Yearning: A Gay Story [BxB][School/Slice of Life/Coming Out][16+]

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bobconway
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Yearning: A Gay Story [BxB][School/Slice of Life/Coming Out][16+]

#1 Post by bobconway »

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Yearning: A Gay Story (YAGS for short) is a coming-out-focused character-driven slice-of-life game set during your freshman year on a college campus (phew). You'll meet people, make friends, come out, and maybe start dating someone. (The game is part dating sim, with four dateable guys (with good and bad endings for each), but hopefully is enjoyable enough to play even if you don't manage to find a boyfriend.)

The game is free to download and play, but you can donate for some bonuses (including some physical items like stickers).

The game is also quite long. While it does not contain any explicit sex or nudity, it does contain adult language, implied nudity and sex, and uncomfortable situations, and is not appropriate for children.

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You can download the game for free on itch.io at https://bobcgames.itch.io/yags

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I think of YAGS as being about meeting and getting to know people. As such, I don't want to include any background information about the characters here, but here's a preview of the characters in the game.
(The game itself contains unlockable character profiles where you can learn more about the people that you meet.)
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My wehsite has a lot more info about the game, including blog posts from the development of the game.
http://yags.bobcgames.com

I also tweet a lot. You can find me here or use hashtag #yags
https://twitter.com/bobcgames

The WIP topic is here:
viewtopic.php?f=43&t=45826

I can't talk about this game without talking about Coming Out on Top, by Obscurasoft. I'd had a bunch of disparate stories and ideas bouncing around my head for years, but playing CooT kind of gave me the kick I needed and convinced me that I should write them down, try to connect them together, and present them in a way that a player could interact with and play through. At a superficial level, the two games are fairly similar games in terms of setting and general goals. However, it is my hope that I've created something that is also extremely different and stands on its own.

In YAGS, all of the characters you meet are intertwined, even (and if) you start dating one of them. While you can pursue different guys, and therefore go down different "paths", the main "story" remains the same, and you will see the same events from different perspectives and get to know different characters better. That's why I call it a character-driven game: the story as as much about the lives of the people you interact with as it is about your own decisions and experiences.

YAGS is also intended to be significantly darker than CooT, dealing with a lot more of the fear, uncertainly, and angst that surrounds the coming out progress, and attempting to paint a realistic picture of what it could mean to be gay and to find yourself. That's not to say it's a depressive slog, but it tries to have its realistic and serious moments, alongside the light-hearted ones. Has it succeeded at that? You tell me. :)

YAGS followed an extremely non-standard development process. My goal, originally, was just to get stories from my head onto "paper". However, as the number of characters and story kept growing, I figured it was worthwhile pursuing an actual game release. Given my complete lack of artistic skills, I focused on what I was able to do (primarily writing and programming) and hired a composer and a few artists to do the parts I couldn't.
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Re: Yearning: A Gay Story [BxB][School/Slice of Life/Coming Out][16+]

#2 Post by damonRuru »

Are there any walkthrough? cause i cant seem to get to date Adam even after my 4th tries of trying to date him. i keep getting journey end and lone rogue when i tried to pursue him.
I am lurking behind every corner of the world just to seek one special spice for my life.

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Re: Yearning: A Gay Story [BxB][School/Slice of Life/Coming Out][16+]

#3 Post by bobconway »

damonRuru wrote: Mon Jan 21, 2019 4:15 pm i keep getting journey end and lone rogue when i tried to pursue him.
I'm going to release another build tomorrow that makes it so Easy Mode affects his "route", so you can try again then (and toggle Easy Mode from preferences), hopefully with a better outcome.

But there's a few different requirements for him, other than the usual affection points:
He needs to have enough time to question his sexuality over the semester, so Carlos needs to come out to you (and him) on October 6 (before the hospital).
However, Carlos also cannot ask you out, because he'd consider you off limits if he knew his best friend was interested in you (even if you turn Carlos down).
You cannot date anyone else during the semester (although sleeping with Dan is fine).
You also cannot fail any exams or miss any homework assignments, and you must find him attractive (which means he's aware of your interest in him throughout the semester).
The first two of those requirements are the hardest part to get. (Easy mode will affect the required affection points in the new build, giving you some more room to maneuver in terms of your interactions with him.)
Carlos asks you out if he is interested enough in you AND has freaked out about almost kissing you. If he is interested in you but has not freaked out, he will come out to you instead.
There are four points in the game where he can freak out, so your goal if you want Adam is to miss those points but have enough affection with Carlos that he'll come out to you. The most difficult those is probably the movie theatre, where you need to request nachos so Carlos leaves with Adam (and you're not left alone with him). The others should be pretty obvious and straightforward to avoid.
Last edited by bobconway on Sat Jan 26, 2019 4:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Yearning: A Gay Story [BxB][School/Slice of Life/Coming Out][16+]

#4 Post by ParrotWatcher »

Would it make sense to have easy mode
reduce the required grade slightly as well?
Also, damonRuru, you can't
steal his nudes from his computer. Even if you never tell him, he knows...
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Re: Yearning: A Gay Story [BxB][School/Slice of Life/Coming Out][16+]

#5 Post by bobconway »

ParrotWatcher wrote: Tue Jan 22, 2019 4:57 am Would it make sense to have easy mode
reduce the required grade slightly as well?
Yep. It does both of those things (reduces all numeric requirements), but all of the boolean conditions are still required.

New game build is up. :)
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Re: Yearning: A Gay Story [BxB][School/Slice of Life/Coming Out][16+]

#6 Post by stuartpierce »

Dang, thought I was doing better on my 2nd playthrough. You know who asked me out, so I failed to get my man.

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Re: Yearning: A Gay Story [BxB][School/Slice of Life/Coming Out][16+]

#7 Post by stuartpierce »

Ok, I can die a happy man. I finally got the 5th ending I wanted on the 5th playthrough. It was incredibly sweet and satisfying. The writing is so good. I've enjoyed this more than anything else I've played lately.

Stuart

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Re: Yearning: A Gay Story [BxB][School/Slice of Life/Coming Out][16+]

#8 Post by bobconway »

stuartpierce wrote: Tue Jan 29, 2019 6:29 pm I've enjoyed this more than anything else I've played lately.
Aw, thank you! I'm so glad you liked the game.
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Re: Yearning: A Gay Story [BxB][School/Slice of Life/Coming Out][16+]

#9 Post by Maegalkarven »

This is such an amazing game! I love all characters (well, besides Robert, obviously) and the story itself. It is quite a big game, but very entertaining!
I do have an issue though. Carlos does not freak out over an almost kiss in the movie theater, but, depending on how much he likes MC, he either confesses or doesn't say a thing regarding his sexuality. No matter how much I try, he does not come out to MC. You said there are 4 points where he freaks out, one is theater and i successfully escaped it, but what are the other three? Apparently they're not so straightforward, or i'm just not looking well enough.
I just really need this secret romance with Adam. Crushing on a (seemingly. almost 100% straight) roommate is a curse of my poor MC and I just. They need to be together

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Re: Yearning: A Gay Story [BxB][School/Slice of Life/Coming Out][16+]

#10 Post by ParrotWatcher »

Maegalkarven wrote: Sat Feb 02, 2019 2:38 am
You said there are 4 points where he freaks out, one is theater and i successfully escaped it, but what are the other three?
As far as I can tell,
the four points are:
Sunday 27th August, at the pool. Just don't go swimming with him then.
Friday 8th September, at the cinema. Choose "nachos" here.
Sunday 24th September, out running. If you do go, and Carlos starts staring at you, ask "What's up?"
Sunday 1st October, looking for Carlos at the frat house. Just don't go.
I would imagine that the only one you're likely to come across on an Adam route is the cinema one, since he's not present in any of the other scenes.
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Re: Yearning: A Gay Story [BxB][School/Slice of Life/Coming Out][16+]

#11 Post by Maegalkarven »

Thank you!
For some reason I was sure I can just choose more neutral dialogue choice in the pool on Sunday 27th. Which, looking back, is pretty naive of me. like I can choose how I react, but Carlos reacts as he does and I have no control over it.
I did suspect every one of these scenes in basketball where he looks at MC and when quickly away though.

I also wonder if dragging Adam with MC to Q&A affects anything. Can MC even go to Q&A on his own? He freaked out first time, which i found extremely relatable, I wouldn't be able to go to any LGBTQA, if not my friends, so I just asked Adam to go with him.

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Re: Yearning: A Gay Story [BxB][School/Slice of Life/Coming Out][16+]

#12 Post by ParrotWatcher »

You can
take Jake with you to the Q&A, if you meet him there the second week. I know Adam doesn't like it, although it may not be enough to make the route impossible.
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Re: Yearning: A Gay Story [BxB][School/Slice of Life/Coming Out][16+]

#13 Post by Maegalkarven »

Hey again!
tried the tips, they didn't work, unfortunately. The same "Carlos either asks MC out or does not mention his sexuality whatsoever" situation. I really don't know, what i'm doing wrong

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Re: Yearning: A Gay Story [BxB][School/Slice of Life/Coming Out][16+]

#14 Post by Maegalkarven »

Also having Jake ask you out while you're trying to pursue James is...something. Haven't felt so bad for a while, turning someone down.

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Re: Yearning: A Gay Story [BxB][School/Slice of Life/Coming Out][16+]

#15 Post by bobconway »

Maegalkarven wrote: Sat Feb 02, 2019 6:39 pm
I did suspect every one of these scenes in basketball where he looks at MC and when quickly away though.
Yeah. The issue is just when you're left alone with him. If it's when other people are in close proximity (like people playing basketball, or if it's while Adam's there with him in the theatre), his fear will outweigh his attraction to you.
ParrotWatcher wrote: Sat Feb 02, 2019 7:43 pm You can
take Jake with you to the Q&A, if you meet him there the second week. I know Adam doesn't like it, although it may not be enough to make the route impossible.
Your friendship with Adam takes a sizable hit if you force him to go to Q&A with you, instead of Jake. (The fact that you have to ask again after he says no is intended to be a signal of this.)
It's enough to make him impossible on normal mode, but you *might* be able to squeak by on easy mode.

Note that you can also come out to Jake over IM (on the day when Hannah asks him out), and that also unlocks him as a Q&A option. You should do either of those instead of taking Adam, if you're going for Adam.
Maegalkarven wrote: Sat Feb 02, 2019 8:00 pm Hey again!
tried the tips, they didn't work, unfortunately. The same "Carlos either asks MC out or does not mention his sexuality whatsoever" situation. I really don't know, what i'm doing wrong
As noted above, Carlos asks MC out if he freaks out at one of four possible points. So you want to get as close to Carlos and Adam as possible, but avoid those points as noted by ParrotWatcher.

If Carlos is asking you out, it means you triggered one of those four points.
Maegalkarven wrote: Sat Feb 02, 2019 8:07 pm
Also having Jake ask you out while you're trying to pursue James is...something. Haven't felt so bad for a while, turning someone down.
On the flip side of that, since the day Carlos *would* ask you out is after the day Jake comes out... if you get close enough to Carlos that he would ask you out, but then start dating Jake instead, Adam freaks out about the entire situation, and then Carlos just comes out to you instead, since you're now taken. There's a collectable associated with it.
(This unfortunately doesn't work for Adam's route, because you can't be dating anyone else, including Jake.)
Also thank you to everyone for your interest. :D
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