Brimstone Manor fared really well this week. It did almost twice as well during its opening week than each of our previous two Heart’s Choice releases, Belle de Nuit (in June) and If It Please the Court (in May).
We’re curious to hear your thoughts on why Brimstone Manor sold so well! We’d especially like to hear from you if you purchased Brimstone Manor but not Belle de Nuit or If It Please the Court.
What made you decide to play/buy this game but not the others? Was it the paranormal-romance genre? Being the nanny for Nicki, Darien’s son? Playing a gender-variable main character? The week of Valentine’s Day? Was it just that we hadn’t released a new HC game in a while? Something else entirely?
This applies to me as one of those who got, and played it, I guess.
As to the specifics for your data collection:
Because ParaRom? +/- not really a bonus, but not gonna hurt the book’s chances of being sold for the difference.
Because nanny theme? Same as my first answer of being neither a plus, nor a minus. I do like that we can have a non-romantic bond with a character who fits into the criteria of being young, but wiser than you’d think. Nicki is just an overall sweetheart that must be protected, but this info is more applicable to this specific book instance. No real telling whether it applies well elsewhere, until a couple Hosted WIPs I’ve got my eye on reach final completion stages.
Playing a gender variable MC? Definite yes, at least when speaking for me. I’m not sure you can’t play as such in the other two, but having the option is nice. I would also extend that to the ROs, but that wasn’t necessarily data you were after.
Valentines? Nah. Coinciding dates has nothing to do with my interest here.
New HC release in a while? Maybe, but the label is still new, and you have a system you’re working on for it, so I don’t think that was a factor.
I think it being a combination of things. Supernatural romances always seem to draw a wide audience. Gender selectable MC means no one feels “cut out”. As not everyone likes playing male and not everyone likes playing female. Gender locks (and I don’t say this to discourage the practice) can sometimes leave people not wanting to play. I also think spice content might have been a draw. Granted I felt it was more one pepper than two, but the two pepper rating might have given it more of a draw for certain audiences.
I don’t think Valentine’s had much to do with it.
Really though, I think it was the paranormal/supernatural bent that really sells it. Angels and demons are just very popular.
I feel that the concept and romance options of Brimstone Manor are easier to grasp upon a cursory glance which may have contributed? I also think the gender variation helps - it may bring in more CoG and (generally) HG fans who are used to being able to play different gender options.
I imagine the gender choice is a significant factor, especially with most HC games being genderlocked. It’s something that’s in low supply, at least right now. But HC is still fairly new. I think as we get more HC games with gender choice, it will start to be less of a factor.
I don’t know whether this is a useful answer or a monumentally useless one, but I’ll put it out there anyway: I bought Brimstone Manor because I knew it existed.
I’ve been a fan of CoG and HG since December 2011, but without getting into my whole life story, some Adverse Life Circumstances cropped up a few years ago that made me lose sight of things for a while. Around the beginning of last May, I started playing again, and since then (starting with Lux, City of Secrets) I’ve managed to buy every new game, except the two from Heart’s Choice last spring, and that’s because I didn’t know Heart’s Choice existed at the time they were released. I learned about it at some point last summer (very early last summer - I remember being rather miffed at the realization that I’d found it just a couple days too late to get Belle-de-Nuit at the release-week price).
So part of the difference in sales might simply have to do with increased awareness. I get the feeling that a lot of casual CoG fans (i.e., those who enjoy the games but don’t regularly visit the website or forum) still don’t know HC exists, but that may be starting to change.
While I didn’t read it, this was the first HC game in a loooong time that got me interested, and I only decided against it in the end, because I don’t like interacting with children very much.
Supernatural is always a bonus for me, but it was mostly the option to play as a male character.
It’s not just a matter of taste for me, having to play as a female character gives me gender dysphoria, so I have to sit out on many games I’d otherwise love to play.
It was the gender variable mc for me, I liked the sound of the plots for both Belle de Nuit and If it please the court as well as Never date werewolves but gender locked female mc gives me massive gender dysphoria
Like @Hayden_Winter and @Starkness it was the ability to not play as female for me.
A Pirate’s Pleasure is still the only female locked CS game I have played that doesn’t give me gender dysphoria.
Other than that, the supernatural elements are always a draw for me, and I also liked that Brimstone Manor was a very straightforward romance game, following a simple but effective romance formula.
I wouldn’t want every HC game to be like that, but it was an easy, pleasant read, and sometimes that’s exactly what I need.
You can add me too to not giving me gender dysphoria. I don´t mind playing a female character, I do it more often than not for a lot of reasons, but romance is a more gendered genre over all, so I get triggered more easily.
Plus, female + nb, gives me a lot of dysphoria, because it is a very real reminder that a lot of people sees non-binary as “woman-light”, and I know that non-binary women, who identify as lesbian exist, but that doesn´t help that female + nb just trigger my dysphoria hard.
Other than that the paranormal setting + nanny thing convinced me to at least give it a try.
For me, the supernatural element almost made skip the game because I’m tired of the genre lol. I bought the game because I had been waiting for a new HC release for a while!
For me it was having male ROs, tbh. If It Please the Court is an exclusively lesbian romance, which I’m not interested in. Belle-de-Nuit didn’t have that issue, but I played the demo and didn’t want to play the whole thing. I didn’t enjoy any of the romances or MC that much. I wasn’t really into the MC’s role either. The concept of Sebastian’s romance seemed fun in theory, but not in practice.
I adored being Nicki’s nanny. Being able to play a mother figure and develop a parent-child relationship is a big incentive for me. Like The Parenting Simulator. Also, come on, Lucifer? The Hellhound? I’m a simple woman: give me wholesome moments with kids and dogs and I’ll buy it.
Idk, it just felt like I could play the kind of MC I prefer (gender, personality, etc) with the kind of ROs I prefer. Mostly. I didn’t care for the reporter.
I didn’t care about the genre, either. Paranormal, especially urban fantasy, has been done to death, so I’m a bit tired of it. But I don’t mind playing, obviously, given that I bought it
I’m not much of a HC person, but I have to figure gender variable was a big part of it. Why would it be that much different than any other Choicescipt game in that regard?
For me, it was the appeal of two hot male ROs and the cover art depicting them. This game certainly knew its market with that advertising and story focus. Also, having a charming demon boss, his adorable son for you to mother over, and a lovable hellhound just sealed the deal.
I also really liked that the game gave us a very clear task - taking care of Nicki - let us prioritize that duty at every turn, and never punished us for doing so.
I’m a sucker for supernatural romance and a bigger fan of modern settings rather than period pieces unless the period piece is also heavily fantasy. Besides that I fell into the player character more easily in Brimstone Manor, related to them more I guess? I’m also 100% more likely to play a game where poly is an option. I kinda tapped out on the other two after about a chapter or two, though I’ve been meaning to go back and give them another try!
