Post by Konoi in Swan Song comments

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Ah, I didn't realize the demo dropped! I thought it would be longer till then! Such a nice surprise, especially since I've been upset after another game, today! <3

You wouldn't believe how excited I was for this, and man, it didn't disappoint! I adore both Leir and Odile, and seeing them both in the actual story, not only tumblr asks was such a delight. And well, to finally truly connect with my MC too!

I filled a bug report form too - didn't notice bugs per se, but answering what you've been asking on tumblr, and reporting something that bothered me with the MC's name selection. As I'm sure you'll recognize my report with that, feel free to comment on it here if you wish to answer to what I said! I don't mind!

One thing I didn't actually put in my form, but still thought about while reading is the eye color selection. The blue eyes are described as "as blue and fierce as the winter sea", but the "fierce" part is a bit strange considering my MC is kind and soft (he has blue eyes, so I had to pick that). I know we get to decide the MC's personality after that, but it's not really the issue - it's just that having the eyes described as fierce kind of sounds as if the MC's gaze was fierce, and well, it's the opposite for me! But I don't really categorize that as an "issue" per se, hence me talking about it here only!

That aside, small question!

Some Tumblr posts mentionned shifting, and how it's awful and so on, and it seems it's something that people have seen in the demo? But it didn't happen in my playthrough, so I'm curious...

And I think that's it!

Thank you for uploading the demo and the awesome start - this was probably the IF I was the most eager for!

PS: I have noticed on Tumblr you're not a fan of code diving because of the spoilers, but generally neutral. I always code dive when I play IF games because I love seeing how the game is made, the effects of the choices and to see outcomes I could NEVER go for while playing (like the bad endings and stuff) - the experience is only half as fun without it to me! But I only read the parts I can access in game, unless I'm actually testing the game and was explicitly asked to read more, so no worries about that!

swansong-if2 years ago(+1)

Hello, I'm glad you're enjoying the characters and the game so far! And yes, the demo was initially planned for 2022 because I wanted to post prelude + first act all at once, but i thought a sneak peek would be fun for everyone and good for me to correct a few things!

Anyways, re: your feedback about name selection – I saw it in the form, yes; I don't think I'm going to change that, because frankly it sounds more like a personal preference; name selection is something that can hardly be done without somehow interrupting the narration, and I don't really see a difference between 1 visible name via cycle or 6 name options all listed! I prefer the former to the latter because that passage is long enough and listing out all the possile preset names would only make it longer. At the end of the day it's never believable to have a character get their own name wrong, and I think with certain choices needed in IF one just needs to use a bit of imagination ;)

As for the bit about the eye colour descriptor, I get what you're saying; however, in that instance the mc is being described from Leir's perspective, and they're being described as Leir remembers them/perceived them in the past. The description of the mc's eye colour doesn't really touch the mc's attitude/personality: one can be soft and kind and still have a very intense gaze due to how they look! That, and add the fact that when the mc was younger they were still a noble who had lived a very sheltered life; they might not have acted like a spoiled brat but I don't think it would be out of place to see a certain fierceness in them just tied to their upbringing (but that's just my way of seeing it). In any case, the eye descriptor only serves the purpose of making the prose richer during the customization so i wouldn't worry about fierceness becoming a recurring theme just because you chose blue eyes for your mc ahah

To get the bit about the shifting you have to go down the antagonistic path for Odile (aka choosing the meanest option you see lol); you don't see the mc shift or anything like it, it's just a line in the dialogue that mentions it-- the imagery is a bit violent so proceed with caution!!

Hope I helped clear things a bit! Thanks for reading xx

Konoi2 years ago

Ah, I see! Thanks!

No problem about the things I put in the form - after all, it's up to you!

And gotcha for the shifting! I was a bit confused! I won't go that path cause I couldn't bring myself to it, but I was just confused, so that's okay, I basically wanted to know where that is more than anything!

Anyway, thanks for your answers! <3

swansong-if2 years ago(+1)

The shifting is really only mentioned in passing, you'll get to find out more about it in future updates for sure so do not worry about that ;D And no problem! Thank you for reading and I appreciate the feeback regardless of final decisions! xx

itch.io

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