Paradise here! Hope you're all having a good weekend~ It's time for the bi-weekly update (holy heck I'm so shocked I can actually manage my time enough to put these out). So on this week's menu, we're adding in a new section! It's just something fun if you guys want to interact with us. It's basically an 'ask a question to the characters or devs' type of thing. Enjoy! 

1) Ask a Character!

If you're interested in asking the characters anything, feel free to fill out this form: https://goo.gl/forms/FZybtIrnTrfP2H4t2 

Basically, you ask a character a question and myself and my co-writer will answer the questions as if the characters were giving you a response. These are TEXT responses which will be in every update if you guys can keep the responses coming! We'll do between 2-6 responses per update, so if yours isn't chosen, don't worry--there's always the next one! You can also ask the devs a question if you have any unanswered questions! You don't have to fill the entire form out--if you only have one question, that's totally fine!

This week's questions and answers:
TERRY
-For Jun: Can you tell Osamu I love him?  
JUN: “Oh sure, I wouldn’t mind telling him. It’ll definitely get him off of me for awhile. Good luck with his baggage!” 
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JUN “Well, I told him. He wasn’t very flattered as he doesn’t know who you are.”

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SANNA 
-For Jun: Rei has been taken by some other guy, you have one last chance to get him back with you. What do you do?  
JUN: “Sweetie, you’ve got it all wrong. Rei’s a big boy. He can see other men if he decides to--but he always comes back to me.”  

-For the devs: What is the part that annoys you the most of being a dev? 
PARA: For me, I hate the pressure that comes with being a developer. It’s always difficult for me to judge what other people want or if people are disappointed, so I try to just do what I can to compensate and make what I think people would like to see. Hopefully people will understand, from my perspective, that the changes I make are not only for my convenience but also for the quality of the game. I’m also soooo freaking hard on myself with art and writing. It’s a struggle. So if I submit something for these updates and for the game in general, try to understand that I do think about what I’m drawing and creating, I don’t just output a random sprite thinking ‘Yeah I did this for no reason.’ I try to explain my thoughts on the changes, but I don’t think it should be ‘required’ of the artist or dev to give an explanation for why they made a change--other than ‘The quality is better’ or ‘This will fit better.’ You may like something one way, but it doesn’t mean it’s the best quality; which is one reason that I redesigned the twins in the first place as well as this week’s Jun update. Make a dev’s life easier! If you don’t like a change, don’t say ‘I like this other version better.’ It’s a little bit intimidating because then the dev has to wonder ‘Should I change it back and waste the energy put into this version?’ It’s not a good place to be, and frankly, I’ve found myself in that position more often than not. I can’t make everyone happy, and I’ve accepted that--so I’m just trying to make the game be the best possible quality with the art, graphics, backgrounds, music, writing, etc. (Even now, I beat myself up about some of the art I’ve put out for the game; so if there are art changes, that’s why!) 
QUILL: I like to focus on quality, but it doesn’t come without copious amounts of time and patience. Sometimes you just want your final idea to move from head to screen in a flash. Instead, it’s a lot of very late nights (and early mornings) to create something that absolutely fits your ambition. I love this work and am proud to be a part of this project, so I endeavour to give it my best. Completing this game at the level to which it deserves often just takes a lot more time than I want in getting there.

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MOONSIK 
-For Rei: What is your favorite dish to cook? 
REI: “Is this really what you want to know about me? How I spend time on the stove? Is that really so fucking important? But whatever--I guess if you want to know, I actually hate cooking. I’d rather order in. Make no mistake though, I am good at it.”

-For Minami: If you could have a pet other than your bunnies, what would you have and what would you name them?
MINAMI: “Other than bunnies? I’d really love to have anything adorable! Guinea pigs are definitely next on my list! The only thing left is convincing my dad to let me have them… For names, I’d have to decide when I get them! But if they’re black or grey: Salt and Pepper!”

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KURE  
-For Rei: What is your favorite Color ? :'^)  
REI “You guys and these mundane questions--Are you trying to waste my time? If you really want to know, red.” 

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DELA 
-For Aiden: How did you lose your virginity if you ever had ;) 
AIDEN: “There was someone very special to me that I met in high school. We broke it off for awhile before getting back together after university. So you see, when a man and a woman--or another man--love each other very much--”

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LIA
-For Leo/Griffith: who would tie the other while he sleeps ? :P 
[They turn and stare at each other.] 
GRIFFITH: “Let’s just say we take turns, but Leo still hasn’t learned to submit.” 
[Leo wraps an arm around Griffith’s shoulder.] 
LEO: “Maybe not, but I’ve learned to tie up his more delicate parts.”

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Unanswered questions may still be answered in the next update, so if yours wasn't answered this week, just look forward to the next!

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2) Ko-fi!

SO, I started 1st Degree a ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/parival 
If you feel like donating to the game, then please do so! Everything goes towards completing the stretch goals that weren't met during the kickstarter! We may even offer a reward in the future if you buy 5 or more coffees~ The extra funds will also help for additions to the game since it's now almost doubled in size! We're even planning on around 40 backgrounds!

Now it's totally optional, don't feel obligated to donate! If you want to, great! If not, also great!  Make sure you sign in to donate though.

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3) Jun Update!

Before all of you throw a 'hissy fit' about how Jun is 'T H I C C E R', he's literally just about the same size, just better proportions. He's ultimately my character and I felt like his sprite needed a quality update. It's literally been over a year since his creation--I've learned so much since then and hopefully that shows in his newly redesigned sprite.

Just to clarify as well: HIS PERSONALITY HAS NOT CHANGED. A sprite is only a visual, a personality is written. As I said, I wanted to change his sprite because I hated the quality of it. Yeah you guys seemed to like him, but I just noticed everything wrong with him and wanted to change it. I literally sat down and tried to draw his date outfit with the old sprite, and I just was so discouraged to the point where I was just going to put him off and draw a side character or something. So ultimately, I ended up just saying 'Heck it, I'm making you look nicer--bitch.'

Even if you don't like the new Jun, please AT LEAST try to appreciate the time spent on the art. I spend 10+ hours a day writing so the art has to be done in the mornings before that. I wouldn't redesign a character's sprite if I felt there wasn't a reason to since there is such a little amount of time that I can actually work on the art.

SO without further ado, this week I've readied his base sprite and even a date outfit for him.

JUN BASE SPRITE

 

Now not only did I manage to get his base sprite in, (as stated previously) I made him a date outfit, fox ears and tail, and even a few expressions.

JUN'S FIRST DATE OUTFIT

 

Ya'll may be thinking 'PARA YOU'RE SO SELFISH HOW COULD YOU' and I mean, yeah, maybe it's a little bit selfish to redesign a character because I wanted to shoot it and bury it, but if that's what makes the sprite the best quality it can be, then sure, I'm selfish.

Anyway though, if you like him, great! If not, well, there are other routes. Or you know, play for his personality. I like him more now that he's got a Casanova vibe so I'm ultimately happy with my decision to redesign him!

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4) QUESTIONS

1) Critiques on new Jun? (Always open to comments.)

2) What do you think about the new segment?

3) What would you like to see next week: A new character or another outfit preview for a love interest?

4) Would ya'll be interested in buying simple 1st Degree merchandise like stickers and buttons?

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Thanks again for reading and I hope you liked the update! Sorry if it seemed like the Jun section has a lot of ranting (I mean, it kind of does but--). If you have the time, please feel free to respond to the questions section! As always, if you have any questions, please send an email to parivalgames@gmail.com  

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Feel free to join our discord! You can chat with me and the other devs, as well as a bunch of other weirdos~ Previews are also posted earlier on our discord!

https://discord.gg/6T6vVaP