Post by CheonByeol in Dark Nights - Reflections comments

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Okay, so, I think I'm turning into a huge fan, because of this DLC. (It's quite funny to think I hesitated to buy it since while I enjoyed the base game, I didn't enjoy it as much as the DLC, but... I was tempted by Roya, haha, and now I'm really happy I gave in!)

I've done one playthrough so far, chased Roya ofc, and got the romantic ending! (Right choice indicator was quite useful for that, haha. Thank you for implementing it!) I went through quite the rollercoaster, I was enjoying his flirty side, then the confrontation came... and in my head I was like "well, he was a bad guy in the original, what did I expect, a huge retcon?" and tried mentally preparing myself for a morally grey love interest or even like some dark romance/villain romance stuff. I also nearly cried at what you did to Junoru, that poor baby ;; I wondered if I'm going towards a bad end or something, things looked truly hopeless. But then... the time travel plot happened - a plot device I love, btw, and that part was just the sweetest, and also funny! - so you found a way to retcon without retconning and turn Roya into a genuinely good guy and also save Junoru and my heart was so so happy with it! Have to mention, I also liked Jace and Blace and the role they played in this route!

The art and music are masterful, just like before, and I'm impressed with the amount of CGs! I think your writing has improved too. Or maybe it's my tastes that changed and I'm more open to your writing style now. (There's tiny moments that feel illogical, like MC's forgiveness of the ace twins could use a bit more explanation; and the prologue could be more exciting, but these don't detract from the overall experience.) I also have a feeling you don't necessarily follow all storytelling conventions. For example, in movies, there'd have to be some failed attempts before the right solution is found, while you went straight for the right solution. I also needed some time to adjust to the "parallel" dialogue, like characters sometimes answering or reacting to two different things in the same line, which again, I'm not used to in fiction. But in a way, these may be more life-like? Both that and breaking from formulas can be a good thing, whether intentional or not. Since I noticed that these seem unique in your writing, and I found them interesting and refreshing, felt compelled to talk about it.

I've got the "tried to be a hero" bad end and a couple of achievements along the way, now I'm excited to go back and explore more of the DLC. I'm really loving it so far, and will be looking forward to the updates as well!

pinlin7 days ago (1 edit)

After working on this DLC for years, I've been really looking forward to people's thoughts. Thank you for giving this game a try!

I learned a lot from my first game. I retained the useful features and added more, such as highlighting the choices you had previously picked. The routes have a lot more menus, so it's useful for replays/going back. I had a lot of fun and challenging moments while writing Roya's route. I'm delighted that you like how the events unfolded. I wanted to write satisfying endings where everything is wrapped up. In the main game, Roya got the short end of the stick. There was one scene where MC was reading a book "Bright Days". Roya commented "Characters that barely had a few lines in the first book actually got to speak their minds." I really got to explore this concept in Roya's own route. I tried to share more background info about Blace & Jace, and involve them more in the plot at the same time. In the main game, Miyoko didn't seem close to them.

I kept the same number of CGs per route. I thought about more interesting concepts, but I'll leave them for the extra stories. Throughout the years, my taste has changed and I picked up things I like about storytelling. You're right that my style of writing is direct to the solution. In the original game, MC took a while to figure out or made wrong decisions, and players complained about that. Personally, I'm not fan of plots around misunderstandings or drama, so I like to resolve these as soon as possible. Maybe I referenced real-life situations too much for dialogues haha;;
I agree with the details you mentioned. I'll do my best while I'm working on the secret route and extra stories.

I hope that you enjoy Chain's route as well! His personality and route composition are the opposite of Roya's. It's packed with many events and explores parts of Dark Nights you've never seen before.

CheonByeol6 days ago(+1)

My goodness, I didn't expect you to reply so fast and so thoroughly too! I'm glad if my feedback can be useful and/or can make you feel good!

I actually wanted to edit my comment, because I've explored Roya's other endings in the meanwhile. The normal ending really had an impact on me, it showed that despite his doubling down at first, as time passed, the need for revenge is no more and there's only regret and loneliness ;; I realized how much of a sweetheart and just a lost boy Roya is at his core, and how fate had been unfair to him to send him down such an awful path. Makes me wanna wrap him in a blanket and cuddle him. So he really, really needs and deserves that time travel redo and nudging in the right direction ;;

Speaking of the programming tweaks, playing the random game with Roya by the pool was a fun part!
I don't remember many details from the original game, but I'm definitely going to replay it soon! For nostalgia's sake, and because of Junoru, I recalled some details from his route, since obviously he shares his backstory with Roya, and also recalled how much of a sweet gentleman he is and I kinda miss him. I don't even fully remember Roya's fate there... I'll deal with that emotionally once I get there in my replay. (I realize it may be worse going back too, RIP my heart.)

There's really lots of love and care and time and resources you're putting in this game to make it as gorgeous as it is!
Oh, now I'll be even more curious about those extra stories!
I think it's okay for characters to make mistakes and wrong turns before finding the right path, as long as the choice they make makes sense for them. It really depends on the type of story you want to tell. Your MC is quite the logical and straightforward person too, so a straightforward solution works well here! Misunderstandings are just so frustrating, I agree, they feel like an artificial way to create conflict. Btw, I don't think you need to worry too much about your writing, I see many people fanpersoning in your comments, you've created a much beloved world and characters and story! (Sorry if I came off as nitpicking, I just used to dabble in writing so that's what I focus on most. Also I take back the "forgiving the ace twins too easily", found the branch where it's talked out in detail. I only ever wrote linear stories, mostly fanfic, I imagine it's much harder to keep in mind what events and conversations happened on every single branch...)

Haha, Chain seems to take cold hard logic and efficiency to the extreme, from what I saw here and remember from the original game (I don't even know whose route it was, but I remember MC convincing him to come help, and he eventually did, without much of an explanation). It makes me really curious how he'll behave in a romance situation. And I imagine the story will be quite different from the police/"hunter"/non-supernatural perspetive. But that's for another day. I might come ramble about his route later!

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