MVOL v0.41 is Live: Dogs and Dildos!

First thing! If you’ve ever considered supporting and chose not to, or if you’ve noticed any room for improvement on my Patreon, I’d deeply appreciate it if you’d take my very short survey! I’m getting ready to start changing things up on there, and I want to know what you guys want to see!

Now! The new version has a lot of updates and additions in it, so let’s start with the big one!

The hidden section from last update has gotten a large chunk of new content! I was very happy with the positive response I got to The Hidden Update, I’d been pretty worried about how people would take it given the starkly different nature of the material, and it’s true that some people have not been very comfortable with it. To a certain extent, I’d almost be tempted to say “that’s the point,” given what has to happen for you to find the new material, but it’s more complicated than that. In any case, a healthy portion of the fanbase seems eager to see this section completed in full. I have to admit, it’s proven to be a deal larger than I’d originally envisioned however many years ago I first had this idea, but given the process you’re going through, I suppose I should have expected it to take a healthy amount of time and attention. With this addition, I’d estimate this section is about 60% complete. It’s also been refined to let you get a little closer to the intended final experience by using the “first time” versions of scenes as placeholders when needed for when you’d return to a certain activity. This lets you explore all your options a little more thoroughly before things draw to a close, though it does mean a little immersion-breaking repetition at times.

The second most notable change with this version would probably be the addition of the Dildo. This feature was brought to you by the voters on my Patreon, and it will now let players that chose not to have a penis still access many scenes they normally could not see in the first half of the game. The final implementation required relatively little new writing, but I expect we’ll still be rooting out odd little issues with it for some time. I hope the frustrated ladies and cuntboys out there will be happy to finally give Lith the treatment he deserves!

As usual, two new pieces of art have been added with this update. I’m very happy with both of these pieces, though their nature and their appeal are on opposite ends of the spectrum. One will be very easy to find on a fresh playthrough around midgame, and the other requires a heavy dedication to a certain, admittedly popular frame of mind in the first half of the game. A scene that just opened up to more people with this update, no less…

After that, I’ve made a small suite of changes and additions all aimed at fine tuning the early game experience. This may make it slightly easier for experienced players to progress through the early game, but is mainly aimed at making the game a little less mystifying or frustrating to explore early on. Stat gains have been tweaked, asking Lith about what he likes yields richer results, and I’ve added a small series of notifications when you’ve been increasing certain stats in a notable way to hint that there’s more to the game than “try every scene once to unlock new content.”

So, a bit of a grab bag with this one that hopefully adds something new for everyone. I’m sure some players are frustrated, though– this diversion into “hidden content” has left the main story on quite the cliffhanger! Well, while the hidden content could certainly use more work, I’ve decided I’ve delayed the main story long enough. For the next update, I intend to return to the main plot, and if things go as expected, we may very well see the “final endings” in the next update. I’ve been cooking these a long time trying to figure out exactly how I want to do them, and they’ve changed dramatically several times as I’ve continued thinking over them, and what the game is really about, and what you guys seem to want and expect from the conclusion of this game. It’s my first time writing the ending to a story this big, to be honest, and I’ve certainly needed the time to work on it. I’m still not quite satisfied with the plan I’ve got, but I’m hoping to get the final pieces into place in time to finally satisfy everyone’s burning questions (well, some of them) in the next update!

No small part of this is, of course, the looming deadline of Flash’s “death.” I’ve made MVOL using Flash, but general support for the game is going to be dropped next year, and what exactly will happen with playing the game on Flash after that is unclear. I’ve been tinkering around with Unity a little lately, mainly trying to get ready to start prototyping ideas for a project after MVOL, but it’s possible that at some point in the future I’d be able to rebuild the game on there. It would be an absolute bear making the transition, but hopefully it’d mean the game would have a good deal more longevity.

Even after the final endings are done, of course, there’s a lot to add to the game. There are many problems with the gameplay I think I could tighten up, some sections need expansion (like the hidden area) and others have plenty of potential for additions. I’ve had some people suggesting I add some fetishistic content as an optional aside in the Wooden door since I have a lot of interests I feel are a little much for MVOL’s typical, more vanilla feel, and while I have some mixed feelings about how far to push that, it certainly seems like it’d hold some potential.

Still, after the final endings, I’m expecting to slowly start ramping down production on content for MVOL and start putting more of my time and work into new projects. I’ve been juggling a lot of concepts, writing out design docs to keep track of my thoughts, and trying to overcome my lack of programming skills to get the hang of Unity. It’s slow going, and I have way too many ideas, but my tentative idea at the moment is that I’m actually going to enter a phase of producing several different game prototypes people can play– to focus on small, simple games, on building the mechanics and the frameworks, then expanding on those that seem most promising. I’m expecting to take a lot of input from my supporters on the design and development of these projects as I go, so keep an eye out for more news about how that’s coming together and how things will start shifting around on my Patreon! Don’t forget to take my survey if you’re supporting or thinking about supporting, to make sure your voice is heard!

Alright, that’s all I’ve got to say for this update! Thanks for reading, and thanks for playing my game! Hope you enjoy the new content, and are getting pumped for the coming update!