Yearning: A Gay Story

Come out in college! Meet people, make friends, and maybe find a boyfriend?

Yearning: A Gay Story (YAGS for short) is a realistic coming-out-focused character-driven slice-of-life visual novel where you play as a gay man starting his freshman year of college at a generic university somewhere in the midwestern United States. The game features dating sim elements, but is not focused on them.

You will interact with a cast of characters, each with their own personality and stories, as you navigate college life, develop friendships, play board games, and come out. With luck, you might even find a boyfriend.

• A world where you can befriend people and see events from different perspectives, depending on your decisions
• 4 dateable guys* with their own distinct stories, with good and bad endings for each guy (9 endings in all*)
• 230,000+ words and meaningful choices
• Collectibles system to track and reward your decisions
• Achievements, for completionists
• Unlockable in-game character profiles
• An original soundtrack featuring "Yearning", the YAGS theme

* Or are there?

YAGS is a personal project by Bob Conway. A development log for the game and extended credits can be found at http://yags.bobcgames.com

The primary goal of the game was to focus on and portray a more realistic coming-out experience, complete with the fear, uncertainty, and reluctance involved in the process. It also aims to follow your relationship with someone (if that happens), in the larger context of their existing friendships.

YAGS is not meant to be a short game, but I hope that its length is justified in the end. Please allot several hours for each playthrough, and make liberal use of the save functionality.

For questions, concerns, thoughts, or to just generally reach me, you can find me on twitter, contact me via my webpage bobcgames.com, or email me at bobcgames [at] gmail.com.

If you enjoyed the game, dropping a few dollars will help support development of future games. And thank you for playing!

Want more YAGS? You can check out the entire YAGS-verse, including companion writings and other games.

The sequel to YAGS, Zen: A Gay Sequel, is also now available! Download the demo for free, or purchase the full game.

YAGS is free to download and play, and always will be. However, if you are able to donate a few dollars, you'll receive a number of extras, and you'll also be supporting my future game development efforts.

Free

• The game itself, playable on Mac, Windows, and Linux, and some Android devices
• A collection of companion fics (also readable on my website) that provide more background on characters and the world of YAGS

$5+

• A download of the game's soundtrack for personal use, including an exclusive karaoke version of "Yearning", the YAGS theme song

$10+

• A collection of wallpaper images for your desktop or phone, including all of the game's ending CGs

$15+

• A digital behind-the-scenes book, featuring game tips and tricks (find every collectible and date every guy!), in addition to images and information from the game's development process

Higher Amounts

Physical rewards are available via "Donation Rewards" below, while supplies last. Minimum donation amounts vary, and may include the following items. (See specifics in each Donation Reward, below.) (Or see the full set of available YAGS-verse swag.)

• Promotional stickers, featuring Adam, James, and Jake
• A sheet of "paper doll" stickers featuring either Adam, Carlos, or Nate
• Random character stickers, featuring either James, Jake, Nikhil, Elliot, Nate, Hannah, Liz G., or Liz B.
• A tri-fold card featuring the YAGS cast (optionally signed by the writer Bob Conway)
• The above promotional stickers (Adam, James, or Jake), signed by the composer Andrew Russell
• A print of Adam or Dan, signed and numbered (each out of 5) by the sprite artist David Stoll
• A print of Adam, signed and numbered (out of 10) by the writer Bob Conway, plus a matching sticker