Post by Raven in Bride of Shadows comments

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I did not realize this was a purely text-based game without any pictures.

I notice the entety offering you a deal, but somehow refusing it isn't a choice.
How can it be any form of deal if you never get the choice to say no?

I don't understand the purpose of the two names....
Is one just for the intro part?
Or will they have some sort of real impact later on?

The story itself is intriguing and draws you in.
It's well-written as well.

But I DO wish there was more choices to rebel.
Even if doing so would lead to a bad end.

And you get NO choice whether or not to romance them.
The ONLY choice is WHO you choose to romance.
And that may be decided by a single choice.
(Which you could not choose to avoid.)

The whole game is incredibly restrictive.

I could be wrong of course, but as far as the demo goes, this is what it feels like when I play it.

I can't say how it turns out in the end.

Is there any chance this game will show up on Steam or Choice of Games?

And CAN you defy the deity?

(I don't mind the romance partners, they have their moments.
But I DO mind just giving into people's demands.
Come hell or high waters, and damn the consequences, it's ALWAYS better to refuse demands than to give in.
That's my view on things anyway.)

I get why the choices are restricted in the intro part.
It has already happened, and all you decide is how.

But after that part, I think more choices would have improved the game.

The story itself is actually very good, so it kinda suck that you feel so forced into things, and can't even TRY to refuse it.

(I don't get how horrible the result is, you -should- be able to refuse to comply.)

djkld303 days ago(+33)(-1)

I mean, the whole premise of the game is working with a deity and getting pregnant, it wouldnt make sense to refuse the deity and both the LIs. there would be no game. if you dont like that then this may just not be the game for you

Raven301 days ago(+3)(-27)

That's what bad endings are for darlin'~

It gives people a chance to make their own choices and feel in control, without actually stressing the creator.

You wanna defy a deity and stay dead? Fine.
Then the game ends there with a "Bad Ending: Permanent Death".
Or something like that.

If you keep refusing the LI's, the deity could become pissed off at you and trigger another bad ending, like "Bad End: You pissed off the wrong deity".

And so on.

It ends the game early, but that's what people have Save/Load slots for.
And when they return to them to redo it, they've gotten the need to rebel out of their system and can play along with the game without getting so freakin' pissed off at the lack of choices.
Because they DID choose to accept it --this time around.

And thanks to the bad ends, there WAS a choice.

EldritchLover288 days ago (1 edit) (+24)(-1)

I'm noticing throughout your other comments for IF/visual novels this genre just might not be your thing

Or you just purposely like going against the stated objective of the story and then throwing your hands up like "but my CHOICES!? shouldn't I get a CHOICE just code it in there developer it's not like it'd be taking time/effort for something else"

So I recommend to stop seeing interactive fiction like games and start seeing it as interactive fiction that wants to tell a story and within that story you can direct the outcome for your character (and no actively wanting to choose to go against the story doesn't make you interesting or is a valid choice - it makes you a typical annoying DND player that gets upset when the party moves on because you don't want to join the carriage ride to save the world)

Mortish282 days ago(+7)

I appreciate your feedback. Please don’t read this as passive-aggressive, it’s not at all. Your feedback was very constructive and respectful, and I did find some aspects of it helpful in improving the IF. If anything, I’d like to take this opportunity to give advice to other IF authors who may stumble upon this.

I think it’s really important when writing anything (but especially an IF) to understand who your target audience is, what they like, and then ruthlessly edit out anything that doesn’t serve them. Each time I write new content, I end up deleting about 80% of the choices I’d planned. I analyze each branch and ask “what are the odds that my readers will choose this” and if it’s not high, I delete it. It does lead to a story that’s quite linear, but at the same time it ensures that I spend my time exclusively writing content my readers will love. Moreover, it ensures I’m able to publish very fast. It would be inefficient and unfair of me to spend days exploring non-romance options, or adding choices just for the sake of variety and I don’t recommend any IF writers fall into that trap because it’s the surest path to stalled stories and creative burnout. It’s better to write what you love and what 100 people may love than frustrate yourself by trying to appeal to a broad audience.

All that said, I totally understand your perspective as a reader, and I think adding the option to refuse the goddess in the prologue was a good idea. I don’t think you’re the target audience for my smutty IF about making a baby with hot demigods, but I didn’t do enough to set expectations at the start of the story. In hindsight it’s easy to go in thinking it’s an interactive novel designed to tell a standard fantasy story, rather than a niche erotic romance with a fantasy world constructed around it. I am sorry to have wasted your time, but I’m glad to have gotten your feedback.

itch.io

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