Interesting. This is a known issue with RPGMaker MV games and it's harmless, but annoying. I though I had managed to get rid of that for good on both games, may have to re-check this one. Let me know if it shows up for you on GT.
And yeah, first game in the series, first time making a game. Second one has quite a bit more to it.
GT? Oh the Gutter Trash one. Sorry, I don't own that. Heh. Limited income (disability) so I don't often buy things.
If you'd like a suggested tweak though for this game, perhaps the boss could have some sort of health bar because blindly attacking it repeatedly got a bit annoying because I couldn't tell how damaged he was. I was worried I'd be stuck there in an endless loop of attacking, dodging, and recovering energy. xD
Fair enough. I like to keep the health ambiguous, as it makes it kind of a memory game. Keeping track of who has taken damage is part of the whole battle process. And the fact that there are rarely more than 3 enemies per battle obviously helps.
Oh I know on the battle for multiple enemies thing. I just meant the boss battle. Since its only one enemy, knowing how many more times you gotta hit is helpful.
I can't say specifically, but RPGMaker MV, the base for these games, doesn't need much to run. And the first is free: download it and give it a try. If CS runs for you, GT should as well, though it may lag a little in certain areas. Either way, let me know the results, good info to have.
What OS are you using specifically? Officially, RPGMaker MV goes as low as Windows 7 32 bit: https://rpgmakerofficial.com/product/MV_Help/page/01_01_02.html. RPGMAKER MV is not officially compatible with XP, and is known to throw this error when attempting to run on that OS ("game.exe" and "an rpg" almost certainly means the OP was trying to run RPGMaker). RPGMaker games are actually just a webpage with a javascript blob, being run in a headerless browser, so with some security tweaks you can just drag the index.htm file into a browser and it will...kind of work, though it may be laggy and have plugin bugs. However, if you're running XP, whatever browser you're running is probably too old to handle the stuff RPGMaker is trying to do either. RPGMaker MV is VERY forgiving and backwards compatible, Windows 7 came out in 2009, but there is a limit to how far back we can go. If you ARE on XP, I highly recommend an upgrade: thriftstore pcs, or mass-dump corpo systems like the dell optiplexes on ebay can be picked up for $100 or less and run Windows 10 just fine. Let me know with more details though.
Also, for future reference, if you need to share an image, here or elsewhere, use catbox.
Hi there, newly discovered this game. I'm having difficulty in the first area vs the hyenas. Random mobs i'm ok with. but once i get to the sign with the atoms on it and get attacked by 5 of them.... i just die and game over. tried a few times, went elsewhere. got lost. ran out of resources. died.
There are a few things to keep in mind with combat:
1. You have a healing ability when not in combat that doesn't require items (just a little energy, which refills eventually). If you aren't, use it. Not using it will lead to using too many items to heal out of combat, which means you won't have them when you need them IN combat. Healing items, especially hamburgers, are for IN combat ideally.
2. Timing in combat matters. When you recharge your special, when you use your special, when you use items, etc.
3. The general strategy, which is especially important in larger fights, is crowd control: You have to get the number of enemies you're fighting down as quickly as possible, or you'll lose the momentum of the battle. Be sure you go into a big fight with health and energy topped. Once you're fighting, do the special as much as you can, and keep track of where it's landing. Firing off a regular attack at an enemy you already know is weakened is faster than recharge + special again, so it sometimes makes sense to do this first before recharging, because that's one less enemy in the fight going forward.
4. Think of your HP bar as a timer. Don't heal too soon, and obviously don't wait too long. Should be down around 15-10% or so. Use the high healing items, hamburgers, not the smaller ones, if you use the small ones in combat you'll probably get fucked in the time game.
Battles are effectively juggling all these elements: Do as much damage as quickly as you can before having to heal or recharge.
Also to clarify for anyone else reading this: this is a question on GutterTrash, not this first game. The strats are similar, but there are fewer large enemy groups in CS1.
There are several endings, including a normal "good" end (though no scene for that obviously). Forgive me for being a little lazy and not digging up a link, but there is a scene guide for this in one of the earlier Dev logs. Also, your concern and your profile pic make for quite the combo.
hello... a fan of your games and was worried about the visa censorship... i'm from PH but when i search "Cruel Serenade" the game doesn't come up... maybe i'm doing something wrong with the search but just wanted you to know....
p.s.
when i search 'bitshiftgames' what appears is 'Barshiftgames'
i used the itch.io search bar... dunno what shows if i search on google.
Cruel Serenade 1 is indeed still showing in search, though you have to actually do the search, it won't be an auto-suggestion. Be sure that "Show content marked as adult in search & browse" is turned on in your account settings under "Content."
It's also worth mentioning that the games have been around long enough now that they all come up easily in Google. If you even need to pull them up quickly, just search there and bypass whatever Itch may be doing completely.
Ah, that makes sense then. And to be clear, the censorship has certainly effected me, and many other creators in a variety of ways. It's still not clear what the long-term situation will be with being able to BUY these games on Itch. But for now, they are indeed at least somewhat viewable and purchasable. And thanks, glad you like games!
Allegedly Collective Shout only demanded the takedown of a handful of games. They could be lying of course, but if that's actually the case, it seems likely someone at Itch freaked, blanket de-listed, and they are now picking through them, possibly with a lawyer or some cc rep or god knows what, and whenever they manage to finish things will be listed again. Until the next wacko Karen comes along and this happens all over again. But we'll see.
Heard Mouthwashing got nailed. Unclear if hard ban or just delisted though, haven't looked. Seems like that'll mint a lot more new pissed off people, that game seemed to be fairly successful streamerbait.
It's been all day, almost every day for five days now. Hanging in there though. Hoping to slowly roll back a little now and return to actually making games.
Hey so, I found out about this game, downloaded and holy shit I can’t stop thinking about it, it’s been like half a month omg I love it, I’ve got a friend that’s gotten like five earfuls just of this game.
It’s genuinely nice to see something actually well made that doesn’t just scratch an itch, it’s practically pulling on it, the setting is great, the gameplay is alright, the scenes are GODLY. Plus I’m seeing scenes from a second act and news about a third, seems like it’s the perfect time to dive in? Really my only complaint is the ingame menus, title screen and gallery are alright, but inventory and fights… It’s like going to a 5 star buffet and being given plastic utensils, like sure it’s still fantastic food but that detail is a lil cheap. Also some backstory would be nice, specially around the lil guy Mezz, I wub him but there’s just not a lot about him :/
I’m getting that second act sooner rather than later, hopefully that infamous Gutter everybody’s mentioning so much is just as Ruthless and unforgiving as the boars here!
Ps. if you want help expanding the game to Spanish, hmu!
Something you may not know: The way Itch works, all comments get slopped together in one feed. If you have multiple games published on an account, this means you may not realize what game is being commented on until you glance up at the header. I was really hyped as I started to read your comment...and then I realized it wasn't even on GT, just the first game. If you like the FIRST game this much...I'm definitely looking forward to your thoughts on the second. This first game is just the breadsticks, GT is a...pretty sizable meal.
More seriously though, thanks for taking the time to write out your thoughts in more detail. I am somewhat unusual, in that I genuinely need a bit of backstory to enjoy my porn. Even with generic pics I find, I end up putting together a whole setting for them. Just the way my brain works for better and for worse. But when making a game like this, it means I actually try to give it some meat, some kind of identity besides the bare minimum. And hopefully it's a "works on multiple levels" thing: those that just want some sex scenes, there they are. People that want a little characterization and setting, that's there too. People that want DEEP LORE: let me put it this way, there's a computer in GT that's nothing but lore dump. Optional, but the details are there for those who care.
As for the characters being basic, keep in mind this was basically a proof of concept. But they are filled out MUCH more in GT. In terms of the combat, I will never claim I have super complex amazing systems or anything. But there's a number of things to say there:
One, please understand, this was my first ever time working with RPGMaker. I learned as I went, but there are a lot of rough edges, and I was mostly just trying to make sure the combat wasn't AWFUL. Second, I'm somewhat constrained because every new enemy is a new art asset I have to create, AND a new battlesex mechanic I have to consider, and possibly MORE art assets because of that etc. You'll see more of what I'm talking about in GT. So as a result, I mostly stick to one enemy type per game, with some variations for gameplay, differentiated by pallet swaps. The variations were extremely basic in the first game, there's a LITTLE more there in GT, but not a ton. Also TECHNICALLY there are two fully different mob enemies in GT in addition to variations, but you don't really FIGHT one of them. You'll see when you play it.
Third, as I just said, the battles in my games aren't just about normal mechanics, they also have to have a battlesex layer on top of that, which adds to complexity. And you start increasing that complexity in a...non-linear? way as you add things.
But fourth, I don't really prioritize super amazing combat highly anyway. I want it to be somewhat fun, and at the very least not get in the way, but the core thing in the games is to be HOT. Not just to have hot things in them but to BE hot, to manage the experience so players are getting dragged along juuuust right. I don't mean to rag on Grove, but in contrast their combat is SUPER intricate and sophisticated, or at least it was when I tried it a year or two ago...and it kind of put me off the game. I don't want to make my games DUMB per say, but I'm always careful to never make people think TOO hard. It gets in the way of the flow.
All that said though, combat DID improve at least a little in GT; I'd be interested in hearing how much that improvement helped for you once you've finished it.
As for translations, by all means. Just know it's quite a lot to translate. But essentially the rule is anyone can make one, just be clear it's unofficial. Then I'll try to take a look, make sure it's at least fairly solid and complete, and make it semi-official with a notification/news post here. And eventually, hopefully, actually fully test it and make it FULLY official. That can take a while though: the chinese translation has been languishing a while because I don't have time for full testing atm. But long story short, you want to give it a try, knock yourself out! It's always fun seeing how people handle slang and jokes.
Ouch, didn’t know about that notification detail, sorry about that accidental low blow hah.
That said, I didn’t need any more reasons to be excited for Gutter trash but here you are you just providing them!!! I agree this original one is a bit rough around some edges but you just saw me gush about it so color me excited to save some change for what seems like an infinitely better version. I’ve no joke been reopening the game constantly, specially for the final bad end and slut mode scenes which Mmmmmmmm, just hit the right buttons man.
Cruel Serenade is clearly a party I’m late to, but one I’ m really happy is still going, I am going to be following it very closely from now on, well y’know after catching up with GT which seems like a great fuckin’ time. Expect a skyscraper of text in the coming weeks about my experience with that!
Lemme research too about making that unnoficial translation, I’ve dabbled with locales in the past but not ones from RPGmaker, nor really getting anything remotely officialized, though it’s effort I’m willing to put in to help get the game more known because right now this is a criminally, illegally, insultingly overlooked game.
Oh no worries, that's exactly the kind of low blow I enjoy. And on the translation front, one thing I will recommend is Translator++ (https://dreamsavior.net/translator-plusplus/). It has some auto-translate/machine translation stuff, but you can ignore that: the real advantage is that it's built to slot right into RPGMaker's file system, and helps you keep track of everything that needs to be translated in a neat grid system, so you don't have to constantly fiddle with text files or worry about accidentally deleting a formatting character. Not required, just may help a lot.
I have always wanted to translate a game because I thought it was a greatly effective but easy way to contribute to a project I really liked, and today after all that’s happened, I can say I was wrong about the easy part lol
I downloaded the tool you recommended and got to work, completely forgetting that RPG games have a buttload of text. But honestly, I learned so much about Spanish, and it’s supposed to be my native language! It truly was an experience to get every grammar rule right on top of keeping the dialogues contextually correct BUT ALSO making them sound natural. I even had to consider what rhythm and breaks the reader would be taking, and writing around that!
I didn’t think it’d be that tough until Google Translate struggled to give me one straight answer for Slut, that’s when I knew this was gonna be a soulful. But, I can say that I’ve finished the translation, I was pretty thorough testing so I think everything’s in order, here’s a link!
Making the translation made me appreciate the world you crafted even more, SO ANSWER ME WHO IS THIS “WEIRD GUY” THAT TAMPERED WITH MY BOI MEZZ BEFORE HE GOT INTO THE ISLAND AND HOW DID HE DO IT, I WILL FIND HIM I WILL PUNT HIM… I… I suppose it’ll be answered in GT, which I’ve yet to play but I’m still really excited about it. Maybe I’ll be playing along with the new people that I hope are now able to enjoy it thanks to my translation!
But yeah, phew, that was a pretty nice use of my vacation break, I dunno if I can use such dark and twisted game as reference of newly-developed translation skills in my resume, but I’m happy with the result, and I hope you are too!
Oh hey, glad to hear from ya again! Ha, and I warned you! But I'm glad you followed through. I think people who haven't done this sort of thing underestimate in two ways: the actual practical realities of making a GOOD translation, even if you're fluent in both languages, and the reality of translating EVERYTHING. Every dialog. Every item name and description. Every route. When the lazy goddamn game designer decided to copypaste an event with dialog in it four times so YOU have to copypaste the translation four times (I try to cut down on this as much as possible, but a few sneak through :P.) But I am glad you started with the smaller game at least. GT would have been a LOT to take on as a first project.
It's interesting that you mention learning more about Spanish despite it being native: I was just watching a video by one of those people that are language geniuses and pick up new ones just for fun, and one of the things he said about learning a new language is that actually talking to people was vital, but to NOT try to learn grammar rules from native speakers (of anything) because they often don't know or are completely wrong :P. Which makes sense: you grow up with a language, you just learn what you need, not every little technical aspect of it. Until it comes up in something like this.
But thank you so much for putting the effort into this. I'll slot it in and take a look before long; I look forward to seeing what you did with my dumb joke lines. And as for the mystery man, there IS more info in GT, if you know where to look. I look forward to hearing your thoughts once you finish that one.
Hey, I'm new to the game. First off, I love it. But I'm a bit confused. After Mezz is 'broken in', can't we fight? Every time Mezz is fought, he just gets to hit once (with very little damage) then he's on his knees. Is this permanent?
Thanks! And yes, once you lose three times, there's no going back (in this game). You had three chances! After he's thoroughly broken, it becomes a game about fucking your way through rather than fighting. Prior to the third loss you can also disable the hypno stuff in battle entirely if you want by taking off the ear clips. but after 3 it doesn't matter.
If your joiplay has the rpgmaker add on itll work but the game is not optimized for it I tried doing the joiplay thing to see if it'd work it does but not well enough to enjoy this game I don't think
Nope, no mobile support. You're certainly free to try, but issues will arise, as various plugins used assume they're on a desktop environment (ie a normal computer).
Oh, you mean the scenes. Forgot I called them "cases" in the gallery. There are actually 5, as counted by the gallery, yes. Refer to this to check if you've seen everything. Note that that's more than 5, since it's listing smaller things that aren't full scenes in the gallery. But if there's something there that doesn't sound familiar, that's probably the missing bit.
As a kid, every time my family would go to an "electronics" store in the 90s, I'd always go to the computers. And there would always be an Acer. And Acers always came standard with pack-in shareware from Epic Megagames. Including Jazz. Playing that on a brand-new CRT with speakers blaring...fantastic. Had it at home too of course, but still played it every time we went out. Those old "green" (I always saw them as black) Acers were cool as fuck, even if they were kind of mediocre in terms of stats.
I grew up with the GameBoy Advance version, I only just found out about the original DOS version recently. I downloaded it and had a blast, really wish I played it sooner. The soundtrack in all the games never fail to please me though!
Oh the soundtrack on 1 especially is amazing. Tubelectric and Medivo live in my brain forever. And 2's music was made by the same guy that did the Deus Ex music eventually! But wow, heck of an entry point. I saw that hanging around in stores later, but never ended up playing it. A very strange reworking of the visual style. PC one has a vibe you can't really find on console though, because it was made by a bunch of demoscene people (as a lot of games were back in the day). Or at least you wouldn't find it on GBA Advance: most of the demoscene games ended up on the Genesis.
Yeah, virus detectors are...so vague that they basically amount to pseudo-science at this point. For what it's worth, the actual exes for both games produce no results on virus totals. My recommendation in general for people who are concerned about this issue broadly is to a. run something like malware bytes every six months or so, just to make sure you don't have silly stuff that's taken root in the system. b. Don't download shit from shady places, or if you do, scan immediately afterward with something like malwarebytes. It's easier to catch this stuff after it's already tried to spring into action, otherwise you're just jumping at ghosts. I will also say that modern malware, minus the ransomware shit, is WAY more forgiving that virus stuff used to be back in the day. Very little bricking your computer or wiping your files now, mostly just spying shit. Still good to keep an eye out though.
Yeah, I'm bi (and actually technically so is Mezz, unless I'm contradicting myself somewhere and forgetting), but this series is 100% gay. May do other stuff in the future, but we'll see.
If I did go that route, I'd probably do something fresh, new characters, new ideas. Potentially not even in the RPGMaker mold. But that's a looong way off for now.
But anyways if you suddenly change your mind: a suggestion (unfortunately): In some areas (e.g. houses, rooms, etc.) there should be a non-brainwashed female animal character. Getting close to them will talk to you if "you need health" if you lost health during a battle, where pressing "Yes" will lead to a short sex scene of Mezz and the female character, and after that, the game continues normally and Mezz recovers health.
The difficulty is way too high, I think the stats are not properly balanced, the best choice is always the 3-hit skill, I get that normal attacks deal more damage, but the lesser damage 3 times far outweigh the cost of the skill,and thus the difficulty, it's hard to not escape an encounter barely scaping by alive, having to fight always 3 enemies is not good when your only non-costing attack is not as powerful as it should be, AND it's not as effective to the type of encounters that the game have
First, as is the case with most games, my games go through stages. In the first stage, for several months after release, up to a year or so, I'm actively adding content, fixing bugs, and tweaking gameplay, so suggestions made then have a chance to be integrated into the game. After that, the game settles into a set state, and I'm unlikely to mess with it much beyond serious bug fixes or needing to ret-con something. CS1 obviously entered this set state a while ago. I still appreciate feedback, but at this point it will be about considering lessons potentially learned for the game currently in development (and in that context, it makes more sense to discuss GT, since many things WERE changed and learned in the second game).
Second, to the meat of your complaint: this was discussed quite a lot when the game came out. CS1 was a first attempt, and definitely rough here and there. Nor do I ever expect my games to have super intricate gameplay in terms of the actual fight moves (though I think it improved a bit in GT). Personally, I would say CS is "hard" in that it's a little bit of a slog combat-wise (again, something I worked to address in GT). It's not complicated to beat though, you just have to conserve resources, be careful where and when you attack, and save-scum a bit. But yes, it's very much mostly about that 3 hit attack, though the single can be vital for the sake of timing. It's the "It's always faster to switch" meme: It's always faster to use your single hit than recharge your triple, and sometimes that can mean denying a boar the chance to exist next turn and do damage, or even ending the whole fight. But yes, I also ended up coming away feeling the encounters were maybe a little too punishing in CS1, which is why they have a different feel in GT.
That said though, third...why are you commenting on this now? I'm always happy to take feedback, but CS1 came out a WHILE ago, and I know you played it when it came out, you talked about it at the time. Don't get me wrong, nothing wrong with replays, and if you have new thoughts, by all means. I just would have expected you to comment on the difficulty several years ago when you first played it.
Ha, glad you like it. Sources are all referenced in the readme (or maybe there's a separate credits file, I forgot) so check em out! Definitely some good stuff.
I mean this is the demo, that's why it's free. "Demo" doesn't mean playable in browser. And that's a deliberate decision on my part: almost all in-browser stuff plays like crap. Back in the flash days some of that would play ok (though even then it was hit or miss) but nearly every in-browser game on Itch, for example, runs like crap, especially if you don't have a high-powered system. This is a desktop game, meant to be played on a desktop.
If you're concerned about malware, caution is good and I applaud it, but I would point to the fact that I've been publishing and selling games here for several years now; I probably would have been banned by now if I was intentionally distributing malware. Unintentional is technically possible, but again, hasn't happened yet, and that's never entirely avoidable, even in the triple A space. If you're worried, do a quick scan before running it, but again, if there was an issue with the latest release, or any of them, people would probably have pointed it out by now.
I feel the pain expressed in your user name though. My password manager is a nightmare realm, and that's just the IMPORTANT accounts.
It's a drug the boars were working on making for the purpose of distributing throughout the city, increasing chaos that they would then enjoy. It's not an actual item you get at any point.
I love your games so far, BitShift! For some context, I'm currently working on a personal project that requires multiple perspectives and topics. I want you to know that your games have genuinely creeped me out, and the concepts of mind control and hypnosis make my skin crawl with disgust. However, I also appreciate the fact that you've developed these games, showcasing your passion for their creation.
I read your reply to MrSahelanthropus, and I want to emphasize that your games are not slop. I firmly believe that. The concepts I mentioned earlier will definitely be implemented into my project, just as others have.
I love media that challenges regular societal norms and my own beliefs, as long as it doesn't go too far—and in my opinion, your games haven't. I hope you will continue to create more games after "Cruel Serenade." I also hope we can chat about your games and how they are influencing my project.
I apologize in advance for the mixed feelings I'm expressing, but I believe they are relevant. My intention is not to offend or discourage you; rather, I want to encourage you and show my appreciation for you, your games, and your passions.
Something about this game has me in a talkative mood I guess. That, or something you said piqued my curiosity.
It doesn't seem like you enjoy the kinks on offer, so I just wanted to know why you decided to download this game in the first place if you don't mind me asking. I get wanting to challenge yourself with uncomfortable media, but people don't generally tend to do that with the porn they consume.
I just like things that make me uncomfortable. They make me think about various things, and that helps me get a better understanding of the topics and how they contradict other things.
That's a simplified way of explaining it, but there's more to it. I've always had an interest in things that, quite frankly, not a lot of people are willing to experience or think about. Buying things that make me uncomfortable might sound unnecessary, but I see it as an investment in knowledge and wisdom.
Fair enough I suppose. Like I said, I get enjoying challenging media. I myself enjoy watching movies that make me squirm from time to time. What I don't get is seeking out porn specifically to make you uncomfortable. That would just kinda kill the experience for me, but to each their own and all.
Hey, no worries, no one has to like what I make, as long as you're polite (and you certainly have been). And, if I'm understanding right, you DID actually enjoy them in a way, just a somewhat roundabout way. But there's plenty of stuff I'm not into as well. I'm glad you were able to appreciate the game to some degree despite the difference in taste.
I don't normally take the time to pay compliments to the people that have made products I enjoy. Maybe that's a personal failing. Maybe I can start changing that now.
I just wanted to say that I enjoyed the game. A lot, in fact. Hypnotism and mind control may not be the most common fetish out there, but it isn't as if there's a lack of content for it either. To be honest, it's a big kink for me. I know my way around the many artists and subgenres within well enough and there is plenty to choose from. Despite that, this game has quickly become one of my favorite pieces of erotic fiction I've ever consumed.
It's almost like this game was tailor made for me specifically. The unsuspecting and honestly pretty likable main character, the option to play legitimately if desired, an art style that isn't just generic furry no#89368, and, of course, the mind control. You have to have one of the best grasps on the appeal of mind control and hypnotism I've come across. From light submission and trances, to the borderline horror scenarios that your protagonist goes through. It all pushes so many of the right buttons. The only reason I'm not playing Gutter Trash right now is because I'm a poor college boy and I don't have ten bucks to spare, but you better believe I'm picking it up as soon as I get the chance.
I guess I should bring this ramble to a close. Kudos. You are a fantastic creator, I genuinely mean that.
Thanks! I know the feeling: it's easy to just pass things by without commenting, especially for bigger games, items on Amazon etc where you think "Is anyone actually going to read this?" But that's the great thing about games this size: they're big enough to be viable as more than a hobby, but still small enough that people will in fact bother to read what your write. Including me!
Hypnosis stuff is awesome, I really started to get into it a few years back, which is one of the reasons CS ended up happening. Very under-served IMHO. I think it's something people like to winge about because it's a fantasy with a little bite to it, but it also suffers because so few people seem capable of doing it justice. Really fun if you can actually get across why it's great though, that feeling of powerlessness, of reality becoming plastic, of pillars you depend on just being re-arranged in your head.
Which is all to say, glad it's hitting for you. I always say my strategy for these games is pretty simple: I just try to make something I would enjoy playing. And so far it seems like a lot of others were looking for the same thing and didn't realize it. This isn't a quick little goof for me, a casual side-experiment or hobby. I'm careful not to take it TOO seriously, but there's a lot of me in these games, the writing, the characters. I can't deliver amazing visuals, cutting edge gameplay or tech marvels, but the one thing I can do is give a shit about what I'm doing. That's why the characters aren't generic (or sparkledogs): I can't stand crappy characters. That's why there aren't annoying insincere jokes every five seconds: I can't stand that crap (though there ARE plenty of dad jokes here and there). I do my best, in my humble way, to try to take these games seriously, and to take the players seriously. Why on earth should they give me their time or money if I don't?
There's so, so, SO much slop out there these days, it drags me down a little almost every day thinking about it. Slop on Steam, slop in the movie theater, slop on streaming services, slop on Youtube. And I know at the end of the day this is just a silly little porn game. But I hope in some small way these games can be a respite in that sea of garbage. I hope some people can stop, take a bite, and go "Whoa, this was actually made by a PERSON! With FEELINGS and BELIEFS and EXPERIENCES that color everything in subtle ways. Who actually cared!" That's what art is: humans communicating with humans in a way words (direct words anyway) can't. And this can ooze out almost anywhere if you let it: in a car, a circuit board, a table.
Or even a dumb porn game.
Also, if you're on FA, toss me a note (Bitshift). May be able to help you out.
Honestly, I do my image browsing on e6 (better tagging system (Side note: found the original CS images, insta faved and the story was so fucking hot. Like I said before, you just get it. Having Mezz be caught in a loop where he keeps forgetting about and willingly coming back to the boar hideout only to get his brains fucked out all over again. Each time reducing his humanity more and more until only a thin facade remains, snapping like a twig on command and giving way to the eager slut he has become. So good.)) BUT I saw the link to your FA in your profile. So literally a few hours ago I made an FA account just to follow you there (although calling it a "watch list" kinda threw me for a loop). You'll have to excuse me by the way if I'm unaware of a lot of the social aspects of the fandom sites, I mostly just keep to myself and image browse and I've never been on FA before so I don't know what "tossing a note" means.
Also, I know it's easy to become cynical in today's media landscape, but for whatever my opinion is worth, it was clear while playing that your game was a genuine creation made by someone that clearly cared about what they were making. As long as the passion for the craft is there, who cares if it's some silly little porn game. What matters is that you enjoy creating it, and we enjoy experiencing it. Hey, it got me to do something I literally never do and actually engage in a fandom conversation, so I'd say you're doing something right.
Notes are what social media sites call "DMs" these days. Don't worry though, I tossed YOU one. Just look for the notification up in the corner. And no worries, FA is an old site, it's just the only thing with direct messaging I spend much time on.
Ha, and thanks. Man, I've been in the jungle of the fandom a long time, and there's definitely a lot that's...not so great. But there are some real, positive human interactions out there too. Glad to provide when I can.
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I get an odd error popup when I run this game now. It still runs fine, from what it looks like. Was also a rather short game. :P
Interesting. This is a known issue with RPGMaker MV games and it's harmless, but annoying. I though I had managed to get rid of that for good on both games, may have to re-check this one. Let me know if it shows up for you on GT.
And yeah, first game in the series, first time making a game. Second one has quite a bit more to it.
GT? Oh the Gutter Trash one. Sorry, I don't own that. Heh. Limited income (disability) so I don't often buy things.
If you'd like a suggested tweak though for this game, perhaps the boss could have some sort of health bar because blindly attacking it repeatedly got a bit annoying because I couldn't tell how damaged he was. I was worried I'd be stuck there in an endless loop of attacking, dodging, and recovering energy. xD
Fair enough. I like to keep the health ambiguous, as it makes it kind of a memory game. Keeping track of who has taken damage is part of the whole battle process. And the fact that there are rarely more than 3 enemies per battle obviously helps.
Oh I know on the battle for multiple enemies thing. I just meant the boss battle. Since its only one enemy, knowing how many more times you gotta hit is helpful.
Ah, ok, makes some sense then. Probably not going to change CS1 any, but will keep in mind for future.
It's pretty good, I love gay hypno stuff. Though the art style is too cartooney/comical for me to take it seriously C:
I mean, it's only meant to be taken seriously enough to get you turned on. It is supposed to be a little goofy.
What are the minimum required comper specs to run this game
Im wondering if it would work on my severely outdated 32-bit os
I can't say specifically, but RPGMaker MV, the base for these games, doesn't need much to run. And the first is free: download it and give it a try. If CS runs for you, GT should as well, though it may lag a little in certain areas. Either way, let me know the results, good info to have.
I can't figure out how to upload a photo but it says "Game.exe - Entry Point Not Found
The procedure entry point ReleaseSRWLockExclusive could not be located in the dynamic link library KERNEL32.dll."
It's not saying it can't run it its just saying it can't figure out how to start it
What OS are you using specifically? Officially, RPGMaker MV goes as low as Windows 7 32 bit: https://rpgmakerofficial.com/product/MV_Help/page/01_01_02.html. RPGMAKER MV is not officially compatible with XP, and is known to throw this error when attempting to run on that OS ("game.exe" and "an rpg" almost certainly means the OP was trying to run RPGMaker). RPGMaker games are actually just a webpage with a javascript blob, being run in a headerless browser, so with some security tweaks you can just drag the index.htm file into a browser and it will...kind of work, though it may be laggy and have plugin bugs. However, if you're running XP, whatever browser you're running is probably too old to handle the stuff RPGMaker is trying to do either.
RPGMaker MV is VERY forgiving and backwards compatible, Windows 7 came out in 2009, but there is a limit to how far back we can go. If you ARE on XP, I highly recommend an upgrade: thriftstore pcs, or mass-dump corpo systems like the dell optiplexes on ebay can be picked up for $100 or less and run Windows 10 just fine. Let me know with more details though.
Also, for future reference, if you need to share an image, here or elsewhere, use catbox.
It is windows xp its my backup pc because my main one is loosing its HDD and im waiting to get an SSD for it
Hi there, newly discovered this game. I'm having difficulty in the first area vs the hyenas. Random mobs i'm ok with. but once i get to the sign with the atoms on it and get attacked by 5 of them.... i just die and game over. tried a few times, went elsewhere. got lost. ran out of resources. died.
help? what am i not getting
There are a few things to keep in mind with combat:
1. You have a healing ability when not in combat that doesn't require items (just a little energy, which refills eventually). If you aren't, use it. Not using it will lead to using too many items to heal out of combat, which means you won't have them when you need them IN combat. Healing items, especially hamburgers, are for IN combat ideally.
2. Timing in combat matters. When you recharge your special, when you use your special, when you use items, etc.
3. The general strategy, which is especially important in larger fights, is crowd control: You have to get the number of enemies you're fighting down as quickly as possible, or you'll lose the momentum of the battle. Be sure you go into a big fight with health and energy topped. Once you're fighting, do the special as much as you can, and keep track of where it's landing. Firing off a regular attack at an enemy you already know is weakened is faster than recharge + special again, so it sometimes makes sense to do this first before recharging, because that's one less enemy in the fight going forward.
4. Think of your HP bar as a timer. Don't heal too soon, and obviously don't wait too long. Should be down around 15-10% or so. Use the high healing items, hamburgers, not the smaller ones, if you use the small ones in combat you'll probably get fucked in the time game.
Battles are effectively juggling all these elements: Do as much damage as quickly as you can before having to heal or recharge.
Also to clarify for anyone else reading this: this is a question on GutterTrash, not this first game. The strats are similar, but there are fewer large enemy groups in CS1.
super helpful, many thanks! will try this out
No problem. And let me know if you're still having issues.
like when it came out i finished the game and the end was so depressed ... is there are other endings? cus...
There are several endings, including a normal "good" end (though no scene for that obviously). Forgive me for being a little lazy and not digging up a link, but there is a scene guide for this in one of the earlier Dev logs. Also, your concern and your profile pic make for quite the combo.
Will there be an Android version?
No, desktop only for these games.
hello... a fan of your games and was worried about the visa censorship... i'm from PH but when i search "Cruel Serenade" the game doesn't come up... maybe i'm doing something wrong with the search but just wanted you to know....
p.s.
when i search 'bitshiftgames' what appears is 'Barshiftgames'
i used the itch.io search bar... dunno what shows if i search on google.
god bless dude.
Cruel Serenade 1 is indeed still showing in search, though you have to actually do the search, it won't be an auto-suggestion. Be sure that "Show content marked as adult in search & browse" is turned on in your account settings under "Content."
It's also worth mentioning that the games have been around long enough now that they all come up easily in Google. If you even need to pull them up quickly, just search there and bypass whatever Itch may be doing completely.
Also, out of curiosity, what is PH?
oh... PH is the short term for the country i live in. Philippines... lol
oh thank god the game isn't affected by the Visa censorship, i guess i just didn't know that there was a setting needed for it to show...
i've always used the bookmark i have of bitshiftgames on my browser so i never really used the search function on itch...
hope you're doing great... take care man.
love your games and your vision on em.
:)
Ah, that makes sense then. And to be clear, the censorship has certainly effected me, and many other creators in a variety of ways. It's still not clear what the long-term situation will be with being able to BUY these games on Itch. But for now, they are indeed at least somewhat viewable and purchasable. And thanks, glad you like games!
Seems we have both survived the ban waves.
that's a good sign <3, i dont think were in the clear yet.
hopefully this wraps up soon
Ey Miro!
Allegedly Collective Shout only demanded the takedown of a handful of games. They could be lying of course, but if that's actually the case, it seems likely someone at Itch freaked, blanket de-listed, and they are now picking through them, possibly with a lawyer or some cc rep or god knows what, and whenever they manage to finish things will be listed again. Until the next wacko Karen comes along and this happens all over again. But we'll see.
Heard Mouthwashing got nailed. Unclear if hard ban or just delisted though, haven't looked. Seems like that'll mint a lot more new pissed off people, that game seemed to be fairly successful streamerbait.
Mouthwashing apparently got taken down months ago due to it just being a link to steam with no actual itch content.
According to Leafo on the discord atleast.
Pff, wouldn't be surprised. As usual, social media is a morass when trying to get proper info.
how are you holding up with all this stress?
this put a tonne of new work on my game...
It's been all day, almost every day for five days now. Hanging in there though. Hoping to slowly roll back a little now and return to actually making games.
With itchio’s recent decisions, do you maintain an online presence beyond Itchio and FA?
FA:https://www.furaffinity.net/user/bitshift/
And SubscribeStar: https://subscribestar.adult/bitshift
Will try to have more out soon, for whoever still manages to get to these pages.
Gotta love it when itch io decides to hide all the nsfw games lol, such a great decision
Could only see this game due to me following the dev
Hey so, I found out about this game, downloaded and holy shit I can’t stop thinking about it, it’s been like half a month omg I love it, I’ve got a friend that’s gotten like five earfuls just of this game.
It’s genuinely nice to see something actually well made that doesn’t just scratch an itch, it’s practically pulling on it, the setting is great, the gameplay is alright, the scenes are GODLY. Plus I’m seeing scenes from a second act and news about a third, seems like it’s the perfect time to dive in? Really my only complaint is the ingame menus, title screen and gallery are alright, but inventory and fights… It’s like going to a 5 star buffet and being given plastic utensils, like sure it’s still fantastic food but that detail is a lil cheap. Also some backstory would be nice, specially around the lil guy Mezz, I wub him but there’s just not a lot about him :/
I’m getting that second act sooner rather than later, hopefully that infamous Gutter everybody’s mentioning so much is just as Ruthless and unforgiving as the boars here!
Ps. if you want help expanding the game to Spanish, hmu!
Something you may not know: The way Itch works, all comments get slopped together in one feed. If you have multiple games published on an account, this means you may not realize what game is being commented on until you glance up at the header. I was really hyped as I started to read your comment...and then I realized it wasn't even on GT, just the first game. If you like the FIRST game this much...I'm definitely looking forward to your thoughts on the second. This first game is just the breadsticks, GT is a...pretty sizable meal.
More seriously though, thanks for taking the time to write out your thoughts in more detail. I am somewhat unusual, in that I genuinely need a bit of backstory to enjoy my porn. Even with generic pics I find, I end up putting together a whole setting for them. Just the way my brain works for better and for worse. But when making a game like this, it means I actually try to give it some meat, some kind of identity besides the bare minimum. And hopefully it's a "works on multiple levels" thing: those that just want some sex scenes, there they are. People that want a little characterization and setting, that's there too. People that want DEEP LORE: let me put it this way, there's a computer in GT that's nothing but lore dump. Optional, but the details are there for those who care.
As for the characters being basic, keep in mind this was basically a proof of concept. But they are filled out MUCH more in GT. In terms of the combat, I will never claim I have super complex amazing systems or anything. But there's a number of things to say there:
One, please understand, this was my first ever time working with RPGMaker. I learned as I went, but there are a lot of rough edges, and I was mostly just trying to make sure the combat wasn't AWFUL. Second, I'm somewhat constrained because every new enemy is a new art asset I have to create, AND a new battlesex mechanic I have to consider, and possibly MORE art assets because of that etc. You'll see more of what I'm talking about in GT. So as a result, I mostly stick to one enemy type per game, with some variations for gameplay, differentiated by pallet swaps. The variations were extremely basic in the first game, there's a LITTLE more there in GT, but not a ton. Also TECHNICALLY there are two fully different mob enemies in GT in addition to variations, but you don't really FIGHT one of them. You'll see when you play it.
Third, as I just said, the battles in my games aren't just about normal mechanics, they also have to have a battlesex layer on top of that, which adds to complexity. And you start increasing that complexity in a...non-linear? way as you add things.
But fourth, I don't really prioritize super amazing combat highly anyway. I want it to be somewhat fun, and at the very least not get in the way, but the core thing in the games is to be HOT. Not just to have hot things in them but to BE hot, to manage the experience so players are getting dragged along juuuust right. I don't mean to rag on Grove, but in contrast their combat is SUPER intricate and sophisticated, or at least it was when I tried it a year or two ago...and it kind of put me off the game. I don't want to make my games DUMB per say, but I'm always careful to never make people think TOO hard. It gets in the way of the flow.
All that said though, combat DID improve at least a little in GT; I'd be interested in hearing how much that improvement helped for you once you've finished it.
As for translations, by all means. Just know it's quite a lot to translate. But essentially the rule is anyone can make one, just be clear it's unofficial. Then I'll try to take a look, make sure it's at least fairly solid and complete, and make it semi-official with a notification/news post here. And eventually, hopefully, actually fully test it and make it FULLY official. That can take a while though: the chinese translation has been languishing a while because I don't have time for full testing atm. But long story short, you want to give it a try, knock yourself out! It's always fun seeing how people handle slang and jokes.
Ouch, didn’t know about that notification detail, sorry about that accidental low blow hah.
That said, I didn’t need any more reasons to be excited for Gutter trash but here you are you just providing them!!! I agree this original one is a bit rough around some edges but you just saw me gush about it so color me excited to save some change for what seems like an infinitely better version. I’ve no joke been reopening the game constantly, specially for the final bad end and slut mode scenes which Mmmmmmmm, just hit the right buttons man.
Cruel Serenade is clearly a party I’m late to, but one I’ m really happy is still going, I am going to be following it very closely from now on, well y’know after catching up with GT which seems like a great fuckin’ time. Expect a skyscraper of text in the coming weeks about my experience with that!
Lemme research too about making that unnoficial translation, I’ve dabbled with locales in the past but not ones from RPGmaker, nor really getting anything remotely officialized, though it’s effort I’m willing to put in to help get the game more known because right now this is a criminally, illegally, insultingly overlooked game.
Oh no worries, that's exactly the kind of low blow I enjoy. And on the translation front, one thing I will recommend is Translator++ (https://dreamsavior.net/translator-plusplus/). It has some auto-translate/machine translation stuff, but you can ignore that: the real advantage is that it's built to slot right into RPGMaker's file system, and helps you keep track of everything that needs to be translated in a neat grid system, so you don't have to constantly fiddle with text files or worry about accidentally deleting a formatting character. Not required, just may help a lot.
Hey! It’s me, a fortnight later!
I have always wanted to translate a game because I thought it was a greatly effective but easy way to contribute to a project I really liked, and today after all that’s happened, I can say I was wrong about the easy part lol
I downloaded the tool you recommended and got to work, completely forgetting that RPG games have a buttload of text. But honestly, I learned so much about Spanish, and it’s supposed to be my native language! It truly was an experience to get every grammar rule right on top of keeping the dialogues contextually correct BUT ALSO making them sound natural. I even had to consider what rhythm and breaks the reader would be taking, and writing around that!
I didn’t think it’d be that tough until Google Translate struggled to give me one straight answer for Slut, that’s when I knew this was gonna be a soulful. But, I can say that I’ve finished the translation, I was pretty thorough testing so I think everything’s in order, here’s a link!
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1K0S-Lq6gPLDo1APl4adnJo3DUPRKXbD7?usp=sharing
Making the translation made me appreciate the world you crafted even more, SO ANSWER ME WHO IS THIS “WEIRD GUY” THAT TAMPERED WITH MY BOI MEZZ BEFORE HE GOT INTO THE ISLAND AND HOW DID HE DO IT, I WILL FIND HIM I WILL PUNT HIM… I… I suppose it’ll be answered in GT, which I’ve yet to play but I’m still really excited about it. Maybe I’ll be playing along with the new people that I hope are now able to enjoy it thanks to my translation!
But yeah, phew, that was a pretty nice use of my vacation break, I dunno if I can use such dark and twisted game as reference of newly-developed translation skills in my resume, but I’m happy with the result, and I hope you are too!
Oh hey, glad to hear from ya again! Ha, and I warned you! But I'm glad you followed through. I think people who haven't done this sort of thing underestimate in two ways: the actual practical realities of making a GOOD translation, even if you're fluent in both languages, and the reality of translating EVERYTHING. Every dialog. Every item name and description. Every route. When the lazy goddamn game designer decided to copypaste an event with dialog in it four times so YOU have to copypaste the translation four times (I try to cut down on this as much as possible, but a few sneak through :P.) But I am glad you started with the smaller game at least. GT would have been a LOT to take on as a first project.
It's interesting that you mention learning more about Spanish despite it being native: I was just watching a video by one of those people that are language geniuses and pick up new ones just for fun, and one of the things he said about learning a new language is that actually talking to people was vital, but to NOT try to learn grammar rules from native speakers (of anything) because they often don't know or are completely wrong :P. Which makes sense: you grow up with a language, you just learn what you need, not every little technical aspect of it. Until it comes up in something like this.
But thank you so much for putting the effort into this. I'll slot it in and take a look before long; I look forward to seeing what you did with my dumb joke lines. And as for the mystery man, there IS more info in GT, if you know where to look. I look forward to hearing your thoughts once you finish that one.
Hey, I'm new to the game. First off, I love it. But I'm a bit confused. After Mezz is 'broken in', can't we fight? Every time Mezz is fought, he just gets to hit once (with very little damage) then he's on his knees. Is this permanent?
Thanks! And yes, once you lose three times, there's no going back (in this game). You had three chances! After he's thoroughly broken, it becomes a game about fucking your way through rather than fighting. Prior to the third loss you can also disable the hypno stuff in battle entirely if you want by taking off the ear clips. but after 3 it doesn't matter.
Can this game run on JoiPlay?
I'm an Android user with limited resources, but the game's design really appeals to me.
Regards💕
If your joiplay has the rpgmaker add on itll work but the game is not optimized for it I tried doing the joiplay thing to see if it'd work it does but not well enough to enjoy this game I don't think
Nope, no mobile support. You're certainly free to try, but issues will arise, as various plugins used assume they're on a desktop environment (ie a normal computer).
I have no idea where to get the case 5,or is there a case 5?
Would you mind clarifying? I'm drawing a blank on what you mean by "case 5".
I mean how many cases are there? Is it only 4 cases in the game?
Oh, you mean the scenes. Forgot I called them "cases" in the gallery. There are actually 5, as counted by the gallery, yes. Refer to this to check if you've seen everything. Note that that's more than 5, since it's listing smaller things that aren't full scenes in the gallery. But if there's something there that doesn't sound familiar, that's probably the missing bit.
I could totally see a cover of Jazz Jackrabbit with this game, especially the GBA edition. The protagonists are kinda similar :3
Oh there's definitely some influence there. Take a look at the graffiti while you're playing GT, if you haven't already.
Oh sweet! I appreciate meeting someone else of culture.
As a kid, every time my family would go to an "electronics" store in the 90s, I'd always go to the computers. And there would always be an Acer. And Acers always came standard with pack-in shareware from Epic Megagames. Including Jazz. Playing that on a brand-new CRT with speakers blaring...fantastic. Had it at home too of course, but still played it every time we went out. Those old "green" (I always saw them as black) Acers were cool as fuck, even if they were kind of mediocre in terms of stats.
I grew up with the GameBoy Advance version, I only just found out about the original DOS version recently. I downloaded it and had a blast, really wish I played it sooner. The soundtrack in all the games never fail to please me though!
Oh the soundtrack on 1 especially is amazing. Tubelectric and Medivo live in my brain forever. And 2's music was made by the same guy that did the Deus Ex music eventually! But wow, heck of an entry point. I saw that hanging around in stores later, but never ended up playing it. A very strange reworking of the visual style. PC one has a vibe you can't really find on console though, because it was made by a bunch of demoscene people (as a lot of games were back in the day). Or at least you wouldn't find it on GBA Advance: most of the demoscene games ended up on the Genesis.
Yeah, virus detectors are...so vague that they basically amount to pseudo-science at this point. For what it's worth, the actual exes for both games produce no results on virus totals. My recommendation in general for people who are concerned about this issue broadly is to a. run something like malware bytes every six months or so, just to make sure you don't have silly stuff that's taken root in the system. b. Don't download shit from shady places, or if you do, scan immediately afterward with something like malwarebytes. It's easier to catch this stuff after it's already tried to spring into action, otherwise you're just jumping at ghosts. I will also say that modern malware, minus the ransomware shit, is WAY more forgiving that virus stuff used to be back in the day. Very little bricking your computer or wiping your files now, mostly just spying shit. Still good to keep an eye out though.
The protagonist having "fun" with a female character would have been a decent idea, but unfortunately, it will probably never happen :(
Yeah, I'm bi (and actually technically so is Mezz, unless I'm contradicting myself somewhere and forgetting), but this series is 100% gay. May do other stuff in the future, but we'll see.
A sequel (or a prequel, I don't know) where Mezz has sex with female characters might be a interesting idea, I think.
If I did go that route, I'd probably do something fresh, new characters, new ideas. Potentially not even in the RPGMaker mold. But that's a looong way off for now.
Aww damn :(
But anyways if you suddenly change your mind: a suggestion (unfortunately): In some areas (e.g. houses, rooms, etc.) there should be a non-brainwashed female animal character. Getting close to them will talk to you if "you need health" if you lost health during a battle, where pressing "Yes" will lead to a short sex scene of Mezz and the female character, and after that, the game continues normally and Mezz recovers health.
The difficulty is way too high, I think the stats are not properly balanced, the best choice is always the 3-hit skill, I get that normal attacks deal more damage, but the lesser damage 3 times far outweigh the cost of the skill,and thus the difficulty, it's hard to not escape an encounter barely scaping by alive, having to fight always 3 enemies is not good when your only non-costing attack is not as powerful as it should be, AND it's not as effective to the type of encounters that the game have
A few things to consider here.
First, as is the case with most games, my games go through stages. In the first stage, for several months after release, up to a year or so, I'm actively adding content, fixing bugs, and tweaking gameplay, so suggestions made then have a chance to be integrated into the game. After that, the game settles into a set state, and I'm unlikely to mess with it much beyond serious bug fixes or needing to ret-con something. CS1 obviously entered this set state a while ago. I still appreciate feedback, but at this point it will be about considering lessons potentially learned for the game currently in development (and in that context, it makes more sense to discuss GT, since many things WERE changed and learned in the second game).
Second, to the meat of your complaint: this was discussed quite a lot when the game came out. CS1 was a first attempt, and definitely rough here and there. Nor do I ever expect my games to have super intricate gameplay in terms of the actual fight moves (though I think it improved a bit in GT). Personally, I would say CS is "hard" in that it's a little bit of a slog combat-wise (again, something I worked to address in GT). It's not complicated to beat though, you just have to conserve resources, be careful where and when you attack, and save-scum a bit. But yes, it's very much mostly about that 3 hit attack, though the single can be vital for the sake of timing. It's the "It's always faster to switch" meme: It's always faster to use your single hit than recharge your triple, and sometimes that can mean denying a boar the chance to exist next turn and do damage, or even ending the whole fight. But yes, I also ended up coming away feeling the encounters were maybe a little too punishing in CS1, which is why they have a different feel in GT.
That said though, third...why are you commenting on this now? I'm always happy to take feedback, but CS1 came out a WHILE ago, and I know you played it when it came out, you talked about it at the time. Don't get me wrong, nothing wrong with replays, and if you have new thoughts, by all means. I just would have expected you to comment on the difficulty several years ago when you first played it.
holy shit the soundtrack goes crazy, 9/10 would dance again
Ha, glad you like it. Sources are all referenced in the readme (or maybe there's a separate credits file, I forgot) so check em out! Definitely some good stuff.
I get the games free but having a demo or browser version so you don't have to carelessly download files and such Would be really nice.
I mean this is the demo, that's why it's free. "Demo" doesn't mean playable in browser. And that's a deliberate decision on my part: almost all in-browser stuff plays like crap. Back in the flash days some of that would play ok (though even then it was hit or miss) but nearly every in-browser game on Itch, for example, runs like crap, especially if you don't have a high-powered system. This is a desktop game, meant to be played on a desktop.
If you're concerned about malware, caution is good and I applaud it, but I would point to the fact that I've been publishing and selling games here for several years now; I probably would have been banned by now if I was intentionally distributing malware. Unintentional is technically possible, but again, hasn't happened yet, and that's never entirely avoidable, even in the triple A space. If you're worried, do a quick scan before running it, but again, if there was an issue with the latest release, or any of them, people would probably have pointed it out by now.
I feel the pain expressed in your user name though. My password manager is a nightmare realm, and that's just the IMPORTANT accounts.
I'm sorry, but what is the blue powder used for?
It's a drug the boars were working on making for the purpose of distributing throughout the city, increasing chaos that they would then enjoy. It's not an actual item you get at any point.
I love your games so far, BitShift! For some context, I'm currently working on a personal project that requires multiple perspectives and topics. I want you to know that your games have genuinely creeped me out, and the concepts of mind control and hypnosis make my skin crawl with disgust. However, I also appreciate the fact that you've developed these games, showcasing your passion for their creation.
I read your reply to MrSahelanthropus, and I want to emphasize that your games are not slop. I firmly believe that. The concepts I mentioned earlier will definitely be implemented into my project, just as others have.
I love media that challenges regular societal norms and my own beliefs, as long as it doesn't go too far—and in my opinion, your games haven't. I hope you will continue to create more games after "Cruel Serenade." I also hope we can chat about your games and how they are influencing my project.
I apologize in advance for the mixed feelings I'm expressing, but I believe they are relevant. My intention is not to offend or discourage you; rather, I want to encourage you and show my appreciation for you, your games, and your passions.
Something about this game has me in a talkative mood I guess. That, or something you said piqued my curiosity.
It doesn't seem like you enjoy the kinks on offer, so I just wanted to know why you decided to download this game in the first place if you don't mind me asking. I get wanting to challenge yourself with uncomfortable media, but people don't generally tend to do that with the porn they consume.
I just like things that make me uncomfortable. They make me think about various things, and that helps me get a better understanding of the topics and how they contradict other things.
That's a simplified way of explaining it, but there's more to it. I've always had an interest in things that, quite frankly, not a lot of people are willing to experience or think about. Buying things that make me uncomfortable might sound unnecessary, but I see it as an investment in knowledge and wisdom.
Fair enough I suppose. Like I said, I get enjoying challenging media. I myself enjoy watching movies that make me squirm from time to time. What I don't get is seeking out porn specifically to make you uncomfortable. That would just kinda kill the experience for me, but to each their own and all.
I didn't say it was porn I sought out specifically. But, I gotcha, though. It is pretty weird.
I seek out the black and white in things, and all the shades of grey in between. It's decently thought-provoking.
Hey, no worries, no one has to like what I make, as long as you're polite (and you certainly have been). And, if I'm understanding right, you DID actually enjoy them in a way, just a somewhat roundabout way. But there's plenty of stuff I'm not into as well. I'm glad you were able to appreciate the game to some degree despite the difference in taste.
I don't normally take the time to pay compliments to the people that have made products I enjoy. Maybe that's a personal failing. Maybe I can start changing that now.
I just wanted to say that I enjoyed the game. A lot, in fact. Hypnotism and mind control may not be the most common fetish out there, but it isn't as if there's a lack of content for it either. To be honest, it's a big kink for me. I know my way around the many artists and subgenres within well enough and there is plenty to choose from. Despite that, this game has quickly become one of my favorite pieces of erotic fiction I've ever consumed.
It's almost like this game was tailor made for me specifically. The unsuspecting and honestly pretty likable main character, the option to play legitimately if desired, an art style that isn't just generic furry no#89368, and, of course, the mind control. You have to have one of the best grasps on the appeal of mind control and hypnotism I've come across. From light submission and trances, to the borderline horror scenarios that your protagonist goes through. It all pushes so many of the right buttons. The only reason I'm not playing Gutter Trash right now is because I'm a poor college boy and I don't have ten bucks to spare, but you better believe I'm picking it up as soon as I get the chance.
I guess I should bring this ramble to a close. Kudos. You are a fantastic creator, I genuinely mean that.
Thanks! I know the feeling: it's easy to just pass things by without commenting, especially for bigger games, items on Amazon etc where you think "Is anyone actually going to read this?" But that's the great thing about games this size: they're big enough to be viable as more than a hobby, but still small enough that people will in fact bother to read what your write. Including me!
Hypnosis stuff is awesome, I really started to get into it a few years back, which is one of the reasons CS ended up happening. Very under-served IMHO. I think it's something people like to winge about because it's a fantasy with a little bite to it, but it also suffers because so few people seem capable of doing it justice. Really fun if you can actually get across why it's great though, that feeling of powerlessness, of reality becoming plastic, of pillars you depend on just being re-arranged in your head.
Which is all to say, glad it's hitting for you. I always say my strategy for these games is pretty simple: I just try to make something I would enjoy playing. And so far it seems like a lot of others were looking for the same thing and didn't realize it. This isn't a quick little goof for me, a casual side-experiment or hobby. I'm careful not to take it TOO seriously, but there's a lot of me in these games, the writing, the characters. I can't deliver amazing visuals, cutting edge gameplay or tech marvels, but the one thing I can do is give a shit about what I'm doing. That's why the characters aren't generic (or sparkledogs): I can't stand crappy characters. That's why there aren't annoying insincere jokes every five seconds: I can't stand that crap (though there ARE plenty of dad jokes here and there). I do my best, in my humble way, to try to take these games seriously, and to take the players seriously. Why on earth should they give me their time or money if I don't?
There's so, so, SO much slop out there these days, it drags me down a little almost every day thinking about it. Slop on Steam, slop in the movie theater, slop on streaming services, slop on Youtube. And I know at the end of the day this is just a silly little porn game. But I hope in some small way these games can be a respite in that sea of garbage. I hope some people can stop, take a bite, and go "Whoa, this was actually made by a PERSON! With FEELINGS and BELIEFS and EXPERIENCES that color everything in subtle ways. Who actually cared!" That's what art is: humans communicating with humans in a way words (direct words anyway) can't. And this can ooze out almost anywhere if you let it: in a car, a circuit board, a table.
Or even a dumb porn game.
Also, if you're on FA, toss me a note (Bitshift). May be able to help you out.
Honestly, I do my image browsing on e6 (better tagging system (Side note: found the original CS images, insta faved and the story was so fucking hot. Like I said before, you just get it. Having Mezz be caught in a loop where he keeps forgetting about and willingly coming back to the boar hideout only to get his brains fucked out all over again. Each time reducing his humanity more and more until only a thin facade remains, snapping like a twig on command and giving way to the eager slut he has become. So good.)) BUT I saw the link to your FA in your profile. So literally a few hours ago I made an FA account just to follow you there (although calling it a "watch list" kinda threw me for a loop). You'll have to excuse me by the way if I'm unaware of a lot of the social aspects of the fandom sites, I mostly just keep to myself and image browse and I've never been on FA before so I don't know what "tossing a note" means.
Also, I know it's easy to become cynical in today's media landscape, but for whatever my opinion is worth, it was clear while playing that your game was a genuine creation made by someone that clearly cared about what they were making. As long as the passion for the craft is there, who cares if it's some silly little porn game. What matters is that you enjoy creating it, and we enjoy experiencing it. Hey, it got me to do something I literally never do and actually engage in a fandom conversation, so I'd say you're doing something right.
Notes are what social media sites call "DMs" these days. Don't worry though, I tossed YOU one. Just look for the notification up in the corner. And no worries, FA is an old site, it's just the only thing with direct messaging I spend much time on.
Ha, and thanks. Man, I've been in the jungle of the fandom a long time, and there's definitely a lot that's...not so great. But there are some real, positive human interactions out there too. Glad to provide when I can.