Please don’t let people pressure you into compromising your creative vision for this game.
There are very few games that are specifically tailored to just straight men as is on here - if certain readers feel limited by this story for whatever reason, frankly they should just go play one of the plethora of other games that lets them be female/queer/whatever else for all I care.
I agree, but also
This is kinda funny to me. You’re right, not saying you’re not, it’s just unusual to find a space like the interactive story scene. I remember playing so many video games where playing as a man was required, with the assumption of straightness as default. I do think we should carve out a space for all stories, even if their vision includes a more set main character (in this case, straight male). Although most of those IF games that include female and queer MCs don’t necessarily exclude straight men. It’s just nice to have an outlier.
The story is yours; you’re the one who decides how it will be, not the readers. There will always be someone who doesn’t like it.
At Heart Choice, LGBT stories are the norm. What’s wrong with having one that caters to us straight men?
That’s the thing, even Jesus didn’t please everyone, let alone us.
I am really torn on this 
on one hand i would enjoy Wlw with a selectable female MC, but that could ruin the original premise since it’s also something i would enjoy. If that’s the case I hope the male mc is more customisable personality and appearance wise, like being feminine and not hyper masculine? If that makes any sense.
I don’t mind gender locked MCs but i have a problem with MCs only having a traditional masculine & feminine behavior. But overall i prefer writers do their own thing as long as it isn’t bigoted of course.
Hmm, there aren’t any IF’s that cater to simply gay men, there are ones with genderlocked straight men though. Infinity Series,The Great Tournament, The first Lords of Aswick. Even if author adds Male Ro’s it doesn’t affect you, since you can simply not romance those RO’s.
Author also doesn’t have 0% interest in adding such themes, if their throwing out a poll. I’ll continue reading either way, cause their writing style is chef’s kiss. Just throwing my hat into possibly reading a different side of the story.
bonbons, thank you for this hefty chunk of an update! I’m like your number one fan 
Saw that you made the code accessible! I was peeking through it, and there’s a betray Vivienne variable . I was wondering if maybe this would result in something similar to DWP2 with Damian Mercer?
If so, and you do plan to add a male RO, do we get to get our hands on that evil vice president? Don’t feel pressured or anything. Love your work!
But you can play as a gay man in the Infinity Series and The First Lords of Aswick. And besides, adding another RO, let alone a male one, is not easy when there are already four ROs to account for; I don’t want the author to lose passion from the scope creep.
We didn’t receive that option in infinity until three series’s in, along with no inkling it was ever going to happen for a good part of those years between games. The gay option in Aswick was also…it was something. Either way people just tossing in a vote aren’t holding guns to author’s head. Author still has the final say, with only them knowing what they can handle. Just hypothesising if they weren’t possibly down for taking in on, this poll, and discussion wouldn’t exist in the first place. Either way only they can decide since it’s their story.
I also wish to go on record to say I have ulterior motives. Author’s already cooking with the current Ro’s. I have the highest of interests in what would be cooked up with a male Ro. I’ve never read any nicely cooked gay/bi male mc, romancing a Male Ro. Routes just feel off when it’s gender selectable, with most having the same flavors no matter your gender. Choicescript is hard af though, so cool with whatever results from this. The best girl Elise will still be there.
I’ll be honest and say that, even if the writer decides to remove the genderlock, it’s probably better to write more of the story before adding that variable
Thank you to everyone who voted in the poll and shared their thoughts. Whether you’ve been following the project from the beginning or only recently stumbled across it, I genuinely appreciate the feedback and patience you’ve shown as I work on my very first interactive fiction project. I’ve read through all your comments carefully and closed the poll.
TL;DR:
Now for individual responses:
While I would love to include more customization options to appearance, I try not to add anything that will not be incorporated into the story. Say, if you picked a tall MC, you will feel unused to being surrounded by models who are as tall or taller than you. If you chose to dress a certain way, the “fashion-people” will judge you in one way or another. I hope that in your interactions with this world, your MC didn’t feel forced into compulsory “masculine” behavior. No matter what, your MC will start off hypercritical of his new job, and you may continue to maintain a scornful stance. I’m not sure how to give more “feminine” personality traits, but if you have any suggestions, I would love to learn!
When I first started developing this story, the premise was, of course, extremely, heavily inspired by The Devil Wears Prada. But the core idea that excited me was exploring what happens when a young man with little interest in fashion finds himself thrown into an elite, intensely female-dominated industry and forced to navigate a world where he’s the outsider. The gender dynamics, expectations, assumptions, and relationships that emerge from that premise have shaped the story from the very beginning, and changing the protagonist now would fundamentally change the narrative I set out to tell.
I had been tempted, very sorely tempted I admit, to expand my audience. I completely understand that gender-locked protagonists aren’t everyone’s preference, and I know that this decision means the game won’t appeal to every reader. Like many of you have reassured me, not every story is meant for everyone, and I’d rather tell a focused story that stays true to its original vision than broaden the premise at the cost of what made me want to write it in the first place.
To everyone who has supported the project despite its admittedly niche premise, thank you truly. The audience may be smaller than it would be otherwise, but your enthusiasm has made developing this game incredibly rewarding, and I’m excited to continue building the story for the people who connected with it.
That said, I also paid close attention to the poll results, and I wanted to address it directly. While the protagonist will remain male and the four main romance routes will remain unchanged, I will be adding a male romance option of sorts.
Somewhere down the line, players who make a very specific series of choices may find themselves presented with an alternative path involving Damian Mercer, Vice President of Viremont Media and one of the story’s primary antagonistic forces.
I won’t say much more than that for now.
What I will say is that this is not a traditional romance route. It is deeply tied to the story’s larger conflicts, requires a deliberate commitment to a particular direction, and will place you at odds with people who would otherwise have been allies. If you choose to walk that road, don’t expect everyone around you to approve. Or forgive…
More details will come later, but for those who were hoping for a male romance option, consider this your first hint that Damian may be far more involved in your story than he initially appears.
Yes, @dragonfruit, you were right. I didn’t expect you to go code diving the second I posted it last night, but wow, I admire the catch.
I appreciate every one of you who has chosen to come along for the ride, and I hope you’ll continue to enjoy what’s still to come.
You know, when you said DWP I thought the MC will be female until I read the tag lol.
Gonna be honest with you, gender locked Male MC in fashion setting is rare, so does the male players who are interested in DWP.
IF is a niche genre, and your WIP is trying attract a niche audience (male players who are interested in fashion), so you best tamper your hopes up.
There are players who doesn’t care about gender-locked nor sexuality locked, ofc. But there are also people who wouldn’t touch gender locked games with a ten-feet-pole ( not to mention your game is and heterosexual exclusive, looking at all the female ROs)
It’s falls either to; limiting your audience, which means niche audience, but you are able to write your vision, or expand it more and gained more audience, but it changes your vision alongside added variables to write (which is more is stress! Lol).
But, it is your game after all, it’s best for you to write what you are comfortable with.
It’s your story, so obviously you can do whatever you want with it and I respect that, but I have to admit this decision has killed a lot of my interest in this game.
I know you’ll get people who’ll say something like, “well, if you’re not interested in a gay romance, then don’t do that route blah blah blah”, but a large part of what caught my attention in the first place is the fact that it was not only going to explore the dynamics of being a man within a female-dominated industry like fashion (which is interesting in of itself), but specifically a straight man (especially considering that there’s a stereotype that you’re likely queer if you’re a man involved in fashion).
As I said in my previous comment, there is also the simple fact that there aren’t a ton of games on here that are specifically made with just a straight man in mind (not that I’m complaining), so part of me is a little disappointed that we’re not going to get that now.
As the poll brought a lot of discussion, I just wanted to post a reminder: you can’t make everyone happy! Just do what works for you and your creativity ^^
I don’t think you have to worry it sounds like you have to jump through a lot of hoops to make it happen
Like someone else already pointed out remember you can’t make everyone happy only do what you want and can do. I will say I’m generally not a fan of gender lock unless there’s a reason your whole premise is a good reason for it I also get people who are new to coding or hell only feel comfortable writing from a point of view they’re familiar with. My ultimate point your doing fine and I can’t wait to hear more about the male ro im very curious now. 
The betrayal