Q: What got you into adult games?
A: I started to play erotic games, because I am attracted by situations that are not usually experienced in real life.
Q: What made you decide to create your own game?
A: I used to make digital art with my Wacom and wanted to try something new. I had already made experiences with Cinema4D, so it wasn’t very difficult to get started with DAZ Studio. So I experimented and stumbled across a FanArt thread for my favorite game. The guys there tried to reproduce the main actress. Since I love challenges, I tried it too. People loved my FanArt so much that they regularly asked me why I don’t make my own game. As I said, I love challenges.
Q: How much planning did you put into your game and do you think it was enough?
A: It took me more than a year to release the first episode of my game. At first there was a very rudimentary version, still with other characters. When I wrote the script, I quickly realized that although I had ideas, writing them down was a whole different matter. I don’t remember how it happened, but through the fan thread I got to know someone who wanted to help me. Hehe I bet he regretted his willingness to help many times later. In any case he started to turn my ideas into a story. Through our many conversations it became clear that I need my own characters, the first rudimentary version was much too short and the game needs more scenes.
Then I made a terrible mistake. I told the people who asked me in the fan thread about a game what I think how long it will take to release the first version.
When that time passed, I started to put myself and my writer friend under pressure. Everything should be fun. But I did not want to be the person of empty words.
There was a lot of arguing and tears were shed, but then at some point I thought the game would be good enough to release it. It wasn’t really finished and I could have easily put in as much time as I had, but I wanted to get rid of the pressure I had put on myself.
So no, I stumbled into it without a real plan and without real experience, big planning probably wouldn’t have made a big difference.
Q: How big is the game going to be once it’s finished?
A: I do not see my game as a route from A to B. It tells the story of Hanna and Mimi. And just like in real life there are always new things to tell. Maybe one day I’d like to use new characters, but until then it should remain a continuing story. The only thing that limits the size of the game is the limited time I can invest. Unfortunately I don’t have so many supporters that I could allow myself to work on it full time.
Also, at some point I realized that I need a professional writer to really get ahead.
Q: I noticed you use many different types of social media and other forms to market your art, comics, merchandise and game. Can you explain how important that is to other upcoming developers and artists ?
A: I think that depends a lot on the artist. I want as many people as possible to see my art. So I reach out in all directions where I think I can find people who might like my art.
If you are planning to really finance your life through a game, networking is the key. You can see this with people who were already well connected before and then throw their game on the line. All of a sudden they have hundreds of supporters. People who are unknown and release their first version of a game usually don’t get much support, because it’s not sure if they will continue or not.
Q: What was your inspiration behind creating Hanna Futile Resistance?
A: Actually the reason was the constant demand of my fans.
Q: Why did you choose the setting you have and what are your favourite *setting your game is based on* based entertainments? (films/books/shows/games)
A: At the time when I decided to make the game, there weren’t many games from a woman’s point of view and the ones that did exist were extremely stupid. I wanted to make a more realistic game. The setting, the environment is New York. The decision to do this was based on several reasons, like available assets and pure market analysis. For example, you can assume that players tend to live in big cities. So they can identify more with the environment than if it is playing somewhere in a jungle.
Q:With regards to “Hanna Futile Resistance” what was your inspiration behind the characters?
A: Before Hanna entered the stage, I had copied the character from another game. But the developer reacted so disgustingly that I wanted to create my own figure. The figure was first an idea, a representation of myself. But, then I had ideas that would not fit me. To get more dynamics into the story, I thought it would be a good idea Hanna had someone to look after. So Mimi was born. The rest of the characters were actually created as the story grew. For none of the characters there were just role models. They were created in my head alone.
Q: What or who are your influences?
A: It is a mixture of the games I have played myself and the ideas that come to me. I also want to include my own experiences in future episodes.
Q: What one piece of advice would you give to other future prospective female devs?
A: Have no prejudices against the male developers. Most of the devs I have met are friendly, loving people who like to help others. Don’t give a time when anything you do will be finished. Do not put yourself under pressure.
Q: What one piece of advice for devs do you wish you could go back in time and give to yourself?
A: Don’t do it Lena! You will invest so much time and there will be few who understand and really appreciate it.
Q: Do you have a favourite character or is it too hard to choose just one?
A: I assume that this refers to my characters. At the moment it’s easy to say who I like most, because my game is still in the beginning. It is definitely Hanna, followed by Mimi. No matter what, they go carefree out into the world. Which of course gets them into trouble. But of course there will be more characters later.
Q: What do you enjoy the most to work on the comics, the game or your special renders ?
A: To be honest, my daily renders. People who support me on Patreon and Co. because they have seen my art on DeviantArt or Slushe have the lowest expectations. Then come the comics, because they are not connected and only tell a short, self-contained story. The game, which of course would bring me the most supporters, comes last, because many don’t understand that I have a life and can’t deliver an update every month.
Q: What past or present projects have you worked on or helped on ?
A: I did a fanart game first. Then started the game Hanna Futile Resistance. Due to problems with my writer friend, the development didn’t go on for quite a while. So I made two comics. “Stewardess Mimi” and “Hanna in the Library”. By the way, the latter one is coming to the various stores for Christmas. But now I have hired a professional writer and the development of Hanna Futile Resistance finally continues.
Q: Your art style is beyond incredible, how long have you been creating art in this style and did you have much experience with art or development before you started on this game ?
A: I started creating art with DAZ Studio 3D in November 2019. Before that I only made digital drawings. Even one year later, I think, I am still at the beginning and still have a lot to learn a lot.
Q: Since you became a developer, has your view of the industry changed?
A: Yes, I now see more of the people behind the games, also because many of them are on my discord server. Also, I don’t find the games so attractive anymore, because all the bugs of the other developers immediately catch my eye. If I find the time to play other games at all.
Q: Would you consider a collaboration with another dev?
A: After the debacle with my writer friend, I don’t think I’m ready to rely on anyone else again. Also I think it would be hard to do because the art styles are too different. But if someone would give me a complete script and I like it, it might look different. Who knows the future.
Q: I hear there are new characters, can you say who they are and what we can expect from them ?
A: I don’t really want to reveal anything about the future episodes, because they are in development and can still change. But one of the newest character additions will be Ariana. She is Hanna’s first lesbian experience. They haven’t seen each other for a long time, so it will be strange for both of them to spend time together again.
Q: Are there any plans or ideas of developing the “Hanna Futile Resistance” universe beyond the scope of the game or after it has finished? Are there plans for a sequel?
A: As I said, I do not intend to let it end. There are enough ideas for at least four more episodes. I would like to produce a video series, but I lack the skills, besides the animations in the game. Recently I started selling merchandise in my small online store.
Q: Which of your game’s characters would you say is most influenced by your own personality?
A: Hanna, she loves to try new things, just like me.
Q: You speak a lot about life experiences, can you tell us some of those that have helped you make not only your art but your dedication to the craft of Hanna what it is ?
A: Uff this seems to be the jackpot question of the interview. Also because you added it to the interview afterwards. Well, I will certainly not say that anything that happens in the game or my art in general has anything to do with what i do. But it’s just that my characters are very open with their sexuality. Some have described my game as just another fuckfest after the release. I see it completely different. The girls are no sluts and fully aware of their actions. Just like a modern woman can enjoy having sex just as much as a man. And that’s where I come into the equation. I love to have sex and like to try new things. And I hope Hanna appears exactly like that.
Q: Can you tell other upcoming developers/artists and developers/artists now any tips on how to overcome the language and cultural barriers you have had ?
A: Linguistically I never had problems expressing myself in the community. I speak four, almost five languages. But the most important thing is fluent English and you learn that very early in Germany. The situation is different on the cultural level. Europeans, especially Western Europeans like me as a German or any French person, are much more open with sexuality. For example, many of us look at Americans as prudes. What I’m actually getting at is that when you take your art out into the world, you also get reactions from all over the world. So you have to be prepared to get hate comments. At the beginning this was not easy. But for me the positive comments outweigh the negative ones by far. You also have to learn what NSFW is for these people. If you see pubic hair or a nipple and you post it openly, you can get into devil’s kitchen.
Q: Is there anything else you would like to add or talk about as far as yourself, the community or future updates before we wrap up ?
A: If you would trust and support the newcomers among the developers more, there would be many more games out there. It was hard to motivate myself after the release of my first episode and most of the patrons were gone after a month. Especially when you see that games that are long dead still have thousands of supporters.
Apart from that, all that remains is for me to say, have a look at my art!
