Post by Chattercap in Our Cinderella comments

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I GOT SO EXCITED JUST ON THE START MENU??? WHEN ALL THREE OF THOSE BLORBOS CAME ON SCREEN WITH THEIR SMILES WITH THE SHOUJO MUSIC MY HEART JUST STARTED GOING DOKI-DOKI LIKE CRAZY???

This was so fun, with incredible replay value. I replayed all the routes three times before I got any repeating text conversations. The dialogue is SUPER lively. All of the characters have their own unique voice (that's different from their speaking voice and perfectly fits how they would text - apart from Genzou, whose speaking voice is his texting voice). I also loved the flowery, elegant, fairytale-esque prose of the narration (I imagined some fancy British man saying it tbh), and the differing styles between the narration and dialogue really sold the concept of a "light-hearted, modern fairytale."

There are so many details in this game that I simply couldn't list them all, but here are some things that I liked in particular. The animations are all FANTASTIC and oh-so-satisfying, particularly the start menu, the main gameplay menu, and the text interface. I loved the opening scene, as it gives a very wintery and magical, fairytale-like feel as Iggy stands in the white void, wondering where the future will take him. The day cards are SO dramatic and fun (with the sound effect). I loved how Iggy randomly takes different positions in the room depending on the day. When I saw the credits I AUDIBLY LAUGHED DFGDFGDFGDFGDFD WOW I DON'T BELIEVE IT, CARROT DID IT ALL?

(spoilers for the full game/routes )

I really love how the game was set up to tackle social anxiety in a realistic yet lighthearted and fun way. Iggy has a social battery, and you need to relax by yourself in order to charge it so that you can continue interacting with your friends. It's a really clever game mechanic and hilariously accurate. I also liked how there were random "anxiety attack" days where Iggy couldn't do anything but lie in bed; in addition to being a clever game mechanic, it really played into the theme - how easy it is to get overwhelmed and feel unable to do anything.

I really appreciated how the game tackled the "Cinderella" story and changed it to fit the themes. The main gameplay mimics what Cinderella went through leading up to the ball (finding a "dress," finding transportation - although Iggy needs the added "social battery" to go). On the second to last day before the party, if you've wooed your chosen partner enough, then Iggy (Cinderella) gets an invite to attend the ball from his prince. When he goes, he has a great time - until he feels overwhelmed and flees the scene, losing his shoe in the process. Between Christmas and New Year's, Iggy is able to do little else other than "Stay in bed," (which feels very impactful as you are only given one choice each day). And yet in the final scene, the prince doesn't find Iggy; instead, each of them gives Iggy space, and Iggy chooses to go find the prince. It's a really fitting twist to the Cinderella narrative that plays masterfully into the "overcoming anxiety" theme - on the dawn of the new year, Iggy overcomes his anxiety to go meet his prince for a private celebration and has a great time.

(I really loved how the "Dawn of the New Day" plays on the "Stay in bed" choice - except that you're staying in bed with your beau of choice this time).

I've put some of my thoughts about the different routes below (some of them are cohesive, but for the most part they're just random thoughts - this game is just JAM PACKED WITH DETAILS):

GIDGET

I really love how supportive Gidget was of Iggy at the start, and how comfortable and easy Gidget and Iggy's relationship is. Gidget is...well, compared to Genzou and Orlam, very normal in the text conversations. I like how normally Iggy is the straight man, but in his texts with Gidget, he's the silly one (at least some of the time).

I really loved how, in this reality, Gidget is comfortable with their identity and has made strides to connect with the local queer community. I also REALLY appreciated the detail that, in this timeline, Iggy has only come out to Gidget about his asexuality. I like to think that Gidget helped Iggy to figure himself out!

I love the little details, like how it's implied that Iggy and Gidget bonded over their shared interest in coding - this explains why Gidget is intimately familiar with all of Iggy's game dev endeavors and remembers all the games Iggy made.

GIDGET IS SO EXTROVERTED THEY'RE ALWAYS OUT

(I really liked what a good relationship Gidget has with their family in this reality, as it seems much more strained in the canon one.)

(Loved the addition of Cecil as Gidget's roomie!!)

ORLAM

I really liked how, out of all the love interests, Iggy seems to view Orlam as a good confidant the most. It seems that he often goes to him for advice, and I believe that Orlam was the only one that Iggy approached just to rant about things. At the end of the day, Orlam is a very good listener who takes Iggy's worries seriously and gives sound advice.

I loved the "I Spy" game as it shows how well Orlam knows Iggy (as he is able to guess what he's thinking every time.)

DFGDGDFGFDGG ORLAM COMES ONTO IGGY SO HARD AND IN SUCH A SEXUAL MANNER but at the same time it's all in good fun

THE EVA REFERENCE

STORY OF SEASONS AND HARVEST MOON AND RUNE FACTORY AHHHH

DFGDFGDGDFGDFG CLIFF HE USED TO BE MY FAVORITE, THE ONLY GUY I ROMANCED

(IS ORLAM WITH HUMAN JERRY???)

GENZOU

I found Genzou's route to be one of the most interesting out of the three because Our Cinderella seems to take place in a very "idealized world." Other than Iggy's social anxiety, everything else seems to be going well, particularly Gidget and Orlam's lives. Gidget is living as their best self, with a big group of friends, working a job they love. They have a good relationship with their family. Orlam similarly has a big social circle and goes out clubbing every night. During the day he runs a large, successful company where he calls the shots. Genzou's life, on the other hand, is pretty similar to the one he leads in OW. It makes me wonder what Genzou's endgame in OW will be; I see what Gidget and Orlam's "happy endings" look like, so I wonder what Genzou's will look like?

I really love the detail with how Genzou's texts feel a lot more "conversational" - they read more like an oral chat rather than a text one, likely because he's talking into some kind of voice recording app. He sends a lot of texts that he doesn't mean to send/includes a lot of texts where he's unsure/mumbling.

I like how, out of all the different convos, Genzou seems to have the only convos that feel truly "uncomfortable." Most of the convos are very relaxed, with a general good vibe and positive note. When Iggy jokes about wanting to go to Lapland, Genzou goes on an extended joke about Iggy getting together with some handsome, muscular guy. It's very out of the blue, and it seems that Iggy gets a bit uncomfortable with it. This joke is similar to comments that Genzou makes in OW, and it shows Genzou's sense of inferiority, his fear that he will never be someone who deserves Iggy. Similarly, when Iggy asks about Genzou's plans for the future, Genzou isn't sure of how to answer - he just wants to continue what he's doing. I wonder if you mainly see this kind of convo from Genzou because his are more like verbal conversations rather than texts where he can't "plan/edit" what he says (and, tying back into my previous thoughts - it does make me wonder how Genzou will overcome these insecurities in OW, if he hasn't overcome them in this idealized reality).

(I loved the "smash or pass" conversation. It's very crude in a Genzou way, but at the same time it reads as Genzou's genuine attempt to learn about Iggy's boundaries and what he does/doesn't like. Even though Iggy hasn't come out to Genzou about his identity here, it seems that Genzou is aware and accepting.)

AHHHHHHHH IGGY CRIES DURING GENZOU'S ENDING

MERRY PRINCEMAS (and it was so adorable that they eat fried chicken, since it's traditional to eat KFC in Japan LOL I wonder what generation immigrant Genzou is?) (And Genzou's mom supports Genzou x Iggy, I love that for him!)

DFGDFGDFGDF GENZOU'S ENDING IS THE ONLY ONE WHERE IGGY IS THE LITTLE SPOON

Overall this was just what I wanted out of an OW dating sim and a perfect, sweet game to start off the year! Fantastic work, Carrot!!!

Carrot1 year ago(+3)

WEEPING FROM THIS ESSAY AHHHHGHGGHKDJFKDASDFA I FEEL LIKE YOU ALWAYS CUT STRAIGHT TO THE CORE OF ME LMAO

The title screen was the first thing where I was like... I am just going all in with this magical shoujo feel and I don't even care LOLOL I am so happy it could provide such excitement ldkjfalsd 🤣💕

Sob sob where do I even begin. I am so happy you enjoyed it! AND PLAYED IT SO MANY TIMES WTF???? I-I-I KNOW I WANTED THERE TO BE HIGH REPLAYABILITY BUT I NEVER EXPECTED THAT LMAO You most certainly got all of the convos then HAHAHA

FANCY BRITISH MAN NARRATION LMAO I did really want the narration to have this storybook-esque floaty magical kind of quality to it. I guess to tie it all up in a fairy tale bow I guess. AND SOB THANK YOU FOR THE KIND WORDS ABOUT THE ANIMATION. This game had a lot of first times for me, not only in setting up a bunch of functionality I'd never done before but also in trying to make the GUI itself feel very lively and immersive animation-wise. I spent so much time getting stuff to work (and then had to redo it all when I realized I had done the image buttons in a not-very-good way LOL). I normally don't have a lot of confidence when it comes to my GUI and general design-related stuff but I'm overall pretty happy with how it turned out here and I had a lot of fun with it, so I'm really happy to hear you say that 😭💕

"It's a really fitting twist to the Cinderella narrative that plays masterfully into the "overcoming anxiety" theme - on the dawn of the new year, Iggy overcomes his anxiety to go meet his prince for a private celebration and has a great time." --> SOB I DON'T KNOW WHY BUT THIS IS MAKING ME TEAR UP. I'm not sure I even always actively thought about what I was doing with the themes... LOL... so somehow seeing it written out like this so masterfully in a way I couldn't even even put into words or thoughts myself lkjdflakd

"Gidget is...well, compared to Genzou and Orlam, very normal in the text conversations." --> LMAO INDEED Gidget's route and convos in general just feel much less unhinged than the other two. Like more down to earth in a way. Part of me was worried it would be a turn-off maybe (especially since Gidget's route also feels the most platonic until it gets to the end), but I've been really happy in that actually a lot of people have liked Gidget's route and their dynamic with Iggy.

"I like how normally Iggy is the straight man, but in his texts with Gidget, he's the silly one (at least some of the time)." --> YES LSKJDFALKDSF I really enjoy how these two's dynamic turned out. I see them in general as the two that would be the most open and just casual around each other because of their history, so I felt like Iggy would be the most silly and unhinged in his own way around Gidget. AND YES SOB I'M HAPPY YOU MENTIONED IT ABOUT IGGY'S COMING OUT TO THEM like. I see Gidget in this timeline as being the most comfortable in their own identity and outwardly like, part of the queer community, and probably they talked to Iggy a lot about it, too, which is what then helped Iggy feel comfortable talking about his own insecurities and identity with them. Since Iggy in general isn't the type to just... say these types of things on his own to someone, but with Gidget it came out naturally. But with the other two it wouldn't be something he'd just come out and say despite him being close to them, too. In fact, Iggy wants to come out to Genzou at one point but can't quite, because his dynamic with Genzou feels different to him and he's anxious about it (even though a part of him knows it would be fine). Maybe part of me was wanting to explore my own thoughts and insecurities about how it feels easy to come out to some people and not to others not because of any lack of connection or closeness with people but simply because it's a very anxiety-inducing thing that's hard to approach. (Though Orlam doesn't need him to come out because he guesses already lakdjfasd)

"Iggy seems to view Orlam as a good confidant the most." --> dlkfjaldskfa that's a good point. As always, I'm not sure I was actively thinking about that when working on it, but it's kinda how it turned out with the types of convos and topics. Maybe it's because Iggy and Orlam are the most different from each other, so Iggy naturally feels like Orlam must know a lot of things about everything that Iggy himself doesn't know. That and Orlam is always just so brimming with confidence and has no problem dealing with people, both of which are things Iggy lacks. So he feels very reassured when he asks Orlam for advice (and I think in a way some of Orlam's confidence also influences Iggy, because Iggy then becomes a bit more assertive around Orlam, as well, since he kinda has to be LMAO).

"I loved the "I Spy" game as it shows how well Orlam knows Iggy" --> LKDJFALKDSFAS I think that was the first truly unhinged convo of theirs that I wrote and it influenced like everything that came afterwards LMAO. I had tears running down my face as I wrote it...

"CLIFF HE USED TO BE MY FAVORITE, THE ONLY GUY I ROMANCED" --> HAHAHAHDAFDLKJFALDSKFJASD I also loved Cliff sobbbb. He and Kai were my favorites 💕

"(IS ORLAM WITH HUMAN JERRY???)" --> YES LOL

Weeping your comments/analysis of Genzou are making me cry...

Yeah, I would say that Genzou is the least changed out of all of them compared to the main game. Maybe this was partly due to how much I knew the others needed to change in order to reach a better state so it was a big focus and I was actively thinking about their Ideal Lives and it just changed so much about their environments and general outlooks. But with Genzou I didn't really have that going into it. He was mostly just... the same Genzou... except that he wasn't such an absolutely jerkface asshole in his youth (likely because he actually got called out on it more, etc.) so the friend dynamic didn't turn toxic and instead stayed more in lighthearted banter rather than outright antagonism between him and Orlam, etc. Because of that when I wrote him he mostly stayed the same with a lot of his already present challenges leaking over.

Sob I also liked how you pointed out that his felt more like verbal convos. I'm not even sure if I actively thought about that while writing them but because in my head I pictured Genzou talking instead of typing (as opposed to the others where my head stayed in texting mode) that was probably the biggest influence LKDFJALSDKFA Genzou already has a big problem with saying things he doesn't mean to/letting his mouth run in general, so the combination of him also then having no edit/plan-type filter in his texts makes this doubly worse (both in the sheer annoying-ness of his texts/extended jokes he can't stop and in his tendency to say things he wishes he could take back lol).

Weep I'm getting very emotional thinking/writing about this LDKFJALDSKFA...

"DFGDFGDFGDF GENZOU'S ENDING IS THE ONLY ONE WHERE IGGY IS THE LITTLE SPOON" --> LKJFDLAKSDJFAD

Sob sob sob thank you so so much for all these thoughts. I feel like every time I read a comment from you it always makes me re-evaluate and analyze my own stuff and learn new things LMAO I really love reading all your interpretations for the chars and dynamics, whether it was stuff I did try to intentionally do or stuff that happened by accident lol. Also it just put such a smile on my face reading ahhhhhhhh. Thank you SO MUCHHHHHHHH for playing and for the comment and all your lovely wordsssss. I shall treasure them always!! 😭💕

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