Kinky: And today I am here with another interview for you guys. And since we all love adult games with a passion it’s only right that I interview some of the people who adventure out into such a taboo profession for all of our enjoyment. Let me introduce to you, Sierra Lee! How are you doing today Sierra Lee?
Sierra: Pretty good, thanks! Prepping for the launch of my latest game on Steam while finishing the main creative work on several other projects.
Kinky: That's good to hear. I guess you're working hard and not hardly working O.O. How long have you’ve been making erotic games?
Sierra: I've been trying to do it professionally since late 2014 and doing it as a full time job since 2016.
Kinky: What parts of the games do you work on personally?
Sierra: I'm the main designer and writer. I pair up with artists for my projects and I usually get coding support from other people, but otherwise most of my projects are solo efforts.
Kinky: You write for your games, was writing a hobby of yours first or did writing get into the mix once you started making erotic games?
Sierra: I've been writing and trying to design games for most of my life! I made serious attempts at being a professional novelist and a writer of erotica before my games became successful. I still indulge my desire for pure prose occasionally - you can find some of my stories free on Literotica or Hentai Foundry.
Kinky: Are you open about your erotic games with anyone you know in real life?
Sierra: A couple people close to me, yes. Everyone else... haha, no. Very conservative community.
Kinky: Crimson Gray is a game with erotic elements but has a very different story from most erotic games simple “lets sex it up” stories. What made you go this direction?
Sierra: One of the great things about having supportive backers on Patreon is the ability to explore stories that I think are worth telling. I know Crimson Gray is never going to be the most popular game, but I really enjoyed playing with the yandere trope, getting into psychological issues like depression, and making something I felt hadn't been done before. Plus, since I spend so much time making RPGs, if was a nice change of pace to create a visual novel.
Why are the crazy ones always the cute ones.
Kinky: With Crimson Gray there was many positive reviews and with your other games, but you can never avoid the people who has bad things to say about your games. Has negative feedback ever affected you?
Sierra: Not letting negative feedback get to you is a critical skill as a creator of anything. I find it fairly easy to accept criticism, but still get frustrated when I see negative reactions that seem to miss the point. There's no point criticizing an apple for not tasting like an orange.
Kinky: How was it for you when starting your erotic game endeavor? Was it scary? With having to put your money into a project no knowing if it will be successful or not?
Sierra: The beginning wasn't so scary - I started small and was determined to make a creative career work. The scary part came later, when I decided to go full time. I'm a very cautious person and left to myself I would have waited several more years. But my job was about to get worse, so I decided to quit and hope that going full time would work out. Thankfully, it has!
Kinky: Was it hard to get the hang of everything that comes with making a game?
Sierra: There are always skills to learn or improve, but I think the most difficult thing is transitioning between all the different hats I need to wear. I put a lot of effort into working in a disciplined way, but when you have a dozen different kinds of work to do, it can really mess with your creative energy. It was easier to sit down and create a bunch of content before I found some success and got a lot of new jobs along with it.
Kinky: You hire artists for your games. Were there any difficulties with that process?
Sierra: Oh, it's one of the hardest parts of the process. Artists who can produce professional work consistently (like my longest collaborator, Nomo) are worth their weight in gold.
And a excellent artist to collaborate with. Nomo have my approvable just because he gave my orc girls some love.
Kinky: You’ve completed many game projects but the one that you’ve been working on constantly is The Last Sovereign. With 25 hours of game play so far it’s safe to say that this one is truly your baby. What are your goals for this project and is there anything you’ll like to feature into it that hasn’t already been implemented?
Sierra: With the customizable base being added recently, I've actually met most of my goals for features. What I look forward to most is bringing the story to the conclusion I have planned - I've introduced so many characters and plot threads, weaving them together into a satisfying ending will be quite the task. But along the way I look forward to expanding the systems of governing one country so that players have an impact on international politics.
Kinky: Do you have another smaller game planned in the works as The Last Sovereign is still going or is The Last Sovereign what you’re putting your complete focus on?
Sierra: In the near future, my focus will be making sure the Steam launch of Desecration of Wings goes well! It's a full length JRPG with a lot of content, trying to blend nostalgia and gameplay improvements.
With a work as long as TLS, I need to change gears sometimes to keep myself fresh, so I always have some backup projects. Right now I have an RPG based on twisted fairy tales, a visual novella, and a casual game in the works! But most days, The Last Sovereign and Kingdom of Deception are my main focus.
Kinky: Out of all the games you worked on, do you have a favorite or one that you’re most proud of?
Sierra: Nope, can't choose! With each project, I aim for something different, so I'm proud of them all in a different way. But TLS is definitely the project where I aimed highest, and I'll be quite satisfied when I finally bring the whole saga to the end.
Kinky: As I person who writes as a hobby and hopes to join you in the creation of erotic games, I just don’t know where to start. Do you have any advice for people who would like to create erotic games such as myself?
Sierra: Know what you want out of it, first. Don't fall victim to survivorship bias and assume if you do any certain thing you'll get lucky. Create something you believe in, but also something where you can finish a significant portion of it - if not a whole game, then at least the core gameplay loop and some content. Remember that you only reach a part of your audience with each release - so start working on a second thing you believe in and keep going!
Kinky: Thank you some much for joining me Sierra. Where can people find you?
Sierra: My solo projects can be found on Patreon:
At Hreinn Games, we have two completely free projects, one of them 100% complete:
And my latest game should be available on Steam now:
Thanks for the interview!
Do you think Sierra need to calm down on the work load? Are you going to check out Desecration of Wings? Are crazy girls the best? Tell us in the comments below. If you want to read my dumb ramblings and check out my art follow my twitter @ImJustThatKinky
