Let's Play Polymorphous Perversity

A guy named Phobia was brave enough to record a complete Let's Play of Polymorphous Perversity and post it on Youtube. It's incredibly fun to watch, and should be helpful for people who were asking for a complete walkthrough/guide of the game.

---edit may 24th 2015---

Apparently the walkthrough was taken down from youtube. That's my thing, have my game related stuff taken down. If you want to know what happened, check this video (if you can understand what he's saying):

Post-mortem

It has been four months since I finished the first, untouched version of Polymorphous Perversity. Despite mentioning a few mechanics and releasing some screenshots beforehand, it was a game I fought hard to keep to myself. I didn't want people to see it before it was ready for public eyes. Even in the middle of all the player contribution, either in the form of short sexual fantasy testimonials or nude photos exposition requests, the game felt very... mine. Very personal. Anyone who's read a bit of this blog knows how intimate my relationship with the game has been all along. In a way that's not as flat and obvious as it may seem at first glance, everything I put in the game was part of me. In a way, the game was like a personal diary. And as it grew on me, so did the pressure to let it out.

After almost two months of testing - which were very painful to me, as I had to hold it for a bit longer - I made the public release of Polymorphous Perversity. Back then, it was one game. Today, after numerous comments, videos and reviews sprouted on the Internet, it feels like another game entirely. And that's how it should be. To me, games are messages, from developer to player. The content of the message is not exclusively determined by the author's intent, but by the receiver's understanding as well. The content of Polymorphous Perversity only made real sense to me after players started responding. And thus I feel the game - or rather, the project - is actually finished now.

I have vowed myself not to give interviews regarding the game once it was released. I have also vowed myself not to comment on player's discussion on the game, neither try to explain anything. I have to say, keeping those vows has been extremely difficult. I have this urge to keep talking, explaining and elaborating, if only to try and make more sense of the game to myself, put thoughts and ideas into words and making them concrete. But that would defeat the purpose of the entire thing, and I feel it would be too arrogant of me to say that someone didn't get the game. That's not what it's about.

There are two modes in which I functioned while making Polymorphous Perversity. I'll call them the Conscious Mode, and the Unconscious mode. In Conscious Mode, I made deliberate design choices trying to convey specific reactions on the players while fully aware of the message I was trying to send. There are various elements in the game that seem random, I know, but believe me - they aren't. In Unconscious Mode, I refrained myself from overthinking scenes and dialogs, and just wrote whatever came to mind, like free association, no matter how senseless they could seem at first examination. That's also an inheritance of Freudian inspiration, and that's not a bit more random than Conscious Mode. I think both modes worked equally well on constituting the game's content.

I'll say it now, there is intentional meaning in Polymorphous Perversity. I was trying to make a point. From what I've been reading, no one have seemed to quite get it, or rather, think like me. Maybe because in the effort of trying to hide some cues from insipid obviousness, I hid them a little too well. It doesn't really matter. I'm glad that people are still able to make consistent readings of the game, and I am not to say they are any less valid then my own.

What is special about Polymorphous Perversity, though, is how deep those readings can go. It is incredible how the game seems to catch people's attention through entirely different elements. How two people can love the game for completely different reasons, and how two other people can hate it for different reasons as well. And it's not just love and hate - players have engaged on the game on very different levels. And this is exactly what I meant, and what I expected when I said I hoped players to involve with the game sexually. I didn't mean players were suppose to get horny playing the game (though, well... it could happen). I meant that players would react differently to the game for reasons that correspond to their sexuality - and again, I summon Freud for a broader understanding of sexuality. I could mention a good bunch of examples here, but I don't want to point fingers at the people writing about the game. Just google it, or browse the "They have spoken" tab on the right side of this blog.

It would be absurd to deny that there's a lot of myself in the game, but at the same time it managed to allow players to put a lot of themselves in there too. And by the multiplicity of player's reactions, I could say that process number two has carried an important weight. From this perspective, it's funny how I have been called many things as the creator of the game, "transphobic", "misogynist pig" and "juvenile" being some of them. They're blaming me from the things they saw, things lots of other players didn't... and even I didn't. To be honest, I was incredibly surprised that the game has raised debate on the "tranny" issue and on the "rape" issue. My response to this is: those are not my issues, and they're definitely not the game's.

Having said that, I acknowledge a lot of the game's flaws that were mentioned by many players, especially mechanic. I took a lot of risks, and it was hit and miss process. Once some guy asked me when would I make another game like Beautiful Escape: Dungeoneer, or even a sequel to it. I would never. I want to make games that challenge me, that take me out of my comfort zone. If anyone thinks playing Polymorphous Perversity is hard, imagine making it. But that's what it's been about, all along.

My original intent of this game was making an RPG that contained pretty much every aspect of the male sexuality (male - intentionally). It would be some sort of clinical exposition, an essay on sexuality, and funnily, that was what some people were expecting. It was bound to fail, of course, and gladly it did. Polymorphous Perversity is not the game I started making in Feb 2011. It's nothing like it, but I'm completely satisfied with what it turned out to be. I'm satisfied with the journey I took, I'm satisfied that I actually finished it (almost a miracle, I could say), and I'm satisfied it communicates with people. I wouldn't change anything.

I don't know if I'll be graded A, B, or F, but my horny meter is definitely down right now.

At last... Polymorphous Perversity!

It is finished. Download it now:

DOWNLOAD POLYMORPHOUS PERVERSITY

The system implemented after the testing phase was a sexual diagnosing system. Click here for info.

I haven't forgotten about the $69 prize and the Polymorphous Perversity Guide to Masturbatory Reconditioning I promised to one of the testers. I'll take care of it soon.

I've talked enough about this game. Now I want to hear about it.

Testing is over

Deadline for testing was extended to June 16th, which is today. Testing is over.

I got almost 300 sign ups for testing, which was a surprisingly huge number, but only 22 savefiles sent, which was surprisingly little. But I take part of the fault for that, because I got numerous reports that the game was somewhat difficult and frustrating at points.

I'm not taking any more sign ups, but if any tester is still willing to send me the savefile within the next few days, that will be great!

Next step is organizing all data from savefiles and doing some heavy statistic work. I said I wanted 100 testers, but I was thinking high. I could work fine with 50, and my very very minimum would be 20. I have 22, which means the outcome of the process will be far from ideal, but it will do.

I'd rather not talk about the actual system I'm implementing using data from the savefiles right now, but it will only affect the ending of the game. I'm also changing a lot of stuff based on testers' feedback, but nothing major.

I set my mind not to change ANYTHING in the game once I've made the final release. The game was finished on April 26th, almost 2 months ago. That's enough fine-tuning. I think I'll have the final release of the game by... let's say... June 29th. I'm sorry for the huge delay though!

I'm taking suggestions regarding where I can host the game. I want something that's reliable, easy to access, and preferably with a download count. I don't want sites like rapidshare or 4shared. I was thinking Game Jolt, which is a pretty great site, unless someone has a better idea.

Thank for you everyone who has tested the game, even those who couldn't finished. Thanks for all the feedback as well! And thanks everyone else for the support. I hope the final "product" is worth the wait!

More time

I contacted the testers, and I decided to give testing more time.

So deadline for testing now is June 16th.

I have also decided to make things a bit easier for testers.

I made a patch that fixes some minor problems: less lag at some points, more items, less difficulty, more instructions. Just extract the rar file to your game folder and replace the previous files.
DOWNLOAD TESTING PATCH

I also wrote a very brief guide for those who are stuck at some point and don't know what to do next. I recommend you do not read it unless you're really stuck. Also, don't read past the point you need.
COMING SOON

If by June 16th I don't have enough savefiles, I'll release the game as it is. I have fixed some problems according to the testers feedback, but I haven't implemented the system that would require the savefiles I'm asking to function. If I don't have the savefiles by then, the game will have to do without it.

Thank you for the help, everyone!

Something wrong?

Testing phase is not going quite as I expected.

So far, I have 178 sign ups (all of them have already got an e-mail with the game's download link), but only five have sent me the savefile. Testing phase has been up for 11 days, and there are only 10 days left.

A few people sent me e-mails reporting trouble running the game on Windows 7, but all of them (I think) have been fixed. I also got a couple of people telling me they got stuck on some part of the game, but I already gave them instructions on how to proceed.

I wonder what has happened to the rest. Have they given up on the game? Why? I need some feedback on this. But more importantly, I need people who are actually willing to finish the game. Without the information from the savefiles, it won't be possible for me to finish the game (EVER!).

Let the testing begin

The game is completely finished now. Time for testing.

I got a lot of messages and e-mails from people willing to test the game. I really appreciate the interest! But let me just explain what this testing actually is, not to raise wrong expectations:

- There are some experimental mechanics I'm using within the game, and they need some sort of calibration to properly work. The game records some data of player performance, and the feedback I need from the testers is in the savefile of the game. So the only kind of feedback I need right now is the savefile of the game after completion.
- I don't intend to change the game's content after testing.
- This calibration is being made to ensure the best gameplay experience possible. Thus, if you want to experience the game to the fullest, I recommend you wait for the final release, and don't test.

If you're still interested, sign up here:

Polymorphous Perversity Testing Sign Up

On a side note, I'm very happy with all the recent buzz on the game! In a way, it's too bad this popularity came a little late, because all the player contribution would be very rich to the game. But like I said... right now, I just want to get it done. Unleash the beast.

Wait for it

According to my checklist, I just finished Polymorphous Perversity.

I shouldn't even be posting it, but I'm so happy!

But it's not really finished. Next steps:

1. Play the entire game myself. Try to spot bugs, incoherences, and probably make a few tweaks on the text. That should happen in the next few days.
2. Bug testing. Another person will play the game looking for grammar errors, passability bugs, freezing glitches, etc. Should take a week, tops.
3. Balance testing. My game mechanics are too daring to go public before I know if they actually work. I'll need quite a few testers on this. I'll announce it when bug testing is finished... but if you want to be a tester, check back in a week or so.

Earphones

I just bought earphones to help me finish Polymorphous Perversity.

There are just very few minor things to get everything done. But there is also one not-so-minor thing: sound effects. Not bleep-bloop videogame sounds effects, because I already added those. I mean... porn sound effects. I know I want them, but I haven't even started looking for them.

I've already found some websites with porn sounds for download (if you know any of those, please post on comments!). But they are all so so fake. People faking orgasms on the microphone. It sounds almost stupid. They're still an option. But my better option would be ripping sounds from porn movies and clips. Which is not an easy task, because I would have to find movies with decent quality and no voice/music overlapping. I can see myself watching dozens of porn clips of all kinds, pausing, going back and forth, trying to rip sound clips as short as 1 second (like a fap sound).

I don't live alone, so the whole process may be acoustically disturbing to whoever is around. Thus the earphones. You might considering getting those too if you plan on playing Polymorphous Perversity.

Like I said, expect this game to be finished around May. If you plan on helping with testing, be sure to check back on the blog every now and then.

And that's how it goes

Death threats

Today is February 20th, 2012, and it's an important date for Polymorphous Perversity. It's been exactly one year since I started working on this (which was supposed to be a 2 month) project.

There are basically two reasons why everything is taking too long. One, the game was supposed to be simpler, just a bland RPG with simple graphics and lots of sex. I got ambitious, and the concept evolved.

The second reason is that I noticed the process was having personal effects on me, and I decided that it was a good thing.  Instead of shutting my mind to the vast sea of sexual weirdness presented in front of me, I chose to embrace it. From the beginning, I opened the game's doors to player contribution, asking for their sexual fantasies and experiences and even adding their voluntary naked photos on the game. I made my own contribution too. And let's just say that my research experience has gone past googling for stuff.

But taking too long to finish a game is a bad thing in itself, and it's even worse if you're forcing yourself in the process to think about a delicate (in lack of better terms) subject such as this one to inspire game design. I'm a perfectionist, and I'm stuck on some parts of the game because I haven't found the perfect way to design them. I think, I look for ideas, but it's making me sick. I think the best way to describe what I'm feeling is to imagine having a pervy ghost whispering fetishist porn in your mind all day long for a year.

What I'm saying is: I need to convince myself that the game doesn't have to be great, or I'll never finish it. Yeah, it may end up being great, it may end up being crap, but I don't care anymore. I already know I utterly failed on my (rather impossible) goal of representing every possible element of the human sexuality spectrum in the game. To be honest, I was only aiming at male sexuality in the first place, since I'm pretty insightless on female sexuality. I run the risk of making the game too shallow, too fast, too cliche, too cold, but I don't (can't) care.

Expect the game to be finished soon. And if it isn't, feel free to make me death threats.

A word about sex in media

I just read Rich Stanton's piece Why Can't Games Do Sex?

Although I appreciate the insightful review on sex and video games, I have to disagree with the basic premise, which is: sex is a natural thing, so we should deal with it naturally. That includes, of course, having sex on videogames.

This has been discussed before in my blog.

I'll use myself as reference for my argument, but in this regard, I think I'm a pretty standard person, so I hope it's generalizable.

I've played a few Hentai games before... like True Love and Hentai Sim Brothel (which inspired Marvel Brothel). Though they're pretty ok games, I felt a little impatient while playing them. That is because, knowing I was playing a game full of sex and naked chicks, I wasn't really in the mood for stats management and talk-talk-talk. I like how Electrondance described Hentai Sim Brothel: it's a game that rewards masochistic play with hentai images. But it's not supposed to be really masochistic, as it's an interesting business simulator. However, when you're in the mood for sex, you're probably not in the mood for numbers.

My point is basically: sex change things. When I'm watching a movie that I know to contain a strong sex scene, I can't help but wait for that scene and get a little impatient with the rest of the movie. I mean, who likes the terrible acting and dialog of porn actors/actresses when they're not having sex? Same for games. Same for pretty much everything (dates?). Like I said elsewhere, having sex in a game is enough to turn it into a sex game. And sometimes, you just don't WANT to make/play a sex game. So if you're going to do sex, you have to do it right.

If you put a sex minigame in GTA, I have no doubt people will rush through the rest of the game trying to get to that as quickly as possible. They'll hack the game, if they have to. If there was actual sex in The Sims, I don't think people would treat it as "part of the avatar's basic needs" in a natural way, they would force and rush sex in the most bizarre ways possible just for giggles. So, yeah, blame the players. If you want to have sex in a game, make it a sex game, like that grotesque Sepe Cumshot... thing (I'm still washing my hands), on the risk that it'll be a horrible game if you're just trying to simulate actual sex as realistically as possible - because, you know, it's probably not as good as actual sex.

Premature ejaculation

So the game is almost done, except for a few finishing touches and the two final scenes.

I decided to give it a full playthrough to get a good feel of the game and spot bugs. At first I just ignored all the side stories and ran straight through the main plot.

It was way too fast.

Then I went back and played every side quest and optional scene.

Still fast.

Of course I tend to go faster than other players because I know everything. But the speed still worries me.

I'm thinking about adding... stuff. I won't extend the main plot, but add more optional content, secrets, etc. Not much. On one hand, it'll give me the opportunity to add more of the things from my Bathroom Wall. On the other hand, it will delay the release of the game a bit. Not much.

Sorry about that!

Making progress!

My break ends today, tomorrow I'm getting back to work on this game, full speed, promise.

I decided I should make some sort of cheerful post because the last one was too depressing.

I have to say, one of the things that motivated me and inspired me the most to work on Polymorphous Perversity again was playing an awesome indie game. And the game I'm talking about is Richard Hofmeier's Cart Life. This game is just so unique and brilliant that I have to be careful not to be overhumbled and give up on whatever I'm working at. If you want to know what it's about before giving it a go, you can read a great review here.

The worst thing about working on a game is that you get tons of ideas to work on OTHER projects, and you have to be really persistent not abandon your present one and start a new one. I know many many people who've started quite a few games, but never finished one. Polymorphous Perversity will actually be my first long finished project, since all my other ones are either unfinished or were finished in a short time.

Yeah, I am finishing this. I decided to put down a list of what's left to be made:

• Mapping and coding the last dungeon/story bridge (it is already planned).
• Planning and designing the last scene (whatever requires planning often takes more time).
• Designing the really final scene (already planned).
• Planning and designing three intermediate parts of the game.
• Making opening and ending (already planned).
• Ripping sounds from porn films and adding them to game.
• Tons of small other things, but they are really small.

It's not much! I really have no idea how long it will take, though. If I had to guess, I'd say... end of March? Could be before, could be after. I'll chop off unnecessary fillers so I can finish this game sooner.

But then there's also beta-testing phase, and I expect it to last at least a month, because I'll need dozens of testers. So, sorry for not keeping my word about releasing the game at the end of January. I hope I'll make it worth it. At this point, I don't even know how ambitious this project is anymore, but even if it doesn't end up being an "insightful look into human sexuality", it's still going to be a fun game.

PS: There isn't really anything about the game or its theme that shocks me or disturbs me at this point. I can't tell the difference between being resistant and getting desensitized anymore.

It is ending

The world is ending, so I need to finish this game soon.

Sadly, I haven't been physically or mentally well, so I can't get myself to do much for the game at the moment.

This is not a hiatus, not a possible cancellation or anything like that, just a break I need to take. A short one, hopefully.

There isn't much left to do, though. And if I feel a bigger urge to finish the game sooner, I'll just skip some non-important stuff and get it over with. I'll release this game, I promise.

Staying on subject, I recently saw this poll that asked people what would they want to be doing when the world ended. Over 50% said they want to be having sex. I'm puzzled. Why do they have to wait for the world to end?

Death and sex are themes that pop up together more often that I expected.

Shout out to Michael Hutter for some amazing art I stumbled across googling for "death and sex".