Hiya. I've only ever done two postmortems (one in 2021 and one earlier this year), so please bear with me! I don't really know what to talk about, so uh... LET'S GET INTO WHATEVER WE'RE ABOUT TO GET INTO!

The Inspiration for the Story

TIME TO GET PERSONAL!!!

I've always wanted to tell a story that featured an asexual protagonist. As an ace person myself, I've only now just started to see positive portrayals of the wide spectrum that is asexuality (and just ace representation in general). And of course, I want to contribute to that. But how? I knew I wanted the story to focus on Seo-jun and Iris' relationship, but what were they going to talk about? WHAT WERE THE 1K WORDS GOING TO ENCOMPASS? I didn't know.

Then, brain blast. MY DEPRESSION CAME-A-KNOCKING! During one really bad night when I was in my feelings and felt super insecure about my chances at finding romance because of my asexuality, I was like... man, this could probably make for a good story. And boom, when the jam started, I wrote down all the feelings I had that night into Scrivener. 

So uh, yeah, this game is pretty personal, and I wanted to make sure this game came out absolutely perfect (aka pretty good because nothing is perfect). I playtested it numerous times and edited the story a few times to add details to Seo-jun's backstory (i.e. about his ex, his family). I did everything I could to make sure this game could shine. 

Seo-jun's Feelings on Sex

I got asked about this, and I couldn't really clarify this in the game due to the 1k word limit, so I wanted to dedicate a section in this post to answering this question because I think it's a pretty important and valid one to ask!

So, Seo-jun is demisexual. He experiences sexual feelings with someone he's made a strong emotional connection with. He's also sex-neutral. So, he isn't repulsed by the idea of sex. However, it's not something he feels comfortable doing all the time, and sometimes, he would rather cuddle, kiss, hold hands, and more. When it came to his ex, she tried to force him to have sex despite him not wanting to and being uncomfortable with being intimate with her like that.

When it comes to Iris, he's able to be intimate with her for a variety of reasons:

1. He trusts her fully. He's made that emotional connection with her, unlike his ex! 
2.  She will always ask him if she can do something. If he says no, she will respect his answer. (Consent is SEXY! CONSENT IS AMAZING! WE LOVE IT!)
3. They'll stop at any time. This goes for both sides! If Seo-jun wants to stop, they stop! If Iris wants to stop, they stop!
4. They go at Seo-jun's pace. 
5. She takes care of him afterwards (we love aftercare)
6. It. Is. Never. Forced! THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT! If Seo-jun isn't up for it, it will not happen.

After playing Cute Demon Crashers some odd years ago, I strongly believe that sex, whether it's with an asexual partner or not, should be able to feel safe with whoever you're performing it with. 

Easter Eggs

Now that the important, serious stuff is out of the way, let's get to the nifty little easter eggs that I've put into the game BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT! Y'all know I'm a nerd and LOVE ME SOME GOOD EASTER EGGS! I hide so many easter eggs in my games, the Easter Bunny's jealous. Anyway, let's find them all. :3c

1) Dark Knight Soul Crystal from FFXIV

With Mary doing the art and both of us being FFXIV fans, I told her she can put in another FFXIV easter egg into this game. She did it with Still Shining (Cade's tattoo!). I told her that Seo-jun's FFXIV character is a Dark Knight bunny boy. So, being the amazing person that she is, she put the Dark Knight soul crystal on Seo-jun's shelf.

Also, if you want to know what Seo-jun's FFXIV character looks like... I am happy to oblige because this man and Iris have consumed my thoughts. They're all I think about now. So, here you go:

It's hard to see because OF HOW ZOOMED OUT THE CAMERA IS (I CAN'T GET IT ANY CLOSER) but his character has a face tattoo on his right cheek and around his eyes. :3c

2) Seo-jun's white terrier, Bridget

CUTIES! So, in the doc I made for A Late Night Convo, I wrote up some fun facts about Seo-jun, y'know, for funsies. I didn't think anything would come of them. Mary, once again, PROVES WHY SHE IS AMAZING! She added Seo-jun's dog into the game via a photo. AND IRIS IS HOLDING HER! AHHHH!!!! SO CUTEEEE!!!! Also, yes, the dog's name is Bridget. And because Seo-jun is a nerd and gamer...

YEP! He named her after Bridget from Guilty Gear. <3 (For those curious, he mains Testament and Anji.)

3) Jwibulnori, a photo from childhood

So, Seo-jun is Korean! He's originally from South Korea, but he moved to the States when he was attending college and ended up staying there permanently. He has an older sister who, when they were younger, would play Jwibulnori, a Korean game performed on New Years Eve! This is his most cherished childhood memory, so of course he would have a picture of it. :)

A Giant Thank You

I'm always super nervous to release a game. I blame my anxiety. But also, it's like... game release anxiety just never truly goes away no matter how many times you've released a game? Especially with this game, a title where I was able to write about my feelings and experiences as an asexual person... I wasn't sure how it was going to be received. So, I braced for the worst.

And then I was blown away by the support I got.

I don't really set an expectation for how well I want my games to do, to be honest. Sure, I get sad when I came doesn't reach 50 downloads after a month since its release, but I try not to let it bug me too much, y'know? 

But uh... I wasn't expecting this? Y'all blew my nonexistent expectations out of the water. I was floored. I was crying (happy tears). I was SMILING LIKE A DAMN IDIOT!!!! MY HEART IS FULL!!!!

Reading your comments, reviews, seeing my game in a collection called "yo banger😭"... Just really made my month tbh. Even though I'm struggling right now, seeing reception like this reminds me why I became a game developer in the first place and why I keep pushing no matter what obstacles are in my way. Yeah, it's to make games that I enjoy making, but it's also to hopefully see the positive, warm messages from players. So, to everyone who's left a review, comment, tweeted about my game, etc, thank you. You're the reason why I'm still going. <3

OKAY! Now that I said all of that, I'm going to play FFXIV because I need to make progress in Shadowbringers. Thank you all again for the support. Y'all will be seeing more of Seo-jun and Iris in the future! ;)