Livestream this Friday!

v0.10 is finally out, and I'm trying to put a little bit of everything in the code! If you want to see what's coming up, or get an idea of what this conversion stuff is I'm talking about, or just wanna come chat with folks interested in the game, come watch me code this coming Friday at 6 PM EST! If you aren't sure when EST is, check the handy clock widget on the right, under the survey.

As always, I'll be having an interview session for the intermission-- if you have any questions for Lithier or Lith, now's your chance to ask and get a big, proper answer for the records! Hope I'll see you all there! ^.^

On the Survey

If you haven't seen it already, MVOL v0.10 is up on the "play the game" page! Go fondle that poor kitty, he must be lonely!

Now. The survey on where to go from here has a week left, but it's already seen a much larger turnout of votes than I expected-- and more surprisingly, there seems to be very little consensus on an answer! There's easily the potential for one or two options to climb past 50% if they're widely favored as the survey stands, but I've watched it linger in the 40's at the highest for some time. Thinking about it, I realized that I might not be terribly clear in what each option means-- there's only so much space for questions without clogging up the survey, after all!

So, with that in mind, I thought I'd take a little time to clarify what my thoughts are behind each option. If you find you've changed your opinion on what you'd like to see next after reading this, you should be able to easily change your response to the survey by clicking the "change your vote" link near the bottom of the survey.

Vagina/NoDick for your Avatar Your avatar being the crude, humanoid representation of your will that interacts with Lith on your behalf, the one referred to as "you" when you play the game-- this would unlock the option of having a vagina either instead of or in addition to a dick. This would not be considered the "main mode" of play, however, and the player would have less options available to them if they didn't have a dick-- due to the nature of Lith himself. Some achievements would be impossible, and there would likely be fewer sex scenes available, but the game would have a good deal of content adapted to handle avatars sans dick.
Vagina/NoDick for Lith (cuntboy? maleherm?)
Technically, the idea of Lith being female is split into two things here. This one would unlock the option for Lith to have a vagina instead of or in addition to his dick. He would still be referred to as "he," but could be configured to be a woman anatomically by some means or other. I haven't spent a lot of time just yet figuring out exactly how that would work-- whether it would be a transformation you could induce in game, or something you set at the beginning. The former would make more sense, probably, but the latter would be more "convenient." Anyway, people that like vaginas would probably be interested in this. Breasts may get thrown in with this, as they shouldn't be as hard to add, relatively.   Girl Lith ("she" and "her")
The other big problem with trying to make Lith a girl is that, whereas the game always says "you," which is gender neutral, it says "he" all the time in reference to Lith. Going through the entire game and setting it up such that Lith would be referred to as female is a massive undertaking on its own. With the combination of this and the above option, Lith would effectively be a woman-- but each have their possibilities if used alone. Breasts could also be included with this option, effectively making Lith a shemale by most definitions, or simply a transgender of some kind without-- a cat with a penis that identifies as female. With just the V/ND option above, he would still be referred to as "he," hence the suggestion of such things as cuntboy and maleherm, the terms I've heard used for a "he" that has a vagina-- with and without a dick, respectively.   Bonus Mode, play as Lith interacting with Avatar
I've had this option in the back of my mind for a long time-- ever since I realized that I had, in a way, made a serious mistake in designing MVOL. The largest audience, as far as I know, for Lith's exploits in the stories you all met him in was people that enjoy being on the bottom-- people that like to fantasize about being Lith. But when I made this game, I put the player quite explicitly in the viewpoint of an outsider-- the often-dominant partner that interacts with Lith. So in an effort to mend this oversight, I've formulated the rough idea of an alternate reality: dreams. The idea would be that, when you sleep, you have the option to "dream" of being Lith, interacting with your avatar. And whatever your avatar has become under your guidance is the creature Lith must interact with, for good or ill, naughty or nice. It would be a much shallower experience, with few options and scenes, but at least one or two for each possible configuration of your avatar, as the options come up. If it saw a lot of interest, I'd likely expand it, but it would never become the "point" of the game, or sizeable to match what already exists, I'm afraid. But it may well be what some folks were looking for when they first came to find out that the character they knew and read of was being imported into this game.   Dominant Lith
Hard as it may be to believe, Lith is a switch! He can greatly enjoy getting pounded every day of the week and every hour thereof, though he might never admit it, but he also is quite fond of doing some rutting of his own when the situation is right. This option would essentially add another variable to the game-- how dominant Lith sees himself in your relationship. If you submit to and pleasure him often, he'll grow more confident, and start taking a more active hand, eventually mounting you more than you mount him. Of course, he'll never lose his love for cock, but you'll see a side of him that has been exposed very little in my past work, and that some people have professed a deal of interest in.   More Detail for my Avatar in regular scenes (species, endowment size, demeanor, knot)
As I mentioned recently, my code as it stands is somewhat cumbersome. I've recently expanded my programming vocabulary into the wonderful realm of parsing, however, and adding extra code to stories should be a deal less cumbersome and distracting than it was originally. So where many scenes in the game might only make reference to the size of your phallus a couple times and your species only so far as whether you have paws and/or a knot, I would much more easily be able to go through and customize scenes to reflect your individual avatar's variables-- cock size, breasts, species, naughty vs. nice, how well you know him, perhaps these other variables we've been talking about adding. Classic scenes, already in the game, would essentially be revamped with new content to nod to who and what you have made of your avatar, and I would also know that this is a priority for writing in the future, if it has a large showing in the votes.   More Endowment Options for Avatar (larger breasts/dick, other?) There was a bit of fuss early on in the game's development when, for basically the reasons above, I trimmed out some of the extra options for the avatar. Some of them, like ball size and dick thickness, were folded into dick length to make an overall size stat, and I've been pretty happy with that. But things like larger sizes for breasts and dick would be more doable now, and I could certainly see there being a significant demand for them. I've already gone ahead and included more species-- that wasn't that hard to implement, though it may come back to bite me if I'm retrofitting old scenes more thoroughly according to the option before this one. For other options, I'm open to suggestions-- I don't imagine there's a very large demand for smaller breasts and dicks for the avatar, but configurations such as alternate heights or builds? Tall and muscular, short and effeminate, towering and curvy? I don't know if these would be huge appeals to a lot of people-- it is, as ever, a matter of what's more appealing, and a better use of time and energy.   The point of this survey as a whole is to get a better idea of what would be most appealing to everyone, what they most direly desire to see added to the game, and immediately. These are all options I'm considering, but they might not all make it, and many of them will probably have to wait quite a while. So, what is most important to you? That's what you should vote for.   Thanks for taking the time to read all this, and for playing my game! Happy voting!

MVOL v0.10 is Live!

The update is here: MVOL v0.10! I felt it was time to bump up the number a bit, even though v0.05 was probably a larger jump forward than this one-- this version represents the closest we're going to see to 100% of the content I was planning to include in this game. From here, I'm expanding beyond my original vision to include a longer plot and more options for the players for how to interact with our favorite slutty kitty.

That said, I should warn that v0.10 is actually going to be the hardest version yet-- and may be the hardest version that ever comes out. The path system I set up in v0.05 finally comes together with the first of its two main purposes here: a new set of Player Achievements that require you to be intimately familiar with the game! Your goal is to achieve a certain value without so much as thinking about doing anything inappropriate to your "true" self. That's your hint, good luck!

If you need any further help, Petre's guides actually still apply quite well-- I wrote them anticipating this content. You only need to figure out a little more at the very end to get these achievements...

Also new with this update: I've gotten a proper donate button, which you should find through a link on the sidebar to the right! Any and all donations are welcome, and as a small incentive, I've prepared an alternative version of My Very Own Lith with a handful of interesting cheats enabled, including the ability to change many of your avatar's stats and some of Lith's on the fly, as well as explore the content of the game a bit more directly rather than going through the standard decision tree and pushing up variables. Please note, however, that the cheat version has many potential glitches, and that you cannot earn achievements in this version! Other than that, you are free to use your saves in either version of the game. To learn more about MVOL+ and why you should (or shouldn't) donate, check out the "Why Donate?" link to the right!

I can't say that I ever expected this blog to have to sit around this long before finally getting another update. I'd been pretty hesitant at the time about making this blog at all, but I have to admit it's actually helped keep me on track more than once-- if only because people kept coming back, and making it clear to me they still wanted more. I won't go into too much detail, but I've been through a lot of motivational trouble trying to get back into making this game. Part of that was the feeling that I was sinking too much time into something that's not putting food on the table, so I hope that this new donation option might make this a more legitimate option for me to put man-hours into compared to writing commissions or actual work.

Beyond that, though, I've dealt with a lot of frustrations in this project. This update in particular felt a lot like I was trying to write "the same, but more so," and it was hard to get fired up about adding content that felt like it would be the exact same thing. I feel like it came out as pretty distinguished material in the end, though not as good as I would have liked. From here on, though, it sounds like I'm going to be starting to explore new kinds of content at long last, as some of my peculiar ideas and fantasies come closer to seeing fruition. This, combined with the new code I've implemented for more flexible output, makes me hopeful for a more robust update schedule! I'm also planning on releasing content in smaller chunks if I can help it-- meaning less content at a time, with few new achievements, but more rapid updates to the game. I hope that this will be a bit more to everyone's liking, and keep me working on things more steadily rather than lapsing into shameful silence as I have in the past. I have found that there is a deadly cycle in the shame of being unproductive, and it is easy to fall into the immediate gratification of other, less useful things...

So! This update isn't everything I'd like it to be, nor has it come as soon as I would have hoped, but I feel like I've finally done enough to warrant a proper update, and one that should stand on its own as a challenging experience. In the immediate future, I plan to add more content to make the process easier as a whole before going on to add more storyline content, so if you enjoy the challenge MVOL offers, this version is surely for you. If not, the guides are in the blog archives, and they should serve you well enough! (Befriend/Seduce/Use) Thank you all for your patience, and I hope you enjoy v0.10.

Oh My Goodness!

Well, I seem to finally be on a bit of a proper productive kick! MVOL has now entered the playtesting and touching up phase, and I'm planning on releasing the next version this coming Friday!

If you have been so kind as to root around in the current game and send me typos and glitches and such to fix up, keep an eye on your inboxes, as I'm planning on sending out batches of new content to be proofread tonight, and possibly a playtest copy of the game to be double-checked for bugs. If you haven't, but you're just dying to see new material as soon as possible, try hunting down and sending me some typos and glitches! Break the game, furs and scalies!

Additionally, if you're looking to help out in other ways, there are two big new options coming up. The first is that I'm getting to work on an overhaul for the formatting of my code-- if and when this is completed, the game will be much more flexible and easily customized, such that scenes can reflect your character with more precision and with more possible options for you and even Lith! But the hard part is that alllll the text in the game needs to be reformatted. So if you have meticulous eyes and a lot of patience, email me (lithiers@gmail.com) to talk about helping with the conversion!

The second new option is donations! On Friday, I'll also be opening up a proper Donate button through Paypal to make it a little easier for folks that want to show their support in a more pecuniary manner. And to show my thanks for these kind supporters, I'll email every donator, whatever the size of their donation, a special, cheat-enabled version of the game! What exactly this all entails will be explained on Friday, but if you're interested, you'll be able to donate by either Paypal account or credit card readily, so you've got a couple days to make sure you've one or the other.

That all said, I hope this new version is worth the wait I've put you all through ^.^; I never expected it to take this long to put out another version on this blog, and I'll be discussing the process I've been through and what I see in the future of this game on Friday as well. Thank you all for your patience and attention, and I'll see you Friday!

Progress!

Phew! I've just finished completing one of the tougher scenes I've been staring at for some time now ^.^; These things always surprise me a little with how they come out x3 But I'm hoping you all will enjoy when you get your hands on it! I now have... let's see... four new scenes ready for the next version! I've got one more big one to tackle, some extra bits here and there to add, and some playtesting/refining to do. So the progress bar is now:

(+++++++===)

We're getting there! ~.~ My current plan is to complete this update, where the game will finally be considered in a semi-complete state slightly beyond what you already have-- and I'll start putting out smaller updates more often past it. Thanks again to everyone for all your patience, and for checking back despite the inactivity! With a little luck, I may well have the game out before the end of the year :3 Fingers crossed!

Last Night's Interview

Thanks to everyone that came to the Livestream last night ^.^ We tackled some interesting questions, and Lith and I got rather wordy in the process. I hope this makes an interesting reading for folks!

Interview Transcript

Your questions, our answers! Lith and Lithier will take all comers in query format, so this is your chance to learn, to pry, and to educate the world! We're starting with Lith.

Xanes : tell me Lith, how is it being a cat? don't you sometimes wonder how it would be as a Wolf,Dragon, or maybe a lizard.

Lith: Oh o.o Well, I don't know how much I'd want to be a cat if I was born something else, but living with it all these years, I'm inclined to think it rather suits me :3 But it's hard to say how much of my being comfortable in being a cat is just because I'm so used to it, you know? I know I have a lot of traits that people identify as cat-like, so it's kind of hard to say if I'd still have those if I was something else. I guess what it comes down to is-- your species is a part of your identity just as much as anything else. Would I be the same person if I had a different father or mother? That's all awfully philosophical ^.^; But suffice it to say, I'm pretty happy with being a cat. We get it pretty easy-- people don't expect us to do too much, and nobody really discriminates against us like they do against, say, snakes, or rats. And of course I wonder about being something else :3 Don't we all? I'm inclined to think I'd be kind of an... underwhelming example in races like those, though. I'd be a pretty quiet wolf, I imagine, and... well, I don't know, I guess it depends on what kind of lizard I was o.o As a dragon, though...? That's a very odd thought ~.~; I know some of them can fly on their own, and I'd be hard pressed to say I wasn't interested in that... But overall, I think I'm pretty happy with who, and what, I am :3 At least, in these respects...

link45oo : Lith, what do you look for in a significant other? Not just someone who you want to mess around with, but someone on a more intimate level?

Lith: Oh. Well... I guess I'm not too sure ^.^; There's a small problem with the question, in that I don't really look for that possibility in people. I've run into a lot of people that have been interested in making a more permanent relationship with me over the last few years, and sometimes I've kind of gone along with it, but somehow, it's never really worked out... As things are now, I have a lot of friends, and some of those relationships are more physically based than others, but I tend to avoid that sort of thing, I guess. It's never really felt right. Maybe that will change some day, or maybe I'll be kind of a drifter to the end of my days ^.^;; If I had to guess as to the kind of person that might suit me best, though... I guess it'd be someone kind, and patient. Someone that I could trust to be absolutely honest with me, and that I could trust enough to be absolutely honest with them, without being afraid of it all falling apart. I guess... I guess a big part of it would be trust o.o It's kind of a rare asset anymore... Well. I hope that answers your question...

Xanes : do you sometime wonder how is it is being a girl? and has there been times were you wished you were a girl?

Lith: Well, I think I have a bit more insight in a couple ways into what it's like being a girl than most guys ^.^;; Er o_o And not just like that! @///@; But um! I mean. I've been kind of more... sensitive than a lot of guys all my life, and especially as I started... interacting more with guys... I think I got more of a feel of how a lot of women feel ^.^; I even found women tend to make more sense... But sure, I wonder sometimes, even so. Although, usually for more... illicit reasons, I guess. Along those lines, I think that most times I wished I was a girl were when I was a fair deal younger... things like wondering about boobs, or when I was considering the women's locker room ^.^;; If you're talking about in the transgender fashion, that's never really been my thing, no. I've known men that were very interested in being women, and it's a pretty interesting concept to explore, but I've generally been pretty happy with my gender-- when I'm not ashamed to be a man ^.^; It comes up sometimes, especially listening to some girls' horror stories...

link45oo : I've also have another question. Lith, do you have any philosophical thoughts, or just life lessons in general that you want to share with us?

Lith: Goodness. If you'd asked me four or five years ago, I would've had a lot for you ^.^; But I think I've grown just enough to realize that sometimes, just because things make sense, doesn't mean they're right, or best. So my list of absolute truths in life is somewhat... shortened. I used to believe that honesty was absolutely always the best policy-- that every lie is a hurtful thing, inherently. But the world is a complicated place, and people are complicated things, imperfect and full of desperate needs. Sometimes, a lie is what we need to keep going-- and sometimes, that's more important than anything else. I'm getting really vague now ^.^; The only things that have really held up... Balance. I mentioned it before, and I'll bring it up now. The world is all about balance, and if you try to push things too much one way or the other, either the world will push back, or it'll just all come apart. Balance is essential to all things. Every disadvantage comes with an advantage, and every boon comes with a curse. You can call it karma if you like. If you live a balanced life, then you're ready for when life pushes you-- but if you aren't, then you'll be the one that's falling apart. And one truth that is really hard to accept-- something I've been working on for years. Every single person in the world, no matter how stupid or hateful or ignorant or endlessly frustrating they may seem-- is a real person, just like you, full of desire and hope and pain and fear. And it's hard to really wrap your head around that-- we get through life by looking at the people that frustrate us and just saying "oh, he's just a dick," or "forget her, she's an idiot," or some horrible thing like that, reducing the miracle that is a living, sentient being to a single word, a one-dimensional concept. And that is a crime against that person, and against yourself. You might not know what drives them to be who they are and do what they do, but at their core, there's always a dreadfully good reason. Sometimes, this is the best they can do when they're already trying to hold back so much, because it hurts so much inside... And if you can just see that in every person... If we could all come to understand this one fact about each other, and the entire world... I think we could become... better. Objectively, undeniably better as living beings. That's what I want to share, philosophically. It is simple in concept, but mind-crushingly difficult in execution. But it is my one hope.

Xanes : do you have family? if you do, then i would like to know more about them. if you don't have a family, then how was your whole childhood?

Lith: Well, I'm an only child, but I did live with my mother and father. I'm afraid that they haven't received proper names from the great overlord of the world yet, so that part's a bit ambiguous ^.^; My mother had a large family, though, so I have a fair deal of aunts and uncles, and some cousins that I meet very occasionally. My childhood was pretty good, all things considered, I think-- my dad wasn't home a lot, but he still got along pretty well with my mom, and they're still married to this day, which seems to be more of a miracle than ever, looking at the world. I still talk with them, probably every week or two, when I'm not trapped in an infinite void with no phone service or internet. I'm pretty distant from the rest of the family, though-- we haven't even gotten together for Thanksgiving in several years now ^.^;

Xanes : why do you like dicks so much? what happend to you when you were young?

Lith: Oh o//o; Er, I wasn't-- you know, molested or anything like that, if that's what you mean. At least, not in that old psych book way @_@ I was pretty... "normal," when I was younger, besides my interests in games and anime and all that. All of... that... didn't really come up until late in high school. I met a girl that, um... well, she fit the definition loosely, and she taught me a lot of things. It was a pretty rough experience, looking back, but... well, I have a lot of fond memories. And she kind of... shoved me headfirst into the lifestyle I have today ^.^;; I have no idea where I'd be if it wasn't for her. Maybe I'd have a steady girlfriend and never have known the difference, or maybe I'd have eventually, um, found out on my own... or maybe I would have just... felt like I was missing something, all my life. But looking back, even with all the regrets I have now... I think I'm glad it happened ^.^; Not all the time, but most of the time.

(Editor's note: These events are described in detail in the story series, 'Learning Lessons.' Check the accounts listed under "Other Places!")

Lith's questions come to a close here, and we switch to an interview with Lithier, the writer and creator.

Xanes : what is your opinion on the furry community?

Lithier: The furry community is a pretty diverse place to make any blanket statements about, or to bear any particular opinion on. The more I've seen of it, the more I've been amazed with just how much variety there is in the formation of groups and relationships, and in what it seems to mean to people to be furry. Overall, one of the strongest attributes of the furry community to me seems to be its sensitivity-- in a good and a bad way. Speaking in the most general way possible, furries tend to be more accepting and welcoming than the average group, or the average stranger-- especially on the internet. Entering any group for the first time, I've seen little in the way of hazing or rejection, and a good deal of kindness, patience, and open thinking. I play now and again on furry TF2 servers, and I've often heard it remarked from other players that they aren't even furry, but the community is so friendly compared to other servers that they keep coming back anyway. I attended a local furmeet all of once, and I was welcomed readily into the group, embraced socially as readily as anyone else, it seemed. And of course, as a writer and creator on SF and FA, I've been the recipient of a lot of kind words and generous sentiments. Overall, the furry community has a very positive sensitivity to it-- but, of course, it also has its negative. Sensitivity has a price, after all. Furries are renowned for their Drama. Emotional turbulence charges exchanges at random, and people will tend to be very open about expressing their frustration, especially with another member of the community. This is, I think, a natural element of an online community-- specifically, it is the polaric opposite of the troll epidemic. In an online community where everybody is cryptic and anonymous and keeps everything to themselves, trolling is a common form of combined entertainment and emotional venting. But in a community where people take the time to care about each other-- that's when emotion enters center stage, full of violent and raw energy. So that's the drawback to a kind and open community-- a sincere and open torrent of emotion. These are the main things I've seen in the furry community that seem to span it from one end to the other, though some of it may be more oriented on the internet community-- I have frightfully little experience with the offline form. But it has proven a fine place to dwell and sharpen my abilities, and I've been very grateful for its existence, and how open it is to all the concepts the mind can conjure. This could be, of course, partly symptomatic of simply being the latest oppressed minority, but that, along with the peculiar question of sensuality in the furry community, is a whole bundle of thoughts for another time.

link45oo : Ever think of having a certain "person" from Lith's past showing up in-game and kind of changing the game?

Lithier: I have had plans for some time to have other actors of sorts make cameos in the game-- some pre-existing, some not. I think you might be surprised who I pull onto the stage, though :3 But! That's for another update. Keep that under your hat.

Xanes : why did you make Lith as a cat, and why did you desired to make him gay? is Lith the whole purpose of MVOL?

Lithier: Lith was a character of mine before I started writing properly-- to be perfectly honest, he was originally created for the purpose of roleplaying, back when I had the time for all that. I actually used him to explore my sexuality when I was younger, and I learned a lot about myself through him. He developed his own personality over time, becoming a sort of creature of fantasy based on the best reasoning I could find. He started as a cat because I was just looking for something to play as-- and I owned a black cat. A pussycat, actually. I'd considered several alternatives, but that seemed the most comfortable at the time, and Lith grew into his nature well. I had no reason to change him later-- being a cat was perfect for him, and as he'd said himself, being some other species could change who he was substantially. His orientation is-- he's not gay, but some kind of omnisexual. He is a paragon of open-minded sexual exploration, with a strong fixation on certain pieces of anatomy. If you wanted to pin his sexuality as attached to any one gender, it would have to be hermaphrodites xP But transexual already means something else :p And yes, Lith is essentially the focus of the entirety of MVOL-- the game is, above all other things, intended to be a Lith simulator. That's why suggestions to make Lith some drastically different thing or to go focus more on other characters don't get very far with me-- I might be receptive to the idea in general, but that's not what this game is about. My goal is, in a way, to capture the entirety of what Lith is, in this game. When the game is complete, someone that has played it all the way through, in every nook and cranny, may very well know just as much about Lith as I do. Or at least, that is, in a way, my ultimate objective.

Xanes : do you sometimes wonder how it is being Anthropomorphism ( a real live furry )

Lithier: Well, wondering that is basically how I start every piece of writing involving furries :P My style of writing involves digging into the mechanics of everything involved and trying to kind of simulate every detail of reality in my mind-- and from these details, I pluck the juiciest, the most striking, the most defining parts to write a story. So I spend a lot of time thinking about how it would work to be a living, humanoid snake, or how it works to have one's body stretch in this way, or what the social undertones of certain interactions would be-- because a little snippet of that thrown in at the right moment can really give the story life. If you mean from the perspective of imagining being an anthropomorphic animal myself, though, I can't say that I've given it a lot of thought. Furries engage me as a concept, and I can wrestle with that concept indefinitely and have many fulfilling evenings of contemplation and discovery, but I can't say that I, personally, really wish that I was a humanoid cat, or dragon, or what have you. Some of it sounds cool, but I also have respect for what we are. Our very existence, just as humans, is miraculous in uncountable ways. Humanity is, on the scale of evolution and life, some kind of terrifying explosion, transforming and questioning itself and becoming more and more developed in a matter of centuries where life usually develops over hundreds of millenia. If I try to imagine how it would work for every species on earth to develop a humanoid form at the same time, or for some event to generate all these different species, fully cognizant and capable of abstract thought and the use of tools-- all I can honestly imagine is global disaster. Maybe the biggest miracle of any "furry" world is that all the different species live in harmony in most incarnations, and work together for the betterment of the whole. It's very difficult to seriously consider the implications of a world of furries without first tackling the prospect of world-wide war, considering we humans, as a single species, already have such a hard time getting along... So maybe I'm something of a spoil sport, or maybe I'm taking a bit too realistic or even pessimistic approach to it, but I can't say that it's ever been a big appeal to me as a concept ^.^;

Xanes : do you plan on doing commentary later in the future with people from your stream, or just solo commentary?

Lithier: This particular format doesn't make back-and-forth discussions work quite as well, but I'd welcome additional questions regarding something I've already said ^.^; That might encourage me to keep my answers relatively short, if I can expect people to request that I expound specifically on what they're interested in hearing about xP

Xanes : what do you do for a living?

Lithier: I'm afraid I won't be answering that specifically-- I've kept a rather old-fashioned policy that is part old habit and part statement. One of the most valuable facets of the internet to me is the anonymity-- that anyone can assume an alias and be a new person, and develop their identity from that moment on, independent of the real world. As of this moment, I'm keeping that separation-- I am Lithier, and while there are some extenuating circumstances that might affect me originating in that place called IRL, I prefer to otherwise present myself as an entity on the internet. That might seem strange to some folks, especially with the spread of facebook and tweeting and all that filling the internet with faces and real names, but that is the internet I grew up with, and it's what I cling to now. If I had my way, I'd make my living writing for you kind folks-- but I don't know how practical that will ever be. For now, we will see! And I hope you all will forgive me my strange ways.

Progress Report!

I've been told folks would like to hear the latest on how the game is coming along! Truth be told, I've been pretty quiet on that for a while mainly because I've been embarrassed with how little I'd actually gotten done. I'd hoped that the illusion of some significant amount of work would be better than killing Schrodinger's cat, and also your hopes and dreams. But! I've been making some progress at last. It's still not lots and lots, but the game is moving!

My current goal for the next release, in cryptic terms, is three big scenes, two small ones, and some extra stuff. I've currently completed one big scene, one small one that turned out rather big, and some of the extra stuff. So, tagging on some playtesting on the end, I'd say I can graphically represent the progress to the next version:

(++++======)

I know it doesn't look like much @_@ My apologies to everyone that's waiting with bated breath! I'm hoping that things will gradually get more regular from here. If you want to help, check out the Help Out! tab above this post! And if you'd like to show your support, I'll be streaming this Friday at 7 PM EST-- and if you don't know what that is, check out the handy dandy lil clock in the column on the right! This project is competing for my pen with a couple others, but it's coming along @_@ My thanks to everyone that comes to check in on things!

Livestream Next Week!

Hey folks, streaming seems to be working pretty well so far ^.^ So I'll be setting up another Livestream-- not this coming Friday, but the one after: Nov. 16th! I'll try compromising at 7 PM EST for this one. That's one hour earlier than the original start time, and an hour later than my most recent stream event. For this one, I'm planning on doing some more work on MVOL, and if there's interest, I'll do another round of interviews ^.^ Hope to see you there! :3

EDIT: I've finally found a gadget to deal with the time confusion! If you aren't sure when EST is, there is now a little blue clock in the right column down below recent comments. Hope that helps!

A Guide to This Blog

Not everybody seems to know what all is available on this blog, so I'd like to take a moment to outline the contents and make sure folks know what's available to them!

Main Navigation

Below the main header, you should see a series of tabs you can use for navigating the main content of the site. You might not see this if you're browsing by phone until you switch to the full web version!

Home

This takes you to the main blog! You can see my latest blog post, and if you scroll down, you can see older stuff beyond it. At the bottom of each post is a link that you can use to comment on the post. Comments are always welcome, and while I might not respond, I make sure to read every one! If you're confused about something I said in my post or want to respond in some way, feel free!

Play the Game

This takes you to the download page for My Very Own Lith! I always keep the most up-to-date version here, and I may also include older versions at some point down the road. As of this post, I host my game on mediafire, so if you click the link directly, you can play on the web-- but you may be better served to right click>save as... to save the game to your computer! Be wary, though-- your save files are dependent on where you play. You'll have to either start over or find and copy over your files if you start playing from a folder on your computer!

 

Suggestions/Plans

This is where I discuss the future of MVOL with you, the players! I start with a list of a lot of the features I'm thinking about including in the game, and I welcome all of you to post suggestions for what you'd like to see in the comments! This game is a very personal project for me, and I've heard a lot of interesting ideas that just don't work for what I want MVOL to be, but sometimes, something fits just right, and I work it into my plans as I go along :3 If you've got a burning need to see something in the game, this is the place to speak up!

Lith and Lithier?

I know it's a bit confusing-- The main character of MVOL is named Lith, but the writer/coder behind it is called Lithier! We are, in fact, separate entities, though there's a lot that connects us. Learn more about exactly what's going on, here!

Help Out!

I've always been grateful for people's offers to help with the game-- and some kinds of help are more than welcome, while others just won't work because of the nature of the process. If you're interested in pitching in to help with the creation of MVOL in some way, this is the page for you! It describes what all help I could use with the project, and it links to my email half a dozen times to invite you to contact me!

Other Places

You might not have been aware, but I was an erotic writer long before I was an erotic game maker! I'm told my work is pretty good, but if you'd like to judge for yourself, I have links on this page to my FurAffinity and SoFurry accounts, where you can read virtually every story I've ever written for the furry fandom! I also have a list of links (very small as of this posting) for other places of note around the internet, where people may have similar projects of interest for you to peruse!

The Sidebar

To the right side of the page, you should see a column of extra bits that will show up on every page you go to on my blog! Again, this may not work on your phone.

MVOL Chat

I use this chat room to keep in touch with the visitors on my site moment to moment! I don't check it obsessively, but if you say something on there, I'll likely see it in a matter of hours, if not minutes. If I'm quick enough to notice, I may respond and we could have a little chat :3 I'm always happy to talk with fans and/or critics, and I'm also happy to see people socializing or discussing the game even without me. This is a space for any live discussion of what's going on or what's on your mind! Preferably involving the game in some way, but that's more a guideline than a rule.

 

A Survey

Next is the survey gizmo! As of this post, it's been acting rather defunct, so this unfortunately may not be persisting into the future, but I'm hopeful that Blogger will iron out the problem so that I can keep opening the floor to the input of all you blog-readers! I'd be delighted if each and every one of you commented with your thoughts and desires on the site, but a great deal of you seem to be shy, so this is your nice, quiet way of making sure your thoughts, at least on one subject at a time, are heard.

 

Recent Comments

This is how I keep track of activity on the blog! If you comment on anything, anywhere, it will show up here so folks can know where the action is. It never seems to move quickly enough! Although it does make me a little sad when people take the time to criticize each other on my blog. Save that criticism for my work! :D

Eastern Standard Time

If you're ever unsure what time it is in EST, the time I use for scheduling Livestream events and such, check this clock!

Followers

This is some sort of list of people that have deigned to attach themselves publicly to my blog! They're notified by some kind of witchcraft every time that I make a new blog post, the crafty creatures. This also includes options to become one of these crafty creatures yourself!

Follow by Email

Or if you want to be even more crafty, you can take this option to be notified in a clandestine fashion, without having your account blazoned across my front page!

Creator

This is where you can find a link to my very empty account page! Also, that crazy dog over there managed to get his name on my blog somehow. I can't get even get him to stop humping the furniture, I have no idea how to get him off my blog!
 

Blog Archive

Last but not least (that was the previous one) is the archive! Here, you can sniff out all my old blog posts, in case you want to see what was on my mind back at the very beginning of the blog, or somewhere in between. It's chronological! :D

And that's the entirety of my blog at this point! I may add more later, but if none of this was news to you, I just wasted ten minutes of your time! If something here was new information, however, then cry out huzzah! For you've not only learned something, you've learned something about a pornographic blog! This is clearly a higher form of learning. Anyway! Thanks for taking the time to read my silly attempt to make people click buttons!

Streaming now!

 Tonight's Livestream is done! I'll be posting the completed story on SoFurry and FurAffinity tomorrow, so just check the links in Other Places! Thanks, folks! :3

Alright, the Livestream is up and going right now!

http://www.livestream.com/lithier

Streaming a commission Friday!

I know you check this blog always looking for more of MVOL, but before I can dive into the game again with good conscience, I absolutely must get back to work on my commissioned stories as well! I don't know if all of you were aware, but I was an erotic writer long before I was a game maker (see the "Other Places" tab for links to see for yourself) and as of this moment, this is the only work I've been doing that's actually paid, so I'd be grievously out of line to keep putting it off!

That said, I think you all may find it enjoyable ^.^ Theoretically, without coding and alternate scenes and terms to worry about, I should be able to write a bit more briskly, and you may be able to watch a full story unfold before your eyes. I'll be happy to discuss my work as we go, and if at some point I feel the need for a break, we may switch over to an interactive narrative, where you, the viewer, will choose the actions of the protagonist and see how the story unfolds! This will be something of a sketch experiment, but I'm hopeful it will be... interesting, if nothing else :3

But when will it be? Friday, of course! However, I've been getting the impression some of my would-be viewers, especially in non-US locations, may be having trouble with the time of day-- so I'm moving this stream forward two hours to 6 PM EST! Again, to check when that is, try this link!

The mind of a writer is a fickle thing, but I think I'm getting myself back where I need to be, bit by bit. Crushing guilt is next on the list, so let's clean house and have some dirty fun! :3 Come watch, show your support, and get some porn before anyone else!

Last time, on Livestream!

Here's the interview we went through at this weekend's Livestream. We handled a lot of interesting questions, and I'd like to thank all the creative folks behind them ^.^

Interview Transcript

Same as last time! This is your chance to ask whatever you want of Lith, and later, Lithier. This will be posted to the website for posterity, but feel free to make it something silly if you like. Background, opinions, advice, inside info, clarification, anything you've been wanting to know, now's the time to ask!

KamerGuy: Allright, what is Lith's greatest fear/phobia?
Lith: Oh o.o; Well... I do kind of... not like spiders... at all ._. I don't think it's exactly a phobia, so much as... really, really not liking the lil crawly things or their nasty webs ever touching me? @_@ Er, not to say that I have anything against, you know, spider people! I've known some very nice invertebrates ^.^;; But um, for an actual phobia... I think mine would probably have to be more public speaking. Assuming we're not getting down into deep down, psychological mucky muck, I mean o3o; But aye, speaking in front of large groups is pretty much... beyond me. I do best interacting with, well, just one other person ^.^; More is fine, but the more people there are, the more anxious I get, until I just... nnnnu ._. Um. Yeah...

link45oo: Hmmm.... What's Lith's favorite place to partake in certain "activities" with a partner?
Lith: Favorite place...? o.o Well, beds are comfy, of course, but over time, I've found the couch seems to be the most... versatile ^//^; You get most of the benefits of a bed, plus a lot more interesting spaces for... positioning. I guess I'm kind of... vanilla like that? Um, as far as places... I don't have a preference for "your place or mine" as long as it's somewhere I feel safe, I guess ^.^;;

Alleron: Say Lith...it seems like you have a tendency to attract a certain variety of tall, lusty, domineering herm; why do you suppose that is?  (perhaps a new cologne is in order XD)
Lith: I have to admit, this has been a, um, recurring question in my life o.o; My sex ed class seemed to be pretty liberal, all things considered, but they led me to believe that people, you know, between genders, are pretty rare altogether. Something like less than 1% of the population... But it seems like almost every time a woman ends up lifting their skirt around me, well, there's something extra there... *ahem* I don't really use cologne, but if I did, I'd certainly be pretty suspicious of it by now. I've been wondering for a long time if I'm just, ah, "lucky" like that, or if hermaphrodites actually make up a much larger portion of the population than I was led to believe ^.^;; As for tall, lusty, and domineering... Well, maybe the ones that AREN'T like that are the real rare minority? o.o;; I could see that kind of physical state being somewhat... empowering... ~//~;

KamerGuy: What does Lith dream of?
Lith: I don't remember most of my dreams... when I do, it tends to be when I played way too much of a game, or watched too much of a show, and that stuff kind of recycles through my head ^.^;; I mean, sometimes... well, a lot of the time, I have some... inappropriate dreams, but as far as I can tell, most of those can be chalked up to when I'm sharing a bed... and when the line between dream and, um, night grinding kind of... blurs ._.;;

link45oo: Heya Lith, do you speak any other languages - human or animal? Are there any languages out there that you want to learn and why?
Lith: Eh hehe, I know it's going to sound nerdy, but I picked up a bit of Japanese in college ^.^; Some foreign language was required, and well... I watch plenty enough anime to have made that decision easily enough. I'm not terribly good at it, especially understanding people, but I get a little thrill every time I realize I didn't need the subtitles that one time when I watch shows now, so that's something ^.^;; I'm afraid I don't have any gifts with animal communication, learned or otherwise. It's a very interesting field, but it's not really my thing o.o;

link45oo: Does Lith like being asked questions?
Lith: Well o.o I do like explaining things, as strange as that may sound... I even considered becoming a teacher for a while, but I don't think I'd do too well with all the other components of the job. But doing my best to sate people's curiosity is... rewarding for me, in a way, so yes, you could say I do :3 Admittedly, a lot of the questions I seem to get are... a little less appropriate than I might like, but I guess with the life I've ended up leading, and the connection you all have to me, it's nothing to be too surprised about ^.^;; So I'll always do my best!

Alleron: You're not the most...physically imposing fellow out there, Lith; does that bother you?  Do you feel like people tend to take advantage of you as a result?
Lith: Well, the thing about being physically imposing is-- you're imposing. In a lot of situations, I'm happy enough to go unnoticed-- or at the least, to be inoffensive. Larger people are expected to be more confrontational and stand up for things and people and all that... So to that extent, I'm kind of glad to be on the smaller side ^.^; But yes, it's true that there are a lot of downsides. It can be harder to get noticed when I want to be, and... yes, I'm more susceptible to people that are less... polite with their opinions and desires. If I was bigger, I probably wouldn't have as many problems with people like... um, Petre, say. But, I mean, even when things don't go how I want, I can usually get by one way or another. Sometimes, things happen, and you can't help it.... Well. I'm kind of just rambling now. People have taken advantage of my size, but it's never... really went too badly in the end ^.^;; It's true I have to be a bit careful where I go at night, but I tend to prefer staying inside anyway, so it works out :3 I guess that's what I'm going for-- there is balance in all things in life. Where there's an advantage, there's a disadvantage, and vice versa. You just have to be careful to play up your advantages ^.^; And carry a rape whistle.

Spoon: Lith, do you ever shed? And have you had any other problems with your fur like others being allergic to you?
Lith: Oof ._. Every spring, I get pretty... messy. I have to shower twice a day to try and keep up with it, and do twice as much laundry, too. I've known a couple other cats --not a lot, just one or two, I think-- that just didn't care, and let their fur get everywhere. Whenever they got up, there'd be a mess of fur in the seat, and more occasionally coming out of their sleeves or whatnot. I always found that really... distasteful @_@;; So I'm pretty studious with keeping my fur cleared up as much as I can. I've never met anyone with a cat allergy-- I think that's only humans that have them. I know a fair number of humans, but I think even among them... it's pretty rare? I guess I'd better check up on that if I plan on visiting humans much at some point...

link45oo: Just wondering, but has there been anything, anything at all, that you've wanted to tell someone - but never did/get the chance too?
Lith: I find it difficult to believe much anybody could say no to that question o.o;; We all have our little secrets or wishes, little things that for one reason or another we want to say or ask, but can't, or are afraid to... I could probably spend an hour or more going back over all the people I've been mean to because I was in a bad mood or a hurry or whatnot, and I never apologized... I mean, if I'd come back and apologized later, in a lot of cases, it would just be awkward and sound stupid anyway, and even apologizing at the time might not have done it... So I don't know if that counts more as wishing I'd said something, or wishing I'd never been a jerk in the first place ._. And that's just part of it. I don't know how many people I've felt... close to... over the years, but I don't really... I... *ahem* Well, I don't talk about... love, I guess. It's kind of a... scary concept to really deal with to me, after everything. So I... just enjoy the time I've got, and when life takes me elsewhere, that's it. I can wish, but that doesn't mean it would have been better if I had said something. There's my parents-- but who really communicates properly with their parents? And, there's a lot of times I should have stuck up for myself, but I just... stayed silent. Things went smoother, but I guess that was a lot of missed chances to maybe make things a little better than they are, for me, or for others. But, like I said earlier, this is kind of... the sort of thing someone else would be better suited to. So. To answer your question: Yes. So very many things, stretching back as far as I can remember. Maybe I hold onto these things too much. But... they say that, you know, you have to know your history, or you're doomed to repeat it. So maybe, someday, I'll say something I shouldn't. And see if that just makes for a fresh, new kind of regret. *smiles softly*

RealBadBadger: I've got a question for our feline host--Lith, have you ever had an encounter with someone who was unusually large or small? (in general, that is)
Lith: Ah, well, yes. You meet a lot of strange folks of college, and... also, apparently, later, after word of mouth spreads around. To my recollection, the smallest (adult) person I ever met was... three feet tall? I think he was some kind of moth... And I have met some, uh, very large people over the years ^.^; They seem to be another type that seek out, um, my type, I guess? I think there was a wolf that was over ten feet tall... I assume there was something supernatural behind his size, especially since he had three heads. I didn't think it would be polite to ask, though. I've heard about larger and smaller, of course, but I haven't, eh, "met" any ^.^;;

RealBadBadger: well, all right then! Lith, how WOULD you feel if you met someone on the very small end of the scale?
Lith: Like... micro? o.o I'd be pretty curious, I think. When you're talking about a person that's under a foot tall, the physics and anatomy of it all starts changing drastically, I imagine-- I'd probably have a lot of questions about relative strength, traveling over distances, interactions with normal-sized people, and goodness knows what else, assuming they seemed patient enough to handle them. As far as, um, "meeting" someone like that, I'm... not sure? o.o I suppose it would certainly be a reversal on the power issues we've been talking about... I guess... if the mood were right, and both parties inclined... I'd be very curious about a deal of other things? ^//^;;
From here, we moved on to questions for Lithier.

RealBadBadger: Senor Lithier, will there be/are there plans to change the colors of the interface?
Lithier: When I was first setting the game up, I had a lot of doubts about the color scheme and all around look, and I was originally planning on adding an option to switch between a couple different templates so you could have the look you wanted-- but people seemed to be pretty happy with the appearance as it was, and I wasn't sure how to code in the changes properly, so I pushed that aside. I'm not sure what need there would be for a set of options color-wise now, but I'd be happy to take feedback on it, and it probably wouldn't be too much trouble to make it happen. I'm not a coding guru, of course ^.^; But probably.

Alleron: While the context sensitive cues in the code help add to the player's immersion, aren't you concerned that (as the game grows in complexity), they'll become tedious to add?
Lithier: That has been one of my core concerns with the game from early on, actually-- the majority of my experience as a writer is in dealing with linear, classic style stories, in which the text is the same for every reader, there's no interaction, and any given scene only needs to be written one way, one time. Jumping into this game has been a huge strain in some ways, and while it's probably helped flex a few underused muscles for me as a writer, it's also cramped me up in a lot of ways. Almost every sex scene in this game is written at least twice, often with certain portions written three times over within that, or some extension thereof-- especially when I include decision branches in a scene. The balance between immersion --reflecting the player's choices and history in the text-- and the elegance and simplicity of the game overall is probably the core of the design process, and it's where the most important decisions need to be made. I've already made this game much simpler, in terms of trees and variables, than Fenoxo's CoC, which was a large inspiration for this game, as I've often mentioned. And early in the design process, I even stripped away some more of that functionality to try and make things easier for me, to the frustration of my players at the time. What I basically have to do is decide how much I want to put into any one scene and balance my energy for that scene against the multitude of variants that can be written for it. My ideal would probably be to write a game that essentially read like one of those old "choose your own adventure" books-- each page was the same every time, it was just a matter of navigating between them. But that would obviously be much less engaging for the players... So I'm left trying to find the middle ground. This is also why I'm hesitant to add things like vagina/nodick support for the avatar-- that would make for a huge increase in the bulk of each scene, theoretically almost doubling the writing mass of the story. But as things stand, I intend to make the vagina/nodick tree, well, smaller-- so that it's still an option, but it's not really considered the "full game" for purposes of unlocking all the scenes and achievements of the main tree for the game as it stands now. This might be upsetting to people that really want to play a proper vagina/nodick game, but I'm afraid that's how it's going to have to be, both for the sake of my sanity, and because it's appropriate to the design goal of the game-- when you get down to it, Lith is a cockslut at heart. The game is about sex, and if you don't have a dick, you're not going to get to the heart of Lith's identity as a sexual being. So. Yes, I'm always concerned about tedious additions to the code-- especially knowing that so many people will, for example, always choose the biggest dick, and never appreciate the text written in for smaller sizes, or any number of things like that. I've considered adding ways to transform yourself down the line just for that purpose-- to let people get a little more out of the game and see what they've been missing without having to play the whole game as a boring old "normdick." Or what have you. But... I'm keeping that one in my back pocket for now. As things stand, I'm just doing what I can, but it's a possibility I'll start making scenes later in the game less "deep" just so that I can push for having more content in general-- something that, once the base depth has been established for basic gameplay, I think the players may appreciate more.

OldOnes: I guess my quesion is, will there be a possible happy ending? I've read the stories (awesome, by the way), and I hate how he is almost constantly used and abused (and is even used to it).
Lithier: Right now, the three "endings" in the game are the collars-- they basically represent the end of the current game content. But my overall vision of the game as a progression is that they are more of the midpoint-- and each one leads to an ending, happy or unhappy depending on your interpretation, depending on how successful you are in the scenes that are to come. Basically, my current vision for "ending" this game is that, after nurturing a certain kind of behavior in Lith through thick and thin, he eventually becomes a new, "improved" person, with your help. Definition of "improved" can vary, of course... Some could make some pretty compelling arguments for being used as a reliable source of happiness. It's something of a recurring theme with Lith, if you like reading his stories :3

Th3Ch053n0n3: Ok, then, Why can you only get one collar and why is the black one so easy and the white one so hard?
Th3Ch053n0n3: Also, what blue collar devilry is this?
Lithier: To my knowledge, unless I wrote something wrong, there is no white collar-- there are black, blue, and pink. As for why one is easier to get than the others, there are a few factors. For one, while dominating another person sexually can be very physically trying, the decisions involved are largely... relatively simple. Especially in Lith's case, when he's so used to being interacted with in a similar fashion, you can get away with a lot-- and you're basically in the perfect setup for this to happen. Let's be honest-- sitting alone in a void with nothing but a couch, just the two of you, is much more conducive to a physical relationship than a platonic one. Physical isolation has this effect on people in pairs, as I understand it. The nature of the "pocket dimension" that has been provided to you is literally intended to facilitate sexual exploitation-- that is the purpose of this Lith you have taken possession of. Engaging with him as a social being is not the "intended purpose" of this interface as it's designed by the mysterious people who have provided him to you, and the environment and your own avatar reflects that. So it's hard to get very far with Lith socially-- because you are a sex doll sitting in a void on a couch with him. If you were a full-fledged person that went to crappy restaurants with him, studied with him, watched movies with him and played video games, etc., it would probably be very easy to develop a friendship. It would be much more casual, there would be more prompts to stimulate conversation, there would be lulls in your time together, you might not see each other for days and then you can catch up on everything and chat-- but none of that is the case. You are not in a place for making friends, and your avatar --while carefully designed to replicate a living being with remarkable precision-- is calibrated to be a sexual adonis and little besides. For all these reasons, it very much makes sense in game to have difficulty developing a friendship properly. On the "out of character" level, it's difficult because engaging with someone as a friend is simply more difficult decision-wise than fucking him over and over until his ass is shaped like your dick. More of this difficulty translates to you, the player, than it does for when you're just dominating sexually, because I haven't included much in the way of mechanics to make it challenging to the player to fuck the cat. I could, but I think that could take away from the tie-in between in-game difficulty and out-of-game, player difficulty. That being said, I've specifically made collaring a challenging process for MVOL as it stands right now because I wanted to engage something I noticed in my players early on-- a desire to explore every crack and crevice in the game, and to have something to represent their achievements when they've been especially patient, insightful, and thorough. Achievements are extreme of this-- some of them, at least. But collars are intended to be something you manage once you've mastered just about everything else in the game. With all this said, I do intend to make collars the stepping stone to later game content, so before that happens, I expect I'll be adding content to make it easier to get said collars before continuing in a later version. These versions will stand as my Nintendo-hard era, I suppose :P I hope that you find them engaging, and I hope that you do your best to accomplish what you can-- I intend to have the game save your old achievements, so you can archive your full history with the game down the road! That said, you may want to make a backup of your old files, just to make sure flash doesn't eat them due to inactivity between updates. Would certainly help, if you want to have a full, blazing achievement list of glory down the line :3 Not that that's for everyone, of course-- I always meant this to be more a goal for the overachievers among my players...

Th3Ch053n0n3: One sentence should be sufficient to answer this question. What things can you get for Lith? I've found the couch, book, and taking off your clothes.
Lithier: I try not to get too much into actually spelling out the contents of the game to leave as much as possible up to discovery, but it sounds like you've discovered everything the item menu is capable of at the moment besides producing a collar :3

KamerGuy: Are these livestreams going to become a regular occurence?
Lithier: I'm flying by the seat of my pants on this one right now, so I couldn't say. I don't intend to stream MVOL next weekend, but depending on how crazy I feel and if anybody seems to be interested, I might try streaming some regular writing to see how that goes. That was my first actualy Livestream event either, and I was very appreciative of the two people that were kind enough to stick around, but I'd like to have a larger audience if I try something like that again! For vanity purposes, of course. All that said, I think there's a decent chance this could become something like an every other week event if people stay interested. It sounds like there are a lot of people on other continents that can't stay up this late, though, so I may try to move the time forward or change the date!

Th3Ch053n0n3: Oh, wait, One More...... What else are you going to add to the item menu?
Lithier: Well, in case you didn't know, Lith literally has a stat for, ah, his desire for the phallus. So, if and when I add vagina/nodick support to the game, he'll have to get his satisfaction somewhere...

Streaming happened!

Oh my goodness it ended again! Did you make it? I hope so!

Let the Livestream begin! Come watch!

livestream.com/lithier

Livestreaming: Last Time and Next Time!

In case you missed the stream, here's a transcript of the interview I promised as a halftime feature! It ended up going rather long, even though folks had some trouble coming up with things to ask ^.^; And if you did miss the last one, maybe you can catch the next one! That's right, I'm hosting another Livestream on Friday the 26th at 8 PM EST. Go here if you need to make sure of when that is!

Interview Transcript

This is your chance to ask whatever you like of Lith and Lithier. Think carefully, this is being recorded for posterity! First are questions for just Lith, the cat that is the star of MVOL. The writer/coder, Lithier, will take questions later!

furrboi: how bout sme geneal questions
furrboi: how old is he? how tall?
furrboi: how big is his dick?
Lith: Oh my o.o; Well, I'm 22 right now. I've pretty much stopped growing... never quite hit five feet ^.^; Except maybe if I'm walking on my toes a bit o3o; Um. As for the other one... well... I-it's a bit above average, I guess ^//^; Or so I'm told, anyway. Um. Last I checked, it was about... seven. *ahem*

Kamer: Does Lith like music and if so, what kind?
Lith: Oh, sure! ^.^ I didn't for a long time, really, but I randomly got a cd player for a present when I was... sixteen, I think? So I've been playing a lot of catchup @.@; My favorite music... One of the first songs I ever liked was by... I think he was called DJ Rob. It was this combination of a gentle piano track and some heavy, metalic sounds, kind of techno, I guess. I've kind of always loved that sort of thing, maybe because of that song-- anything that combines modern music with old instruments, especially techno type stuff plus classic stringed instruments. I only like techno that, um, doesn't sound like techno, though. All that stuff where every song uses the same five sounds... bored me about two months in ._. Nine Inch Nails is good! Apocalyptica can be nice. Probably some others I can't think of right this second, but I don't want to turn this into a big ol list ^.^;

Ominous: Hmmm... alright, a very important question. What incarnation of the Doctor do you prefer, Lith?
Lith: Oh, definitely ten :3 He was always so much fun, but he still had a serious side to him. I was always rooting for him. Nine was... I don't know, maybe I just didn't like his haircut ^.^;; But he always seemed odd and maybe a little overly serious-- while eleven, by contrast, was jus too goofy @.@; And um, goofy looking, too ^.^; I still miss ten. But eleven's not bad, he kind of grows on you :3 I guess I should go back and look at the other eight sometime, though... o.o;;

Siinister: What size of lady does he like the most :P
Lith: Size? o.o Oh! Well... Hrm... I do like women with, um, assets ^.^; I don't mind if they're larger all around, though if it's hard to, um, work with them, it can be... problematic ^.^; Unless they're the one... working, I guess o//o; But I mean, I guess you could say I'm just... flexible ^.^;

Ominous: Favourite food?
Lith: *ahem* Some people might speculate for you on that, but I'm happy to say that I enjoy a balanced diet whenever I can. I probably don't get all the veggies n such I should, but that's another question. As far as favorites...? I guess my favorite food would have to be... a good taco :3 Not taco bell tacos or any of that-- but if you find a really good mexican restaurant that can whip you up some proper crispy tacos with beef or chicken, loaded up with fresh cheese n veggies? A crunchy bite of heaven o3o

Kamer: Does Lith like alcohol?
Lith: I tried to avoid it for a long time ^.^; I knew people that were drinking when they were 15, but I saw them do some pretty stupid stuff, and I didn't want to be that person. But... college happened. And some things kind of went out the window ^.^;; So for a while, yes, I really enjoyed drinking with friends and having fun, but one night, it went a little too far... x_x I never liked the taste of the stuff, but now, if I get a whiff of it, it kind of turns me off-- I get a gut reaction off it. I still drink sometimes, but it tends to be stuff that's more sugar than alcohol ^.^;

furrboi: what kind of alcohol?
Lith: Well, I tried to hunt down some drinks that work for me over the whole process. Bailey's and cream isn't bad, but it doesn't hide the taste very well. I used to enjoy Coke and... I think it was cherry brandy? But I had too many of those that night... Now, it's mostly screwdrivers, I guess ^.^; Orange juice seems to work wonders.

Ominous: What was your first celebrity crush?
Lith: Celebrity...? o.o I don't tend to follow celebrities much, so they don't have very good odds, but let's see... I guess that... right about when I started getting, you know, interested in women, I saw a lot of stuff with Pamela Anderson ^.^; She was... a very striking, full woman, and out of all the famous women of the time, I think she was the one that occupied my thoughts the most... Which still wasn't a terrible lot @.@; I'm... not sure if this answers the question? ^.^;;

blazingpelt: does he have any fetishes?
Lith: Um o.o I don't suppose you mean like... voodoo? I mean, not that I do, but-- I dunno, it'd be... *ahem* Never mind ^.^; Um. I guess that depends on what you'd count as a fetish... *fidget* I like a certain... body type that I thought was pretty rare, b-but it seems to be turning out to be a lot more common than I thought, so... Hrmm... W-well, I've always kind of liked looking at... tentacle stuff ^//^; Especially when, every once in a while, one would actually, like, eat up the guy's... guyhood. Like it had a... girlhood inside it. I dunno why, but that looks neat ^.^;; And, I guess I've had a little guilty pleasure reading stuff about incest... N-not that I would ever... anything like that ._. But stories and stuff like that can be... pretty fun... ~//~;

Siinister: Is having a tail useful?
Lith: Oh, definitely! :3 I dunno how tailless folk keep their balance without them. Plus you can sometimes kinda close a door with it, or nudge things. Once or twice, I even managed to turn my computer on with my tail, but it kinda hurts to poke things too much. I was pretty proud of that. If you think it's hard to keep a straight face, though, it's even harder to keep a straight tail @_@ I tried playing a lil poker in high school, n I had to sit on my tail to even have a chance! Also, clothing is stupid ._. For tails, I mean. Either you're chafing the base, or you have to get pants with a hole in the back, which is a whole nother problem waiting to happen, besides how it's either too big a hole and shows off your butt, or too tight and just keeps chafing anyway. ...Actually, I guess that's pretty much the whole problem there. But yeah o.o Useful, but sometimes annoying!


We closed up questions for Lith here for tonight. From here on are questions for Lithier!

Ominous: What are your big, pie-in-the-sky plans for MVOL?
Lithier: My big goal for this game was, in the beginning, to basically be just a simulator. I would try and get as in-depth as possible with Lith, so that you could really explore him as a person. I'm always thinking on other ways to approach him, but the problem is there's a lot of... overlap, and too much repetition kills the creative process for me. So I've been gradually modifying my goal, partly with my own interests, partly with the suggestions and requests I've been getting from the players. Right now, my big idea for this game is basically to have a game where you progress with Lith according to the rough path you choose to develop him into the kind of person you want him to be-- a fully self-supported and confident member of society, healthy in mind and body; a broken, subservient shell of a being bent on your pleasure, or something in between. This process will take us on a few supernatural trips to places disjointed from the void where you reside with Lith currently, as travel is an important part of personal change. I don't intend for this to be a long game, nor necessarily anything close to CoC in scale-- I want this to be a game that's about Lith and who and what he is, and what he could become. Anything radical beyond that belongs in a different game. I also want this to be a showcase of the best writing I can muster, which is a tall order on this scale, but this is probably part of why I've been having such trouble with it. I'm hoping to get through it with everyone's support, though. And if I can complete this project, or maybe before, I have hopes to start something that's a little more flexible and all over the place like people seem to be wanting. I'll admit I could certainly use some variety of content myself. But MVOL as it stands right now is a decent incarnation of my original intention-- so as far as that goes, I already consider it something of a success.

Kamer: Pepsi or Coke?
Lithier: When I was younger, I was all about Pepsi. It probably helps that new coke tasted terrible. Somewhere along the line, I started going bi, and suddenly-- Vanilla Coke happened. This drink trumps all others, in my opinion. So if we're talking flavored variants, definitely coke. If we're talking original cola, I'm split. If we're talking diet, I prefer Pepsi-- diet coke is trash.

Anon12: A while back you had a poll for features to be added to the game (fetish related); what are the chances of the non-winning kinks making their way into future releases?
Lithier: That poll, as with most of my polls on the MVOL blog, aren't direct controls to what I do-- I take an electoral college approach to it :P I take your votes on the subject, and keep them in mind as I choose where to go, but the final decision comes down to my gut, and where I think I, myself am the most interested-- I've always had the best results writing about things I'm interested in myself, which often includes anything I haven't explored much before. And one of my most common comments in situations like that is something like "I usually don't care for ____ at all, but you made it sound so hot!" Which is think is much more valuable than "I sure do like ____ already, and the way you wrote it wasn't too bad!" I think there's a lot of value in subjecting people to things they generally avoid in a setting where they can learn more about it-- especially how to enjoy it. If they never look at that thing again after, that's fine-- maybe they at least understand the appeal of it a little better now. In this way, I like to believe I'm improving the world a little, tiny bit at a time while indulging my own interests and pleasing you all. So, to answer your question in the most elaborate way, as I am wont to do, being a low-voted item doesn't hurt your chances much. To be fair, I never intended for MVOL to be a big fetish game like CoC, but a more focused game centered on Lith. This does make me suspect a more flexible secondary game could go over pretty well, though...

furrboi: do you plan on turning the 'place' into something?
Lithier: The infinite void that the game takes place in is, in a way, a reflection of Lith's origin as a character. In my experience, two horny people don't need much more than a couch, and a floor to put it on, to have a great deal of fun, and I think that that kind of setting helps focus this game in the way that I'm going for. I do intend to explore the void a little bit, but it's more of a private place, a nexus of thoughts and desires than any kind of canvas awaiting a brush. I've heard a theory I'm going to turn it into a dorm room, and while I find that an interesting thought, it's really not where I'm going with the game right now. Of course, my intentions have changed before, so I couldn't say for completely certain it won't turn into something eventually ^.^;

ShadowWriter: I have been a fan of you for quite a while and someone has probably asked this but, what might be expected should Lith's dominant side ever coem out?
Lithier: Thanks for sticking around! I don't think anyone's asked that in particular-- but lots of folks do seem to be curious. Lith is, to me, a switch-- but he is, to other people, most commonly seen as a sub. He looks like a sub, he acts like a sub, and he sucks cock like a sub. But in the right situation, he'll be happy to turn the tables on you. The funny thing about Lith's dominant side is that he tends to draw a little from what he's seen of others dominating him-- so it can change from time to time, really. But generally, he can become either a sensuous, silently confident lover like we see in Learning Lessons Pt. 5, or occasionally, he can become... aggressive. Of course, this usually requires a partner that's small or weak enough for him to actually take this role, as it can be hard for the little guy to properly dominate someone that can throw him off by shrugging a little too hard. It isn't easy being tiny and adorable!

Th3Ch053n0n3: I just joined the chat, and I'm sorry if you already answered this, but is the next update of MVOL going to include female bits/both?
Lithier: Vagina/nodick is on the way, a lot of it is written into the code, but it involves a whole lote of re-writes and adding more transitions to the code in general. My goal for v0.06 is to have the main challenge trees completed, and I'm going to be focusing on getting that done. Working on vagina/nodick has been a good secondary project to work on when I need some variety, but it's not a priority, so it basically comes down to how much I keep jumping back to it as I work on this. At this point, I'd say it's looking like a one in four chance that it'll make it into v0.06. The odds are against you, but it's certainly not impossible. Sorry to keep you waiting!

Th3Ch053n0n3: And also, are you going to continue To Own a Wolf? I really liked that story
Lithier: To Own a Wolf is definitely one of my most popular series ^.^ I have more planned for it, but as ever, it depends on the readers from here. My personal muse demands of me to always be pushing in new directions, and I love creating new stories altogether, with new characters and settings. So when I have my own choice in it, I'm always pushing something new out. It's up to my dear readers to push me in the direction they want me by commissioning continuations of their favorite works. I'll admit the system hasn't been working so well on that count so far-- my custom sketch commissions have proven much more popular. I'm open to suggestions on that count, but I have to clarify that it is a goal for me to turn my writing into a profitable practice-- one in which sinking all these hours of stress and concentration into a project actually rewards me in a material way. So unless it's profitable to go back to my old stories and expand them, I'm afraid I'll be sticking primarily to the sketch commissions, which always seem to fill up faster than I can write them. I hope we can find a way to make everyone happy talking this over in the days to come ^.^

Th3Ch053n0n3: And another thing, is MVOL written in C++? I know some and would be willing to help.
Lithier: MVOL is written in ActionScript 3.0 to work on Adobe Flash. This is the same language used by Fenoxo over on CoC, and without his work to steal from, I'd never have been able to get started! ^.^;; But in my experience, object-based programming languages share an awful lot, so any proper coding experience may well be helpful, though AS jockies would be the most likely to know what obvious, commonly used tools I've been struggling without this entire time like a luddite. Thankfully, MVOL isn't too coding intensive once you've got the basics of logic down, but I'm always happy to find a new way to streamline things! You can't imagine how relieved I was when I found the switch function... waaaay past when I should have started using it -_-

Th3Ch053n0n3: Do you have an email on your SF page?
Lithier: You know, I probably don't! It's mostly pasted all over my blog: lithiers@gmail.com. Wanna help? Private suggestions or discussion? That's the place. Thanks, folks!


That concluded the interview! If you've still got questions, come join me on Friday for another peek at the code and another interview with the main character and the creator!