Hey, everybody. Welcome to this month’s Patreon Q&A. I think next time we unfortunately might have to make a rule to not ask about future scenes or content for Our Life: Now & Forever. Those are really good questions, but I can’t really commit to any answer yet because so much could still change. Anything that I am thinking now might not last, and so I can’t say it with certainty. This month we got quite a lot of questions about that, and I feel bad with how many I had to skip this time. So, I’m going to try not to have lots of rules with this sort of very casual Q&A. But that one, I might have to say I’m sorry, no more questions about anything that’s not a basic part of the game. Anything related to the art that will be there, or the scenes that will be there, won’t be allowed to be submitted anymore. So I am sorry about that! But questions like that probably will be able to return next year when we’re working on Our Life: Now & Forever as the main project. But with all that said, let’s get into the questions that I am able to answer.
Would all the MCs still love us if we were a worm?
And sure, why not? I guess they would!
Would Cove have fallen in love with the MC if they didn’t live near each other (if they met and lived like in different states)?
I’d say that’s possible. He likes the main character for the experiences they have together, and they can still go through things even without having lived right next to each other. But the MC would have to become a big part of his life. He wouldn’t fall in love with someone if they just were nice or funny. They’d have to actually have some kind of impact on his life.
You mentioned a while back when the base game of Our Life 1 was still in development and there was a lot of that initial Cliff thirst that you might be open to making a game about romancing a single father. Is that still something you would consider?
The short answer is probably no. I do definitely like the idea of romance stories with people who are parents. I think that’s something you don’t see a lot, and it would be nice to have more of that. But it’s one of those things I’d probably rather someone else make and I play rather than I make it for other people to play. So, it’s not impossible that we ever have a parent love interest. It’s very unlikely that I’ll decide to make an entire game for the purpose of having a parent love interest. It’ll more be like I have some other idea for something I want to do, and it turns out that one of the love interests being a parent would make sense. I’m not really imagining that happening anytime in the near future, so I’m sorry about that.
Do you know if the Baxter DLC would have any effects on the wedding DLC if you take a friendship route with him and still end up with Cove?
And yeah, there will be alterations where Baxter will mention things that happened during his Step Three events and the main character can think back on them and they’ll definitely be a greater amount of alterations if you do his extra scenes and then just do Cove’s version of Step Four.
I was just wondering if Qiu had any general preference between he and they, or is there one that’s more correct when talking about Qiu in a general sense. I know that the pronouns shouldn’t be used interchangeably, but it’s always difficult to know which to use, since Qiu is not a real person and we can’t just check for nail polish.
It does depend on the Step which one to use. In Step One it’s he/him, Step Two it’s they/them. And Step Three and Four, which is the main ones you’re talking about, I imagine it’s they/he. But if you can’t see the nail polish, the default is they. It’s best only to use he/him if there’s a clear sign that that’s the preferred pronouns at that time.
I’ve been falling in love with all the adults in Our Life series, and recently I’ve been shipping some of them. My favorite ship at the moment is Cliff and Opal. I don’t know why, but I love the thought of them as a couple in the Our Life 2 MC as Cove’s younger steps. Could they work together?
That is very cute as a concept, but realistically no, I don’t think they could ever get together. Both of them are similar in that they are not easy to get into a relationship with and generally would remain single unless something really absolutely unignorable came along. And I do feel like they could both ignore the other one and stay single. But I’m glad you like both of them!
I was also wondering if there are any non-canon couples who you think would be a match?
And usually no, because if I think two people really could end up together, I sort of just say, “Well, they could potentially get together in the future if they don’t get with the main character”. Like in XOXO Droplets, Everett and Nate could potentially get together if neither of them date JB. And I say that’s canon because I think they are a good potential couple. But the one exception might be the main love interest of Our Life 2, with the side love interest from Our Life 1. So Tamarack and Derek, and Qiu and Baxter. I can’t say that’s canon because I won’t ever say that the leads are definitely going to get together with someone else if the MC doesn’t take them. But I mean, I do think they kind of are weirdly compatible. And it’s especially funny because they’re the leads from two different games. So I guess that is the one time I will have a pairing that’s not canon that I do kind of support.
Thank you for these precious games. They’ve given me immense joy since I’ve found them. (Well, thank you! I’m really glad they were a good time for you.) And the question is, I was wondering, does Tamarack stay with her grandparents throughout the whole game?
And she does. She’s always living in that house. Well, I mean, maybe not in Step Four when they’re full-grown adults, but the main story is step one through three. She’s with her grandparents.
Is Lee a singer/member of a band or something more “in the back of the scene”, so to speak?
Lee was created by a Kickstarter backer, and so I can’t really say definitively what she does. I think the backer imagined her as being a singer, but I don’t remember exactly, so I can only guess that she is a singer.
Will any other characters get canonical birthdays?
Yes, they will. And actually, I think for Derek and Baxter, their birthdays are just going to end up being the days their DLC came out. So I think that’s September 29th for Derek. And then whatever day the Baxter DLC comes out for Baxter. But Qiu and Tamarack will get birthdays probably sometime next year.
I’ve been wondering this in the last few days. If Cove was a girl, how would she be different/the same as her male self?
And probably not that different at all. I wouldn’t really be able to speculate on how being a girl would change someone who was a boy. So I’m unsure, I guess, but mostly the same.
Considering that Mr. Yusuf could be a potential father figure for the MC, could our MC adopt Tamarack’s grandparents as grandparental figures as well?
And yes, you can. I don’t know to the degree, but you will be able to sort of feel like Tamarack’s Granny is your granny, and her grandpa’s basically your grandpa, too.
I’m a big fan of Derek’s DLC and his siblings, so I have to ask, are any of the main love interests in Our Life 2 also going to have siblings?
No, they won’t. There’s already more major characters in that there’s two main leads, and then they both have two parental figures/guardians, and we can’t add siblings on top of that as well. So they both just have to be only siblings.
Is Cove any good at fishing and does he enjoy it at all?
He’s probably a mediocre fisherman and enjoys it a medium amount.
Since our friendship with Cove started with the $20 deal, and Derek technically started our engagement with his ten year deal, will Baxter have a deal in his DLC?
And not exactly. There will be something akin to that, but it will definitely be a little bit different than what those two did.
The next question is two questions about secret project (r), wondering if it was still in development or if we were going to work on it in the future.
And unfortunately, the answer is no. Our Life: Beginnings and Always was meant to be done in 2022, and it will not be done until sometime in 2023. And we can’t go back and pick up projects that were going to be worked on years ago and do them now. The people on the team have moved on and players now have different expectations of the types of games we’re making, and so unfortunately we won’t be able to finish that project. I am sad about that, but I don’t want anyone to think that maybe there’s a chance if I don’t give a clear answer, and so the answer is going to have to be no.
Then and then continuing, one of those questions was: My partner wanted to ask if Jeremy had a slight accent because it was mentioned a past ask that his parents were from the UK?
And he doesn’t. His heritage is from the UK, but his parents were not first generation. It was grandparents and great grandparents who came from there. So Jeremy just has a typical American accent, although hilariously his actor is from Canada.
I know you’re working on Baxter’s DLC and Our Life 2 right now, but I’d like to know if you’d still release that XOXO Droplets visual novel in the future, or if it’s completely canceled?
And that one might not be canceled since it’s already a written game and it would just be sort of reworking it and editing rather than having to make everything from scratch. So maybe we could find a way to do that still. But there is a chance that will also have to be canceled.
Would Cove enjoy taking a bath with the MC as young adults?
He could, probably not during the time period when Step Three happens, but maybe a little bit past that. When he’s 19 or 20, he might have been able to get to a point where he’s comfortable with that. But definitely when he’s a full grown adult, that would be something he could be very content with.
My sibling was curious and wanted to ask, does Shiloh like to work?
I don’t know. He is an enigma and I really can’t speak for him! But if you ask him, he’ll just lie to you. So who knows?
I’ve been wondering for a while, was Baxter’s name or characterization inspired by the “Baxter” trope romance movies?
And no, it wasn’t! I didn’t know that was a thing until you mentioned it, but it is very funny. I looked it up and I was like, “Wow, it’s like it was on purpose!” But it wasn’t. I just picked that name because if you know why he likes black and white, he needed a B name. And I liked the name Baxter as a B name.
If MC and Cove had kids, would be the type to be strict when it comes to discipline, or would he be more lenient with them?
Cove would be a very lenient parent. He would have learned from his parents that rules and trying to tell your kids what to do, that’s hard. So just let them do what they want.
What would Cove’s dream job be?
That would depend on his warmth/cold level and his sporty/studious level. But some potential dream jobs would be a marine biologist or a surf instructor.
What is some things Cove dislikes/hates?
He doesn’t like bugs and he doesn’t like crowded places or places with a lot of conflicting sounds. It’s not so much the volume, but more like different things fighting for attention in his head. And he doesn’t like people who are too overly friendly or too personal too fast. And he’s not a huge fan of horror, especially if it’s like gory or gross out stuff. So that’s just a few things that he is not fond of.
Hi, I am curious if Lizzie continues golf after Step One, or does she lose interest?
She does continue to play golf, but it just sort of becomes lesser in her life, but she never completely drops it.
As a game developer yourself, is there a different game dev that inspires you or you at least admire for their work?
I mean, I admire a lot of the visual novel developers out there. I don’t really know non-visual novel developers. And I’d say people who are inspiring are like solo developers who are doing basically everything themselves. But I’d say a specific team who I’m a fan of is Perfect Garbage. And if you don’t know them, they’re making the game Love Shore. And that’s a little bit unfair to say because I met them in person because we had a booth together at PAX East and they’re very cool and really smart. And even though they make VNs, they’re really, really knowledgeable about the game industry as a whole. And so I find them to be very incredible in what they do.
Considering the option to invite Derek to move in with Cove and the MC in Stage 4 section of Derek DLC, would it be possible to add that choice for either Stage 4 (when the characters gather at Cove’s home) or Cove Wedding DLC (during the wedding reception)?
And probably not. It would be a little bit too hard to just have that come up out of the blue, and it’d be too much extra work to really build it up and have it be a meaningful choice to come up. That that would be weeks of extra work. I just don’t think it would work as just a slight, here’s one more thing to say at the time, it would have to be like a full expansion. So unfortunately, that can’t come up in Cove’s story. But you can certainly imagine maybe after Step Four is over, it happens!
When it comes to dancing and music lessons in Our Life 2, where are they going to be taught?
Dancing is in a little dance hall in the town, and music will probably just be at the school. Probably there won’t be a separate location for that one. But who knows? Maybe it’ll change.
In Our Life 2, to is there a negative side effect to choosing flirty options when they come up?
No. I mean, I guess if you choose to turn jealousy on and then are flirting with everybody, that might lead to drama, but if you don’t have jealousy on, then nothing bad will happen.
Even though in Our Life 2 they get older and change their personalities through the Steps, do they still keep affection with you and treat you as their neighbor?
Yes. Even if you’re at the lowest affection level, they’re really never going to be mean to you or do anything that makes you feel really bad. You might not be close and they might not come up to try and spend time with you or anything, but it’ll still be at least fairly amicable. And of course, if you are fond or crushing or love, then it will be a very close and pleasant relationship.
How would Derek be as a parent? If he and MC ended up having a big family like three kids, do you think he would try and make it so the older brother doesn’t have to carry all the burden alone?
Yes, I do think he would be especially attentive to the oldest to make sure that they got a childhood, too, and that too much wasn’t being put on their shoulders and that they were still a kid and the parents were the ones doing all the parenting.
And also: How would he act overall?
I imagine he’d be pretty similar to his own kids as he was to his younger siblings because he almost had like a quasi-parental relationship with them. And that sort of would be reflected when he was a dad himself. So he would be a pretty fun dad. But also, he would know how to handle his kids, but he would also be trying to do as much for them as he possibly could.
And then also: Would he like to teach his kids about sports like Mr. Suarez did to him?
Yeah. Derrick would love to teach his kids sports if they were interested, but he wouldn’t be too disappointed if they weren’t. Since neither of his little brothers ended up being that interested in sports. You know, it’s not like the end of the world. He’s still going to love them anyways.
I adore your approach to relationships and giving the MC the ability to truly have the choice they want to make in whatever capacity available. You have a lot of emotional intelligence and perspective that is very satisfying to play out through the emcee (Well, thank you very much! That’s very good to hear/read. I’m glad it ended up coming together well). And then my question is about your future projects. Thus far, your games have been more youth centered for first loves and that line of journey. Do you think that you will ever make a game along a more mature theme for seasoned more experienced/involved love stories between adults?
And maybe that could potentially happen. Obviously, Our Life 2 is the same as what we’ve done before. And the game after that will not be about growing up, but because of the circumstances of the main character, it will still be their first love, even though they’re an adult for story reasons. So it would have to be some game after that. But one issue is we’re likely going to keep having customizable MCs, and it would be a little hard to insist that this main character is experienced or has had past relationships. So, we’d have to, I guess, make it a choice. And maybe you can say they’ve had past relationships before, but it wouldn’t really be able to come up that much because otherwise we’d be determining too much of the main character’s life for the player when most of our games are likely going to focus on letting the MC be whoever the player wants, whether that’s someone more experienced or someone who has no experience. We’ll have to see how it goes even further on in the future.
I’m not sure if this question has been answered before, but is there a possibility that Our Life will be translated into other languages?
And unfortunately, that’s very likely not going to happen. When the Baxter DLC is done, the game will be over a million words, and I just don’t really think it’s going to be realistic for us to have that translated. So I am really sorry about that.
But that is all of the questions I was able to answer. Thank you again to everybody who sent them in, and I am really sorry if I had to skip your question, especially if it was one of those Our Life 2 asks. And I know that’s the game that people are most excited about since that’s the one with the least amount of information given. There’s a lot to speculate on. – (I had to stop reporting in the middle of the sentence because our dog heard me talking in this locked room and started crying outside of the door!) – Okay, hopefully it won’t be too much longer before we can start answering more questions about Our Life 2. But I’m going to wrap this up before she gets upset again. Bye everybody! Talk to you in the next Q&A.