This was so adorable! I love the art <3
I might be in the minority but I felt like the "bad" ending was the most natural outcome after what he does. I mean what was his plan? To keep going without revealing anything, and without proper consent? It's sad, but the "good" ending felt uncomfortable and unearned to me. I think I'd have chosen a middle ground somewhere between the two, without forgiving him. Poor little fox got what was coming to him I'm afraid :(
There can be very restricted dialogue and limited branching (if any) in VNs . I defitely rage quit this one a couple times, and I remember being really put off by a particularly egregious moment (a very weird conversation after nearly being sold by a certain character) that was quickly patched, that I think tripped up a fair few players (and is still not very satisfying imo).
I played the game mostly out of curiosity, as the concept had so much potential - Anastasia x space politics, 'what's not to love?' I thought - but I found I could only continue by constantly reminding myself that the MC wasn't anything like me, and that I was reading a set story and character. My feelings towards events and dialogue were rarely represented in the game, and there were times when I had to wonder if anyone would identify with them, and if so, what kind of person would they be? Obviously someone a lot younger and forgiving than me lol.
All I can think is that the author(s) had a very specific vision for the main character, namely:
All of which admittedly has an unfortunate "submissive/ conservative feminine" flavour to it :/
It definitely was not to my taste, and I lament that these are quite popular traits to assign a VN MC, probably in an attempt to make things simpler all round, and I can think of multiple games where at least one of these applies. In contrast, the most memorable and satisfying protagonists for me tend to be people that solve problems and contribute on their own merit, not because they're necessarily powerful or destined, but because they have smarts and grit. Even better if they're at least a little bit odd in some way.
It's honestly so impressive that you reply to every comment and that you're working hard to engage with everyone's feedback! You should know that this game is so special and unique, and it's clear to see that a tonne of talent and hard work has gone into it - you can count me amongst the people who'll be there to buy the new game day one <3
This is adorable, and the art is especially cute, but I must say I found some of the limited choices a little frustrating TwT
I don't know why Aya should have to apologise or be on the back foot so often, and it's especially shocking that no one cares that a guy attacks her the first week of school! It seems like it's taken really lightly and gives the impression that the MC doesn't think very much of herself. Why should she be the one to apologise?? If I was her friend, you’d best believe that wouldn’t be the end of it 💪🏻😤
I'd love to see her have a little more agency and smarts in the next version.
Rape isn’t just defined as a sexually violent act.
I didn’t come here in the interest of discussing what constitutes rape or a victim (which has little to do with any given country’s laws anyway), but since your question is easy to answer, here are the results of a cursory google search:
Rape by deception, also known as rape by fraud, is a crime that occurs when someone deceives a victim into having sex by making false claims. The victim would not have consented to the sexual act if they had not been deceived. Rape by deception is recognised in the laws of many jurisdictions, including the UK and the US.
I like your reference to Maleficent; it’s definitely a violation of more than one kind. I don’t know what else there is to say, I only wish it was handled better.
As for player agency, I definitely think there’s a way to make the reader feel understood and seen, whilst still communicating that the main character is in an unfamiliar and helpless headspace.
You’re right on the mark about the ‘canon’ MC feeling; I played it both angry (super unsatisfying with the exception of one choice), and then tried the more defeated/ cooperative options and was trying to put my finger on why the choices and outcomes weren’t jelling no matter what I did. I came away confused or resentful after every interaction.
If I’m playing a character that’s a “skilled infiltrator”, who is calm and unassuming, who didn’t brandish a weapon, then what about her would be so intimidating that everyone consistently turns on her? What would warrant immediate suspicion about a young woman saving a girl from the rubble and getting onto the last transport they can find? What about her would make other characters comfortable being witness to a man gloating about assaulting her? Why am I always getting the stink eye? Am I wearing a “make killing great again” company baseball cap or something??
In retrospect, it feels like there’s a broader perspective that’s missing from the writing, which makes it less interactive and accessible imo.
The content warning should include rape, not just the word assault.
This was a rough read, and I don’t usually go out of my way to make comments like this, but I think the sensitive nature of this subject matter can so easily be mishandled and it’s important to talk about it. If I had to hazard a guess I’d say that the WIP might benefit from some additional/ more varied sensitivity readers.
Everyone seems to inexplicably single out the MC, patronising and antagonising them, or making inappropriate quips, meanwhile the MC is forced into, not only proximity, but conversation with their smug rapist multiple times.
To each their own, but I cannot begin to fathom how this route would turn into a relationship of any kind. The MC can barely stand or see straight, but it’s apparently a necessary part of Rohan’s development to come back for seconds and needle their victim? That's pretty gross for a character that we’re supposed to grow to understand. What more do they want, a kidney? There is no plausible way a character like this can be redeemed.
I thought we would get to know more about the protagonist, and I’m disappointed there’s been no deeper insight into their motivations or their past. As far as I can tell, the MC is almost exclusively reactive; excluding the violent removal of a character, they have yet to make much of an impact on the plot.
Any expression of anguish or anger is undermined, ridiculed, or judged by both the characters and the writing. If you choose to confront your rapist there’s multiple pages describing how pathetic and pained they look, and everyone treats you, exclusively, with extreme prejudice. And I get it, there needs to be a restriction on full throttle violence in order to get the character interactions rolling, but satisfactory dialogue options are very sparse.
I found that many of the standard responses were odd, the tone and dialogue frequently undermining anything approaching a somber or sensitive depiction of darker themes or trauma. I don’t want to start arguments, I don’t want to be sassy and waggle my eyebrows, or giggle at a joke, I’m dead inside Nash. MC doesn’t even get a moment to themselves to sit with their feelings or cry. And the reader doesn't get any insight into what’s going on with their psychology. It’s like they're a blank slate.
On the other hand, if you wanted to play as the hardened character type, there’s a distinct lack of options to be callous, aloof, or calculating. I'd take cynical, gallows humour over letting everyone know how I'm feeling at any given time. MC’s tumultuous emotions are (embarrassingly) on full display at all times, the scenes constantly serving up our innards as fodder for the other characters to react to with either amusement or irritation. It’s so frequent that it starts to feel like a cheap shortcut to character interaction, and just made me resent not only my own character, but everyone else for acting like insufferable vultures. Is this what serves as entertainment in space? Don’t they have anything else going on? (Playing a game of cards with a rapist maybe?)
I don’t know if I’ve missed something, or was in an outraged haze, but I’ve had minimal interactions with the other characters, and struggle to remember anything about them (apart from the nice moment where K gives the MC a jacket, a pretty much isolated act of non-intrusive kindness). The relationships feel like they haven't even begun, despite the time we’ve spent in close proximity with the group. My impression of the time spent on the ship so far is the MC just wandering from room to room, contemplating their physical discomfort whilst being intensely scrutinised by everyone they occupy space with. Ironically, the only relationship that feels like it evolves in any capacity is with Rohan, for “better” or worse (STOP watching me dude). Nash is just sort of there, a vaguely judgemental room divider.
As for Nash, they’re perhaps one of the only people who might be in our corner, yet when the MC first wakes up, after they ask how we're doing, ‘good guy’ Nash’s next inclination is to indulge their petty jealousy over their crush getting intimate with someone else, never mind that it was actually rape! Thanks mate 👍🏻
Not to mention, if the MC is the best operative on offer, what are the rest like? Will the MC ever best their second arch-nemesis: hard surfaces? Despite being a highly trained agent, they spend virtually every interaction on the back foot, unable to school their expression or suppress their emotions, let alone demonstrate skill or expertise (except when K said I did a good job tightening a pipe or whatever, thanks K 👍🏻).
They've yet to have a chance to demonstrate their capability at all, kicking off with a bad streak right from get go, and are further reduced to a stumbling, raw nerve of a person. Which, ok, fine, I can roll with the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, but I was constantly left wondering why, despite a lifetime of training, brutality, depersonalisation etc., there is so little to show for it? Would their experiences not have desensitised them somewhat, or provided interesting mechanisms to fall back on? I wanted to know more! Instead it’s like the character is experiencing the world afresh, without any internal context or history for the reader to grip onto. The one moment where my MC pulled their head out of their ass and said something to smooth things over with the pick up crew was so uncharacteristically practical that I had to re-read to it to confirm it was actually me speaking. I was gnawing at the bars of my enclosure to experience some shred of cool-action-agent content at least once, or to say something stinging or observant at least once.
I do wish the MC had more opportunities to flex their skills and force of will, but the one time the reader gets any modicum of sweet catharsis is when you pull a trigger/ throw a punch, something anyone could do, and which is swiftly followed by a narrative slap on the wrist for being a meanie (not in front of the CHILDREN! :O) and 15 pages of “look what you’ve done they’re still bleeding :( now they’re scared of you“ Ok? Good? What reason have I been given to care about what any of them think of me?
It's frustrating that there’s no hard edge to the character and their thoughts, and no grey area to occupy for any length of time as a reader. There’s a punishing undercurrent of persecution to everything, and some of the writing is positively indulgent in its attempts to make you feel like a piece of crap, page after page, the message couldn’t be any clearer. I felt like I was reading the historical account of a villain’s life, as written by an evangelical monk. There’s a lack of context for the reader, subtle or otherwise, to bridge this huge chasm between how we view the MC and how the other characters view them. I suspect it isn't intentional, but it felt like I was playing a fallen character in a morality play, just waiting for some big moral lesson to rear its head, except I haven’t even had the personal pleasure of sinning yet.
Lastly, I never signed up to be a spy-parent, so no stern talking-to necessary K, you can have ‘em, congrats on becoming a father! I’ll be paying my child support in kidneys. Also, sweetie, don’t hang out with the rapist.
Yeah… except for the part where Nash is immediately more concerned with their own feelings about MC “choosing” someone else over them rather than how their friend might be faring emotionally after being violently assaulted. That reaction made my stomach turn and I had no interest in the character from that moment forward.
Hi, I'm obsessed with everything in this demo and have been checking in for any updates for a while now, however it looks like this information is only available to kickstarter backers. I follow you on twitter, but is there anyway to stay up to date on how things are going/ your future plans?
(ﾐዋ ﻌ ዋﾐ)
Hi, I'm really enjoying the game so far - I especially appreciate all the informaion settings right at the beginning, it really cuts through a lot of what can sometimes be unclear when playing interactive fiction. Thank you!
Just one thing: in the downloaded version, a portion of the text isn't visible on the main screen or in settings due to the dark background, I don't know if this was just me?
Poor Damon's taking a lot of heat at the moment lmao. I agree: I personally like his flighty, coldhearted decision - adds angst :3 - and I wouldn't expect any less from him, but that doesn't mean he gets to joke around and be all chummy with the MC afterwards. It was all sugar, no spice. If I had a say, everytime he tilted their head up to look at him he'd lose a finger :)
That was wonderfully put, you really put into words one of the things I’ve been worried about going forward. Only difference is I’m far less forgiving, and so far I’ve been keeping myself going by pretending that the MC is a lot more Machiavellian than they seem, and hoping that revenge is around the corner lmao.
Yeah, I'm upset there isn't an option to be more upset.
I can't imagine anyone in that situation being that polite, trusting, and empathetic. Gave me whiplash.
Tbh I couldn't even really take in everyone's sad backstory that soon afterwards, even the characters that were trying to be nice or lighthearted, I felt so awful for the MC - at best, the crew were being tactless and selfish, and at worst it made me feel like the MC may just be a very sad and meek person. Clinging to everyone's approval so eagerly immediately after experiencing such major anguish, being betrayed and then rejected on such a fundamental level, and then having people accuse you or joke around was very tonally uncomfortable for me.
This is a character that has absolutely nothing as far as I'm aware: no family, no friends, no home, no skills or abilities, no knowledge or streetsmarts, and is tormented by these events, past and present, but only seems to have a couple of lines about being upset before someone talks over them about themselves/ smirks at them for being niave? Honestly made my heart hurt, I had to go watch baby ducks afterwards.
