BLIND'S PROFILE

Apologize in advance to the mods for bumping! But I've actually been thinking quite a lot about this lately! Especially in the post-MeToo, post-GamerGate climate, etc.

Now that I'm producing a commercial Indie Game instead of just a hobbyist project, I've had to devote a lot more of my energy to thinking about what might create the most "likability" and broad appeal with gamers - and how to balance that with maintaining my original vision. It could be entirely in my mind, but I certainly feel more pressure to compromise... in order to make any real profit from what I'm doing.

Perhaps RMN isn't the greatest way to gauge public consensus, because I'd like to think we're very diverse and generally liberal here.

But, just fishing for some opinions here. Do you think the average gamer feels that including LGBT relationships in games is inherently too "political"? Or are we past that? Should it even matter in how we craft our stories? And if so, how do you balance wanting to write authentic or subversive characters with having marketability?

It's probably no secret that BR has some gay characters (the artwork gives it away, lol), and some people have already private-messaged me saying they really appreciate seeing that. But in general, I've refrained from going full-on in talking about it in any game profile descriptions or the upcoming Kickstarter. In an ideal world, I don't want to have to make a big thing of it, because the sexuality of the characters is not really what most defines them. But on the other hand, I can understand why some minorities want their representation to be more bold and unapologetic in games.

River and sakura tree.

author=Rose_Guardian
That looks nice. Also not trying to scare you, but that character is hot, and well drawn.

Thanks! And yes XD John is a bit of a pretty boy / Bishōnen type.

Great mood/atmosphere in this shot.

author=Dyhalto
When it stops being gratifying, and the monetary reward at the end of the rainbow doesn't seem all that worthwhile, feel free to come on back to hobby land!

Tempting. XD The good ol' days...

When I work on the actual game, I'm torn between wanting to keep the "spirit" of the original (including the silly bits) and remaking things from the ground-up to feel more professional & polished. It's a dangerous cycle, lol.