Native Gamepad Support + Full Controls Overhaul

What's up, guys!
I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and I take this opportunity to wish you all a wonderful New Year!
Considering the magnitude of these end-of-year dates, I've come to bring you an update worthy of them, almost like a Christmas/New Year's gift.
Today I bring you an important update: We now have Native Gamepad Support, in addition to a Full Controls Overhaul.

It took me a little longer than usual to bring you this update, as it's more complex than normal, but I'm sure it'll be worth the wait.

When I say Native Gamepad Support, I mean that ALL PC versions (Steam, Itch, OppaiMan, Patreon, SubscribeStar) will now have gamepad support.
No more reliance on the Steam API for this!

When I say Full Controls Overhaul, I mean that ALL PC versions (Steam, Itch, OppaiMan, Patreon, SubscribeStar) have had their gameplay improved.

I remade all the screens to include direct commands via the gamepad buttons.
These commands also have buttons for the same function on the keyboard and, some of them, even on the mouse.

Now the game has 3 controller modes: Gamepad, Keyboard, and Mouse.
The game will dynamically alternate the buttons on the screen according to the player's last input, allowing switching between these 3 controllers in real time.

Well, I think the introduction is already too long and we really have a lot to talk about today, so let's go through it topic by topic.

I recorded the video in the footer of this post to demonstrate the gameplay changes and all the new features.
I will use the order in which they appear in the video to talk about them.
I invite you to watch the video while you read this.

New Music: Mastur Bar - It's Party Time

Before we actually start talking about the changes to the controls, let's talk about the first detail you see (or rather, hear) as soon as the video starts.

I created a new song called "It's Party Time" after the post about the Music Menu, so this one didn't appear before.
I'm taking advantage of today's post to introduce this new addition to you.

You can listen to the song at the end of this post, if you want to.

Cursors

The first detail regarding the controls that you see in the video is that we finally have a cursor for the game Living in a Brothel.

I chose to use the red arrow that had already appeared in the Tutorials, finally bringing our old friend the red arrow back to life.

But that's not all.
Now comes the most important part: We have a second cursor, called the virtual cursor, which is controlled by the left analog stick or the arrow keys on the keyboard.

With the implementation of this new cursor, you'll be able to interact with all aspects of the game using only your gamepad (or only your keyboard, if you prefer), making the use of a mouse an option and no longer an obligation as it was before.

It may seem trivial, but this was the main obstacle to native gamepad support before, which led us to have to implement gamepad support using the Steam API, as it was able to simulate the operation of the mouse with the gamepad's analog sticks.

Native gamepad support was one of the aspects that was planned from the beginning, but I had never been able to implement it until now, given the complexity involved.

Although it has a complex implementation that led me to have to change all the game screens, we finally have a native way to do this directly in Ren'py, which paves the way for gamepad support to be available for all versions, as it no longer depends on the Steam API to function.

Now you can finish the game from beginning to end sitting on your living room couch and playing directly on your TV if you want (if there's no one around, of course 🤣).

Controls Screen (Old Help Screen)

This is perhaps the most important change in the entire update.
The old Help screen has become the Controls screen.

I decided to change the name because it's no longer limited to simply showing the functions of each key to the player, but also allows the player to remap buttons, being able to choose the configuration that is most comfortable for them (Applies only to the gamepad).

When you enter this screen, the game will automatically decide which tab to show based on your last input.

• If you are playing with a gamepad, it'll show you the gamepad tab;
• If you are playing with a keyboard, it'll show you the keyboard tab;
• If you are playing with a mouse, it'll show you the mouse tab.

As you can see in the image, all the button icons are displayed (Yes, now the buttons have icons and not just generic names) and their respective functions;
If you go to the keyboard screen, there will be icons for all the keys and their respective functions;
And if you go to the mouse screen, there will also be icons showing what each mouse button does (including the mouse wheel).

You'll notice that, next to the tabs, there are also pagination buttons, which allow you to move the menu to the left or right tab without having to click on them.
Now you can move between pages/tabs with just the press of a button, which makes navigation much more practical and faster.

In addition, you'll also notice a "key footer," with captions showing what each button does on this specific screen.
This pattern will be repeated on all other screens, with different functions for each button, according to the specifics of each screen.

Looking more closely at the key footer, you'll notice that the right analog stick is used to scroll the viewport.
And looking at the explanations of the button functions in the Controls screen, you'll see that the left analog stick controls the cursor.
These are the only functions that cannot be changed in any way.

By pressing the X button (Xbox layout), you can change the Icon Set.
To explain in more detail, the game has 5 different Icon Sets: Xbox, Playstation, Nintendo, Steam, and Generic.
The game will try to figure out which gamepad you have based on its name.

Since my gamepad is an Xbox Series X controller, the game automatically set all the button icons to the Xbox layout, but it is possible to change the button icons displayed on the screen by pressing the "Change Icon Set" button.

This feature is essential for Steam Deck players, since once the game detects the controller name as Steam Deck (or its variants), it'll automatically apply the Steam Deck layout.

Obviously, this is also convenient if you are playing the PC version with your Dualshock, your Nintendo Pro Controller, etc.

If the game cannot identify your gamepad by name, it'll adopt the "Generic" Icon Set by default, but nothing that you can't change if you're not satisfied with the choice.

Last but not least, we have Remap screen, which allows you to change the button configuration of your gamepad, letting you freely decide which button you prefer to use for each action.

As you can see in this image, there's a list containing all the game's actions (and there are a ton of actions!) and each button associated with them.
There are actions of all types: menu actions; actions that happen during gameplay; actions that happen specifically in certain game modes, such as Photo Studio or Slot Machine Minigame, etc.
It's possible to assign up to 3 different buttons to the same action.

The default configuration contains the buttons I chose as the best option for each action, but you can change them as you wish.
If you regret the changes you made and want to revert to the developer's choice, simply press the Y button: Reset to Defaults. (Yes, I'm going to use the Xbox layout as a reference in this post, okay?)

On the Remap screen, we also have a button to Calibrate the gamepad buttons. If you select this option, you will see a screen like this:

It's quite simple, similar to calibrating your gamepad on Windows.
Just follow the on-screen instructions to complete the calibration and have your gamepad calibrated.

Save/Load Screen

The save and load screens share the same structure, so I'll address them together, okay?

The Save/Load screen has undergone simple yet significant changes that improve and speed up navigation.

The first detail to note is that this screen now has navigation arrows and pagination buttons.
The navigation arrows used to be next to the page numbers in the footer, but I decided to move them to the top of the page to maintain a more uniform design with the other screens.
As for the pagination buttons, the principle is identical to what we saw in the Controls Screen, allowing for quick and easy switching between pages without having to click on them.
Another new feature is that, upon reaching a page limit (1 - minimum limit, 99 - maximum limit), the player can "go around the world," going directly from page 1 to page 99 and vice versa with the press of a simple pagination button.
This allows for more dynamic pagination.

Regarding the footer containing the page numbers, we have a new feature: Now, if the player goes to a page that is not being shown in the footer (e.g., the footer is showing pages 1 to 25, and the player goes to page 26), the footer will now show the new block of pages, containing the page you are currently on (in our example, it would show pages 26 to 50).
This allows you to quickly travel from page 26 to 43 with a simple click on the screen, unlike before when you had to go page by page until you reached the target page (43 in our example).

Furthermore, in order to keep the layout functioning properly, I limited the maximum number of pages to 99, so I can apply the new feature with the certainty that nothing will break if the player goes to page 100000, for example.
Despite this limitation, if we calculate 12 saves * 99 pages, we have a total of 1188 save slots. A player will hardly need more save slots than that.

Finally, when we look at the key footer, we have the standard Save/Load screen functions: Delete (save), Select and Back.
The novelty is that now you can do this directly with your gamepad, in addition to the explicit reminder of what each button does, which will help novice players.

Gallery Screen

The changes to the Gallery screen were simple, yet functional.

At this point, I think you're already used to the changes, so I'll be briefer.

The Gallery screen received larger and easier-to-click navigation arrows (← and →), which are more responsive to cursors than the old ones (<< and >>).

In addition, it also received pagination buttons, just like on the screens shown before.

It's now also possible to cycle between the Achievements screen and the Gallery screen last page and vice versa. If you don't know, clicking the left navigation arrow while on page 1 takes you to the Achievement Screen.
It's now also possible to "go around the world," making navigation between these screens easier.

Finally, the key footer displays only the basic navigation buttons: Select and Back.

We can't talk about the Gallery screen without showing what happens when we're viewing a Gallery Image, so let's get to it.

When examining a typical Gallery Image, the key footer displays the Back button.
It can be accessed by clicking or simply by pressing the button on the gamepad.

By the way, I had forgotten to mention until now, the buttons on the key footer and the pagination buttons are mostly clickable.

When examining a poster, the key footer displays the following buttons: Change Orientation, Scroll, and Back.

• Change Orientation allows you to change the orientation between portrait and landscape.
• Scroll reminds you that you should use the right analog stick to scroll the poster up and down.
• Back returns to the previous screen.

When viewing a poster in Landscape Orientation, the key footer displays the buttons: Change Orientation and Back.

Since this orientation was created assuming that you'll rotate your monitor 90º, the key footer will be located on the right side of the screen, because if you rotate your monitor, the side will become the new bottom.

Achievement Screen

The Achievements screen functions as an extension of the Gallery screen, so it received similar updates.

In summary, the Achievement screen received:

• Better navigation arrows;
• Pagination buttons;
• The ability to cycle between the Achievements screen and the Gallery screen last page and vice versa;
• Key footer displaying only the basic navigation buttons: Select and Back.

Replay Screen

The Replay screen received basic navigation improvements, just like the other screens.

In summary, the Replay screen received:

• Better navigation arrows;
• Pagination buttons;
• The ability to cycle between the Tutorial screen and the Replay screen last page and vice versa.
• Key footer displaying only the basic navigation buttons: Select and Back.

Tutorial Screen

The Tutorial screen functions as an extension of the Replay screen, so it received similar updates.

In summary, the Tutorial screen received:

• Better navigation arrows;
• Pagination buttons;
• The ability to cycle between the Tutorial screen and the Replay screen last page and vice versa;
• Key footer displaying only the basic navigation buttons: Select and Back.

Music Screen

The Music screen hasn't changed much since the post that specifically discussed it.

In summary, the Music screen received:

• Key footer displaying basic navigation buttons: Scroll and Select (Screen Left Side) and Back (Screen Right Side).
• X button to mute the game (Screen Right Side).

Options Screen

We've had some significant changes to the Options screen.

In summary, the Options screen received:

• X button to mute the game.
• Y button resets the options screen settings to their default values.
  Previously, this was a clickable option, similar to Mute, but I decided to make it a button to save screen space.
• Basic navigation buttons: Select and Back.
• Virtual cursor speed slider bar that allows you to configure the sensitivity of the virtual cursor, which is controlled by the gamepad's left analog stick or keyboard's arrow keys.

There was also a slight change to the layout to better accommodate the changes we implemented, so that it would fit on the screen.

Credits Screen

The Credits screen received basic navigation improvements, just like the other screens.

In summary, the Credits screen received:

• Key footer displaying only the basic navigation buttons: Scroll, Select and Back.

Changelog Screen (Old Patch Notes Screen)

The Changelog screen received basic navigation improvements, just like the other screens.

In summary, the Changelog screen received:

• Key footer displaying only the basic navigation buttons: Scroll, Select and Back.

Interestingly, the biggest change the Changelog screen underwent was its name, which was previously Patch Notes screen.

The change occurred simply because I needed more screen space to fit the Music option, so I opted to use a shorter word.

History Screen

The History screen received basic navigation improvements, just like the other screens.

In summary, the History screen received:

• Key footer displaying only the basic navigation buttons: Scroll and Back.

Confirm Screen

The Confirm screen is a different one.

It won't let you use the virtual cursor.
It'll present you with a question and two possible answers: Confirm (A button) and Cancel (B button).
These answers must be given by pressing the button shown.

Quick Menu

The Quick Menu, those small text-shaped buttons at the bottom of the screen, has received important changes.

Before there was only the Menu button, now I implemented the Shop and Item buttons, which are used to open these respective menus, just like the green and blue buttons in the top right corner of the screen.

It may seem like unnecessary redundancy, but the real reason I included them in the Quick Menu is so that the player can access them via controller buttons.

In the example in the screenshot above, pressing the LB Button will open the Shop Menu and pressing the RB Button will open the Item Menu.

Shop Menu

The Shop Menu received similar changes to the Quick Menu:

• The Item button can be used to open the Item Menu.
• What was previously the Shop button has become the Close button, whose function is to close the Shop Menu, in the same way that the green button in the upper right corner of the screen works.

These changes were implemented for faster navigation between these menus when playing on the gamepad.
This improvement in navigation also affects gameplay with the keyboard, which has gained keys with the same function.

Item Menu

The Item Menu received similar changes to the Quick Menu:

• The Shop button can be used to open the Shop Menu.
• What was previously the Item button has become the Close button, whose function is to close the Item Menu, in the same way that the blue button in the upper right corner of the screen works.

These changes were implemented for faster navigation between these menus when playing on the gamepad.
This improvement in navigation also affects gameplay with the keyboard, which has gained keys with the same function.

Posters

Posters, which previously only had Back and Menu buttons, now also have Scroll and Advance buttons.

They are simple navigation buttons, and the purpose of having them added there is to provide greater clarity to the player as to how to interact with this screen.

Previously, some players reported feeling confused about how to interact with the posters, so I thought it was important to add them to the quick menu for clarity.

Furthermore, these functions now have corresponding buttons on the controllers, which makes navigation faster.

Posters (Exploration Mode)

Some sections of Exploration Mode are also in the form of Posters.
These sections work a little differently than regular Posters.

Previously, only the Menu button was displayed at the bottom of the screen;
Now we have the Scroll button, indicating which button the player should press to scroll the viewport up and down, thus providing greater clarity to the player.

As you can see in the screenshot, in these cases, the Back and Advance buttons are unavailable, and the player has to interact with some section of the screen, such as the doors, to exit this screen.

Quick Menu - Shop

When the player is in a store, the Quick Menu works a little differently.

The Item button remains available and functions similarly to the Quick Menu Item button when the player is in an Exploration Mode environment.

On the other hand, as the player is in a store, the Shop button becomes the Leave button, indicating that, by pressing it, the player can leave the store immediately and return to the last environment they were in before accessing the store.

Quick Menu - Dialog and Auto-Forward Indicator

The Quick Menu has the exact same functions as before in the dialogs, but now has buttons assigned to these functions.

As we can see in the screenshot, the Quick Menu has:

• LB Button to roll back to the last dialog.
• RT Button to skip dialogs.
• Y Button to auto-advance dialogs.
• Start Button to open the Menu.

The operation is exactly the same as always, but now it can be done more quickly, with the simple press of a button on the gamepad.

The icing on the cake is that now, when activating the Auto option, the Auto-Forward Indicator will be displayed in the top left corner of the screen, improving clarity as to whether Auto mode is activated or not.
Previously this was a bit confusing, as sometimes the player would activate Auto mode, but as there was no feedback on the screen, they would be unsure whether they had activated it or not. Now the problem is solved.

Skip Cutscene Buttons

There are some cutscenes in this game that can become boring after watching them a few times, like the cutscene with the main character riding in the elevator.

Previously there was a "Press Enter to Skip" screen that was displayed in the top right corner of the screen, but we preferred to remake it in the new way, displaying 2 new buttons on the key footer instead.

The new buttons are:

• A button to Pass the cutscene, advancing the elevator waiting periods.
• RT button to Skip the cutscene in the blink of an eye.

You can advance the cutscene the way you prefer now.

Slot Machine Minigame

The Minigame Slot Machine received basic navigation improvements plus a new function.

In summary, the Slot Machine Minigame received:

• Pagination buttons, which are now used to change difficulty:
  RB button decreases difficulty by 1 level.
  LB button increases difficulty by 1 level.
• The ability to cycle between the hardest difficulty (Insane) and the easier difficulty (Easy) and vice versa.
• Key footer displaying basic navigation buttons: Select and Back.
• RT Button now has the Play function, which automatically spins the wheel following the order from left to right in the slot machine.
  This is different from A Button (Select) as you need to click the slot machine buttons on the screen to interact with it.
• The new function is the "Change Music" button, which is the icon of a musical note (♪) in the top left corner of the slot machine.
  The Slot Machine Minigame now has two interchangeable songs, which you can swap between by pressing this button.
  You can only interact with the "Change Music" button by clicking on it.
  I chose to leave it this way, as assigning a controller button to it could make the player accidentally change the song by bumping the button.
  Having to go to a specific point on the screen and click on it prevents the player from changing the song by accident.

These changes allow for quicker gameplay of this minigame, both when changing the difficulty and when spinning the wheel.
This increases the player's accuracy, making it easier to hit jackpots.

Photo Studio

The Photo Studio was the screen that had the most significant changes, making use of the entire gamepad to extract the best possible gameplay from it.

All functions in this mode received gamepad buttons associated with them, making gameplay in this mode much more fluid.
In addition, buttons with new features were created to better adapt the gamepad's way of playing.

Let's explain more about each one:

• The LT button received the "Change Camera" function, which is used to change the camera angle displayed on the screen.
  Previously, you had to click the "Top Camera", "Middle Camera" and "Bottom Camera" buttons with the mouse to select the respective camera angle.
  In cases where the character has to be photographed from the back, in addition to the aforementioned buttons, it was necessary to click the "Turn Around" button.
  Now, with the "Change Camera" function, the game will transition between the following camera angles: 0 - Neutral Camera, 1 - Top Camera, 2 - Middle Camera, 3 - Bottom Camera, 4 - Top Camera (Back View), 5 - Middle Camera (Back View), 6 - Bottom Camera (Back View).
  Activating the same function again will return the game to camera angle 0, starting the cycle again.
  Now, with this new function, gameplay is much more fluid when playing on the gamepad.
• The RT Button received the "Take a Photo" function.
  It works exactly the same as before, you take the photo from a camera angle you haven't taken yet and, after taking the photo, the button becomes unavailable at that camera angle, having to change the angle to be able to activate the button again.
• LB Button and RB Button received the "Move Window" function.
  Previously, as there was only one button, the window could only be moved to the right.
  The new thing is that, as there are two pagination buttons, you can now move the window left and right.
  This is one of the new functions and should improve gameplay in this mode.
• The Y Button has received the "Change Clothes" function, and it works exactly the same way as it used to.
  If the player is in specific camera angles that allow the girl to undress, the "Change Clothes" button will be enabled, allowing the player to ask the girl to take off her clothes, being able to photograph her naked.
• The X Button received the "Hide Window" function.
  This button has the function of hiding the User Interface in the entire game, and here in this mode it was no different.
• The A button has a basic "Select" navigation function.
  It's similar to a mouse click, allowing the player to interact with the interface buttons using the virtual cursor.
• The B button received the "Turn Around" function, which works exactly the same as before.
  When activating this function, the player will ask the girl to turn her back, allowing photos to be taken from new camera angles.

This was the screen with the most extensive description so far and, after the changes implemented, the mode that became more dynamic with the gamepad buttons.

It is much faster and more practical to press a button on your controller than to move the mouse to a certain point on the screen and click on the button.
These improvements can also be noticed when playing on the keyboard.

This resulted in more fluid and enjoyable gameplay.

Input Screen

The Input Screen was the second screen with the most significant changes, after the previous screen.

Instead of simply asking you to type text on your keyboard, or displaying Ren'py's virtual keyboard (which is not as responsive), the game will display a native Input screen, created especially for better responsiveness on the gamepad.

The cursor dynamically moves through the letters, allowing the player to quickly write the MC's name using the D-Pad or Analog Stick.

Shortcut buttons were also added for greater fluidity when writing the name, including:

• LT Button (Hold) to make all letters capital letters;
• Left Analog Stick (Press) to transition between keyboard types. (Go to symbols, back to letters, etc.);
• LB and RB Buttons to move the input cursor left and right.
  This allows the players to correct a letter that they may have mistyped without having to erase the entire name.
• Y Button to add a space.
• X Button to erase a letter.
• RT Button to done writing and proceed.
• A Button to perform the basic navigation function "Select".
  This allows the player to interact with the interface using the virtual cursor, if preferred.

Don't get me wrong, you can still type directly on your keyboard if you want, but this is now just an option and not mandatory.

This change is essential for anyone who is playing sitting on the living room's couch with just the gamepad in their hand, without a keyboard nearby to type the MC's name on the Input screen.

Results Screen

The Results screen is only displayed at the end of the game to give feedback to the player regarding their progress at the end of the game, encouraging them to revisit parts of the game to find what they ended up leaving behind.

This screen had the simplest implementations of all:

• Key footer displaying the A Button and the B Button doing the same basic function: Continue, used to pass this screen.

Phone Screen

The Phone screen had simple but functional changes, similar to the Quick Menu used during dialogues, but with its due differences.

The Quick Menu, when using the phone, has:

• Right Analog Stick to scroll the phone screen up and down.
• LB Button to roll back to the last dialog.
• RT Button to skip dialogs.
• A Button to advance dialog.

Although simple, these changes allow for more fluid gameplay with the gamepad in the parts where the player interact with the mobile.

Conclusion

Phew, I feel like I'm done writing a book of the Bible after I finish writing this post.
This was probably the biggest post I wrote this year and, perhaps, since the beginning of the project.

Believe it or not, implementing these changes was even more work than writing this post, but the result was worth it, as from now on all players will be able to enjoy the game with their respective gamepads.

Considering that this game was officially released on the Steam Deck, the native implementation of gamepad support also improves compatibility and responsiveness on the Valve console, so we have another important gain with all of this.

I hope you are looking forward to enjoying this game with your respective Xbox, Playstation, Nintendo controllers or on the Steam Deck itself.

Sorry for the gigantic post, but I had a lot to talk about today.
Until next time, folks.
Cheers! 🍻

Check out the Video Preview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7AIpoqBICs

New Feature - Music Menu + Musical Revolution

What's up, guys!
A different but important update today: We have a new feature, Music Menu!
In addition, 19 songs by other composers received an original arrangement made exclusively for the game Living in a Brothel.
If that wasn't enough, 12 songs were also composed by our team exclusively for the game Living in a Brothel.
The headline was a bit long today, but we have a lot to talk about all at once, so let's get to it:

MUSIC MENU

In the current version of the game (v0.4.1), there is an achievement called "Radio Director," which is obtained after the player listens to all the songs in the game.

However, there is a problem: it is not possible to check how many songs have been listened to so far, except on the Results screen at the end of the game, nor is it possible to freely listen to songs that have already been unlocked, should the player like a song they heard during gameplay and want to listen to it again.

Because of this, we always felt the game should have a Music Mode, which would solve both problems: allowing the player to listen again to songs they liked and demonstrating progress towards the "Radio Director" achievement. However, we had never implemented this until now due to the high complexity and time required to create such a feature.

This time, in version 0.5.0, we finally decided to tackle this project, as we want to bring to reality what had been planned previously, but we never had the opportunity to do so.

Speaking a little about the Music Menu itself, it's like a Media Player commonly used in our operating systems.

It has the following functions:

• Pause / Play
• Next track
• Previous track
• 3 Loop Modes: No Loop / Repeat All / Repeat One
• Shuffle: Plays the playlist in a randomly defined order
• Advance 10 seconds
• Rewind 10 seconds
• Volume Slider
• You can click anywhere on the progress bar to jump to a specific part of the song.

In addition to the features mentioned, you can also see information about the currently playing music, such as:

• Song title
• Artist name
• Whether it's an original arrangement or an original song composed for the game's soundtrack
• Album/single cover art to which the song belongs

Although not shown in the video, it is also possible to temporarily change the music on the game's Title Screen, according to the music selected in the Music Menu.

You can see a demonstration of the Music Menu features in the video: 0:00 to 1:07.

MUSICAL REVOLUTION

In addition to the beauty and functionality of the Music Menu itself, we also decided to give the game's sound design the attention it deserves.
We decided to put more effort into the game's music, given the importance of good music in setting the right atmosphere for the scenes.

We chose to call this musical evolution "Musical Revolution" because it's the watershed moment for this project in terms of music.
We divided "Musical Revolution" into two topics: Original Arrangements and Original Soundtrack. Let's look at them:

Original Arrangements

Up to the current version (v0.4.1), we've used music composed by major royalty-free music producers, such as: Kevin Macleod, Bryan Teoh, Alexander Nakarada, and Rafael Krux.

Their music is of excellent quality, but because it's royalty-free, you've probably already heard it somewhere on the internet.

Because of this, we felt that the sound aspect of our game lacked a bit of originality, so we decided to create our own arrangements for these songs, in order to bring the spirit of our game to the soundtracks, while still maintaining the original concept of the composers.

We didn't create original arrangements for all the game's music; some tracks are of extremely high quality in their original state, just as the composer released them. But for some of these tracks, we felt that an original arrangement would be welcome, and we made our own version.

In total, 19 songs received original arrangements:

1. Acid Trumpet - Kevin Macleod
2. Bass Vibes - Kevin Macleod
3. Cool Blast - Kevin Macleod
4. Covert Affair - Kevin Macleod
5. Deuces - Kevin Macleod
6. Dirt Rhodes - Kevin Macleod
7. Disco Medusae - Kevin Macleod
8. Disco Con Tutti - Kevin Macleod
9. Eighties Action - Kevin Macleod
10. Fantasia Fantasia - Kevin Macleod
11. Finally See The Light - Bryan Teoh
12. Get Fabulous - Bryan Teoh
13. Loopster - Kevin Macleod
14. Overcast - Kevin Macleod
15. Secret of Tiki Island - Bryan Teoh & Kevin Macleod
16. Semi-Funk - Kevin Macleod
17. Shenzhen Nightlife - Kevin Macleod
18. Sidewalk Shade - Kevin Macleod
19. Slice of Life - Bryan Teoh

Before we are developers, we are gamers, and we are big fans of SEGA when it comes to the soundtracks in their games.

We took inspiration from the Persona series, due to its musical richness, and we believe that a good soundtrack composed of good musical genres increases the player's immersion during gameplay.

That's why we chose to use musical genres such as Funk (Soul), Blues, Jazz, Samba, Rock, Disco, and Electronic.

Original Soundtrack

If all these original arrangements weren't enough, we also decided to compose our own music exclusively for this game.

If what we were looking for was originality, there's nothing more original than creating your own compositions, right?

In the case of our songs, since we've never released them before, they don't have an album/single they belong to, so we also decided to create unique artwork for each song, simulating what their album cover art would look like.

Modesty aside, although the work of these authors is exceptional, we believe that we are in no way inferior in terms of quality when it comes to our own compositions. We believe we composed songs with personality to create the original soundtrack for the game.

In total, 12 original songs were composed exclusively for this game:

1. Bar's Rock and Roll - Mastur Bar
2. Big Crazy Guy - Mastur Bar
3. Dawn of a New Day - Mastur Bar
4. Feeling Blues - Mastur Bar
5. Funky Samba Blues - Mastur Bar
6. Here Comes the Shark - Mastur Bar
7. Lady Killer - Mastur Bar
8. Lost in the Wind - Mastur Bar
9. Night in the City - Mastur Bar
10. Samba Blues - Mastur Bar
11. Sentimental Blues - Mastur Bar
12. Vegas Night - Mastur Bar

You can hear a snippet of all the songs listed in this post, both the original arrangements and the original soundtrack, in the video attached to this post, from 1:07 to 29:03.

The timestamps for each song are also available in a YouTube comment on this video.

The post ended up being a bit long, but we really had a lot to show you this time.
We hope you enjoy the new feature and the music.
Be careful not to start dancing! 😉
That's all for today, folks!
Cheers! 🍻

Check out the Video Preview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbPGfHkqlOc

[IMPORTANT] A lot has happened and I feel I owe you an explanation.

What's up, guys!
It's been a while since my last post, so I apologize for my absence during this time.
I feel I owe you an explanation as to why I am absent.

A lot has happened, coming from all possible directions, so I will address each topic one by one.

Health problems

A lot has happened in my personal life that required my full attention, the most important being my health.
I'm dealing with my formal job, this project, and everyday tasks like housework alone.
Due to the high level of stress I was experiencing, it ended up causing me high blood pressure and, at one point, some heart problems.

I had to pay special attention to my health, including being hospitalized for a while until the doctors released me from the hospital and allowed me to return home after concluding I was safe to be alone again.
It was a difficult time, but thank God I'm fine now.

This explains why I was absent for most of the time, but as soon as I got better, more problems started to occur, and I believe you are already aware of these.

Steam bans a wave of adult games

It all started because of an adult game called "No Mercy," which featured dark themes that I'd rather not name out of respect for the platform's rules.

Since Steam is a mainstream platform with a significant audience, this caught the attention of a group of feminist activists, who launched a campaign against the game and managed to get it taken down.

Still not satisfied, the group continued its campaign, now focusing on other adult games that they said contained allegedly abusive themes.

The activists' way to shut down the games was to pressure payment providers, especially Visa and MasterCard, who, in turn, began to pressure Steam.
It's difficult for the platform to reject a request from these companies, given their importance and the fact that most payments are processed through these credit card companies.

It goes without saying how important Steam is to my project, given the platform's size and importance.
Steam is essential for this game to receive the necessary support and continue its development.

Fortunately, my game was designed from the beginning to comply with all payment provider rules, as it was originally planned to be on Patreon.
Luckily, Steam kept my game online, even after the wave of adult game bans.

Valve Antitrust Litigation

This is another issue, completely unrelated to the previous one, involving Steam.

A development team (not in the adult game genre, by the way), dissatisfied with certain rules imposed by Steam, decided to file a lawsuit against Valve to try to legally overturn these rules. At the time, though, it was not very successful.

To gain more traction, this development team requested, in the court, that the judge make the case a class action lawsuit, which involved all (or at least the vast majority) of Steam's partner developers in the lawsuit as plaintiffs, as we were now considered "The Class".
Because of this, I was involved in a lawsuit against Valve against my own will.

I studied the context further to understand what the lawsuit was about and why my name was being involved when I never expressed any desire to participate in such an action, nor did I express any interest in taking legal action against Valve, but it seems I was "passively" included in the lawsuit.

When we developers agreed to partner with Valve to publish our games on Steam, their terms were very explicit, and anyone can accept (or decline, don't publishing there) those terms at their own discretion.
I do not agree, in any way, with the plaintiff's request.
I'd like to take this opportunity to publicly state this here!

I had to contact the lawyers involved in the case to request my exclusion as a plaintiff from the lawsuit, as I have no intention whatsoever of participating in such an action.
I believe that, from this point on, I am no longer part of the lawsuit.

Itch bans a wave of adult games and hides all adult games from their search engine

The context here is basically the same as that involving Steam.
It all started because of the adult game "No Mercy".
Feminist activists then pressured payment providers, who in turn pressured Itch to remove other adult games they deemed abusive.

The problem here was even more serious than with Steam, because although Itch banned a wave of games, it still hid absolutely all adult games from its search engine, harming the entire adult gaming scene.

Many developers rely on Itch for their games as part of their income, and some, although they don't have paid versions published there, use the platform as a means of promotion, publishing free versions to attract new players.

In the case of this project, I have a free version published there for promotional purposes, but since the game has been published on Itch since its launch, the platform is an extremely important part of the promotion, necessary to keep the game alive. Once again, since my game doesn't contain dark or heavy themes, respecting the limits of payment providers, luckily, the game was preserved and avoided being banned in the wave of bans.

Recently, Itch resumed indexing games with free versions in its search engine, since they don't accept payments, they wouldn't create problems with payment providers.

Since I only have a free version published there, we can say that this problem has been overcome.

Conclusion

After my recovery, despite my "absence", I spent considerable time resolving all these issues surrounding the project.

If any of these problems had persisted, it might not have been possible to continue the project, but fortunately, I was able to find a solution.
This was perhaps the hardest phase of the project, with all these unexpected setbacks that threatened to kill the project.

These were difficult times, as you know how passionate I am about this project, and seeing it die would have been really bad. Thank God, the outcome was positive, and I'll be able to continue developing it.

That said, today officially marks the return to development.
I hope to bring you some nice news soon.
Best regards.

Roadmap - MC Day 6 Clothes + Plans for v0.5 + Plans for the Project's Future

What's up, guys!
I've been working on the new version for a while now, but I haven't brought you any updates yet, so I decided to share some of my progress with you.

MAIN CHARACTER DAY 6 CLOTHES

First of all, as you can see in the images attached to this post, I have decided on the outfit that the main character will wear on the sixth day. It's inspired by a famous basketball team.
All renders related to moments already present in the game in which the MC appears have already been rendered with the MC wearing the new outfit.

But that's not the main focus of this post.
Let's take a look at the plans for the new episode.

PLANS FOR EPISODE 5

Episode 5 will consist of the following parts:

• Beatrice Sex Scene: Just like in Episode 4, there will be a sex scene with Beatrice as soon as the episode begins, but this time there will be more than just oral sex.
• Photoshoot with Julia: All the girls in the game will have at least 1 photoshoot each.
  Since Julia is the character who has just arrived at the brothel, you'll have to do a photoshoot with her and then post the photos on the escort forum to promote the brothel.
• Bartender Scene: As always, there'll be a scene where you'll work as a bartender.
  This time, there'll be a very special customer who will be part of the main story, and this will lead to further development of the story.
  In addition, you'll notice that the bar is more crowded than usual, thanks to the promotion that Leon did on his internet show.
• Luna Pole Dance Scene: As mentioned in the previous episode, Julia will teach the other girls in the brothel how to Pole Dance.
  In this episode, Luna will perform a Pole Dance show at the bar, just like Julia did in the previous episode.
  This will have a major consequence in the story, which you'll find out once you have the opportunity to play the new episode.
• Sakura Sex Scene: Sakura will also have a sex scene with you at the end of this episode.
  You'll find out that she has also joined the brothel team and she'll reveal her secrets to you, telling you why she made this decision.
  You'll be surprised by her reasons!

That's all I have planned for Episode 5 at the moment.
With that said, let's move on to the next and perhaps most important topic of today.

PLANS FOR THE PROJECT'S FUTURE

From the release of Episode 4 until now, I've been thinking about the future of the project and what would be the right decisions to make in order to achieve our dream of completing the development of this game.

I haven't told you this yet, but the time has come to say it: The project has already reached halfway through its development journey. I can say that it's somewhere in between 50% and 60% done.

I'm tired of seeing and hearing about other developers' work that was only half-finished and abandoned halfway through.
I'll not let that happen to my project, because what I want most is to finish it.
In addition, I also know that this is something that some players fear, due to some comments I have received.

Unfortunately, this is something that is quite common in the adult game development community in general and has become a ghost for everyone, both players and developers.
This creates a stigma that contaminates the entire environment.

Because of this, some players have already commented on my pages saying that I would abandon the project unfinished or something like that, which is not part of my plans.

As you know, this project is developed by only 1 person (me) at the moment, and my life has been quite busy lately, because my living conditions have changed a lot since the beginning of the project. Nowadays, I have a formal job to take care of, I have my household chores since I live alone, plus the work on the game development, all of which makes things a little harder than usual, as it's like trying to spinning plates for me, giving a little attention and time to each of these areas.

I know that, as players, we always want the game to be complete as soon as possible, because we want to see the end of the story, and if you feel that way about my game, I take it as a compliment, because it's a sign that it was interesting enough to keep you interested.
But I ask for a little patience, because the work will be done and I'll keep my word to you.

That said, I have made the decision to move straight towards the game's conclusion.

What do I mean by that?
In the past, I have always made a point of including optional extra content in the episode, which is not mandatory but can be unlocked by the player.
While this is nice, as it gives the player more content to explore, it does extend the production time of new episodes.

I'm not ruling this out, but these optional extra content will be released after the release of version 1.0.0, which is the version in which the main story will be complete.
If you, my audience, want me to continue adding content to the game and release versions 1.1.0, 1.2.0, 1.3.0, etc., I'll do so, but first I'll work towards delivering the complete main story to you. The extra content we can look at later.

That said, I've decided that the game will have 7 or 8 episodes in its final version, that is, the version in which the main story is complete.
More extra content may be added later, and this will be unlocked over the course of the days that make up the episodes, but first I've decided to deliver the complete main story to you.

The next episodes will focus mainly on the following (Contains a small spoiler):

• Episode 5: The main focus will be on Sakura's story. Content involving Beatrice will also be present, as mentioned above. In addition, Luna and Priscilla will have an important role in this episode.
• Episode 6: Priscilla will be the main focus of this episode. Luna will also play a very important role in this one, as she will be part of the development of Priscilla's story.
  There will also be a fight scene in the bar, which you'll have to intervene in. This will be crucial to the story.
• Episode 7: Yasmin will be the main focus of the story. She's Luna's college friend and will need help, so Luna will invite her to work at the brothel and she'll join the team.
  Lara will also have an important role in this episode, this is where she'll come into contact with the brothel for the first time.
  You'll also need to hire a security guard to take care of the brothel, in order to avoid fights in the bar like the one that happened in Episode 6.
• Episode 8: Lara will be the main focus of the story in this episode.
  She'll start to live directly with the brothel girls and the MC, and will even become part of the team.
  This episode will be the connection to the beginning of the story, which will take you to the Questioning (Scene 1), finally reaching the conclusion of the game.
  It'll have a surprising ending, but it'll remain a secret for now.

Maybe Episode 8 will be merged into Episode 7, that's something I still need to decide, but for now these are the decisions related to the script that I have made.

Something may change before development is complete, but I believe this plan will be followed for the most part.

This was a really long and revealing post.
I decided to open up about the full roadmap that I have from now until the final version of the game, and I hope this keeps you guys hyped to see how this story ends.

This was perhaps the most important post about the project's development that I've made to date, so I hope you enjoyed the news.
For now, I'll continue working on the development of the project itself: posing the characters, setting up the scenes, rendering, etc.

I hope to bring you some cool news soon.
See you next time, everyone.
Cheers! 🍻

Living in a Brothel is now available on Oppaiman.com!

What's up, guys!
Today we bring you some very good news: Oppai-Man invited us to publish Living in a Brothel in Oppaiman store.

OppaiMan is the legendary developer team behind the famous Fresh Women and it's an honor for us to receive their invitation to have our humble game available on their store.

It was a great surprise for us to receive such an invitation, because at first, we had only had superficial contact. Given the greatness of their work, we didn't believe we would have the chance to make our game available there, but the time has come.

Our store page on the OppaiMan store is similar to the one on Steam, available in English and Portuguese. The other languages ​​available there use AI translation, so it may not be perfect, but it certainly helps promote the game to native speakers of other languages.

We decided to make the game available there to promote the game more, so that new players can get to know our work. But there are certainly other advantages besides that, such as direct (and fast) download links offered by the OppaiMan website, and the fact that their payment system is directly linked to Patreon, which means that if you already support our work with $12 or more, you automatically gain access to the game in the OppaiMan store as well.

In addition, those who purchase the game there also gain access to the benefits offered on our Patreon, such as Steam and Itch Download Keys, for example.
By the way, welcome to our Living in a Brothel Patreon page, supporters who purchased the game through the OppaiMan store! 🥂

Unfortunately, we cannot provide the same access to SubscribeStar supporters, as the OppaiMan store system is only linked to Patreon. Despite this, the versions of the game available on the OppaiMan store are the same as those available on SubscribeStar, so you'll still have access to the game.

Now that we've finished our presentation of the debut of the Living in a Brothel game page on the OppaiMan store, we're leaving you the link so you can see it for yourself.

OppaiMan Store: https://www.oppaiman.com/app/Living_in_a_Brothel

If you're one of our supporters on Patreon ($12 or higher) or have purchased the game from the OppaiMan store, we kindly ask that you leave a positive review on the store page, as this helps us promote the game even further.

Leave a Review: https://www.oppaiman.com/app/Living_in_a_Brothel/review

We sincerely appreciate everyone who takes a minute to post a review there!

Cheers! 🍻

Back from hiatus

What's up, guys!
Let's start this post with some positive news: We're back!

But this time, I feel it's necessary to better explain the reason for my disappearance and why development went on hiatus for approximately 1 month and a half since the last post.
You may have noticed that I'm using the first person throughout this post, and there's a reason for that.
From the beginning until now, this game has been developed by only one person, me.
Despite this, I have always written posts in the plural, as I intended to invite more people to work with me in the future, but it never happened.
Some very important things happened in my life, which made it impossible for me to work on the game's development during this period. I don't like to talk about my personal life here, but I feel I should give you an explanation, since without the help of everyone who believes in the project, none of what we have done so far would have been possible.

I received a job offer that I couldn't refuse. The salary is very generous, above the average for a regular job in the job market. However, I was called to work in another state, very far from my home state.

This required a lot of planning on my part.
I had to organize my entire life: decide what items I could take with me on the trip and what items I would have to leave behind; buy the plane ticket; travel; book a hotel to stay in as soon as I arrive in the new place; find a new house to rent, so that I would have a place to live in this new state; furnish the new house; install essential services, such as internet, for example; go to the new job and deliver all my documentation so that I could be hired; adapt to the new routine, so that I would have time to also work on the development of the game; among many other tasks.

All of this required an extreme effort on my part, so that only now have I had time to come here and talk to you.
Now that I'm in my new home and have completed the entire moving process, I can dedicate my time to developing the game again.

From this, I bring some good news:

• The most important of all: I'LL CONTINUE DEVELOPING THE PROJECT.
  Just to make it clear that i'll not abandon the project, ok?
• Along with all the furniture I had to buy for the new house, I also had to get a new PC that had good enough hardware to allow me to continue developing the project.

  I got a very powerful PC! During the rendering tests I did with it, I discovered that it can render up to 3x faster than the previous PC.

  This means that we'll have an increase in productivity and, consequently, we'll be able to have more animations than before, since they'll now be rendered 3x faster, and animations are what takes the most time to render, since they have to be rendered frame by frame.

• Last but not least, I now have a solid financial base to cover my own costs and, because I'm in a better financial situation, it'll be easier to work on developing the project, since I'll no longer have to worry about paying my monthly expenses.

  I'll just have to balance the time dedicated to my new job and the development of the game. But that's not a problem, I know it'll be possible to do it.

  Of course, your help will continue to be important and very welcome, but now I'm sure that I will not go bankrupt, and the project will be able to continue regardless of the circumstances.

That said, since I would need to take some time away, why did I decide to keep Patreon active, instead of temporarily disabling it?

While most of you'll be able to access the game on all platforms, some users from specific countries, such as Germany and China, rely on a Patreon integration to be able to claim their Steam Keys and access the game on Steam. If I were to disable Patreon and prevent billing during these months, these users from Germany and China would consequently be unable to claim their Steam Keys, so I have decided to keep Patreon active for the sake of the service's continuity.

I completely understand whoever decided to stop supporting the project financially, as it's really bad for supporters to go a long period of time, like 1 month and a half, without receiving updates. I respect your decision and, if you think I deserve your support again now that development is back in action, I'll be eternally grateful.

To our supporters who decided to continue supporting the project, despite this brief hiatus, I would like to express my sincere gratitude, as you are helping me at one of the times when I need it most. Thank you for your patience and trust in my work!

At the moment, I don't have any updates to show you, due to all this context that I just explained, but I feel it was more than necessary to be transparent and clarify the situation for you.

On the other hand, I'll be resuming development from now on, so I hope to have news to show you soon.

That's all for today, folks!
Cheers! 🍻