Post by Angela M McCann in Moondrop and Sundew comments

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So I've finally got around to playing the new version with Day 2 and I wanted to share my thoughts again.

First off, I'm quite late getting to this as I've not been very good and keeping track of the games I'm following. The last time I played this game it was still ShadowDrop so I will admit it was very weird going through Day 1 again and seeing all the changes. I fell in love with ShadowDrop and can still remember it vividly; it did not take me long to see where changes were made and how that affected the tone of the story. There seems to be less horror in the beginning than what there was originally (the comparison of the peaceful Abyss to the absolute nightmare fuel of the first appearance of the purple eyes is a good example) and while Orion is still an absolute sweetheart who I just want to see happy, he's not quite the Corvin I originally got attached too. I can't even put my fingers on why as many things are similar if not the same, perhaps it's just because I met Corvin first. There's also no longer that feeling of 'did I get manipulated?' that I felt before, though I will fully admit that could have been me reading too much into one specific line rather than anything intentional in the story.

(Also don't think I didn't notice 'Corvin' being reintroduced at the end of Day 2; I actually squeed when I saw his name).

Now I need to stress that this is not a criticism of what you've done here. Far from it, the changes you've made still create a fantastic experience and clearly fit the tone of the story and characters you've developed going into Day 2. And Day 2 was fantastic! I loved how much more worldbuilding is being brought up, all this talk about the Celestials is fascinating. Ravi is a delightful addition, not quite what I was expecting when he first got introduced but somehow even better. And his interactions with both the MC and Orion were fantastically written. Speaking of which, THAT ENDING CONFRONTATION WAS INTENSE! The gorgeous art, the writing, the music... I almost forgot I was playing a visual novel with how swept up I was. Amazing way to end the day with plenty of potential moving into further days.

Being 100% honest there is a part of me that's sad some of the elements I loved from ShadowDrop and wanted to see more of are no longer there in this current version, but I still adore Moondrop and Sundew. If I hadn't played ShadowDrop and had started with this version I am certain I would still have fallen in love with it just as deeply. This is a wonderful story and I am thoroughly excited to see how it develops further.

ObsessedGames505215 days ago(+1)

Aww thank you a lot, this means so much!

I must admit, a huge reason for almost all of the changes was because I thought the game was way too similar to Mushroom Oasis. I seriously wanted to deviate hard from my initial inspiration because as much as I love MO, making my game a reskin of that one isn’t proper etiquette. Hence why there’s so many new things! However I think my hastiness to make things different made me rush things a little, which is a common critique I’ve seen of Day 2’s ending so far. So there’s gonna be a tiny rewrite to have it make more sense.
I want to be more original and myself with my game creations. I am so thankful for MO being around to inspire me to start making games at all, and I’ll continue to be inspired by it to keep on making more stuff that’s my own!

I get the changes can be jarring and I can understand if not everyone is into it. PSA to all players, that’s cool if you’re not! But I think the direction I’m going will be better in the long run!

And about Corvin! Yep, he’s a bird now. And still a Nyxling! I recently decided to make the old Corvin from the previous game canon to this game’s universe as well. So Orion the moon boy and Corvin the shadow boy are both around! There’s 2 corvins because why not.

thank you so much for enjoying my reboot, it means the world to me!

Angela M McCann215 days ago

Ah I see. While I do see the inspiration from Mushroom Oasis I did feel the original ShadowDrop was still enough of it's own thing to not feel like a reskin, but I completing understand the feeling of not wanting your own work to be too similar to it's inspiration. And as I said I do enjoy what you've created here, so I'm still incredibly excited to see how this story goes :D

Also really? That's actually Corvin? I thought it was just a cheeky reference, that's so cool!

ObsessedGames505214 days ago(+1)

Thank you very much for understanding, these comments mean so much!

And about the bird! It's actually a DIFFERENT Corvin! It's hard to explain but there's Corvin the bird and Corvin the actual Nyxling. I explained it better on my tumblr but TLDR is that Orion and Corvin both exist in the same world now, since ppl loved Corvin so much. Hoped this clears things up!

Angela M McCann118 days ago (1 edit)

Back again for another comment because I've just finished Orion's route and AAAAAHHHH! GOD I LOVE THIS GAME SO MUCH!!!!

First off, I ADORE THE NEW ART! Everyone got such a glowup! Ravi really suits being a redhead and just having more warm colours in his design while Orion... oh he's perfect! I don't know why but the purple and darker colour choices just click so much more with me than the blue and white design, and I really love his little streaks of colour in his hair. Also the way you've done the Abyss has now really hit the sweet spot between the more peaceful feeling from the previous build and the nightmare fuel from Shadowdrop.

Now for the story. This is my third or fourth run of Day One by now but I never get sick of that initial meeting with Orion, it makes me happy every time. And I enjoyed revisiting Day Two again, but of course the highlight was all the new content. The growing relationship between the M/C and Orion is beautifully done. I love how we got to learn more about the M/C themselves and how their interests caused people to treat them (got to say that hit a bit hard, never had it as bad as them but I've had people treat me oddly for my interests before) and seeing how that contributed to their determination to stick with Orion was very heartwarming. That reckless determination not to let him be alone really made them endearing in their own right, and it made it clear why Orion was so drawn to them. He's an absolute sweetheart as usual, I loved seeing him joking and having fun learning all the magic but also showing his sadness and even frustration at times; he's one of the most well-rounded love interests I've ever seen in one of these games and easily a top favourite. I also love how you added more of those darker undertones to his personality throughout, it took longer to appear but there were enough of those slightly creepy moments to have me questioning him at times, especially towards the end where it could pay off. That was something big I was missing from Shadowdrop so I'm glad to see it implemented again as it added another layer of depth to Orion himself (also don't think I missed that cheeky Corvin cameo during the magic demonstration scene).

It is a little sad that there's only one really good ending for Orion himself... and it's a very sudden small one. Both of the 'big endings' for the route don't actually let him live happily with us and trap him on a bad path. From a writing perspective I love how you committed to showing how he let himself be corrupted by his own emotions, letting his past turn him into the monster people accused him of being rather than learning to move on with the M/C and showing the consequences of that. But from a "I love this little shy boy and I want to hug him and see him happy" perspective... I love this little shy boy and I want to hug him and see him happy. So they were bittersweet though still incredible to experience, and it makes me incredibly curious to see how Orion's character will play out in Ravi's route. And what will happen in Ravi's route to begin with, honestly I can't predict what we'll end up focusing on and that's quite exciting.

Love it love it love it, so happy to see more of this game and I can't wait to see what will come in the future.

ObsessedGames505117 days ago(+1)

Thank you so much, I'm so glad you like the update to the game! It genuinely means a lot that you loved the Moondrop route so much.

I must warn you though, you are more than likely not going to like the Sundew route. I will explain in a future post, but prepare yourself to be disappointed. This isn't me trying to be depressingly relatable, I'm just being honest right now.

Angela M McCann116 days ago

Appreciate the honesty but all you've done is pique my curiosity on what's going to happen in this route, do not underestimate me and what I can enjoy.

Angela M McCann116 days ago

Ok I've just finished the Sundew route. It was good that you were upfront about feeling burnt out and how you didn't feel happy with how it turned out, I really appreciate developers being so honest about things like that. Now yes the pacing felt quite rushed, and yes there could have been more fleshing out (especially for the ending), but I think you're being far harder on yourself than you need to be.

This was still a very interesting route to play. I did get some culty vibes from Ravi when I first met him in Chapter 2 so seeing you go further down that way was definitely intriguing, having it explained how he kept going after Orion because he would get hurt if he didn't really stung hard and immediately painted a dark picture of his religion and culture. Orion's little appearance was also effective as it really painted the real problem with him that didn't appear in his route until the end, but it didn't take away from Ravi's story. I love how open and sweet Ravi was throughout and how he really gave Delilah a talking to (did miss her not getting what she deserved back in the Moondrop Route). I must admit with the way the story was going with Ravi seemingly abusing his own practises to fit his desire to be with the MC, I was expecting more scenes of his superiors getting in the way (unless they approved what he was doing in which case that's an even bigger yikes for that cult) but Starling was an unexpected surprise. It is bittersweet that, much like in the Moondrop Route, we can't really get a happy ending with the one we choose to romance, but I actually respect you as a writer for doing that. It does go to show that these characters are just too damaged for a couple of days of friendship to change all that, adding a touch of realism to these relationships that makes them even more emotionally impactful. I would have liked a bad ending for Ravi, just for my own morbid curiosity to see how far he would have gone, but I'm glad I got to see what I did.

I would just like to take the time to say thank you for making the game in the first place. I've been here since Shadowdrop and honestly it's been an absolute delight seeing this story develop and grow. However you feel about the Sundew Route I can honestly say this is still one of my favourite visual novels. I hope now this is finished you can have some time to recover from your burnout and that you haven't lost your passion for creating stories like this, I love your work so much and I would really like to see what else you may make in the future.

P.S. Would very much like to be able to buy the game to show my support so if you ever add a donate option please let me know.

ObsessedGames505116 days ago(+1)

You are one of the most nicest commenters ever oh my god 😭😭😭😭 thank you so much aaaa I have been told I can be very hard on myself, I am trying to work on it, I just want to give the people something that they can enjoy and something I can be proud of. I wasn’t proud of it at first but now I’m feeling a lot better than before 🥹 thank you so much for your continued support it means the world ✨ btw don’t worry about the money thing, I’d rather keep the game up for free than ask for cash. The best way you can support me is by checking out my other projects when I come out with them. Thank you again!

Angela M McCann116 days ago

Well I'm glad you're feeling better about it, I'm eagerly looking forward to whatever you come out with next <3

itch.io

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