Ask Me Anything : The Answers

When will the update be out?

As soon as it's finished.

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How much of the story is left? / How many episodes remain? / How long will it take to complete?

I estimate that the story will wrap up around v0.23 or v0.24 and take 3+ more years to complete. So, while we’re over halfway through, there’s still a long way to go. Everything so far has really just been laying the foundation—showing how the MC enters the Lloyds’ lives. After v0.17* is finished, the story will shift toward the payoff, focusing on building the romance and leading toward happy endings.

*There’s a chance I might split v0.17 into two smaller releases. If that happens, the shift will begin after v0.18 instead.

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Will we have to wait a long time for some super hot scenes with Charlotte?

I’d estimate around four updates. That said, there’s still a lot of romantic and emotional development that needs to happen before Charlotte is truly ready for physical intimacy—plus a few moments of high drama along the way. It’s hard to say for sure whether the pacing will feel right until we actually get there.

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Why does Suzi have so little content compared to the other three Lloyd ladies?

The 'romantic' relationship with Suzi is meant to be quick and tempestuous. She’s like a storm on the horizon—something that could suddenly appear and wreak havoc. That’s why she’s kept at a distance for the most part; I think it would be hard to maintain that sense of threat and tension if she were always present.

So even though she has less screen time, I believe your relationship with her will feel more intense because of it.

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I really like where MC and Lucy's relationship is heading. It's super wholesome and I am here for it 100%. Are you going to keep the content with her coming or will we have to wait for more of that later down the road. She is hands down my favourite of the Lis.

We're approaching a point where the main storyline ends, and from there, the story will essentially branch into four different paths—one for each love interest (though they’ll still be interwoven). I can't guarantee they'll all have equal screen time, but I hope things will become more balanced than they have been so far.

So yes, Lucy will be getting more content soon as she seeks to step out of Charlotte’s shadow.

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Will we be able to have kids and get married to someone?

I plan for the MC to marry your chosen love interest, whoever that may be. Each wedding will be different and reflect the personality of that character.

However, only a couple of them will have pregnancy as part of their story—and it will be entirely optional and not portrayed as a sexual kink.

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When will Suzi and Chase's happy relationship begin?

Because Suzi and Chase are part of a love triangle with the MC, I can't say too much about them without giving away spoilers. Needless to say, there will be some drama and a few plot twists along the way. Suzi's path is perhaps the wildest ride of the four love interests—which suits her character.

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What got you into AVNs?

I wish I had a different answer, but the truth is—money. I used to work in the games industry, but I left when commercial interests started to matter more to those in charge than a genuine love of games.

I tried indie development for a while and released a few apps, but I was just a little too late—discoverability was becoming a real issue. Every successful game was quickly cloned as people tried to piggyback on its success, and the marketplace became oversaturated (much like what’s probably about to happen with AVNs, thanks to AI).

I started looking for a niche where discoverability wasn’t such a major barrier, and I found it in adult visual novels.

So I basically stumbled into AVNs without knowing anything about them. And while I was originally looking for a way to support myself financially, that’s no longer what drives me. Whatever I set out to do at the beginning, Hillside has become a passion project, and I’m committed to finishing it—even if I stop earning any money from it.

I have to give the characters their happy endings now, and I can’t wait for those who've become invested in them to experience it too.

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How did you come up with the story of Hillside?

I'm a bit embarrassed to answer this one, so I just want to say that I hadn't tried writing anything since I was in school!

My original idea for a game was terrible—unimaginative, tropey nonsense. The MC was an IT consultant called in to fix a mess in corporateland. He started the story staying in a hotel, but when he realized the scale of the job and got tired of the city's noise, he began looking for a "Room for Rent." That was actually the title.

And that’s how the Lloyd family came into being. Charlotte was the woman renting out a room in her house. She had once been an aspiring model but was forced to give it up to raise her two children after their father left. She now worked as a beauty therapist and was struggling financially, hence needing a tenant. Emma was the shy younger daughter, Suzi the angry one who resented your intrusion, and Lucy was their aunt—a wealthy, successful businesswoman living in a luxury house with a swimming pool.

I’d done quite a lot of character work by that point, but then I discovered a game called Room to Rent, which made me realize I needed to do better. The fact that someone else had come up with almost the exact same title brought me back to the issue of discoverability. My story, the setting, even the name—everything about it felt generic. It needed more depth, more identity. It needed elevating.

So I began to rethink things. I asked myself, who are these people? I honestly don’t remember why I started thinking about the Kardashians, of all people, but something about making the Lloyd family famous—media personalities of some kind—really struck me. That angle gave the story instant depth. I liked the idea of setting it somewhere iconic, like Hollywood, but decided to create a fictional town instead—and use its name as the title of the visual novel.

Since I dislike the Kardashians and everything they stand for, I moved away from the idea of social media fame and instead began thinking about who the MC is and how he fits into the lives of these women.

I knew I wanted the MC to be a good guy—masculine, grounded, someone the player would want to be. Definitely not an IT consultant! And if I wanted a believable reason for him to be living in Charlotte’s house, him being a bodyguard made the most sense.

By this point, I’d also decided to make the love interests feel as unattainable as possible, because I thought that would create more interesting dynamics. So Charlotte, the family matriarch, became the ultimate unattainable woman—not just a supermodel, but the supermodel, someone who had given up on men entirely.

Everything else grew from that setup.

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Which character is your favourite?

I genuinely love all of the Lloyds for different reasons, but Charlotte is obviously the focal point of the main story. Because of that central role, she’s the most developed character and the one I’m proudest of.

However, if I had to pick a favourite, it would be Emma, because she draws the most from my own personal experiences. I relate to her, and her struggles, more than any of the others.

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Inspirations for all the characters?

Some characters, like Harry and Valentini, have obvious real-world inspirations, which I won't name for legal reasons! But the main characters don't really have a single, clear source of inspiration. Charlotte's appearance was influenced by people like Alessandra Ambrosio and Kate Beckinsale. Emma was loosely inspired by the daughter from My Sweet Neighbors. And rumour has it the MC has never been seen in the same room as Jason Statham.

Their personalities, though, were designed to serve the needs of the story rather than being based on anyone specific—and for that, I drew on my own experiences.

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Is my boy, Steve, going to get some love?

It won't be a big part of the story, but he might find someone on at least one of the love interest paths.

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Who did you have the most fun writing dialogues for?

The most fun so far has to be Emma or Valentini, but that might change if Charlotte's devilish side continues to emerge.

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Which character gives you the hardest time in posing (fixing their hair, the character's clothing breaking/nips poking through clothes, etc.)?

I wouldn't say any of them are worse than the others when it comes to hair or clothing, but the MC's face is much less expressive than the others. I find it difficult to make it convey emotions convincingly.

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I love music/soundtracks in my AVNs. I think they enhanced the game. Have you ever thought about putting music in your game?

Yes. I actually started working on adding music, but then Drifty (Leap of Faith) was hit with a DMCA takedown, which stopped me in my tracks (pun intended!). After looking into the legal issues, I realized just how one-sided things are in favour of music rights holders. Even if you’ve purchased a license from a music library, you can still get hit with a DMCA—and there's little you can do. Music libraries can also change their terms at any time, it seems.

Right now, there are only two libraries I’d trust to allow explicit adult use. One costs around $200 a year, the other $2,500+. And that price difference reflects the quality. If I start using the higher-end library now, I’d need to keep paying annually until Hillside is finished—potentially for several years. I do have a membership to the cheaper library, but I can’t currently justify multiple years of the more expensive one.

That said, I do plan to use the higher-end library eventually, because the right music would make a huge difference in the key emotional scenes. So the short answer is: yes, I intend to add music before we reach the most important moments—because you only experience those for the first time once, and they deserve to be heard with the right music. I'm just holding off until we’re closer to them.

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What's Kaylah's path now? Is she just a side affair, or is she going to have her own path with a happy ending?

She will have her own path and ending, but it won't be as involved as those of the main love interests. Also, the MC won't find the same kind of resolution as he would if he had chosen one of the Lloyds.

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Which arc has been your favourite to work on and which has been the hardest?

Probably the same answer for both - Charlotte's. Because of her age, experiences, and the past she shares with the MC, her arc has more pathos. It runs deeper than the others, and that's what interests me. But that also makes it more challenging to write.

Suzi’s arc has also been difficult, but for a different reason—the love/hate dynamic is something I don’t have personal experience with, so it’s harder to get right.

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I'm sure as a Dev, you must have gone through multiple rewrites. What are some of the ideas that you came up with but never made it into the game?

Apart from the major rethink I mentioned above, the other big rewrite happened after I released the first few versions. I didn’t even know that “slow-burn” and “story-focused” were options at the time—originally, Hillside was going to be much more porny.

The structure I had planned was that the MC would be able to pursue relationships with all of the love interests in a single playthrough, though it was never going to be incestuous or include a harem.

That wasn’t really what I wanted to do, it’s just what I thought people expected and would support. But after seeing the initial feedback and how people responded to the characters, I gained confidence and decided to take the story in a different direction. That meant restructuring and rewriting everything into what it is now.

And I’m genuinely grateful that so many people enjoy the slower, more grounded romantic pacing and are willing to support it.

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I love when Devs do BTS! Do you think you'll ever show some?

I’m open to sharing some behind-the-scenes content, though I’m not entirely sure what people want to see. If there’s something specific you have in mind, feel free to let me know. No guarantees, but I’m happy to consider it.

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Do you already have the whole story planned out?

I have the overall story written, but not every scene is planned out in detail—only the most important ones. Those are the key moments in each character’s arc, like the first time you have sex, the proposal, the wedding, and so on.

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What do you like to do outside of working on the AVNs (if it's not too personal)?

My interests mostly revolve around getting away from other people.

I enjoy walking in nature and studying natural history, with a particular interest in wild orchids and cultivating them.

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Do you have another AVN or concept waiting in the wings? Will you be making a prequel about the og Emma, or a sequel after the MC becomes Emma's dad?

I have lots of ideas, but no definite plans for what I'll do next. Who knows where things will be by the time Hillside is finished, especially with AI and the recent push toward censorship.

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Seeing you actively keeping up with animating the characters using AI, is this just for the sake of keeping up with the AI development or something that you seriously consider to implement in the near future?

I don't personally feel the technology is good enough to use yet, but I think it will be by the time Hillside is finished. Some of the individual videos I've done are of good enough quality, but they're just 5 seconds long. When you start to make longer videos, or string multiple videos together into a longer cut scene, then the problems are still evident.

So I plan to stay up to date with developments and continue exploring the possibilities, with a view to possibly adding AI animations in the future—if the quality is good enough.

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Thank you to everyone who asked questions—and to you for taking the time to read. If you have any follow-up questions, feel free to ask them below. I’ll either reply directly or, if there are enough, make another post to answer them all.

DB