Sounds Good Ch. 01

Student

Bartender

Artist

I was instructed to click on any one. When I did - choosing the first option - a new screen appeared.

Which roommate is the Athlete?

Heather

Laura

Michelle

Nalani

Veronica

I was completely nonplussed.

Wait - I get to choose? How could they manage this? Wouldn't this demand even more renders, more dialogue branches? Weren't Mike and his partners multiplying their workload by a factor of 5?

I was shocked - and impressed.

Stereotypical occupations, of course. But they were young women - early 20s, at most. Two students, two service-industry, and an artist. Fair enough, I suppose; if they'd had higher-paying jobs, they wouldn't need to share an apartment with 5 other people.

Okay - should I defy further stereotyping, or go with my first instincts?

Fuck it. Be honest. Athlete - Heather. I'd already pictured her playing basketball. Bartender - Laura. Student - Ronnie. Or Nalani? ... and suddenly the rest of the choices didn't seem so natural as the first one.

Very clever. The girls seemed to defy easy description, or categorization. I started a new game, and saved just before the screen which showed all five roommates, standing side by side. That was easily my favourite screenshot so far.

Yep. They were versatile. Michelle could've been the athlete, the waitress, or the bartender. Maybe even the artist. I had trouble picturing Laura as an athlete, with those massive breasts bouncing around, but she could've been any of the other roles, except maybe the artist. But then - she could be that, too.

Veronica was the hardest to match. She could be any of the five roles - and yet none of them seemed to fit her perfectly.

I had to quit for a while. It was getting close to dinner time, and Mom wasn't very understanding if I got to the table late.

***

My mother had to snap her fingers to get my attention.

- "Sorry, Mom. I was daydreaming ..."

- "Obviously." she said. "What's on your mind?"

- "Umm ... you remember my friend Mike?"

- "The gamer guy. Of course." That was one of many cool things about my Mom: she remembered my friends, and many things that were important to us. My father - before he left us - couldn't be bothered to remember my birthday, or the name of my oldest sister's boyfriend.

That was one reason why I always told my Mom as much of the truth as I thought she could handle.

- "Well, Mike is developing a game, with a couple of other people."

- "A computer game?"

- "Yeah. And he asked me to play-test it for him, so that I can give him feedback."

- "A critique?" said Mom. Her eyebrow went up. "So you're like a proof-reader? Or an editor?"

- "Pretty much."

- "Must be a really good game, then, if it has you lost in thought."

- "It is. I mean, there are a few flaws. But it's got real potential." I said.

- "That's great." she said. "What kind of game is it?"

I'd been anticipating that question. It was bound to be asked, eventually. I just hadn't expected it so soon.

- "It's ... a dating simulation."

Both eyebrows went up this time. "Really? And how far does it go?"

- "Umm ..."

- "R-rated? Or X-rated?"

- "Mom!" That was not one of the questions I'd been expecting.

- "Come on, Daniel - I wasn't born yesterday. I know what computers are used for. And your friend Mike isn't exactly headed for a career in the priesthood."

- "Mom!"

- "Fine - keep your secrets. But if you decide to marry one of these virtual girls, remember that I want to meet her first."

She stood up and carried her plate to the sink. "You feel up to doing the dishes, tonight?"

- "Sure. I can do them." I was just glad to be let off the hook.

- "I'll be upstairs. I have a little work to catch up on."

- "OK, Mom."

Well, she was definitely right about one thing: it must be a good game, if I was zoning out at the dinner table.

I managed to finish the dishes, and went back to my room, to record my first audio critique for Mike.

***

Mike called me on the phone.

- "Hey Cyrano! Got your audio masterpiece!" he said.

- "I wouldn't call it a master-"

- "Yeah, it was! Patience and I have been trying to get Snogg to change that opening screen since the day he showed it to us. You should have seen his face when he heard - oh."

Mike paused. "Hey, Dan - I hope you don't mind that I let Snogg and Patience listen to your critique. I mean ... it was so dead on."

I had to think about it for a moment.

- "No, Mike. I don't mind." They had no idea who I was.

- "Cool. So - as I was saying - you nailed the 'Physical Graffiti' connection. Snogg is a major Led Zep nutcase. He got it from his Dad - or his Grandfather - I don't know. But now we have leverage on him, to get him to change that damned screen."

- "That's -"

- "And we'll dump that music, too. None of us really liked it, anyway. What do you think we should do? Jazz? Or classical?"

- "Umm - something simple. Solo guitar?"

- "Yeah - maybe. So, which occupation did you pick? Athlete?" Mike remembered all of my fighters and rangers and berserkers from D&D - I was always playing characters that I could never be in real life.

- "No -"

- "And you were dead on about the girls' occupations. I mean, it is a lot of dialogue - and a hell of a lot more artwork, but they both think it's worth it. Snogg and Patience, I mean."

- "It's really impressive." I managed to say.

- "You haven't even finished the first part. And we're almost finished 3.0."

- "So soon?"

- "Well, we started on it before I even talked to you about testing for us. I'd say another two weeks or so. But Part 4'll take longer than that."

- "I got a kick out of your alias." I said. "It was pretty funny."

- "Oh, yeah. Well, that was my second choice. Snogg and Patience vetoed my first pick for a screen name."

- "What was it?"

- "Lawrence of your Labia."

I had absolutely no idea how to respond to that. I was literally saved by the bell - Mike's doorbell - I heard it go off in the background.

"Oh, shit. I gotta run - Angie's here. Call you later - OK?"

He hung up before I could answer. Mike didn't have a girlfriend, and as far I could remember, he didn't have a close female relative named Angie.

It wasn't until a week later that I remembered that one of the voce actors used the name Angie.

***

I started up where I'd left off. Once again, I sat for a while just looking at the screenshot of the five girls standing side by side.

Then I matched them to occupations, with neither rhyme nor reason. It didn't really matter: I was going to play this game multiple times, anyway. I'd have plenty of opportunities to figure out the best combinations.

Once I did that, I had the option to move around the apartment. It was easier than I'd expected - I didn't have to navigate my way through the different rooms. Just choose the place I wanted to go, and click on it.

Best of all, the diagram of the apartment included a notification telling me where the girls were. If Heather was in the kitchen, I could go directly to see her, without running into Laura and Nalani in the living room.

It wasn't 100% realistic, but I understood why they'd organized it this way: it would have been a pain to click on 3 rooms just to get to the bathroom, or the kitchen. I approved of their decision.

I had multiple options. Obviously, I could speak to any of my roommates, if they were at home. I could also work on my computer, and earn money (though I didn't know what I could do with it, yet - pay the rent, I guess, and maybe buy gifts for the girls).

Or, I could leave the apartment. Doing so revealed a stylized map of a city, with key locations clearly marked - like the college, if I'd been a student (or if I was trying to date the student, or the athlete). There was a bakery; maybe one of my roomies had a taste for pastries. Clicking on their menu revealed that I could also buy a birthday cake.

There was a store, which sold food and household items, and an upscale restaurant. That was where the waitress worked, I supposed, but I could possibly also take one of the girls there on a date.

There was a liquor store, a pub (where the bartender worked?), and a cafe. Obviously, there were places for inexpensive dates, or for splurging.

I went back to the apartment. Oddly enough, no time had passed. I still had the option to work, move around the apartment, talk to one of the girls, or go back outside. It didn't strike me as all that strange; in games like this, the day wasn't divided into hours, but into actions.

The player was allowed to do something in the morning, the afternoon, and in the evening. There were also three intermediate periods, too short for a major action like working (or, as I discovered later, a date or a shopping expedition).

Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. If one of the girls was in the kitchen, I could say hello.

- Hey, roomie. said Heather.

- Good morning! said Michelle, with a big smile.

- Ugh! What time is it? grumbled Laura. (She was much more pleasant at lunch, or dinner)

I didn't know what effect, if any, these exchanges of pleasantries had on my relationship with them. It couldn't hurt, obviously. But did it help? I have to admit, I just liked hearing their voices.

As an experiment, I spent several days in a row (game-days, that is) working at my IT job, and chatting with the girls at meal-times. In the evening, I chose a girl and started a conversation.

I had the option to ask Laura if she had a job (which I already knew, because I'd made her the bartender).

- I work at the Crown & Thistle. It gets busy, some nights.

- Do you like it? I responded (my other choice was You must get hit on a lot).

- It's okay. The tips are good.

With Nalani, I had the option to guess her background - that's Canadian for 'ethnic origin', or heritage. My choices were

Chinese

Filipino

Japanese

Cambodian

She didn't look Japanese at all. Nor Chinese. Filipino was possible, but Cambodian seemed to be an unusual outlier, so I chose it. The next screen showed Nalani smiling shyly.

- Close. I'm Laotian.

Interesting - all of the choices offered were wrong. All I knew about Laos was that it was between Vietnam and Thailand. My character, Tristan, obviously didn't know even that much. He had three options to respond.

Laos? Where exactly is that?

Cool.

I wish I knew more about Laos.

The second choice struck me as mildly stupid, so I went with moderate ignorance and curiosity - door #3. Nalani didn't seem to mind; she described the region, very briefly, and then told me that she'd immigrated with her parents when she was four years old.

She could have read a shopping list aloud; I just liked listening to her voice.

***

After a few days of game time, I had enough money for rent, and I'd interacted with four of the five girls. I was idly clicking on anything in my bedroom that I could find, and finally noticed that when I turned on the computer, there were more options than 'work'.

'Internet' would let me shop online. 'Inventory' was a bit of a surprise: it showed my possessions (none, at this point), but also my relationship status with the girls.

NalaniAcquaintance

I had the same rank for Laura. Next to Michelle and Heather, it said only 'Stranger'. With Ronnie, my status was 'Complete Stranger'.

Interesting. Completely unrealistic, of course. But interesting. I could try different approaches with the girls, and check later to see if they'd any effect.

The following game day, I gave up working (since I was unlikely to spend any of the money on this particular run through the simulation). Instead, I decided to explore the apartment.

I was interested in the girls' rooms. Heather had trophies for her athletic achievements. Nalani's room was girly-girlish, all pinks and frills, with the obligatory stuffed animals. Then I went to Laura's room.

I was rooting in her closet - she had a surprisingly extensive collection of skimpy dresses and exotic lingerie. Yowzah.

The next click showed Ronnie's face. She had rather thick eyebrows - I noticed because they were raised.

- Does Laura know you're in her room?

I didn't even bother with my options after that. Start over.

***

In the (real) days that followed, I had to make a determined effort to stay disciplined. I made myself a simple rule: no Apartment before 1:00 p.m.. I also had to stop playing to exercise a bit in the afternoon - and I tried not to daydream at dinner-time. Mom deserved my full attention (or as close as I could manage).

But I was still able to experiment with the game.

I discovered that Laura had a modelling portfolio hidden in her dresser. It consisted of only six photos, but two of them showed her on the beach, in a ridiculous bikini. The last picture was a nude.

Snogg was a genius. Mother of Mercy.

There were no surprises in Michelle's room, but Ronnie had some interesting artwork (neo-romantic?) and a diary in her dresser. The darn thing was locked, though. As I fiddled with it, she came home and caught me.

GAME OVER.

Fair enough. I was just messing around, exploring the limits of the game.

Among those limits ... the washroom.

In real life, I'm not that much of a perv. But in a game? If the option to peek at the washroom door exists, then there must be some interesting illustrations that the makers of the game want you to see. Right?

The diagram of the apartment told me when a girl was in the bathroom. Why tell me, unless that was some kind of ... invitation?

Heather was in there, so I decided to investigate. The door was slightly ajar - again that was not an accident. The game gave me two simple choices:

Peek

Don't peek

Hardly a real choice. I peeked.

Heather had a towel wrapped around her, from her armpits to her knees. That was one big towel. Her hair was wet, and she looked utterly delicious.

Then she looked into the mirror, and saw my reflection.

GAME OVER

The same happened when I peeked on Michelle. She was leaning over the sink, plucking her eyebrows - while wearing only her panties.

Her breasts weren't enormous, but their shape was impeccable. Then she saw me, and shouted: What the hell?

GAME OVER.

I have to be honest: I reloaded to my last save, and peeked on Michelle again, just so that I could save a screenshot of her bending over the sink. I wasn't going to mention that to Mike. Or anyone.

Nalani went to the bathroom. In the interests of scientific research, I went to peek on her, too. She was fresh out of the shower, wrapping a towel around her shoulders. But she was facing away from me, leaving her utterly delectable little backside exposed.

GAME OVER

Ronnie was sitting on the toilet.

GAME OVER

Laura was standing, with one foot on the toilet seat. She had a towel around her wet hair - and nothing else. She was trimming or shaving her pubic hair (the illustration didn't show her privates - her leg blocked the view.

- Like what you see? she asked.

There was no option to reply, or to go into the bathroom. But it wasn't a game over. I filed that little bit of information away.

***

I put together a second audio report for Mike. My critique was almost entirely positive.

"The renders are spectacular." I said. "The girls all have different 'looks'. Laura looks tired and grumpy in the morning, happier in the afternoon, and drop-dead gorgeous in the evening.

Each girl is shown in different clothing, in different poses. It's quite remarkable. Best of all: they don't look at all alike. They look like 5 completely different women - not just one model slightly modified, or with different-colour hair and bigger or smaller breasts.

Congratulations, too, on having a mixture of breast sizes. You have busty girls, but they don't all look ridiculous.

The dialogue sounds good, too. What they say sounds perfectly natural, never forced or artificial. So far, there hasn't been a single line of speech that broke immersion. No clunky phrases, no pompous statements.

Not once have I felt railroaded, or pushed down an ever-narrower corridor. This is a real sandbox of a game, where I can pursue any course of action I choose. I have options, and opportunities. The freedom is wonderful.

The spelling and grammar are excellent - I can't tell you what a relief that is. (I'd found one typo and one missing word, total). There are two instances where the dialogue spoken by the voice actors doesn't exactly match what shows up onscreen.

You're all doing a wonderful job. You should be very proud of what you've achieved so far. I have no idea how you're going to maintain this level of quality - but I sure hope that you do."

***

Mike sent me the 2nd instalment to download. It was pretty sizeable, too.

- "How many parts do you think there'll be?" I asked, via email.

- "Dunno fo rsure. prolly 5."

I knew that the game was a work in progress. It meant that there was unlikely to be any full 'sex scenes' with any of the girls, yet - although I'd already seen three remarkably hot pictures of Laura, and one of Nalani.

I wasn't treating it like a dating sim - more like an exploration of the sandbox, to see where the limits were, and to find out what worked best. I already had a suspicion that I would need to approach each girl differently. Whatever succeeded with Laura was unlikely to impress Ronnie.

First up: Heather - if for no other reason than because she'd been the first one to open the door. I liked her voice, too; it reminded me of sunshine and open windows.

I noticed that she was frequently in the kitchen, so I skipped work one afternoon to go and see what she was up to.

Hey, gorgeous!

What are you making?

Those were my conversational options. Considering that we were only at the acquaintance stage, I thought that choice #2 was wiser.

- Risotto. she said. Would you like some?

My choices were

Duh.

You bet.

Thank you - I'd love some.

In some games I'd played, there was almost no way to know which option was best, unless you had a walkthrough, or you'd played it before. Trial and error is an annoying way of proceeding, but I'll admit that I was a little disappointed that the best choices were so obvious.

- Oh, darn! said Heather. I'm missing an ingredient.

- What is it? I replied. Can I get it for you?

- Somebody drank the wine I was going to cook with. Thanks, Tristan, but it's probably best if I go and get a bottle. Can you watch the stove for me? If it starts to boil, just turn the heat down to low, and cover it.

Needless to say, the voice actor didn't say my name, but I enjoyed listening to her nonetheless. Of course I agreed to watch the stove.

Heather returned to the kitchen a moment later.

- Rats. I'm ... a little short of cash today. You wouldn't happen to have ...?

My options were:

In your dreams

Sorry, I'm broke too

Is this enough? (give her $10)

Get us a nice bottle to drink with dinner, as well (give her $50)

Somebody on the team knew the price of a decent bottle of wine (it wasn't Mike - that was for sure). I chose that last option. Thank you! said Heather- loudly - as she left to get the wine.

Watch the stove. I could do that.

Well, until the next screen showed Laura walking down the hall with a towel wrapped around her. She stopped at the door to the washroom. The look on her face ... I can only describe it as flirtatious.