Yearning: A Gay Story

FAQ

To submit a question, please contact me via whatever means you prefer.

"YAGS"?

YAGS is a backronym from the previous name for the game (Yet Another Gay Dating Sim), because I really liked the acronym. The name is supposed to emphasize that the game is more about the story and characters than necessarily dating anyone, but as always, YMMV.

How can I get the game?

You can download the game now from itch.io. It may be released on Steam at a later date.

What platforms are supported?

YAGS is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. It can also be played on some Android phones and tablets via sideloading.

How much does the game cost?

YAGS is free to download on itch.io. I didn't want anyone's ability (or inability) to pay to prevent them from playing the game. However, if you can afford it, you can donate for some bonus items, such as the soundtrack or a digital behind-the-scenes book.

The Skip functionality is broken!

By default, the game will stop skipping when you make a choice, and will not skip text you haven’t seen. Both of these can be toggled in Preferences to allow for more efficient skipping.

I found a bug/typo!

Please report the issue to me. It would be useful if you could note down either exact in-game text around the bug, as well as the in-game date where the bug occurs.

The game is missing CGs!

The only CGs in the game are at the end of the game's routes. There are no CGs during gameplay itself. Sorry!

Why is the game censored?

To avoid issues with payment processors, the game download by default features censored nudity and sex scenes. You can remove the nudity censoring by downloading and installing the nudity patch. Sex scenes will still not be overly explicit, as the game is not intended to be particularly raunchy. Besides, sometimes filling in the blanks yourself can be hot.

How do I hook up with <guy>?

I’m happy to provide hints and tips, but would prefer to avoid outright spoilers. Please contact me.

How do I find <collectable item>?

I’m happy to provide hints and tips, but would prefer to avoid outright spoilers. Please contact me.

Additional Background

This game draws heavy inspiration from Coming Out on Top, by the awesome Obscurasoft. (Buy that game. Seriously.) I had a lot of random stories bouncing around my head, and playing that game finally convinced me to get off my butt and write them down, find ways to tie them together, and allow a player to navigate through them.

However, while the game may share some of its premise with CooT, I hope that I’ve managed to create characters and settings that are wholly distinct and unique.

Still, because I was inspired so much by CooT, I want to call out some things:

One of the things that CooT left me wanting more of was a story to tie together all of the guys. It felt like, once I settled on a guy, that was it, and the rest of my time was spent chasing that person. (This is in no way meant to diminish CooT which stands, in my mind, as one of the most well-done games in the Visual Novel genre.)

However, my goal with YAGS was to create a world, and characters, that interact and intermingle with each other. When you date someone, which is somewhat secondary, I wanted it to be in the wider context of their existing friendships and relationships, and to see how they interact with the other people in your “life” as well.

I also wanted to see your relationship with the guy to develop over the course of weeks and months, and to see how your interactions with them affected them and others around you. Not all relationships work out, and I also wanted to explore what happens when you simply find that you’re incompatible with someone.

Finally, CooT is a fairly lighthearted game that manages to be both funny and sexy, but I wanted something that was a little darker: something that would more convey the fear, uncertainty, and reluctance around the coming out process that I felt so many years ago, both with respect to friends and family. At the same time, I wanted to show that there’s always hope and friendship even in the darkest of times.

(Any resemblence between characters across the two games is entirely unintentional, at least consciously. My subconscious probably has a mind of its own, and a lot of this game’s plot draws from my dreams.)