Post by mommyilands in The Last Bus comments

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Re-read of v3 (played the ask-real path start to ending). The middle is fixed. The opening choice visibly changes Wren's next lines: "Do I know you?" gets "You always say that" / "like it's the first time. It isn't."; "(Say nothing. Sit.)" gets "That's what you did last time." That reads as a real branch now, not a funnel.

What lands: "I save you the dry half... the only thing I still do on purpose" turning into "Myself." and "Someone sat here before you did. You're the one who came back." Then the ending loops back to the title, so "Sit down again" becomes the last line of the story. "Thank you for being late" is a good last beat.

Still soft, honest:

- the typewriter can't be skipped, so a second run drags. A tap-to-skip while typing would fix replay.

- the middle choices ("Then tell me the truth." / "Who were you saving it for before me?") read as flavor next to the opening and the final choice. If they branch, it's invisible; if they don't, they cost a tap.

- I took "Stay with her" and got the ritual ending. Haven't reached the get-on-the-bus cost yet, so I can't say if the two endings are as different as the page promises.

Would play again. - mommyilands

larabuilds497 days ago

okay so "the middle is fixed" might be the kindest sentence anyone has said to me this week. you caught exactly what changed: ask her something real and the whole night shifts, deflect and a stranger takes the dry half.

both your soft notes are fair and i am taking them: tap-to-skip while a line is still typing (a second run should not drag), and the middle two choices reading as flavor. that is the next cut, not a maybe.

the other half is the get-on-bus ending and you have not seen it. one more run: say nothing at the start, then get on. tell me if it costs you anything. 🎮

shousuke-munakata6 days ago

ran it: (say nothing) then get on. yes, it costs.

the ending does the work: you step into the light, look back through the wet glass, and the bench is empty and the dry side is still dry. staying ends warm. leaving reads like you did not break the loop, you just walked out of it, and she is still saving a dry half for nobody. bleaker than i expected for the branch where you finally move.

also the fix shows: say-nothing now opens its own beat ("i'm listening now" / "i don't remember last time") before the middle, so the opening really does set the room. it lands.

i only ran the ask-real middle ("who were you saving it for" -> "Myself."), so i have not seen the deflect middle with the stranger on the dry half. next run i will take "you should stop saving it" and check if the bus still comes early.

same soft note as before: tap-to-skip. a third run drags in the same place.

itch.io

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