us as we struggle to find jobs. Without jobs, we can't self-fund the project.

THANK YOU!

If you choose to support us today, thank you so much. We're incredibly grateful for your kindness!

Studio links: click here

The pixel art used for the campaign is "Sugartop" by Kathy Chow.

DISCLAIMER Note: We at Oxtail Studios are not providing any goods or services to donors on GoFundMe in exchange for donations. This means we will not be providing you any copies of Sugartop for your donation.

[parksprout]

Sprout Journal 11/6/24-11/7/24

Wow. This has taken a lot to work up the energy to type, which is unfortunate. I was really enjoying getting into the nightly habit of coming here and unwinding with a bit of self-reflection, oversharing and cracking the occasional poorly worded joke. Yesterday was really a disruptive day, probably the most upsetting day of my life since 2020 and really an absolute low point. I'm feeling winded, exhausted, tired and diminished. Every negative adjective of self description could be applied to me in some regard, but I won't linger for too long on that. Just know that I am a lot worse off than I want to be at this moment, but I'm still trying my hardest to do better <3

My eyes are feeling heavy right now, so I'll type this as fast as my silly, sleepy fingers will let me. Yesterday was a blur. The last thing I did on election night was text my [REDACTED], Aaron, that I was going to bed. It was a bit of a lie, I stayed up for another 15 minutes refreshing the election results and being disappointed by what I saw, then I turned on a soundcloud recording of a YouTube documentary about the andromeda galaxy. I think that Aaron slept to Game Grumps that night, but I can't remember precisely. I woke up only 5 hours later and... I'll admit it, I cried at what I saw online. At the pain I saw entering queer spaces, at the fear that immigrants - citizen or otherwise - were feeling online, the economic and social uncertainty that was entering the collective consciousness. I felt afraid, too. I called off school, sent out some hastily written emails to my professors apologizing but not quite feeling bad about my decision to skip yesterday. I feel like given the breakup, the election and every other tiny thing going wrong in life rn I deserve to skip college if even for a day. So I did that.

I was gonna have to skip a couple of my classes anyway, I had a house tour at noon that I was actually super excited for! And by house tour I mean shitty apartment tour because I am still a college kid and like who tf is out here renting/buying a home in 2024. So I got to the apartment complex and immediately there are some red flags. Firstly it was on a giant ass hill, genuinely a mile long hill ironically named Straight Street when that homie was angular as hell. The actual parking lot of the property was ALSO a hill, a poorly paved one that I almost scraped the bottom of my car driving through. The property itself looked fine from the outside, but there were more red flags as I entered. The shared hallway was reeking of reggie and cigs, there was trash on the floor and the shared laundry facility had mold on one wall. Inside the actual studio unit I started by looking in the bathroom, where I immediately found a dead roach. I asked the property manager "have y'all had any bug issues here" and he lied, then got all flustered when I pointed out the roach. Then I lift the toilet lid... why was there another dead roach in the goddamn toilet water.

I left after that.

From there I decided to go on a long drive. I drove for 45 minutes around the city, parking every once in a while to answer texts and calm myself down. The city was pretty at least, with a gentle breeze and cool weather coming in as the day aged. I ended up in my childhood neighborhood and... I decided it was time to visit my family. I haven't seen anyone I'm related to other than my grandma for about six months until yesterday. I wanted to see my little brother more than anything else, but he didn't get off work until three so I decided to text the Aaron Bnuuy for a bit and start walking the neighborhood. I passed a park that me and my former best friend Sarah used to talk at for hours, and decided right in that moment to text her for the first time in two years. She answered and we're making plans already! We'll meet up sometime later this month for dinner and catching up. But I just wandered the streets, taking in sights and breathing the air.

Calming down. I went to the thrift store and bought nothing, then to Walmart to get myself an instant camera. The bnuuy doesn't know this yet but when I send them their christmas present I'll probably include a couple of polaroids of my cats, stuff I think is pretty around town and maybe a selfie too. I haven't taken the pictures yet, but it'll be nice to give them photos. After walmart I drove to my friend Dylans job and said hi, I also hadn't seen him for six months and... I sorta invited him to hang out that night. The way it worked out, I picked up Dylan, my little brother Cj, and his girlfriend too. We all ended up at my dads house where my older sister lives, and we drank apple cider and listened to Sleep Token, Ghost, Dido, Rufus Wainwrights Hallelujah cover and so much more until I had to leave. It was probably the best way I could've spent a very bad day otherwise.

Today has been a little worse than yesterday honestly. It's got all of the same hopelessness about politics, hopefulness but pain about my relationship, but none of the productivity. Work went well actually, all of my coworkers have actually been treating me a lot better these days ... but one coworker made a joke that really upset me. Luckily it's not someone I work with every day, but they joked about immigrants getting deported. The loml was literally born elsewhere, I do NOT play about that shit so I yelled at them and got myself in trouble by doing it.

There's surely a lot more thats gone on today, without a doubt there is but ... this is so much and I doubt anyone will take the time to read it all. I'm gonna get back in the habit of daily journaling after my workout sessions tomorrow.

I have an archaeology presentation tomorrow at school, wish me luck! I love you Tumblr, goodbye everyone! <3

[devsgames]

Heya, a while ago I got a job as a programmer for a small game studio (yay!), though now struggling to manage the work load from disability issues and it not being better than my previous development job, I've realised I would very much like to go solo. I believe I have the technical ability and training to do so but I'm not sure how to manage it financially, especially with an almost full time job (that I can't reduce more than I already have). Do you have any tips on the money side of becoming independent? Would just like to be stable enough to make a living on it!

Thanks for the ask!!

First: congrats on getting a job! That's excellent!

I'm going to go in-depth because I think it's a valid question, but I also want to be super clear that no one should go solo until they're absolutely prepared for the risks associated with it:

Sustainability

I can't personally speak to working with a disability, but my biggest piece of advice for going solo is: don't quit your day job. Odds are good that as a solo developer you are not going to make enough money to earn a living.

In my experience it's usually better to be miserable and struggling at a full-time job that pays well than miserable and struggling as a solo dev that doesn't pay rent. At a full-time job you may not happy but at least you put food on the table and can save money and spend it on things guilt-free, which is something a lot of solo devs can't do.

I think there's a misconception that being a solo dev is sustainable when in actuality the way most solo devs are sustainable is by already having a popular game/following, or having an existing safety net or second job that pays the bills, or by working their asses off more than they would at a full-time job. Solo dev exhibits survivorship bias because the solo devs who couldn't keep up in the market simply aren't doing it anymore. Solo dev is so competitive and the pay so unreliable that unless you strike gold (which is very unlikely) I can't in good faith recommend anyone attempt going solo without some sort of extensive planning to back it up.

I'll use myself as a point of comparison for full transparency (because I am absolutely not exempt from having immense privilege and I think it's important to acknowledge that): I was laid off in 2023, but my partner currently makes 110k CDN a year. Before I got laid off I made 85k CDN a year. We've been saving up for about ~7 years. Cost of living in our area of the country is very high, but we live in a place owned by a relative so our rent is truly dirt cheap so our overall costs are incredibly low. My partner pays most of our expenses, and I'm on her insurance plan. We're both open and comfortable about this arrangement now, but if something happened financially I'd be running out and working a job immediately out of necessity. I am incredibly privileged to have a comfortable living situation that affords me flexibility to focus on creative stuff full-time, but it's because of these circumstances that I can do solo dev in a dedicated capacity.

A Peek At Finances

I started solo dev in 2020 and until 2023 I did solo dev alongside my full-time job and I shipped 3 games in that time (so roughly one game per year), so I was saving money and making games on the side. I ran a Kickstarter as part of that and made a number of sales as part of the Queer Games Bundle (which offered much more generous payouts back then than it is able to now). Now in 2024 I do it full-time, but despite this I don't make enough to survive.

Here's all the profits from my game sales from the last 4 years as a solo dev (in USD). Remember this is from the last 4 years altogether (not per-year), and 2024 was the first year I did it exclusively:

Steam

Itchio (this is largely due to the Queer Games Bundle, I generally don't make much profit off itch at all outside of that)

On top of this, I work as a Course Director at a local University for 4 months of the year for an additional $10k to supplement my income. I also have had some other revenue streams from streaming, commissions, freelance writing, talks, Patreon, etc. however that's approximately in the ~$100 every few months range and not terribly noteworthy.

As you can tell the solo dev sales is not really enough money for most people to make rent on, and some of my games (like Lofty Quest) cost a lot of money relative to their profit. Solo dev is incredibly risky because even with perfect planning you can work on a project for years only for it to make you like, $300 in the end.

All this is to say; solo dev really is not sustainable full-time for most people unless you are the 0.1% of people who can afford to live on $1000-5000 USD a year (though I feel like most people can't).

"""Side-Hustle""" Approach

I think solo dev is more manageable as a (for lack of a better word) 'side hustle' than it is a full-time job. But I find the secret to doing that is (like any craft) is to learn to enjoy the process and not the product - if you enjoy making your own games then it will give you energy, as opposed to sucking it away like making games for work does.

When I was working in the office I'd be designing stuff for my TTRPGs whenever I took breaks at my desk, or writing notes and plans on digital games whenever I had some down time. Even working remotely I would squeeze in working on my game during big team meetings or before I went to bed - again mostly just because I liked the act of making my own games. I did it because I enjoyed it and it afforded me more freedom than I had working on content on a AAA game, but I never really did it because I was ever planning to make a ton of money or planning to go solo. Doing solo dev part-time helped me find a work-life balance where I was still feeling creatively fulfilled despite working at a job I hated, and profit came after that - I only fully focused on solo dev when I suddenly lost my job and found myself in a comfortable living situation.

An additional thing I'd say about solo dev is that if you 'believe' you have the ability to do it, then try to ship a premium game right now by yourself from start to finish as a side thing before re-shaping your life plans around it. It sounds obvious but until you ship a game by yourself you don't know what it's like to ship a game by yourself, and it'll give you a better idea of what it's actually like and if it's something you can actually manage to do more long-term.

If you're really really going to go solo full-time and nothing is ever going to stop you (once again, I would not recommend considering this at all but I know some people have trouble listening to advice), then here's some survival tips:

You should ensure you have a plan that is concrete and actionable - make it a SMART goal so that it's measurable and you can quantifiable hold yourself to it. E.g. "I'm going to publish a game solo and see how it goes" isn't something to bank your livelihood on, but "I'm going to release two small games before November and see what the process is like, and if I'm not making rent by February I will find a part time job" is. Remember that finding a new job after being off the job market will take time (sometimes months) and incorporate that additional plan. Formulate a Plan B and hold yourself to it, and then a handful of 'Plan C through G' worst-case scenarios, because you don't want to bank your livelihood on solo dev. Hold yourself to your plan whenever possible, keep going back to that plan, and know when to call it quits. Solo dev isn't worth sacrificing your life over.

Before going solo, calculate your monthly burn rate and current savings and know how long it will last - also assume you're going to spend more money than you usually do on average (because you'll probably spend more than you expect). Plan ways to cut costs in your daily life, what you can stop spending money on, etc. Figure out your insurance situation with your work; you'll either have to get your own plan or lose health coverage in some instances. If you're planning on quitting your job and you have a quit date be sure to maximize the amount of money you spend on insurance before you do; buy new orthotics, new glasses, see your doctor, stock up on your meds, etc. Don't do any unnecessary spending if at all possible.

Read up on your local business and tax laws, and learn how it works for developers in your area with regards to revenue from foreign countries (if you live outside the US, as most storefronts operate within the US). If you can, find a lawyer and an accountant who works with game developers in your area (if you know any local devs ask them who they use, they'll usually be happy to share). Seek out publishers, investors, grants, developers in your area and make connections as early as possible because they could be a lifeline down the road. If you're going to be sustainable as a solo dev it's usually from grants, investors or contract work and not because of sales alone. Network early and network often.

When you start a game, be acutely confident (and honest with yourself) of its marketability - no one thinks your game is as cool as you do. Don't make an echo chamber about your work and be open to feedback. Ask others what they think about it to validate your intentions.

Plan to spend money on promoting it. Post about your game as part of your job and never shut up about it. Be as annoying about your work as you feel comfortable, and then double the amount of annoying you are. You'll get used to being annoying because if no one finds out about your game your game will not make money.

Work like a studio; playtest your game early and often. Before you finish your first game, plan what your next game is going to be and start prototyping that. Be your own producer, err on the side of caution and cut as many things as often as possible.

I made a whole talk on the production side of being a solo dev here if you want more specific production tips.

---

Anyway, sorry that may not be...terribly helpful of an answer, but I think a realistic approach is usually best. Thanks again for the ask!

[screensavorstudios]

Happy International Asexual Awareness Day from Screen Savor Studios! Since both our writer and the protagonist of our latest game are Ace, this is an important day for us. Speaking of Vivian, we have 7 Days left for the Jill O' Lantern Kickstarter, and only a little over $1,000 USD to go! We're entering the final push, so please make sure to share and back the game if you haven't already. Every dollar goes to queer artists and developers who are working hard to make this game!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jillolantern/jill-o-latnern-final-cut

[alexissara]

Alexis Sara's Top 10 Most Anticipated Games Of 2024

We're about to enter 2024 and with that we have all the lists, lists I am not immune to making because I slowly build them up all year. Last year I played a fuck load of games and so this year I wanted to talk about 10 games I think look really fucking cool that are coming out in the next year or two. Some of these games are likely to release in 2025 instead but it'll be fun to see if they remain on the list next year then. I mostly just wanted to spotlight some art that looks cool to me outside of the context of a Sapphic Games Guide or a Review and maybe get others on the hype train with me. This list is not in order and just 10 games I think look like they could have an impact on me, I may not even buy every game on this list but there the 10 that look like I am most likely to check out.

Gales Of Nayeli

So this is one of two games on the list I've already purchased. I backed the kickstarter of the game a while back and I thought "it looks alright and when I asked if there was gonna be any sapphic content the creator told me in depth what content he had already made so sure I'll back it. What was more if a thank you for being so kind and responsive so fast has turned into my most hype game of the year. Blindcoco and me have become friends over time so I am biased but I was actually sold on the game before me and him became buddy buddy when I played the demo and saw the amazing work that went into it. Then the extremally positive response from him and the community towards my desire to focus in on women and sapphic women only added to my excitement for the game.

The game genuinely seems to be raising the bar for SRPGs and really feels like it is a step above Fire Emblem and not an emulation of Fire Emblem. I loved the demo and the concepts in the game so much it inspired me to start working on my own SRPG studios game knowing what is possible at the high end of investment in the system can really be something special and really cool. I love that there is a focus on trying to cast voice actors who match ethnicity to the diverse cast, I love that there is a wide range of diversity in the revealed cast, I love the amount of queer women I am aware of in the game, I love the animations and sprite work, I love the gameplay, I am really really excited about this game and I think this game has a high shot at being one of my favorite games.

Fields Of Mistria 

I make fun of farming sims a little on my lists and stuff but only because I actually love farming sims especially in concept. This game probably has my favorite art style of the whole lot of games today. It's lovely 90s anime style sprite work is just AHHHHHHHHHH so good. I do in fact want to kiss the women in this game very badly and I would enjoy playing the game for the sake of dating them alone.

Rune Factory: Dragon

Let's bang out the second farming sim while we're at it. We don't know a bunch about this game but it really just has to do two things for me to be into it. One, let you be gay like the newest RF and Story of Season games already let you do and Two, keep up the art direction and bam, I'm in. My biggest problem with the last Rune Factory game was that the art style made every woman look like a 12 year old and not in the like chibi story of seasons way like they just looked like they were kids. This however, has a much better set of art direction and it makes me think there might actually be women I'd want to gay marry.

Mahou Senshi Cosplay Club

I really love Behold's previous game Chroma Squad but when I got this demo I had no idea they were the Chroma Squad people. The mix of dress up and RPG gameplay is a dream come true kind of game and the outfit customization is leagues beyond a game like Fashion Dreamer despite likely being made on a much smaller budget. The PSX style graphics actually work here with them evoking nostalgic graphics while also not actually being restrained by a Playstation One's issues. I just really loved the process of making the outfit and character in this game and honestly that alone is a potential game seller. The gameplay element was solid and I really want to play more of this.

Beastieball 

BeastieBall seems to be a really fun take on the Monster Taming genre. Having the monster friends play a sport and naturally be inclined to play the sport makes for a very cute and wholesome premise to which you become more a coach than an owner to these little cuties. It's a pretty simple concept in the demo but it's promising and cute and I do like that the monsters you collect build relationships with each other, I think that is something really special and neat and something I'd like to see more monster tamers do.

Love In A Bottle

 There is a lot of nice looking visual novels coming out but Love In A Bottle is dating sim that is really capturing my eye. You play as a demon girl, bam okay I am sold. You date other monster girls okay I'm sold. And it's got more then the basic one outfit you expect from a standard visual novel dating sim type deal for characters that is yet another sold factor. It seems really cute, seems fun and I hope I can smooch all the women at once.

Fantasy Life I

While I said we were done with farming sims, I didn't say we were done with sims as we have Level-5's Life Sim, Fantasy Life. I won't be buying the game if I can't be gay in it but I really loved the first Fantasy Life on the 3DS and I think if it can keep up the charm and fun of the original game and add a homosexual seasoning on top it'll be a perfect cute and fun time. I love the wide array of jobs and how these all build into each other, it's a very one of a kind experience and really fun.

Princess Peach Showtime 

This is the true triple A game of the list and the only one that has captivated me in all the shows of all the consoles and developers I've seen of late. Peach is barbie now and I am here for it, let her have a million jobs and have a game based around her doing these different roles and being an icon in each of them, sounds good, I'm in, it's a really cute and fun concept. It looks really fun and the art style looks great.

Our Life Now and Forever 

There is no other games like the Our Life games and getting to be sapphic in this one means I finally get to go ahead and experience the series I have been curious about for a while now. This game will let you be polyamarous which is the only game on this list I can say for sure will allow you to do that and that alone is something that would keep me engaged. However, getting to grow up with characters, change your pronouns, your name, anything about yourself as you do and having the characters change with you is amazing. I love the concept of this game and the wild reactivity the games demo has always provided just to a simple thing like me choosing to be trans in the childhood phase is amazing, it is truly such a considered and thoughtful game with such masterful crafting that the act one demo alone is probably worth money. So I did back this one on kickstarter as well so this is my other pick up.

Unlike other games on this list I am fairly confident this is a 2025 game and not a 2024 game but I want to talk about it now because people on the Patreon will be getting to play updated versions of the game over the course of the year akin to early access. I think the game is for sure worth a look.

Izrand Allure

After playing the previous game in the series I am totally sold on wanting to experience Izrand Allure. Luxaren Allure was a really special experience I had this year finally checking out the game after I think years of putting it off and beating it I really want to play this follow up. This game seems far more in depth and far more artistically masterful then Luxaren as well so I really want to see everything this game has to offer. I love a good job system and this game boasts one. I really want to see this lesbian RPG and I hope I get a chance to play it very soon but obviously Unity the dev should take her time to make it. Regardless, I am just gushing every time I see the game and I think this has potential to be a massive game of the year type hit for me.

If you enjoyed this post, I got a lot more end of the year lists coming up when it's actually next year so I can tell people what I enjoyed in December. You can also support me in making cool queer art by checking out my Patreon and Ko-fi.

[thumpypuppy]

Okay apparently we're now tentatively offering video editing services? It's a thing we're feeling out at present and we'll put out a bit of a portfolio in the future, but yeah… in addition to VGM we also do indie band production, we're making a small jump into film scoring, and yeah…

The Light Novel about our studio is going to be called, "Oh No I Created a Small Queer Indie Video Game Music Studio and Now We're Starting to Expand into Other Creative Fields!" and it will be available for purchase whenever we inevitably fold a writer and illustration team into our studio.

[solarianvulpine]

Did you know that, in the late 70's, there was a violent rally held by angry rock fans in which they blew up disco records to "kill the disco movement" in response to it's place in both gay liberation and afro/latino empowerment plus their belief that it was destroying rock and roll?

Discotheque originated in french nightclubs in the twenties, thirties, and fourties. However, it was the mid seventies that brought about a strong American take on the genre. Disco was growing in the underground club, bar, and punk scene. Featuring rhythmic drums and african influenced beats, it was rapidly gaining popularity in the dance scene and massively outselling rock and roll. Rockers felt that switching up musically to sell better was synonymous with selling out. Plus why would they bother? They said that disco was a mindless fad compared to their superior lyrical work and sound.

For a few years the conflict of genre built tensions. Producers wanted more and more disco funk. Bringing about an age of gay liberation and putting black and brown artists in the spotlight, featuring openly queer black artists like Sylvester and Martha wash. Rock was being called on much less. It all came to a head in July of 1979.

"Disco Demolition Night" took place at Chicago's Comiskey Park between baseball games on July 12, 1979. It was organized by radio host and dj Steve Dahl. Calling for the death of disco, the end of the "musical disease." Dahl claims it was nothing but a harmless stunt; continuously denying its racist and homophobic nature.

The day after the event Dahl hosted his usual morning broadcast. He began by reading the headlines reporting the previous night's events, mocking the coverage, saying, "I think for the most part everything was wonderful. Some maniac cohos got wild, went down on the field. which you shouldn't have done. Bad little cohos"*

To my understanding Steve Dahl never renounced his feelings towards disco nor has he shown any remorse for his actions. Seeing as he still sells merchandise featuring the event on his website. Including hats and tshirts commemorating the night of 7-12-79.

Rolling Stone Critic Dave Marsh attended the event and wrote at the time, "Your most paranoid fantasy about where the ethnic cleansing of the rock radio could ultimately lead... white males 18 to 34 are the most likely to see disco as the product of homosexuals, black and latins, and therefore they're the most likely to respond to appeals to wipe out such threats to their security."

Fans rushed the field brandishing tshirts and banners stating "Disco Sucks." A notable phrase used in connection to the movement to kill disco. Still heard in passing to this day. The phrase may seem harmless today noting that we use "sucks" so casually. It is worth noting that at the time it was new slang; directly and intentionally homophobic. It is often forgotten exactly what we're accusing the subject of sucking.

The effects of Demolition Night swiftly radiated out into the media production circuit. Sending Disco back underground to the safe havens of queer clubs and bars, like the loft and stonewall, as well as the subterranean punk spaces of their origin.

Today it's commonly believed that disco's popularity did die in 1979. Producers, studios, and clubs started rebranding the genre as "dance" music. Even pioneers of disco became disillusioned with the genre noting that media producers had oversaturated disco sound, wringing out any cultural significance it had at the start. Making way for hip-hop, pop, and punk.

However, dancing to the selections of DJs had integrated into culture in major urban centers. As an activity it wasn't going anywhere. With the inability to capitalize on it the culture discovered a new lease of life, free of the labeling and profiteering. Disco may have been dead, but its influence was alive and well.

To learn more:

A more extensive account of the culture and history can be found in this book "Love Saves the Day" by Tim Lawrence.

I also recommend this playlist curated by the Woody Guthrie memorial museum in Tulsa, Oklahoma during their exhibit of the same name earlier this summer. Exploring the history and sound of disco.

TL;DR - Disco was major to gay and poc empowerment. Then a bunch of people rioted and blew up disco records at a baseball game leading to the decline of Disco's popularity in mainstream media.

*Coho - noun; a person or thing that shows the existence or direction of a trend - (another definition is a kind of salmon but i have the feeling that would be inaccurate as funny as it may be)

[vertebrae-entertainment]

04.11.2024 - Status update!

Hey!! You're being too quiet!! Whats going on over there!! Well, good question- lets get into that:

Things are going slow! There are multiple reasons for that. First, we took on a load of side work this year to keep the lights on. Second, we're moving apartments right now, with very sudden and short notice!! Third, we have two projects and half the team is absent because of sickness! Bad news for project productivity, indeed.

Other Projects

Theres some cool stuff going on here! People who keep up with our Facebook page may have seen that we're currently collaborating with Likestillingssenteret (The Centre for Equality), Ungdom og Fritid (Youth Work Norway) and streamer MarinaaD on the multi-year educational project Trygg Gaming (Safe Gaming) on how to build safe and equality-minded gaming spaces for youths and discourage hateful conduct! This is our second time collaborating with Likestillingssenteret and MarinaaD, and we are supplying the project with some gaming and game design expertise, as well as our knowledge on the queer subset of game and gaming culture. Additionally, we have had the honor of supplying the campaign with its visual design, much helped by the center's in-house media team!

Other than that, we have some updates on the game development scene in our hometown of Hamar! I was invited to participate in a small project group to map out the potential for establishing a new hub for game development studios in the region, alongside the capable hands and minds behind Sarepta Studio, Encircle Games, Raidho Games and Snowleaf Studios. Last week we presented our proposition to the other businesses in town. Big things are happening, and i advice any game developer in town to keep their ears open!

As well, Global Game Jam Hamar 2025 is right around the corner! Like '23 and '24, buying a ticket to the event ensures you an event t-shirt designed by yours truly. Operations here are now in the hands of the freshly established Hamar Game Events... which is to say, its the same group as before but under a new name! Its gonna be loads of fun, and i hope to see some of y'all there :D

Life and stuff

Earlier this year Åge got very sick, and has been unable to regularly join me in the office. This has affected development greatly, as i am unable to work on Fangst by myself- and i can only do so much graphical work before the pile becomes too much to implement for a two person team.

Then a month ago we got an email that our apartments are getting torn down in favor of a new block project!! Poor luck!! So in short, now we're moving. We should be relocated by December, hopefully before the snow starts setting in.

Teknokrat > Fangst

The main point of this blog post, really. So, given that half the team is sick for the unforeseeable future, what are my options? I have little chance of finishing Fangst in any defendable state by myself, and we do not have the means to hire or outsource.

I decided i should focus on giving Fangst a fighting chance by releasing an self-driven project before it, which ended up being Teknokrat.

So here i am, making an unfiltered gay romance sci-fi visual novel. I write, code, make the art and the music. The rawer and raunchier the better. This should help us gain experience with a commercial release, and help us find our audience. Its lack of workforce and budget will be both its strength and weakness. And when its out, we will be readier for Fangst than we ever were earlier!

I'm very excited for this one- its currently resting at a comfortable 15k script length, soon in a demo-worthy state which will get an early playtest run in our Discord before being dropped on Itch and Steam.

If you havent heard about it before, its about class warfare, cyborgs and techno! I hope you'll look forward to it :3

In the meantime, consider Fangst on hiatus until Åge is able to rejoin full time. This doesnt mean their unmistakable creative flair will not be found in Teknokrat, however! Åge is helping me with design, marketing and planning- as well as lending me their video editing expertise. Get well soon, your presence is missed!

Twitter is dead!!

We moved that branch of our social media operations to Bluesky. Hit us up here! We're also here on personal accounts, and are really enjoying our time here so far. Live updates can as usual be found through our Discord.

_______________________________

OK! I think thats most of whats been happening lately. As always, i hope you're all well, and that you know we appreciate your patience and enthusiasm for our projects! Talk soon, when Teknokrat is looking more ready for sneak peeks!

-Hauk

[blueysoda]

A Night Out

Cherri Bomb and Angel Dust

By BlueySoda

Cherri Bomb was excited. She and Angel Dust, her closest friend, had plans to be chaotic and fuck off around town for hours― definitely with alcohol and substances involved. She'd been planning this out with Angel for a week. What clubs they'd hit up, what weapons they'd use, things they'd demolish, games they'd play, everything. She even planned on bringing two, brand new, hot pink Tommy Guns along. One for her, one for Angel, since everyone knows how much he loves pink. 

Pink being a favorite color was one of many things these two buddies had in common; they were both queer, had chaotic energy, loved tearing shit up, destroying things for fun, incredible marksmanship, hating Valentino, caring for each other, being bitchy, having no filter, etc. All the way down to the freckles, it was like these two were twins. That's not to say they're exactly alike, though. They had their differences, as did everyone. But they were truly the best of friends. Angel was family to Cherri, he meant the world to her. They were always there for each other. When they could be, anyway. Sometimes, things come up. 

But not tonight. 

Cherri was in her apartment, putting on the finishing touches of her outfit. Her hair was tied up, as usual, and her face and makeup looked the same. She wore a spiked choker on her neck, accompanied by chained necklaces hanging from it and laying on her chest. She wore a bright red leather jacket with the sleeves cut off on the elbows, a few loose rips visible toward the end of the sleeve. Her tattoo on her left arm showed from the sleeve to her wrist, where a red fingerless glove was worn on her hand. On the other, she wore a long, black-and-red striped fingerless glove that ended further up her arm, but the sleeve covered the end of it. She wore a black cropped tube top with a yellow bomb silhouette centered in the front, black shorts that hugged her thighs that had a loose, studded belt that hung crooked on her hips. Impractical, but stylish. In addition to that, she had on black ripped stockings that ended mid-thigh on her right leg and just above the knee on her left. Her boots were the same as usual, with the usual pink changed to red.

She looked at herself in the mirror, trying a few different poses to make sure she looked good from all angles, then grabbed her phone to snap a mirror selfie. When a few were taken, she chose one and posted it to her Sinstagram.

Getting ready for a fuckin' BOMB night with @angie_fluffy_bootz!! time to shoot the shit! 💣💥✨✨😎

The Australian went to her side table to grab her hairbrush when it had posted, running it through her hair one more time before it was time to go. A moment later, her phone pinged. 

Angie 💖: hey bitch!! i'm outside waitin'! 

Cherri grinned excitedly. 

Cher-Cher 💥: brt babe! 

A moment later, the two met up just outside of the apartment and started walking to their first club. 

"Hey, Angie!! Fuck, that outfit's rad!" Cherri complimented the spider, which earned a playful pose in return. 

"Aw, this ol' thing? Nah, it ain't nuttin'. I just found it in my closet, no big deal."

"Oh, that include the two 3-carat rings on your fingers, too? Are those 'ain't nothin'?" Cherri pointed at his hands and raised her brow. Angel just laughed and sighed. 

"Just some little tchotchkes I had layin' around, yanno? Figured they'd complete the look!"

"Bullshit, I know you've been dyin' to find some excuse to show them off out in public! You haven't shut up about them since ya bought 'em!" 

"Well, I'd never wear 'em at the studio, an' I've been real busy lately so I haven't had the time." He rolled his eyes with his lighthearted tone, though his smile faltered ever so slightly. The cyclops saw this, and felt empathy for him, but quickly returned to her big grin with a gentle nudge to his side. 

"And that's why we're goin' out tonight and forgetting about all that shit for a night! Flash those rings and show 'em off to every damned soul we see! We're gonna have a good fuckin' time tonight, alright, Ange?" She looked up at him with her determined, toothy smile, the one that always came with her pep talks. That made Angel smile again, even wider than before, matching her expression.

"Hell fuckin' yeah!"

"WOO!" Cherri cheered happily with a laugh, then took him impatiently by the hand toward the nightclub just down the street. 

These two were inseparable. They were family. They could always trust each other and confide in one another, no matter what. 

A/N:

This is the outfit she was wearing!

[studioincomplete]

Let's get this started!

Hello and welcome!! We are studio inc.omplete, a group of indie game devs out of Troy, NY. We're currently working on our game Night of the Delivering Dead, a game about a necromancer who graduates with no practical experience in horde management turns to food delivery to practice fine mortem skills and chip into their student loans. After accepting an order from Death’s Delights, the player will have to use their hand of spells, summons, and other necromantricks to successfully locate and deliver multiple orders to their destinations before the food grows cold, avoiding obstacles and weird looks in the process. We’ll be sharing devlogs and bits of progress here as we move through development. The first of those will come soon, but this post is more going to be an introduction to all of us, the dev team behind the game! In order of who sent Ivy their bio for this first:

Ivy!

Ivy (they/she) is our writer who consistently manages to write stories that are better than she thinks she thinks they are. When she’s not being forced to do marketing she works on both analog and digital games to tell the queer stories that she wants to see in the world.

Ghost!

Ghost (it/he) is our neighborhood cryptic and gets extremely invested in its interests, one of which is illustrating!! It also did all of our fantastic character portraits! You can find more of its work on DeviantArt and Bluesky.

Brendan!

Brendan (he/him) is a programmer and designer who has only ideas that make the rest of the team go ‘oh no’. He works in analog and digital games to chase down whatever absurd idea he’s found that week and they’re all cool actually, and very serious and not silly.

Emmet!

Emmet (he/him) is the Studio Inc.omplete vibe curator. When he's not busy doing that, he is a programmer and designer who loves getting under the hood of a system and making sure nothing Brendan designed is tremendously broken.

Mira!

Mira (any pronouns) is our lead programmer, and as such has to wrangle Brendan and Emmet together and make sure things work. He’s currently playing FFXIV and is a big fan of narrative games, especially ones that have diegetic narrative mechanics. 

Ari!

Ari (she/her) is the team’s resident 3D artist and Blender enthusiast. She is very passionate about environmental art and the stories it can convey. In her free time you can find her playing various FPS games or the Sims :) 

We’re a group of recent graduates from RPI with a passion for making neat, story driven games that use whatever cool system Emmet or Brendan come up with that week. Mira helps keep them focused on the programming work while Ivy brainstorms worlds to put their systems in. Ari then fills those worlds with 3d models and Ghost makes the character portraits and other 2d art to let you interact with it. Our biggest goal is to make games that make you say “hey, that’s neat!” Whether that be an interesting little story, a weird mechanic, or a silly premise, we want our games to be filled with moments that make you want to see more. 

That’s about all we have for now! Like I said, we’ll be posting our first dev log soon, so follow and keep an eye out! Thank you for checking us out!

[inkonfreshnewpaper]

Tag Game! (Two for Two in a week! Saved for later so I'd have something different to write about) (Saved it for so long I've got a ton to write about)

Tagged by @bacchanalium

3) Last song: Love Me Like You Used To - Lord Huron. It hits in that good melancholy country mood for me.

4) Last film: Portrait of a Girl on Fire. I'm so behind on essential queer films, so I finally got around to watching it. Honestly, surprised at the lack of music in movie. It's saved for a moment at the end that absolutely hit. Bit slow, but in a good way. Seven Samurai. It's Seven Samurai. It's a good movie. I don't have much to say other than, movie good. Wasn't expecting Mifune's character to be as feral as he was, or how affecting the movie was. The Thing. It's The Thing, I wanna be you. The first time I saw it was Halloween 2020 during my horror movie marathon. This time I watched it in my university's movie theatre with a nearly full audience. People gasped during Child's "Then we're wrong" line delivery and laughed a bunch throughout. Seeing it on the big screen was incredible. 10/10. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (2022). This was a weird one. Gonna have to actually post my thoughts on it because I'm still chewing on it. It focuses entirely on Utterson, but the adaption decides to put him through a negative character arc. Does it work? Stay tuned.

5) Currently reading: The Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (finished it but at what cost). It wasn't very good. I got YA vibes from the character descriptions in the how they focus exclusively on eye and hair colour. Pacing was all over the place. Would spend way too long in one scene, way too short in another. The characters felt way too modern in a supposed fantasy world, mostly due to the dialogue. (Protag's best friend called her and her love interest 'slow burn' and I had to put the book down for a minute after that). The magic system felt like an excuse to get the main couple together and nothing else. That's my biggest critique of the novel. Everything just feels paper thin in this world. Things are set up, but resolved so quickly it doesn't feel satisfying. The school is set up as super dangerous and everyone is trying to kill each other 24/7, and the protag makes a best friend first day and they stay best friends. And further confirmation that no one knows how to write enemies-to-lovers, just 'didn't like you at the start'. Love interest says he loved her since he first saw her. WEAK. Why'd I read it? A bookstore clerk recommended it, I was on the library wait list for months. I needed to dissect this book thoroughly to justify me reading it. I'm also reading The Butterfly Collector by Tea Cooper. It's an okay mystery set in 1920s Australia. Garden of Earth Bodies by Sally Oliver. I'm compelled. It's horror-lite about grief, but the twist hasn't happened yet, so who's to say if it's good yet. Definitely reads as a debut novel - very dramatic prose, feels like it's trying too hard to grab my attention. It's meh so far, but I want to see where it goes.

6) Currently watching: Currently Delicious in Dungeon as it comes out. Studio Trigger is doing such a good job with the adaptation. I'm also watching Revue Starlight, which was way better than I was expecting. Episode 8 launched Hikari to all time favourite characters for me. Haven't finished it yet.

7) Currently consuming: Some tea.

8) Currently craving: Nice and full from dinner with Delicious in Dungeon. No better way to spend a Thursday night.

Tagging: @thefollow-spot, @whoawhataconcept, @fate-motif, @ishmaels, @flubz, @scootbloop, @dying-suffering-french-stalkers, @kafkastan, @sacrerouges, @violasmirabiles, @owlmylove

[studioterranova]

Just made a Ko-Fi for Studio Terranova, our two-person game cooperative. Help us make more queer games like Terranova by buying us a coffee or two.

We're gonna be using Ko-Fi for our shop too, so stay tuned for new products! 'w'

[sunstonespells]

an appreciation post for my partner, because i don't get to brag about him enough:

- he video calls me every day on his way home from work because he misses me and doesn't want to wait until he gets home to see me

- keeps our house clean and organized better than anyone i have ever lived with

- never wants me to help him carry the groceries in cause he doesn't want me to be uncomfortable

- indulges in my interests to the extreme, and buys me just about any sanrio or squishmallow treat i find

- always tells me not to rush or get hung up on prices (within reason) when we're shopping, combatting a lot of my guilt complexes

- plays my favorite board game with me even though it's a word game and he's not a words person

- watches musicals, reality shows, and documentaries with me even when they aren't in his wheelhouse

- will play games with my family without me if we go to visit them and i need to go rest, but always comes to check on me

- cooks dinner for the family from scratch multiple days a week

- will build furniture, re-arrange a room, spend hours decorating, and always completes a project. has endless patience while doing so and stays calm and not frustrated even when the process is super irritating or tedious

- says "we" did it when he accomplishes something, because i support him and hold things down at home so he always gives me credit when he does well

- does jigsaw puzzles and builds lego with me; he gets the star wars sets and i organize the pieces for him to build, and sometimes we take turns doing pages, and he buys me the botanical sets for holiday gifts

- takes care of all of the laundry, and he works retail so he folds everything perfectly

- left me fully in control of making decisions during my pregnancy, even though he already has two kids. he would tell me his experiences and things to consider, but empowered me pick every baby product and make every medical decision

- i've never heard him raise his voice except to yell "HEY" to break up the kids when they're arguing and getting loud, before bringing it back down

- talks every day about marrying me, our plans for the future and the quality of life he wants to give me and our family and what he's willing to do to get us there

- coordinates his outfits with me and the kids when we go anywhere, has matching shoes with me, lets me wear anything of his that i want, wears my necklaces

- will let me go off for hours about my special interests while he asks questions. he recently has been asking me about queer identities and lgbt history

- never judges me for my health issues (that i'm very self-conscious about) and tells me to relax and not be hard on myself when i'm not feeling well. he never gets mad at me for not doing enough or pushing myself and will pick up extra daddy duties around the house to let me rest

- regularly takes me on dates and makes sure we get grown up time to spend with other adults so i don't feel like i'm only a mom, and encourages me to make plans with my friends and visit my hometown while he's working

- is an active parent who is determined to give the kids experiences. we pretty consistently take them out to see family and friends, trampoline parks, ice skating, mini golfing, bowling, play zones, zoos, pools, parks, beaches, arcades, etc. even when he's fully exhausted

- helps me do my hair when i try to style it and i get frustrated cause i can't see the back and i don't know what i'm doing

- re-arranged half of the house to be able to make me plant shelves out on our apartment balcony so that i can start keeping plants again, and got me my dream plant (pink princess philodendron)

- will do arts and crafts projects with me and the kids, and will cook meals with me and the kids. he let me teach him how to bake and we all made cookies together

- let me paint his nails and color his hair, has gotten his nails done with me at a nail studio, and will pick my nail colors/shapes for me

- dramatically sings lewis capaldi with me in the shower and washes my hair and cleans my glasses

- has a great butt