Julie the Tickler: interview with the author

Contents

1 Can you tell us about yourself and your passions?
2 How do you create your video games and other projects?
3 How did this Ticklegame project come about? Can you share any anecdotes about it?
4 What is Julie the Tickler? What is the game about, and what does it involve?
5 What is Julie 2: Mansion of Secrets? What is the game about, and what does it involve?
6 What do you think of tickling? Why are so many people fascinated by it?
7 What do you think of today’s tickling video games? What are your favorites?
8 What are your future goals?
9 Informazioni sull'autore
- - 9.0.1 TickleScenes

Can you tell us about yourself and your passions?

I’m an 80s kid. Like many tickle enthusiasts, I discovered my fascination with tickling at a very young age. Like many of my generation, I thought I was alone in my taste for tickling until the internet opened this world to me sometime in the 90s. I was fascinated by the comics and drawings, their narratives, and how they framed each situation. That was an inspiration for what I would later do in the games.

How do you create your video games and other projects?

I first think about the characters and the story. As tempting as it is to go straight to tickling, I like to introduce the player to the characters’ personalities first. I want them to feel alive and aware. I try to make the games as PG and fun as possible because for many people, these games could be their first approach to our community. I want them to feel welcome and not intimidated.

How did this Ticklegame project come about? Can you share any anecdotes about it?

Over the years, I have developed a few skills that could help build browser games. It took several years to decide on a direction and a style. The first game was heavily influenced by the Total Drama Island style. Once I had the first few levels ready, I shipped them under the Facebook gaming platform around 2009. It didn’t even last a day before it was taken down. That’s why I ended up buying ticklegame.com; it took me a few more years to finish the last two levels of Julie the Tickler, but I completed the game by 2012.

I also released Jen’s scenario as a standalone game on Android, and Tap Tap Tickle while I was exploring other platforms and mechanics. Unfortunately, Flash was dying as a platform, and HTML wasn’t ready to do a port. I made several attempts over the years to port the game to HTML5, but it wasn’t until 2024 that I felt devices and technology were ready. I worked on the second game, Julie 2: The Mansion of Secrets, in parallel. I released a few Mansion levels early this year, and just a few weeks ago, I finished both games. I retconned a few things from the first game to set up the second game. I’m preparing a few things to link the two games, including a short story for Julie’s origin, a prequel for Mansion of Secrets, and animations to bring a few storylines to life. One particular fun fact is that every single character is based on girls I’ve dated and/or tickled.

What is Julie the Tickler? What is the game about, and what does it involve?

Originally, the story revolved around Julie’s attempt to discover who was setting her up for cheating on an exam. I liked it because it was simple, it was fun, and easy to follow. But the older I got, the more I thought about how to develop the characters a bit more so they would make sense in future games and stories. The change I recently implemented was in the motive: instead of her cheating on a test, it was about her being an amateur tickle content creator and someone trying to expose her. This is to set up the path for her storyline to develop from Julie the Tickler to Julie 3: the Tickler Queen (that’s the next game I’ve started to draft).

What is Julie 2: Mansion of Secrets? What is the game about, and what does it involve?

Mansion of Secrets takes place a few years after Julie the Tickler. Now Julie is a pro tickle content creator. She receives a blackmail invitation to a Mansion, where she’s set up and must discover who’s behind everything. Like the first game, this is heavily focused on the narrative. But this one has a bit of a “choose your own adventure” book feel. There are several storylines, not only Julie’s. I used a different style for the art, and it was interesting to see that some people loved it while others preferred the original style. Working on Mansion gave me some ideas that are becoming short stories and animations, as well as direction for Julie 3: The Tickler Queen. There is still a small chapter I want to add to Mansion that will bring back a fan-favorite character from Julie the Tickler.

What do you think of tickling? Why are so many people fascinated by it?

How? Why? When? I stopped trying to rationalize this a long time ago. I think this is just something that is part of you. You embrace it and go with it. It’s a wave, and you just ride it and enjoy the trip.

What do you think of today’s tickling video games? What are your favorites?

Over the years, there have been some cool games. Most of them just go straight to tickling, which is okay, but as a personal preference, I prefer it when I know more about the character. Because of that, I think The Cyriaan Chronicles and Eternal Happiness are the best. In any case, it is great that more games are coming out. In a way, they help normalize this for people who may feel insecure about their tickling preferences.

What are your future goals?

I started a Patreon, and through it, I’m going to keep a steady stream of content for the people who support my work. Definitely a 3rd game is coming, but also have plans for minigames, short stories, audio novels, and animations.