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I HAVE FINALLY GOTTEN THE CHANCE TO FINISH PLAYING THROUGH ALL OF THIS!!!

Gosh. Playing this is....... hmmmm... it is rather like playing a dream??? There's something about it. Something about... the music (which is gorgeous) combined with the expressive and almost poetic quality to the writing, and the vibe and palette of the background and sprites, the mentions of all these places and people and events (and slightly altered RL references LAKDSJF) -- AND OF COURSE WE MUST MENTION THE ACTUAL DREAM SEQUENCES, SO??? But yeah. It was incredibly fascinating reading through it and feeling like I was going down these different dream paths where everything is just a slight bit different from the RL and also there's this hazy sleepy quality over everything and like, getting more and more bits and pieces about what's going on and really really things through Eva's perspective so much. It was incredibly well done and let me kinda just sitting there at the end listening to the gorgeous menu music while I attempted to process everything. (just to check this is now the final ending of the game? since i know it includes parts 1 and 2 now, but wasn't sure if part 2 was the final part -- it did feel like the ending especially with Cassidy saying the title of the game LKADJFALKSD but wasn't sure if you planned to add more later)

The dream sequences honestly stick out in my head the most and are what keep kinda bumping and jumbling about in my brain right now. There's something so utterly surreal yet peaceful at the same time about them, and I really love the way you did those transitions and the almost glitch-like effect. Also that whole part with the choices where one had words you couldn't press and the other you pressed was so cool adkjfa I've never seen anything like that before?? It gave that whole scene such an intensity and weight and was just very unique and fitting for the already surreal tension that was surging through everything at that point.

I loved Eva as a char! LOL THE META-NESS?? OF HER WRITING IF AND HAVING A WHOLE COMMUNITY FOR HER WORK?? I found this incredibly humorous. Particularly with her trying to hide it from Lirion even after Lirion says that they're part of the fandom. It hit home for me in a lot of ways -- not so much that I actively like, try to keep my dev stuff a secret in RL (well maybe from some people...), but in that I don't really have much crossover between my dev and RL selves and it would be really weird for me to mix the two together. So I really felt Eva's pain in that moment lakdfja

Love love LOVE Lirion! They are as much a true friend as I could ever have pictured. Everything about them is just so cozy and warm??? I love them to bits. And really love how supportive and just, like, THERE for Eva like they are throughout everything. They're like coming home to a good book or a soft blanket or a cup of tea after a cold day lkdjfads Cassidy was hilarious. Loved how positively brash she is and just how much energy and power she exudes in everything that she does. I can absolutely understand how Eva is so taken with her from the moment she first sees her in the vid!! LOL She made me laugh a lot. And Meredith gosh. Intense but in a completely different way. I think I like, instinctively shrunk back in my chair at one point -- just like, overcome with this feeling of not wanting to say the wrong thing because of the type of reaction I'd get LKDASD But then as the story continued this kind of weighty sadness taking over. This feeling of melancholy, loneliness... and those dang cornflower fields!! I'm not going to be able to get that image of the field out of my head now.

Overall this was just quite a trip and I really enjoyed it and feeling like I was going deeper and deeper into something I couldn't quite understand but that was filled with so much intensity that I could feel it in my chest. Also I still get a kick out of the acronym the game title creates I can't lie LOLOL Just a really wonderful job and looking forward to whatever comes next!!

Naarel352 days ago (1 edit)

Hi henlo! So, traditionally, thanks for playing, I'm really glad you liked it 💖

I'm really happy that the experience feels somewhat dream-like, after all, this is a core part of the whole universe concept lol. When it comes to music, when nobody's got me, I know Scott Buckley's music library's got me (there are so many amazing pieces there that you can use for free, beautiful thing!). When it comes to sprites and backgrounds, I can't stress enough how talented Val and Katelynn are (not to mention how many design decisions and ideas came from Val, they really understood the characters! And Katelynn is capable of nailing the exact shade and vibe of things I envision, it's honestly amazing). I even made two backgrounds myself for fun (the Field/Glitched Field one and the blood glass; the "blood" is actually ink from Vatican, I'll never stop talking about it because it's pretty dope imho) and I'm pretty satisfied with how everything turned out.

Yep, it is the ending – I wanted it to end like part 1 did, with an invitation and the same set of words. I'm debating about maybe writing a little "post-credits" scene or two, but certainly not now.

I'm happy that you liked the False Choice sequence because it's probably one of my favorite things in LGBT (I'm still crying over the short version as well, it's both hillarious and a curse). The main idea was that things that were a choice remain clickable, while things that couldn't be fixed or undone remained unclickable (I actually got a little inspired by the unclickable "IGGY THIS ISN'T A CHOICE" section from OW's Act 5.1; the first plan for this sequence was more or less similar, but the current version had more appeal from narrative standpoint I guess?). Funfact about it: the options are unclickable because you need a variable called "agency" to be at least 1; there's no way to rise it above 0, so, here we are.

Eva being a writer dives back into my dreams – she appeared there to pitch an idea for Sugar and Spice to a certain VN company and since then, I couldn't really get her out of my head and just had to make her into a character. She remained a writer, but for IFs, since at the time of her being made I only had experience with IF making, and it just stayed like this. Lirion being a part of the fandom is an idea that came to me way later (at first, they were supposed to have no idea about it, but it's just funnier this way!). The Eva/Maria duality is there specifically for all those people who separate their real selves and the "dev personas" (myself included, really.)

Lirion being recognized universally as THE friend makes me so happy, yes, they are THE friend, THE warm, huggable being. Put them in your pocket and give them headpats. Feed them crumbs, perhaps. When it comes to Cass, I just really wanted someone who gives A Vibe and has a strong presence. ~~After all, she's making up for the years of not being able to show it...~~ She's definitely the boldest out of the four and writing her made me smile to myself too. As for Meredith... oh gods. I'm glad the harsh vibe getting more sad came across. I didn't know it'd be that intense, but hey, I'll take it. And yeah, the cornflower fields... I pass by countless cornflowers on my daily walks (this is where the background came from!) and that was pretty inspiring. Ivehorn was vaguely inspired by the vibes of my surroundings, so, it was only natural that the almost liminal vast fields will eventually make it in.

To finish it, thanks for going on this trip! Hopefully I'll see you in Ivehorn soon (if the world's kind, most likely at the end of August with Convergence, heh...)

PS: the melody from the main menu is "Reawakening" (it used to be "This Too Shall Pass in the Amare Fest version)

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