Dorm House - v0.29 WG BE Visual Novel - 9.5.26

[Madxen77]

​Version .29 has ARRIVED! Some much requested features have been started, such as enhancements to UI for Android Users as well as the ability to replay events! Both have been implemented, but will require updates before I get them right. Not only that, but updates to Mia, Gina, work, and Tia/Tiffany take center stage this version. Sorry this took a bit longer! The big personal stuff that’s caused the delayed release is done, so I’ll have a lot more time to get back on the grind! This certainly isn’t the biggest update in terms of brand new characters, but I wanted to focus on giving current characters more content! There’s a lot of background structuring (Like the Movie Theater) that’s now in place, which will make adding more easier for the future.

Important to note that with Mia’s new events, you SHOULD be able to do them all on an exisiting save, but it may not be as enjoyable, and the order they show up in may not necessarily be in order. For the full experience, I’d recommend taking her to the gym and bringing her back down to stage 0 before updating if you want to keep your save!

Changes:

• Summary

  ADDED PHONE MODE - This brings the UI in a bit to help make it easier to see content on a smart phone. This will need some tweaking, but is functional!

  Added Text Size Modifiers - Make the text larger or smaller, but note that some of the larger text sizes aren’t fully supported yet.

  Redid Lily’s Gossip towards Becca

  New Mia Stage Descriptions

  Updated All of Mia’s Talking Lines

  Updated Mia’s Gym Location Lines

  Updated Lily’s Stage 0-2 Gossip Towards Mia

  Updated Mia’s feeding lines

  Brand New Mia Character Arc

  Added Option to Talk to Gina at each stage - 2 unique dialogue options per stage

  Added Option to Watch Gina Work at each stage - 2 unique descriptions per stage

  Added Option to Talk to Abby at each stage - 2 unique dialogue options per stage

  Added Option to Watch Abby Work at each stage - 2 unique descriptions per stage

  Added Option to Talk to Rachel at each stage - 2 unique dialogue options per stage

  Added Option to Watch Rachel Work at each stage - 2 unique descriptions per stage

  Added the ability to replay about 15 or so events via the Movie Theater (I’m working on it, okay?)

Bugs/Glitches:

• Fixed a glitch where if you carried a save in from before Sol existed, you couldn’t access any of the beach shop content.

• Fixed doors in the Dorm House Hallway from having a hard time opening due to the hinges and knobs being on the same side.​

New Locations:

• Boardwalk - Just lightly introduced here, the boardwalk will host ways to take your housemates out to raise your relationship! Also meet Marge - who will have her own arc in upcoming versions.

• Movie Theater - Replay events with custom weight stage modifiers, based on what stage you have reached with everyone! Events will be added to this as I go along - almost every event needs to be edited to cleanly play in the Theater, so that will take some time!

• Sumo Practice - Unlock this by going through Mia’s new arc!

​

New Characters:

• Piper - 2 Stages / 2 Sprites

• Marge - 1 Stage / 1 Sprite

• Megumi - 1 Stage / 2 Sprites

• Customer 8 - 8 Stages / 10 sprites (Unlock her after Becca joins the crew!) First Customer to have events attached to them!

Previous Character’s New Stages/Images:

• Mia - 27 new sprites (Reworked stages 4-9)

• Becca - 3 new sprites (Reworked stage 9)

• Tiffany - Stages 2-7 / 7 sprites

• Tia - Stage 7 / 1 sprite

• Gina - Stages 10-11 / 5 sprites

Events:

1. Summary

   Funland- All Housemates (Third Saturday Event)

   Gina Stage 9 Angelina Experiment 1

   Gina Stage 9 Angelina Experiment 2

   Gina Stage 9 Angelina Experiment 3

   Gina Stage 10 Expansion Scene

   Gina Stage 10 Angelina Exam

   Gina Stage 10 next injection

   Gina Stage 11 Expansion Scene

   Lily - Movie Theater Date

   Piper - Movie Theater Introduction

   Piper Stage 2 Event

   Reworked - Mia Stage 1 Event

   Reworked - Mia Stage 2 Event

   Mia Stage 3 Event

   Mia Stage 4 Event

   Mia Stage 5 Event

   Mia Stage 6 Event

   Mia Stage 6 Sumo Event

   Mia Stage 7 Event

   Mia Stage 8 Sumo Event

   Mia Stage 9 Event

   Reworked - Tia and Tiffany 1st Event

   Tiffany Stage 2 Event

   Tiffany Stage 3 Event

   Tiffany Stage 4 Event

   Tia and Tiffany 2nd Event

   Tiffany Stage 6 Event

   Tiffany Stage 7 Event

   Tia Stage 6 “Catch-Up” Event

   Tia Stage 7 Event

   Becca Stage 6 Work Beach Event

   Becca & Customer 8 Stage 7 Beach Event

   Becca & Customer 8 Stage 8 Beach Event

And it’s time - I’m also announcing the launch of my patreon! Come check it out at patreon.com/Madxen77​​ . I appreciate all the support that you all have given me, and while I’m going to continue to update the game on Itch for free, members of my Patreon will get early access to new versions of the game, and see updates on what I’m working on/ help make decisions on where to focus my time!

Link to the itch.io page here!

[PaPaNa]

Not bad. I assume The park and the beach doesn’t have any content as of now?

I know this is an early build but here are some things that came to my mind:

• The suspicion system doesn’t exactly make sense right now. It goes up if you try to feed “wrong” things but I think it goes back down way too easy now. You could also expand the use of it by having some of the player’s other actions effecting it. Also how does the suspicion meter at the top bar work?
• There should be some limit how much you can feed a character in a day. Now you can feed a single character multiple times in a row. That if something should make the MC seem suspicious.
• Working gives $40 instead of the $50 it says on the text.
• I think end of the day should bring player back to his room. Now you remain where ever you are despite running out of energy and the day changing.
• The apartment could have common areas to visit where you could randomly encounter some of the girls hanging out there.
• I hope the gym is somehow going to be a part of the story since there is a clear weight loss mechanic implemented already.
• As of now the game play is pretty straightforward. Now I know this might not be a popular opinion but I would like if there would be a bit of more challenge in it. Like fattening up every girl wouldn’t be as easy as now. Some would require different tactics than others. I would also welcome some drama between the girls.

• When Priya reveals to be in to this, why her suspicious meter still gets up with “wrong” feeding after this gets revealed since she like asks player to continued doing it. Also, you could get a nice plot element about her helping the player. Or, even better, a rival for the player.

• At later stages the flirt option seems quite sexual which I find feeling a bit strange right now since there isn’t much lead from MC<->character relationship deepening towards that. I think this could benefit from some polishing to make it feel more natural progression.

[Madxen77]

Hey there! Thanks for the feedback. I’ve actually addressed a lot of the mechanics you mentioned in my new version 0.21 I plan on dropping tomorrow. I noticed a lot of the things you’re seeing as well, and now that the game has content, I want to start tweaking the systems.

• I reworked a LOT of the suspicion system; I didn’t want it to be hard, but I want it to be something that does require attention. I’ve increased the ways suspicion goes up, and made it more difficult to lower quickly. I’m also introducing a hunger mechanic, which will limit the amount a girl can be fed a day (and if she’s overfed, suspicion increases).

• Like you said, Priya should be the exception. I’ve already taken away her suspicion mechanics once she hits Stage 2, since she’s very much in on it.

• Someone mentioned the money to me on itch and said I’m taxing them. To be honest, that’s a mistake on my part; I updated the code to reduce the amount of money made in a day, but forgot to adjust the string.

• The end of day is supposed to bring the player back to his room, and I’ve fixed that in the new version

• The weight loss mechanic is really there to just have it for now; similar to how I’m starting to dial in the weight gain, I really just wanted it there as an option. Along with the gym, I plan on utilizing all locations more; most (if not all locations) will have a minor character associated with that location that will have unique ways to get them to gain weight as well.

• I also added a chance for a random housemate to appear at every location. There’s not much to do with the housemate for now at unique locations for now, apart from seeing them more in the world.

• Dialogue and relationships with the housemates in general is something I’m tweaking each version. I like how the personalities for Priya, Becca, and Lily have turned out for the most part, but there is a lot of inconsistencies as well. Events will be more frequent, which will showcase the evolving relationships with each of the housemates (as well as the minor characters)

• There’s a lot more planned as well. I’ve been having a LOT of fun with this project, and I appreciate you letting me know what you think!

[Madxen77]

Version 0.21 is out! This added more depth to the game by building and replacing a lot of the mechanics. Housemates are now randomly found in other locations, Mia’s sprites have been completely reworked, and there are more characters and events to be seen!

[metyu91]

well done. i love the game and cant wait for more

[sdirishpirate72]

It’s turning into indulgences and I’m here for it

[Madxen77]

Thanks! I’m having a lot of fun with the project and I plan on taking it as far as I can

[Madxen77]

I don’t think there’s higher praise you can give, thanks!

[jameswoods809]

Hey Madxen. I first played version 0.20 the other day, and left some feedback on itch, but now that you are on the weight gain forum, I will move my future comments over here. I played 0.21 and here are my thoughts around it.

Sprite stages & weight numbers - I understand this could be a perspective thing, but there is not much of a difference in physical changes when the girls move up in stages at least to me. In my playthrough, Becca at stage 9, she weighs 372 lbs., but to me she is underweight based off her sprite. I feel the same way around the other girls as well.

Writing - I really enjoy the MC monologues when they see the girls gain weight and how the girls react to it. What you have done so far between the events with Becca/Lily, Becca/Priya, MC/store clerk, etc. have been great.

Right now, the store clerk is my favorite girl. If I could make a request, that she gets upgraded to a main story roommate.

I really like what you have going so far with this VN, keep it up! I can’t imagine how difficult it is to make these type of games, but I appreciate the time and effort you put into it.

[sdirishpirate72]

Yeah the weight stages need to be addressed, however understand it’s still early game development. I’m sure it’ll get fleshed out as it progresses

[Madxen77]

Thanks for the feedback!

I agree; the actual weight and what the sprites represent are two totally different things. That’s been dialed in a bit more in the next version, along with a reduction in how much most food feeds. I plan on adding stages 10 and up much later, but right now I want to continue fleshing out the housemates and other location specific characters.

The store clerk was the first non-housemate character I created to test the concept, and I loved how she turned out! I originally only planned on doing 2 stages and moving on to something else, but couldn’t stop. Do you feel as if it took too long to get her stages up? I’m definitely planning on adding more housemates in the future; Mindy definitely has a chance of being a character that moves in to the house.

The only thing that scares me about adding housemates is the gossip system. The gossip and suspicion system are two things I feel make what I do different than some of the other games in the weight gain genre, and I want to keep the gossip system going. However, if I add a sixth girl, that’s literally 1000 new lines of gossip dialogue- 500 for the girls at each stage talking about the new housemate, and 500 for the new housemate talking about the other girls.

I’ve already created 12 new events for the next version, and plan on doing more. I’ve got a grasp on all the housemates personalities (except Zoe- jury is still out on her), so creating events for them is much easier!

And thanks; I’ve already put 50+ hours into it, and I feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface with what I want to do!

[BadIdea4]

@Madxen77

The only thing that scares me about adding housemates is the gossip system. The gossip and suspicion system are two things I feel make what I do different than some of the other games in the weight gain genre, and I want to keep the gossip system going. However, if I add a sixth girl, that’s literally 1000 new lines of gossip dialogue- 500 for the girls at each stage talking about the new housemate, and 500 for the new housemate talking about the other girls.

Reading this right here sold me on actually playing this game. In real life, gossip kinda annoys me; but it’s a real response people have to each other, and putting it in a game like this means the characters are seeing each other’s weight gain, and what is seen seems more real.

Edit: I saw a long character list on Itch and freaked out a little, but only five are major. Just putting in my vote to put more love and attention into them and their dynamics with each other before promoting more characters to that category. The big harem / dozens of love interests thing is not bad IMO, but it’s been done a lot more than medium-size casts.

[Madxen77]

Hope you like it! The gossip option is available to each housemate, and there is a unique line of dialogue for the housemate gossiping at each weight stage towards another housemate at each stage. It’s not fully fleshed out for Mia or Zoe, but it’s something I think helps the game feel more “alive” as characters grow.

But I agree, there’s more events and interactions I want to do with the five core girls (and redo some of their lines as I develop their personalities further) before I add more to that dynamic. The other characters all have different stages and their own events and arcs, but for the most part will be relegated to smaller roles.

[jameswoods809]

I did notice how much longer it takes for Mindy to move up in stages after she hits stage 3 and do think it takes a little too long from that point. Regarding the girls showing up in other locations, it would be nice to see them interact with the environment they are in outside of dialogue. For example, Becca in her early stages when she is at the store, she is shown from the side grabbing food off the shelf. In her later stages, it’s more difficult because her boobs are in the way. Or because of her fat ass, when she has to bend down, her ass knocks stuff over. Stuff like that.

[loopzoob89]

game looks reall cool! eager to see where updates take it

[rimean]

So how exactly do i lower suspicion with someone now and what kind of hint i’ll get that girl is becoming suspicious of me? Mia has been suspicious of me for over one week and i’ve no idea how to fix it.
Edit: it has been over 3 weeks now and she is still stuck at 5/5 of suspicion

[Madxen77]

Sorry! You’re the first to mention that; I realized that with how I had structured it, max suspicion never dropped!
I just posted the new version to Itch.io; If you max a housemate’s suspicion, there’s now flowers you can buy in the shop to lower her suspicion to the point you can interact with her.

[BadIdea4]

I haven’t played through the whole game, but I’ve brought Mia to max size and the rest a few stages together.

The housemates don’t seem to independently want or do anything. If I save and go talk to them, I get one conversation, and if I load, go pass time outside the house for a month, and then talk to them, I get the same conversations. Why is there nothing going on in their lives?

The housemates gossip could shine more. They all have the same attitude to WG. No-one’s judgmental, no-one’s into it, everyone’s just noticing each other gaining weight with a kind of amused, disinterested compassion. And credit where it’s due - I haven’t seen much of that before, so thanks for adding it to the WG game space. But when all five of the housemates are doing it, it feels inhuman.

Speaking of gossip and initiative, the housemates gossip only when I prompt them. They should occasionally just tell me these things! Sometimes when I want to gossip they should want to do something else! Some of them should like it more than others, etc etc.

The structure of the game is too grid-y for my taste. I can do the same things with every housemate. They gain weight according to the same schedule. If one does something special at stage 2, I expect they all will, and if she doesn’t, they won’t. The outside locations show more variety - the library/store fetch quest is one kind of thing, the gym and school are another. And because, like many gamers, I will try to go through all the content, I find myself moving through the grid accordingly, which becomes a dull experience. Which, you know, is my own fault, but in game design you try to rescue players from their own fun-destroying tendencies. I’d recommend removing any content you remember adding for symmetry’s sake, and adding more content, as you think of it, for specific scenarios.

Basically, I’m saying the housemates feel too much like NPCs right now. I wish you would take one, flesh out her personality more if needed, and “give her permission” to break the grid and have her own unique mechanics and content. Then do it with the other four. That said, I do like the basic vibe and direction of the housemates. They’re an appealing cast!

Minor note: at least for the first few stages, the top-heavy girl is described as gaining many cup sizes, but she looks almost exactly the same. Disappointment immeasurable etc etc. There were also a couple instances of the housemates saying something like [player.name] instead of it being processed appropriately. One of them was Mia, stage 8 or 9.

[rimean]

I don’t think that Zoe’s should have black background at 9th weight stage

[Madxen77]

No, and it ALSO shouldn’t be popping up for Zoe’s later beach sprites either… Thanks for letting me know! I’m moving too quick and should do a better job with checking that stuff. I fixed it for the next version, which will have more Zoe content as well.