NSFW Spring Special: Exclusive interview with creator of Lust Academy!

If you thought we’re slowing down with our NSFW Spring sale, then you’re in for a surprise. We’ve prepared something special for you – an exclusive interview with Sam Torres, owner of Bear of the Night studio, creators of one of our most spicy releases: Lust Academy!
With NSFW Spring sale, we are focusing on great adult-oriented games that come in all shapes and forms; with one of our discounted titles fulfilling your dream of receiving the letter inviting you to the school of Magic and Wizardry, but with a hot twist. In Lust Academy, you take up the role of an 18-year old guy, who has just found out he’s a wizard – this particular school though, Cordale Academy of Magic and Wizardry, is full of romanceable characters and adult encounters, and a different kind of magic you’re about to discover.
Being curious about the process of creation of NSFW titles, we decided to dig deeper; and we’re happy to announce that Sam Torres, owner of Bear of the Night – has agreed to answer our lingering questions and put our curiosity at ease.
Let’s take a look then – and dive into the interview as naughty as the game itself!
To start off, where does your inspiration come from? Did you use any actors/real people as a base for your models/characters?
Our heroes are real-life people with unique personalities, so we never know how they'll act in any given situation. This makes us curious about what the next chapter of the story will be. Nevertheless, our team is definitely fans of the Harry Potter series and "The Magicians" TV show.
Do you create any mood boards for your projects? What are the differences between creating +18 games and a common game without age restrictions?
To be honest, game development doesn't vary much. The processes are pretty much the same across the board. I've been in the game development industry for almost 10 years and every company uses similar methods. At our company, we use Agile for project management and some planning sheets to keep track of upcoming releases and financials.
Regarding spicy scenes, did you animate everything on your own, or is it motion capture? What is the biggest challenge here? Realistic animations, physics, facial expressions, or maybe hair?
Nope, we're animating in Daz 3D studio ourselves. Motion capture is too pricey. The main challenge is creating the environment for modelling and animation, since Daz 3D can be a pain to work with. Currently, we're trying out some connections between Daz and pro tools like Blender and Maya. The toughest part is probably dealing with physics and making everything look natural.
Even though our game has great graphics and animation, we're always looking for ways to step up our game, especially in terms of overall look.
Being surrounded by NSFW content in your professional life, did you discover any impact of it in your personal life?
Yeah, I’m starting to become a sexual maniac… Joking. It's like in the porn industry, producers and cameramen don't see NSFW content as anything special. I guess I'm starting to see it as no big deal and not as restricted as before. Plus, it's great that more platforms are accepting this type of content – but of course it should be hidden from minors.
What's the weirdest animation you've ever worked on?
We had a sex scene with succubus in the temple (plus this succubus optionable can be futa and there also futa on male action). Gorgeous scene, a succubus with big red wings, tail. One of the hardest things was to animate everything, including wings and tail.
Funny story about creating Lust Academy?
Typically, it's about errors in scripts or 3D art. Sometimes a scene just doesn't make sense or has unrealistic emotions.
There was a time when the 3D department was asked to make a small dog, like a Chihuahua. But they just shrunk a regular dog, which ended up looking like a mix between a Sheepdog and a Corgi.
How many people are involved in the making of an average fully animated scene with sounds? And what is the size of the company?
Are we talking about a scene? Making a scene is relatively easy, you just need a scriptwriter and a 3D artist. It's better to have a sound designer for the sounds. But if we're talking about the game as a whole, you need a much larger team. To get a decent amount of content in the game within a reasonable timeframe, it's best to have specialists for each role.
Our team is currently around 12 people. We have several scriptwriters, 3D artists, game designers, 2D artists, programmers, and even a QA specialist. To avoid getting bogged down by bugs, it's important to have someone who tests all aspects of the game, especially if it has sandbox/open world elements.
Do you ever watch NSFW content for inspiration during working hours?
Haha, yeah, I’m a fan of PornHub. As I said before, usually I’m just looking for some good ideas in other projects, movies, or some pictures.
Let’s pick up the pace a little! Graphics or story?
Story for sure, a game without a good story or mechanics can’t be interesting.
Dark fantasy or realism?
I guess it depends on the game. We know many good games in each setting!
PEGI 3 or NSFW game during the lazy weekend?
PEGI 3, cause you know, your hands are always busy during NSFW games. :D
The game I will always recommend…
Depends on the genre, but personally I'm a fan of Mass Effect. P.S. And you definitely should try Lust Academy!
Would recommend Lust Academy to all…
….people who love magic vibes and visual novels.
Apart from the Academy, we had an idea for… but it didn’t work out because of…
I can say “it’s all about budget and good specialists”, but maybe a VR MMO can’t be created right now. :)
Sequel or a new IP?
We do both now. We continue to develop LA and also we have a new game in development in sci-fi setting – Lust Element.
We’d like to thank Sam so much for the time he took to answer our questions! It’s been a lot of fun to get to know some insights of the NSFW game industry – and we hope you enjoy the little “behind-the-scenes” as well.
Be sure to check out Lust Academy!