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Please read the thread rules at the bottom of the OT before posting, this is very important in order to make sure this topic stays on course and within the GAF guidelines. Also, please note that any links in the OT, while not directly, might potentially lead to NSFW material. Thank you.
Coming Out On Top
Developer: Obscurasoft
Publisher: Obscurasoft
Platform: PC
Genre: Visual Novel/Adult Gay Dating Sim
Release Date: Dec 11th, 2014 [Worldwide, English version]
Steam release TBA!
Official Website
What is Coming Out On Top?
Coming Out On Top is an adult gay dating sim/visual novel for the PC developed by Obscurasoft. Coming Out On Top (COOT) is the story of college student Mark Matthews. After coming out as a gay man to his two best friends, Mark must navigate through his final semester of college, while hopefully finding love along the way. With six eligible(?) bachelors to pursue and a variety of humorous and harrowing situations to experience, will Mark finally be free to live his life the way he wants? Or will it all be too much, too fast?
COOT features an extremely hilarious and heartfelt script by Obscura, founder of Obscurasoft. (She also drew the character sprites.) Scene CGs are provided by the very talented doubleleaf.
COOT was the first gay themed game to be successfully Kickstarted, and is the product of two years of hard work and dedication from Obscura and her team. It's also the first gay dating sim to be commercially developed in North America, and only the second gay dating sim commercially released in English ever. (There has been some other PC games featuring gay characters and content, but mostly of an underground nature.) If you are interested in games starring gay characters in adult situations, or just in quality visual novels, I hope you'll consider giving Coming Out On Top a try.
Mark Matthews
Our protagonist. Mark is sweet and smart, your average run of the mill college student. Entering his final semester at Orlin University, Mark appears to be a well adjusted and friendly young man, living his life leisurely, or at least that's what his friends and family thought. In reality, Mark has been hiding his sexuality for years, and has decided that now is the time to be true to himself. This is where the game begins. What happens next to Mark is up to the player...
Ian Manachevitz
One of Mark's best friends, Ian is charming and affable, if not a tad impetuous. Studying to be a zoologist at Orlin U, Ian is seen as a ladies' man and a bit of a rascal by his peers. But his friends know that he is deep down a friendly and easygoing guy that would do anything for the people he cares about. Ian couldn't be more supportive of Mark after coming out, and even offers to be his wingman, but it seems after Mark's admission some other feeling are also coming to the surface...
Alex Davies
Witty, intelligent and devastatingly handsome, Alex is one of the first men to show interest in Mark after he comes out. But not all is as it seems with Alex, and some very tricky obstacles stand in the way of any potential romance between the two. It doesn't help that some individuals may want to use their burgeoning relationship as a weapon against them...
Jed Zhou
Mark's upstairs neighbour, Jed is a free spirit, through and through. Lead singer of a local punk band, Jed lives his life with reckless abandon, and is open to a great deal of "possibilities". Mark's first run in with Jed is something of a shock to say the least, but underneath the carefree veneer, Jed is a very warm and passionate man. But Mark and Jed come from two very different worlds, and what might seem like harmless fun at first might lead both men to realize something new about themselves...
Phil Healy
Son of a prominent politician and a new recruit into the US Army, Phil's existence is one of responsibility and dedication. Having no time for those without a firm direction in life, it may seem like forming any sort of bond with him is impossible, yet the way to Phil's heart is not as hard to find as it first appears. Can Mark find a way to connect with this stalwart but closed off young man...?
Brad Melnick
Star football player for the Orlin Otters, Brad lives the stereotypical jock lifestyle. Surrounded by girls, booze and drugs, Brad's college life is hanging on by a thread, and if he doesn't improve his grades this term, he'll loose his scholarship and kiss his dreams of playing pro goodbye. Mark offers to tutor Brad, but when a system of under the table deception comes to light, will Mark be able to guide Brad down the right path, or will he also become susceptible to it? And is tutoring the only thing on both men's minds...?
Amos Demirci
Owner of a local flower shop, Amos is a contemplative man with a romantic soul. A lover of animals, motorcycles and discussing poetry, Amos offers Mark a type of connection that one might not find within the confines of a university campus among his peers. But with age comes a penchant for stubbornness, and a very definite set of opinions and preferences...
Penny McLastName
Another one of Mark's best friends. Smart and snarky, Penny is full of ideas, some brilliant, others not so much. But she is a truly loyal and devoted friend to Mark, and wants nothing more than to see him happy. After trying to set him up countless times with her female relatives, Mark's coming out has suddenly opened up a whole new world of matchmaking possibilities...
Note: There is also one more secret route to discover, but it requires looking somewhere you might not think you'd find "romance".
Coming Out On Top is a visual novel, so the bulk of the gameplay will be reading text and making choices. (570+ choices spread over 250+ decision points.) There is also some light resource/stat management aspects, as you'll need to keep your grades up and your wallet filled if you want to have access to certain routes, not to mention staying in the good graces of your friends and the men you plan to pursue.
The game has 9 main routes, with multiple endings, good and bad. Ten stand alone mini-routes/dates are also included, free of charge.
Another cool feature of the game is the hair mod, so you can select whether or not Mark and the six main guys have beards and/or body hair. Each option had an individual toggle for each man, so you can have it exactly the way you want. These choices will be present on both the in-game sprites, and the CG scenes. (There is also a condom mod.)
FYI, there's a free demo for those that want to see what this game is about.
The Gallery update is now live, so make sure to upgrade to the newest version using your purchase link you got emailed to you after buying the game.
Screenshots/Artwork
Videos
Original Kickstarter Pitch Video (SFW)
Let's Play of the Coming Out On Top Demo (SFW)
Links
Official Website
Kickstarter Page
Official Obscurasoft Twitter Page
Official doubleleaf Twitter Page
Rock, Paper, Shotgun S.EXE (Contains Spoilers, slightly NSFW)
I think Coming Out On Top is one of the best, if not the best game Ive covered on S.EXE, simply because its so robustly made, so replayable, surprising and so full of wit and the art is so tastefully hot. Most of the times I replayed I didnt even use the skip button for the text, just because its so effervescently written.
GayGamer.net (Contains Spoilers)
Its a great treat for those of us who are happy to play something thats happily queer. Games like that dont come across too often, and its wonderful to be able to recommend Coming Out On Top not just because its unabashedly queer, not just because we should support artists and developers who support us, but because Coming Out On Top is a lot of fun. Bring on the sequel.
Cliqist (Contains Mild Spoilers)
This visual novel contains a variety of boys to pursue with lovely, even touching, storylines for each. Along with great art and tons of dialogue choices theres at minimum 10 hours of gameplay to enjoy to complete everything. It is likely to never be on Steam due to 18+ content, but you can support the developer directly by buying Coming Out On Top through their website.
--Please Read This Section Before Posting--
Alright everyone, please listen up. Coming Out On Top is an adult gay dating sim that features nudity, sexual content and overall mature scenarios. The rules for what's permissible on GAF have not changed so please do not think that just because this thread got mod approval that we can skirt the rules. Absolutely no images of nudity of sexual activity can be posted in this thread, or even linked to. Touching, kissing, shirtlessness, etc, are all fine, but no adult content, period.
Sex scenes may be alluded to in a general SFW fashion, (ie. "The scene between Mark and Mr. X in the lockerroom was really hot.", or "I really enjoyed seeing the culmination of Mark's relationship with so-and-so.")
Example of what is NOT okay "My favorite part was when Mark stuck his
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We all want this OT to be a fun and productive place to discuss this game. Adult game OTs are a new thing on GAF, so this thread is going to be monitored heavily, so don't think your posts will go unnoticed. I'm not trying to scare people off, I just want everyone to be clear about it so that we can build off this experience to future topics of similar nature. Thanks.
This game is blazing a lot of new territory, for gaming in general and on GAF specifically, so please play nice and let's all try to make this OT a success. Constructive feedback, both positive and negative, are of course welcome, but please keep in mind that the rules of mutual respect and tolerance are very much in play here. GAF is an open and welcoming community for all gamers, and this OT wishes to embody that.
Thanks to Obscurasoft for making such a great game, and thank you for reading.