Post by Lunel in Eternum comments

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You nailed it: Eternum's MC lacks personality, and that's actually the biggest flaw of the game. It is a low effort, self-insert protagonist that you find in hundreds of harems and Isekai. In contrast, the plot is fantastic. That's why is really a pity we don't have a better MC. I actually appreciate harems with well written MC's, but there are really, really few of them.

My favorite harem MC is Yamato, from Majikoi, a japanese VN. Great story and hilarious. The story is set in modern Japan but with a lot of Edo period, samurai stuff. The protagonist has great personality, a cynical asshole at first, but he grows a lot. I really recommend!

https://vndb.org/v1143

But other than that, I rate Eternum quite high in my list.

Tanxui58 days ago(+1)

Oh, I didn't expect a Japanese AVN but I think I can work with that, thanks!

A short dip into AVN design: The problem with personality-rich MCs is that if the player can't vibe with him, they'll likely drop the AVN right away. So a fraction of potential players is instantly gone just because of that. That's why devs usually opt to make a plain, self-insert-friendly MC and put the spotlight on the NPCs instead. If you don't like a girl's personality you can usually avoid her, but that's not possible with the MC.

Lunel58 days ago (5 edits) (+1)

I never thought it this way, it totally makes sense. It is a risk, for sure, especially for solo projects like this one. Still, I am of the opinion you can do a better job and still have a likeable MC with a fleshed out personality. A good example is Tomoya, the MC from Clannad, another excellent japanese VN. He is on the safe side (kind, caring, likeable, etc) but with some flaws and quirks that make him interesting enough.

By the way, I forgot to talk about the girls in Eternum. I actually didn't like the "main" girls that much (you know: Annie, Penny, Dalia), but god damn it! I love Luna, Alex and Nova! Oh, and Calypso, too! They have very good arcs and development. I even got emotional with Alex backstory.

itch.io

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