Indie game storeFree gamesFun gamesHorror games
Game developmentAssetsComics
SalesBundles
Jobs
Tags

Build 0.4 General Discussion

A topic by Minoh Workshop created Nov 18, 2020 Views: 6,091 Replies: 83
Viewing posts 1 to 22 of 35 · Next page · Last page
Developer(+4)

Howdy! This is the general thread for all matters relating to Build 0.4. Make yourself at home!

(2 edits) (+5)

Thank you for your hard work  , Minoh Workshop and your team. I love your game . 

(+1)

Do we need to re-start the game for this update?

Developer(+1)

No, your save files should be good! If they aren't a restart will solve it though.

(+1)

Oh, okay. Thanks!

(1 edit) (+1)

Before I write my thoughts on the build (believe me I will), let me just say that the link at the end of the Google survey links to the 0.3 discussion thread. 

Wait, is this even the place for this? Oh well...

Developer

Thank you! I fixed the link. And yes, this is the right place.

(+3)

Just a brief note for now, as it's long past bedtime in my neck of the woods... but that alone should tell you how compelling it was!

I loved it. Not sure how to be more detailled without accidently spoiling anything. Will sleep on that.

Thanks for creating this. Genuinely.

(+6)

MinoTeam: "So, did you like the new build?"
Me: (internal banshee-esque screech) "Yeah, it was pretty good!"

(THAR BE SOILERS BELOW, MATEYS)

 This build's surpassed whatever expectations I had. Honestly, great character development in a relatively short amount of time. I like the use of a "looser perspective" this time around; if I'm not mistaken, it only really showed up in Luke's and Kota's introduction and P's teaser. Also 'Autobiography of Red' showed up... Fuckin' meta as fuck, dude.

Asterion, oh my GOD, Asterion! My poor star-eyed heifer... Of course he'd feel that way. I REALLY like that the anxieties of the minotaur were intensified when they were. Now that, Asterion is whole you get to see the WHOLE of him good and bad. At first I thought the whole contract bit was kinda off; but the aftermath helped me realize that just might be the only way he'll get proper closure. Seeing more of Asterion's past is always welcome, many a surprising revelation. Also ANOTHER h*nd-h*lding scene? I feel so spoiled.

Very good to see Luke's non-horny side! His enthrallment with astronomy (or at least stargazing) was merely hinted at during his introduction, I feel; really nice how it tied into the story too. I honestly felt the introduction of the cobalts a smidge weak, kinda feels like they're tossed in and have nothing to do. It's probably just a side effect of partitioning the would-be much bigger update, so it's not really that big a deal.

"That night the Minotaur was welcomed into restful slumber." had me jump out of my seat and scream 'YES!'.

I didn't imagine the Hinterlands would be this much of a thing to be honest. I was kinda worried about having a A-Plot/B-Plot kinda sitch, but I'm sure you guys can pull it off. I was also kinda worried about the depiction of Storm, since (I assume) he's the character on the autism spectrum (mentioned in the Q&A); but nothing that has been shown (even if little has actually been shown) made question that you'll do the character and issue justice. Storm's 'confused moo face' is the best, blessed be! Finally it was nice see the "monster society" that exists in this world; really taps into the sequel potential Nanoff mentioned when answering one of my dumbass questions.

Lastly, in the survey the matter of 'time taken for the update to come out' per 'story length' showing up at all makes me think that might've been a concern of team. I think of the fact you are so transparent with the situation, makes it a non-issue IMO... but I can see a misinformed might not be as "forgiving".

I never doubted you guys for a sec, and prolly won't any time soon! BIG THANK.

(+1)

So... That was pretty long... uhhhh... I forget to mention there's a possible error in the scene just before you sit down to eat with Asterion. His sprite is a smidge too high making him float.

K. Sleep now. Thankies....

Developer(+5)(-1)

I'll see if i can find this and fix it for the next release. Thanks a lot for your very thorough feedback, I speak for the whole team when I say we really appreciate it when people elaborate on what they liked so we know we're on the right track.

>I was kinda worried about having a A-Plot/B-Plot kinda sitch, but I'm sure you guys can pull it off. We'll do our best. A bunch of the 0.5 Hinterlands content is written already and I believe it's gonna be one of the cooler parts of the game, I can't wait to start porting it over to the VN.

>Storm's 'confused moo face' is the best I'm glad to hear that too. I started doing a comic as an excuse to practice making more expressive characters and I think it's beginning to show in the sprites for the newer characters in MinoH. Storm's sprites were some of the most fun to make.

>I think of the fact you are so transparent with the situation, makes it a non-issue IMO I don't think it's a non-issue that we spent 6 months without new story content, I hope 0.5 doesn't come to that considering a lot of the work is already done, but six months of waiting is a lot to ask from an audience used to monthly updates from other VNs, even if the (eventually released) build is large enough to compensate. But yes, clear and constant communication and updates do mitigate this, one of the main takeaways we got from the big FVN survey we did a couple months ago is that there's little the audience in this niche hates more than radio silence, and letting people know if there's going to be delays, or what the estimated amount of content in a new build is going to be like, is really important.

Really happy to hear you enjoyed the build!

(+1)

👍


Just a guess, but is P a guest character? He's pretty interesting.

Developer(+1)

If you mean "guest" as in "guest of the hotel", he might become a guest some day, who knows?

Or do you mean as in "written by a guest writer"? If so, no, P and Storm's segment was written by us as always.

(+1)

I meant "designed by someone else and put in as a cameo," but I should have figured guest was vague lol

Developer(+1)

He's one of our characters, but his design process was vastly different from the usual one, so it makes sense he feels different. Hopefully we'll make his story fun though!

(1 edit) (+4)

One think to say I loved the new update, even though it was short I can not complain. I love to see what happened in near future.

I can believe storm is introduce early in this update it kind of shock and hope to see what for the new update will bring.  

(+6)

I just played through 0.4 and did the survey for you. In short, great work! 
(May be slight spoilers ahead.)
I'm enjoying seeing the character development of both Asterion and the Protagonist. Asterion's concerns are understandable and realistic. The protagonist's choice to go ahead with the contract is something I would do in his situation. I've never sent Asterion to the Valley and it's something I won't be doing. I told him I would never send him to the Valley and that applies to all playthroughs whatever else changes.. I'm terrible at playing evil/nasty characters xD

I am liking Luke more as we go along. (Though I have Kota running the lounge) Maybe he's revealing more of his true self to us, what we see in his first appearance is a way to distract himself from reality and now in the hotel he doesn't feel that need so much. Maybe I'm reading him incorrectly, time will tell.

The cobalts are fun and I hope we'll learn more about them as the story goes along. We know that P's grandfather was telling the truth, I wonder if he was kicked out of the hotel by Clement. Does P just want to find out the truth or is that line about the diamonds his reason? Storm is shaping up to be a good character, I feel sorry for him and hopefully he can get a proper charm and start to live a good life. Maybe the hotel could help him. I love the expressions his sprite has, it's some great work and I could see him doing well in silent cinema with that emoting. "We didn't need dialogue. We had faces!" as Norma Desmond said.

Again, those little sections of Asterion's history are fascinating and add to the character.

The stars are different. Are we in a different space or a different time? Not that we need an answer to that but I like the fact it's been talked about. It adds to the feeling of otherworldliness I've had since the start of the novel when our protagonist accepts the deed. I love it.

You've been explaining what's going on with the long gap between builds and that's all I need. Just a quick explanation and confirmation that you're all working on it. Quality takes time and I'd rather wait for all of you to be satisfied before releasing the build. 

Thanks for reading through my ramblings and looking forward to Build 0.5!

(+4)

I'm not good at writing lengthy reviews
So i'll just say that i loved every second of this update, was well worth the wait, I really liked the music overhaul, and im really excited for what's to come.

Amazing work as usual.

(+1)

Can I give the devs a suggestion, I think you should do a release every three month, it not too long to wait and you can prevent your non die hard fans from leave  due lack of activity. 

(+2)

Great update! <3
Possible spoilers alert

It was nice to have a deeper look into Asterion's history, as well as the bits and pieces of the other individual's pasts and their personalities. The character development is pretty refreshing to see as well. Love Kota and Luke's banter xD
Also, the bit with Cain and Abel just killed me, I love it.

Looking forward to the next update :3

(+1)

Great work!

I wonder how do the cobalts get into the bedrock? Or do they born in there?

btw, I believe you have miscount something relationship score since Build 0.3

Developer(+1)

Yeah I might have been off by 0.5 on the maximum affection for the build. We might put out a hotfix for 0.4 if players report more bugs, this will definitely be included. Thank you for bringing it up!

Deleted 1 year ago
Developer

Sorry, we disabled the VIP Room for now! I wasn't satisfied with how it was, someday we might bring it up in another form.

(+2)

I like what i have seen love storm i think i know who his father is but i will keep that to myslef cant wait for the the next update

love the idea of magic still exists in the world keep up the good work

(+2)

I'm glad Kota and Luke get along as well as they do. It's also nice to see Asterion trust the Protagonist a bit more - I just wish he would've trusted them without the Oath of Rings (forgot what it was called). But I'm willing to do it, because I may come across a situation where I end up sending him there in rage or disappointment. As for Storm and P, can't wait to see more of them!

(1 edit) (+4)

Just finished playing 0.4, I'll try to post without spoiling anything, but here's a spoiler warning just in case

I've got to say, the writing and story just gets better! Asterion's trust issues and trauma make me want to hug the moo tight, you've all done excellent work in putting his thoughts into words. It's interesting seeing and playing with someone so relatable, it almost feels like by helping Asterion, i'm helping myself. It's heartwarming to see him come out of his shell, even for a little bit. Regarding a certain event between the MC and Asterion, there was never a question. I can't remember the last time i agreed to something so quickly.
The new music is alluring as well, hearing the new pieces set the mood for both apprehensive and somber instances. 
As for P and Storm,  I'm enjoying them, but like all new things, especially with what transpired previously, it feels like a calm before the storm. (Sorry for the pun)
Please keep up the good work, Minoteam! 

p.s. Argos is uninvited to the band.

(1 edit) (+8)

Well, that was quite the ride. I decided to start this one fresh to get the full experience and wow, it was so awesome. Don't really know where to start, so I may ramble a little. My apologies in advance.

So, I guess the best place to start is with my impression as of the story as a whole and so far I'm loving it. If I hadn't been playing the game on my phone I'd probably been jumping up at down like a kid at certain points in the story(particularly the ones where you get to show kindness to Asterion). The flow of the story is nice and even with my knowledge that chapter 13 was the new chapter, there were no major hiccups in the scene transitions I could detect. I liked that we got to see more about Kota and Luke as characters, and their weird rival-friend thing they got going. It is pretty fun to watch and it makes sense given all the two have experienced together. I gotta admit that Luke wasn't my favorite character by build 0.2, but he's starting to grow on me. Also, the cobalts were so fun to watch and their reaction to Kota the Dragon was pure gold, reminded me of some DnD sessions I have had.  Then we got to the meat of the conflict on this built: the little revelation and the newly crafted contract. I don't want to say too much in case someone didn't get that scene but that scene was heavy, dramatic and so rewarding. It solved one of the problems I had been thinking of since build 0.2 and I loved to see how happy Asterion was after that. Also, it adds so much meaning to one of the items you teased before, again , not saying which one. Also, thank you for the lore drops menu, it makes keeping track of all of them so much easier. The inclusion of the Hitherlands and the hades chapter were packed full of information, though of different types and value. I always enjoy getting glimpses of Asterion's past, the story of the Bull of Minos, straight from his mouth. This time, it showed a side of the bull we haven't seen much and perhaps one we could get to see at some point. I enjoyed the way you carried the conversations in that part, it reminded me of when I read the Odyssey and some other classical stories. On the other hand we got the Hitherlands, I was not prepared for storms appearance when the chapter started but wow, that was a very nice surprise, As someone who read the novelization (and thank you for providing that too), I was already prepared to like this character but once more you blew my expectations away with dynamite-like writing. I thoroughly enjoyed how P and Storm played on each other, the many hidden sides they both revealed on their conversation and actions. The small animation on Storm was a cute touch and a great wait to characterize him. At the same time, they answered some world building questions I didn't know I had, and they did so seamlessly. Good work on that one too. I can't wait to see what will happen once the two bulls meet and what inheritance P could be speaking of.

Well, I think that covers the characters and the story. Now, onto the music. Well, risking sounding like a broken record, I thoroughly enjoyed the new tracks too. They added a new vibe to old scenes and to new ones as well, it was also easier to get lost in the game with it and they all seem to fit together well. At least to my ears. It was nice to hear the lyre song whenever it came up and sometimes I took a bit more time than necessary just listening to it.
Well, that was a larger wall of text than I thought I could make, so I'll leave it there. Thank you so much for the hard work MInoHotel team, you have crafted one of the best VNs I have ever played. I hope you can all keep growing in your respective fields and that you enjoy your time spent in this project. Nicely done


Minohotel 0.4 rank

Minotaur hotel Build 0.4 rank for Lanwolf96: Grand Silver Peacok. Tech Background
(+3)

   4.0 was great, and definitely worth the wait in many regards, but I have some thoughts about the unofficial cruel route of the game in this update. I don't bring this up because I want to see Asterion come to further harm, but because the "cruel master" route gives valuable perspective to the player's actions which the "kind master" route is often unable to supply. 

   The ending of 3.0 illustrated this perfectly. I played through the kind master route first, and I was rewarded with a pleasant lyre performance, so I then played out the cruel master route to see it's conclusion. It gave me chills. Asterion gashing at the walls of his room, playing the lyre until he bleed from the fingers, mindlessly repeating the same delayed phrase- it was haunting. Combined with the the minotaur's detached telling of the performance, the cruel ending of 3.0 brought better insight into the traumas that Asterion faced (as well as his all-too-vivid coping methods) than the kind routes ever could have.

   And yet, one of the most significant cruel route scenes is nearly completely absent from the 4.0 version of Minoh Hotel. If the player is perfectly kind to the minotaur throughout the entire story, with his only flaw being that he sent Asterion to the valley in his first interaction with Argos, then the player is "rewarded" with the aforementioned detached retelling of Asterion's performance. The scene elaborates on the minotaur's coping mechanisms, and intriguingly hints that Androgeos has a much stronger connection to the minotaur than one might have thought. But then the game ends. There's no way to continue to 4.0 with this ending, the only message the player receives following the scene is: "It seems you got a bad outcome- the game will take a different path if you got this ending at the conclusion of 3.0, which we will be adding soon." "There's more Minotaur Hotel if you go back and make different choices." I remember similar text being found if one tried to send Asterion to Argos in the 2.0 build, so I assume that this is just a missed relic of development. But I fear that the message may indicate that the scene will be entirely removed from the game in future updates, akin to the two apples vs the grapes outcome based on initial interactions with Asterion in the early parts of the game.

    Near the end of the main story of 4.0 the player is pressed by Asterion to reveal their true colors, and is then given four options for how to respond to the minotaur. All four illustrate restrained compassion in the face of absolute power over another, and they are perfect for the kind master route- but they make absolutely no sense for the cruel master route. The cruel master route saw the player give into their base desires at every turn they could, savoring the power disparity between the protagonists, and sending the minotaur to toil in the valley without much more than a second thought. None of the presented options illustrate the depraved character of the player in the cruel routes, and its even jarring to then see Astertion compare this despicable player to his own beloved brother.

   The ending of the main story section of 4.0 also seems to disregard the cruel choices of the player. No matter how despicably the player treated Asterion, the same actions plays out.  No matter how many times the player threw Asterion out into the valley, the same uplifting picnic ending occurs. The only acknowledgement of the player's sins is some flavor text about how many times the minotaur had been cast into the valley. It simply doesn't make sense for the player who held Asterion in his arms as he cried after leaving the cold room for the first time in over 80 years, to be given the same ending as the player who simply stood and waited as Asterion broke into a panic attack at his knees. 

   I understand that there are plans to have a cruel route ending in the 5.0 version of the game, and that sounds really exciting. However, for the aforementioned reasons I don't think such an ending would work due to the state of the cruel route of 4.0.

   Mind you, I love this game. I've been following the progression of the project for a year now and its incredible to see how far it's come and all the new aspects it has developed. However, I worry that the current state of this update jeopardizes the wonderfully crafted (unofficial) cruel route of the previous versions.

Developer (1 edit) (+4)

Hello! Thank you for your wonderful comment. I'm always glad when I hear from someone who played the ruthless content and understood why we put it.

Now, 0.4 did not add new content to the ruthless route. This was a conscious choice, and the reason is that the next piece of content for it contains information which would spoil 0.5. To make it work as we intended it can only be published when we get to a specific point of the story.

To give you an analogy, we didn't intend on the ruthless content being as long as the regular route... Instead we went at it with the premise going all-out, no holds barred in terms of writing style. We are more creative with how the content is written, we exercise a bit more of our stylistic skills, we show more of our cards. It's meant to reveal a whole other side to Asterion, to show what are the consequences of mistreating someone. So we won't remove the ruthless route. I'd say removing it would be akin to removing an important part of Asterion's character.

But it is going towards an end, yes, and we still need more time to make it work. It's going to be intense.

I'd like to hear from you again when we release 0.5 to see what you think of it, and to gather more suggestions on how we could make the whole thing flow better and more coherently. Right now our focus is writing new content, but after 0.5 is done I'd like to do some editing to perfect previous sections of the story.

Thank you for your wonderfully thoughtful comment.

(Edited to expand a bit, because I was sleepy when I wrote this comment.)

(+3)

   Thank you both for your incredible responses, they were such a relief. It's comforting to know that this incredibly written route of the game won't be neglected and I can't wait to see how the cruel story progresses/ends in the 5.0 update! It makes perfect sense for the route to end in the next version after reflecting on Kota and Luke's dialogue in the picnic scene, and it'll be exciting to contrast how the two routes play out in 5.0.

   Thank you again for the incredibly quick responses, and the opportunity to give feedback on this exceptional game.

(+2)

Shiiiit... I was planning on doing a ruthless route eventually, but seeing how that second paragraph made me actually kinda sick I think I'll pass. This leaves me only to wonder how Minotaur Hotel's writing is used in such situations. Thanks for talking about this though! 

Developer(+4)

The Ruthless route shows a different side to Asterion. For people who play Minotaur Hotel as one would play a detective game it gives a lot to think about.

But it's an extra, and one we knew from the start is not for everyone. The game, after all, is about doing the right thing, so having a stretch of content about doing everything morally wrong should be repulsive for most.

That said we think that when it's all said and done people will appreciate the ruthless content because it will serve as contrast. It shows what bad things can happen, and the regular route of the game will be sweeter, more enjoyable when people know what an ethical, humane conduct avoided.

Developer(+3)

To clarify what Minoanon said, the option to be cruel to Asterion is an optional but important part of the game, and the content from the previous builds is going to stay there.

When you get to the end of 0.3 the game will split, if you treated Asterion well you will continue to build 0.4's content and the rest of the game from there, but if you got the bad ending you will be directed to content specific for the cruel master that wraps up his story. As you see in 0.4, Luke and Kota won't even tolerate the player having the option to mistreat Asterion and will quit if he doesn't accept the ring contract, clearly there's no way the story can carry on like nothing happened if you abuse Asterion. It's gonna need its own conclusion. 

We're really happy to hear that you gave this route a shot and understand the purpose of that content, even if most players don't want to see it (which is perfectly valid). Hope we don't disappoint with 0.5's content. 

(1 edit) (+5)

So something's been in my mind, and perhaps this is better suited for the theory thread. The non-humans characters we've met so far have been creatures of myth... except P. Like, Asterion and Storm are minotaurs (even if it's kinda pushing the definition of "minotaur"), Luke is a gryphon, Kota a eastern dragon, and even the cobalts are kobolds; P is like, just an anthro peafowl. Sure there are peacocks in myth but they aren't mystical themselves. 

(Minor spoilers for The Hinterlands chapter)

There's the possibility, of course that P is from a race of or descendant of some mystical peafowl; but even so of all mystical peacocks that I know it all seems unlikely. There's Melek Taus (Yazidi) and Mahamayuri (Buddhism) which are both celestial beings so probably more like the gods that Asterion worships so the relation to P is very unlikely. Kartikeya's Mount (Hinduism) is peacock, it's part-demon and does make for a somewhat likely possibility. Finally there's Adramelech (Demonology / Christianity) which a part-peacock part-horse demon, this one is the most likely one in my opinion (AND would make for some fun irony given what Storm says when meeting him). Given that P is brazilian (or the least his grandpa was in Brazil), further complicates things as none of these are remotely from America.

(End of spoilers)

...Or y'know, he could be just a anthropomorphic peacock! I believe not being fully bound to "real mythology" is perfectly valid ( 'follow the fun' and all that). P's identity is mostly mystery at the moment, and I do think something related what I've been saying can be revealed.  Being a fan of myth and such, that's the sort of thing that crosses my mind, I guess...

(1 edit) (+3)

[More spoilers ahead]

I had a few thoughts about this! Initially, I assumed the peacock had something to do with the myth of Argus Panoptes: acording to Ovid, Juno (Hera) saved Argus's eyes and set them in the peacock's tail after he was slain by Mercury (Hermes). It's also interesting given that, in Hermes's shrine, you can see two peacock feathers on the table whose colouration match P's.

Obvious points against this:

  • While it's nice to imagine there's some resonance between Hermes slaying Argus and there being peacock feathers in Hermes's shrine, that was ancient history… and P's grandfather visited the hotel relatively recently. (Though they could be some sort of memento or reference.)
  • Argus was a giant, not a peacock; though it's established that in MH, Greek/Roman mythology as we know it is merely a dominant narrative and wildly inaccurate, so perhaps there's a kernel of truth in there.
  • It doesn't quite tie in with P's explanation that his name is super complicated—unless he's lying or there's some other name for Argus I don't know?
  • Ultimately, the feathers in the shrine might just be a leftover from P's grandfather, no references or deeper significance necessary.
  • P is apparently Brazilian, as you mentioned. Obviously, mythological creatures have migrated around the world (Luke has Greek ancestry), but still makes it less likely they have some deep familial connection with Greek mythology.

Oh cool. I did know of Argus Panoptes but I didn't know the story! Keeping everything MinoHotel in Hellenistic myth does make for some tasty, tasty cohesion too.

(Spoilers/Speculation Ahead)

Also, I think you are on to something else. You see, Panoptes was slain by order of Zeus because he was protecting Io, who (in the world of MinoHotel) could very well be not just a heifer but a minotaur herself. This could make a link between P, descendant of the servant of Hera who watched over a minotaur, and Storm, a man whose father was (very likely) a minotaur himself and possible descendant of Io. This could also connect to what was told to Asterion in Hades about others like him.

Though I think this is all VERY MUCH related; HOW they are related still has me pondering. We might need more pieces to this puzzle.

(1 edit) (+2)

OOOOOOH WHAAAAT

[Spoilers and speculation continue]

I didn't even get close to making the connection with Io being transformed into a heifer! Based on what Asterion heard in Hades, I was guessing minotaur births were just something that *waves hands* just happen every so often in Crete, and that was the source and extent of the lore. Connecting that to Io is quite elegant; perhaps some sort of matrilineal descent from her line?

It's possible that Argos, the "caretaker," is the actual stand-in for Argus Panoptes ("all-seeing"). His name is spelled Argus in my (modern, English) copy of Metamorphoses, but looking on Wikipedia the original Greek name is spelled with an omicron; normally that would be romanised as an o, Argus is just how Ovid Latinised it.

…which is a long-winded way of saying Argus and Argos are variant spellings of the same Greek word. That tempts me to say the P–Panoptes theory is overthinking things, but frankly:

  1. the day I stop generating wild hypotheses I want you to take me out back and shoot me; and
  2. given the ridiculous volume and quality of content written for the artifacts you can find, the authors are super detail-oriented people who are also overthinking everything—probably more than us. ;)
Developer(+2)
the authors are super detail-oriented people who are also overthinking everything—probably more than us. ;)

You betcha!

(+4)

Since we have not only established the authors' commitment to detail, but our own too . . . 

[Not only do spoilers and speculation continue, but are explored beyond reasonable measure]

There are a few things that have unlike escaped the authors' attention, so neither should they escape ours!

First, having brought up Io, it behooves us to consider Europa, who was brought to Crete by Zeus in the form of a white bull and purported mother to King Minos! That makes three different god-touched white bovines (Io, Europa, and the lurching bull-father of Asterion) that could have some role to play in the story of how Asterion arrived in his particular predicament. 

Second, while Asterion reports (along with mythic reception) that his father was an "ordinary" bull, besides simple deception, illusions have been established (the passports), and he also mentions that it may have had some effect on his mother, Pasiphaë - myth  suggests that direct contact with the divine can have . . . permanent effects. (RIP Semele). Now, it's also possible that King Minos was in fact Asterion's father, and was in fact a minotaur too, but couldn't openly live as such. (This would also be a great opportunity to explore Asterion and his family's ethnicity as Minoan/Mycenaean/Phoenician/Colchian and the influence of having a mainland presence on Crete  and in Knossos - I mean, his name is Asterion, which would have to be a Mycenaean {early Greek} name, and the minotaur motif doesn't appear on sealstones until the Mycenaean occupation, but I won't develop this any further than this windy parenthetical apophasis/praeteritio.) So maybe Asterion's father is mortal (man, bull-cum-man, bull), but . . .

Third - and this is an interesting one - Zeus  as Zeus Xenios. He's the god of hospitality, travelers, and strangers. This is concerns a bedrock (yeah I'll get to the bedrock later. Actually, no I won't. The bedrock could be crystalized ichor. Which could also imply some other things but not now)  concept of the visual novel, folks! One of Zeus' major responsibilities and purviews is philoxenia, or xenia, which, ostensibly, is a core Minotaur Hotel theme. Look, Zeus comes with a lot of baggage. Is he philandering? Is he selfish? Is he overfond of being over-generative? Is he petty and puny? Is he the possible syncretistic bridge between a much, much earlier myth tradition as represented by the "titans" and meant to be the patricidal god figure that unifies myth-history in the Aegean basin?  Perhaps! But besides already showing a close affection for and as white cows, besides being Very Important on Crete - not only born on Crete, but tradition on Crete also purports that he lived as a mortal on the island and died there, too - besides having sent Hermes to slay Argos Panoptes that he may recover Io (and could in some part explain Argos' enmity and exaggerated piety), besides all those things regarding Zeus' comportment; Asterion has been running what is essentially a cult to Zeus for a very long time now. Whether or not that signifies future incursion of Zeus into the realm, that the line of minotaurs mentioned in Hades' are direct descendants of Zeus, or that Asterion himself is a son of Zeus, is hard to tell. Which is good! Discovery is titillating! (Okay, Posiedon could also be in that family tree, but one god or so at a time, please)

Okay. Last one. If Storm is related to Asterion in any way through a line of hemi-demi-semi-divine minotaurs (anthropomorphic bull men but I already suggested that minotaurs are possibly related to Minos maybe so there could be more than THE minotaur), it's possible that - Storm's eventual presence in the Labyrinth may allow P to manipulate some rules, and it also could be something foreshadowed by Asterion's fear that freedom is only possible by trading one's shackles to someone else. (He did say that, right? Am I misremembering?) 

That's it for this installment of Wall Of Text™! 

(+2)

Yeah, I after replaying from the start, I came to the conclusion that it's waaay more likely that bull-people in Crete are a reference to Europa & Zeus-Taurus (with it all revolving around the dang island for one).  However, in the world of MinoHotel, Minos (foster-father of Asterion) is a descendant of Minos (son of Europa); that also would explain the "men of certain Cretan lineage with bull features" that Asterion hears of in Hades. I can even believe Minos (father of Ariadne) is totally unaware of his bull lineage otherwise it could be strange for him to shun Asterion so vehemently, even if he thought of him a cannibal. It wouldn't surprise me to see the concept of glamour showing up in his backstory.

Now, if you allow me, Imma RUN with your idea of the bedrock being crystal ichor. I wouldn't rule out Zeus Xenios of playing a role in the Hotel itself, but in regards to the basement I think differently. You see, there are two ichor-bearers that were killed in Crete. First one, of course is Argos Panoptes (the giant) killed by Hermes; then there was the giant Talos, killed by the Argonauts (which is debatable). Not only were these two giants (one a literal giant and the other a giant in size) killed in Crete; their blood was important, Panoptes' being the first blood spilled among gods after the Olympians took over and Talos' being specifically made with a single vein of ichor; but also while Argos met his end through Hermes, Jason, descendant of Hermes, led the Argonauts who in turn ended Talos. Whose shrine is at the bedrock? Frickin' Hermes'. It might be all connected! I think the possibility of ichor on the bedrock being (at least partially) Talos', makes sense of it's command-driven nature of it's functionality. Lastly ichor is said to be nocive to mortals, which checks with Asterion's advice to not touch it.

Also I believe you are right on the money about Storm and his potential to cause trouble in the Hotel.

(+2)

No substantive contributions, I just want to interject:

  1. Never connected the dots before, but Pasiphaë was 100% BD's target audience, wow.
  2. I'm super tickled by "hemi-demi-semi-divine minotaurs".
(+3)

Hmm...although I think this theory is pretty interesting, I forsee two problems with Storm being related to Io.
1. Although certainly skin color can change through the generations and through intermarriage, Io was a white heifer and storm is pretty dark. It's not out of the question, but with a number of other bulls throughout myth and MinoTeam being pretty detailed, the color change is not insignificant

2. If I recall correctly, Io ended up in egypt at the end of the story. Although it's not out of the question to have a egypt->moors->portuguese->brazil migration of Io's descendants, it's another narrative obstacle.

But hey, love y'all's theories. Y'all are bringing up a lot of good points. I was telling my friend that we should start a wiki to help keep track of info.

(3 edits)

He's too dark?

At the end of some free-wheeling speculation over a fictional fantasy furry visual novel with a magical hotel set in a metaphysical labyrinth and a main character that can change appearance at will, the constraint that we want to fixate on is that Storm is too dark to maybe be distantly related to a mythical character?

Kopten, if I may call you that, I don't relish singling you out, but you just touched on a few things that can't be left unexamined. 

One - and most importantly - any attempt to ligature race, ethnicity, and skin color to limited physical attributes of animals/anthropomorphic animals/androids/physical projections of A.I./an animated fucking toaster is inherently damaging and toxic and dangerous to members of the community, e.g. trying to treat fur color as a analogue to skin color.  This is racial essentialism. This hurts all of us and limits us, but worst of all it singles out and excludes people of color in the furry community by attempting to remove agency from how they represent and explore themselves. 

Two - maybe due to a misunderstanding or maybe a misapprehension of inherited traits I think it is worth pointing out that it is entirely possible for a white cow to be closely or directly related to a black cow. And, just so we're clear, it is also entirely possible for a dark skinned person to be directly related to a light skinned person. But, see point above, let this point go. Set it free. (Okay, also before I set it free, frequently the telling of these myths point out that the white cow is a meant to be a fated occurrence - a sign, omen, message, gift. Not herds of cattle of a certain color - okay those exist too sometimes in legend and myth like in some worship of Apis but not the point to take away from this.)

Three - I admit to leaving the door open on this one by playing fast, loose, and unscrupulous while discussing myth, so I'm going to state some things that I hope are obvious and maybe a couple less-obvious things too: 

 a) Myth ain't real! It may be honest, it may be revealing, and re-interpreting it can be liberating, but it's just a social construct meant to reify power through narrative. So don't think we owe mythic tradition anything, because people have been meddling with it for millennia. Most of the versions of myth we have been discussing are relatively late, often the most popular, traded and translated and retranslated again and again, and there are usually twenty other tellings, some of which omit whole characters or invent places and new plots. It matters whose telling it is. Whose translation. Whose edition of that same translation. There is no "true" version. No one true unifying myth or retelling (looking at you, Robert Graves). Actually, there've been many references to Ovid's Metamorphoses. Care to guess some of what Ovid is exploring? Myth! Power! Agency! Narrative mutability! In fact, if any of you have time, go read Ovid right now. You can read it in Latin or English with the translations side by side like the Loeb editions! Take and read! 

b) While we were playing around trying to create as many concordances in the popular tradition of myth around Crete, Asterion, Io, Europa, Minos, and Pasiphaë, the endeavoring to draw that line from Io down to Storm through the migration of real ethnic groups is a great example of how myth is really used by nations and states to create arbitrary boundaries and in-groups.  This can be another dangerous and misleading game meant to lend legitimacy to nationalism, ethnocentrism, and all kinds of trouble (read: fucked up shit.)  Autochthony doesn't have to be alienating, and don't let me catch anybody trying to  remove any kind of sovereignty from Indigenous peoples, but it as soon as it is used to enforce some kind of impossible ethnic homogeneity . . . And look, myth in all forms (oral tradition, religious tradition through text, etc.)  are particularly important to diaspora communities, but when the interpreter of this story uses the myth to exclude those who don't resemble those in power currently shaping the mythic history, we land back at trouble (F.U.S.)  So many nations do this or some derivative of it (I don't HAVE TIME  today for discussing manifest destiny in these United States of America).  SPEAKING OF MANIFEST DESTINY - another reading rec - revisit the Aeneid. In addition to many other things it is Roman propaganda reinforcing that the line of Roman monarchy wends back to Troy (its also kinda Augustan fanficiton).  AND ALSO even in the microcosm of the Aegean basin diaspora in the  is a constant! From the (many) Bronze Age depopulations, to the massive 1923 forced population exchange to the very current influx of migrants (who, by the way, are definitely being excluded in part using the exact apparatus we are discussing). 

c) It's a fantasy! The authors have the license to take whatever liberties they desire! And so far they have not made any sort of indication that if Storm is meant to be coded Afro-Brazilian that they will use that against him. They could reveal anything they choose too about any character - Luke could be a literal physical manifestation of American patriotism (ala American Gods - also definitely not the point I am trying to make), Storm could be from folklore, the Olympians, an entirely novel manifestation of supernatural incident,  or some Hittite deity, or just an ordinary man! I am not interested nor going to abide projection of casual, invented, racial limitations - intentional or unintentional. 

Sorry y'all. I done rambled. And Kopten, you are not uniquely guilty of these things - but you just happened to land smack-dab in the middle of field in which I ruminate daily. 

So, for your trouble, here's a shorter, neater response.

TL;DR

Don't try to enforce colorism, please, not in the world, not in furry fantasy, and let us take a long and uncomfortable look at ourselves when we are trying to so. 

(+2)

Tawerut,

Thank you for the response and the critique. Looking back, I realize that my habits of being brief with my words / assuming other people are sharing my headspace/writing late at night in this instance has produced an impression/conclusion that is not what I believe AND indeed my previous conceptions about greek myth limited my frame of view. I am going to respond, not to excuse what I said, but to offer a context as to what I was thinking at the time, which I realize is a bit too little, too late at this point. 

"any attempt to ligature race, ethnicity, and skin color to limited physical attributes of animals/anthropomorphic animals/androids/physical projections of A.I./an animated fucking toaster is inherently damaging and toxic and dangerous to members of the community, e.g. trying to treat fur color as a analogue to skin color.  This is racial essentialism This hurts all of us and limits us, but worst of all it singles out and excludes people of color in the furry community by attempting to remove agency from how they represent and explore themselves. "

>I assure you that this was not my intention to exclude people of color in the furry community or try to remove their agency. I do not wish to invalidate your interpretation. 

The latter half of Point Two was the main reason why I wrote what I did. The white Bull form that Zeus took, The white Bull / perhaps Poseidon's form, and Asterion fall into the mythological pattern you mentioned. Patterns are important, both in mythology but also in how Mino tells its story. I too made the mental connection with Argos and Io, and pondered if she would have some part to play in the story. It would be cool if that were the case.

I am aware that in genetics, traits can not be phenotypically be represented but can be genotypically represented. My point was that at this point it is an unsettled question how if he was a descendant of Io, how if Io had cow genes, how those would interact with those of his human parent(s). When I said "problem", I meant more of a narrative obstacle that would have to be explained. I am very fine with saying that coat phenotypes could have changed over time and could be influenced by those of his parents. My point is that it's one motif/narrative step removed from fitting as neatly into the established pattern, and I am very happy to expand that pattern.

I articulated this point poorly in my original post, I admit.  

I have enjoyed reading Ovid's Metamorphoses and the Aeneid for my latin class in high school, but thank you for the recommendation. MY favorite Ovid translations has the muses vs a group of nymphs doing a rap battle in meter, and it's one of the best things ever.

3a- I agree and have enjoyed how the MinoTeam has adapted myths so far. If team mino wants to turn a pattern on its head (i.e. what I thought Disney was going to do with Rei before she was retconned to be a Palpatine), I welcome it. 
3b-I'm not quite sure I understand the point in 3b. I.e. I understand and agree with what you're saying, but I'm unsure on how it relates to the topic at hand, apologies, I am dense boi.
3c- I agree. My motivation behind that is that at least for Luke, a connection was made between him and his greek griffin ancestry, and something I would like to see is if storm is related to Io, I would at least like to get an idea of how her bovine descendants ended up in South America and if these cow traits popped up before . In addition, we have a lot of greek myth represented right now, it seems Koda and maybe the kobalds are the only non-greek myth. I personally would like to see some other myth sources being drawn from. Again, it's fine if he is a descendant of io, but it'd be cool as well if he was from another realm of myth.

tl;dr. I apologize if my short response inadvertently enforced colorist / traditional ideas surrounding mythology. I will try to be more cognizant about talking about things of this subject in the future / better articulating my points.

(1 edit) (+2)

I appreciate your earnestness! I appreciate your thoughtfulness!

No, you are not dense, the point I attempted to make at 3b simply unspooled further and faster than I intended.  

What I should have said is that there are many popular interpretations of antiquity and myth that maintain a very narrow and nearly exclusively white vision of who have made meaningful contributions.  These interpretations are as popular with ordinary people as they are with academia and white supremacist organizations (like Identity Evropa).  With the consistent recapitulation of these narrow interpretations, marginalized people find themselves excluded from the discourse and cannot see themselves in antiquity and myth and are made distinctly uncomfortable in the spaces in which they are enjoyed.  When people of color and queer people and disabled people and people of transgender experience are excluded from the discourse about the Past, they are also excluded from the story of the Past.  Then the cycle perpetuates itself. 

Maybe that makes more sense, maybe it really doesn't, but I am grateful that you were listening at all. I am also grateful to the Mino team for creating a story with room enough that we even got here. 

Thank you. 

. . . and I too mourn a meaningful arc for Rey.  And for Finn. 

(1 edit)

Rereading this a couple of days later (the ichor hypothesis is just, wow) and caught this:

KoptenOwl said:
"MY favorite Ovid translations has the muses vs a group of nymphs doing a rap battle in meter"

…that's amazing, if you remember the translation I'd love to check it out! 😁

The highlight of mine was Latreus trash-talking Caeneus—"Caeneus, you bitch!"—making a pun on his original sex and name, Caenis. (I never studied Latin, just had a very long commute, so unsure how big a liberty the translator took.)

(+2)

Metamorphoses, a new tranlation by charles martin, pg 173. Picture on the cover of my edition is a femboi faun

(+1)

IS P A BRAZILIAN REFERENCE

Developer(+2)

The true Brazil was inside of you all along!

Yes, P and Storm are Brazilian. The Hinterlands are in Brazil too, in the Northeast.

Then how are they going to get to the Hotel? Isn't the hotel in the general area of Greece? If so then they are at the opposite sides of the planet... 

I think it's been made clear that the hotel can be accessed from anywhere right? Luke was in North America, Kota was in Asia (I think, I'm pretty sure), while P's grandfather was in Brazil; all arrived at the hotel by land. 

Oh, right. Forgot about that. 

(+1)

You have no idea how happy brazilians get when someone references Brazil, also i bet that at least the bull has that sertão accent

(1 edit) (+1)

Oh I think our dearest writer has some idea. *wink* *wink* *nudge* *nudge*

.

.

.

.

"nanoff and I come from Argentina and Brazil respectively" -MinoAnon
(+6)

I really appreciate the respect the game is handling towards the implications of the relationship between MC’s and Asterion’s. It makes the scene in which the MC

[spoilers]

promises to amputate himself if he ever succumbs to greed a lot more impactful. I appreciate that, as well as Asterion not being entirely trusting to the MC until that moment happens. I haven’t played the ‘bad’ route yet, but I certainly will in the future, and I’m excited to see what kind of consequences might appear considering how much care the MC has to show the bull in the ‘good’ ending to have himself be trusted. It feels very respectful and a realistic approach to their relationships, and earning the bull’s trust in face of the trauma he’s faced feels earned and not simply a reward for being nice. Although, while I perfectly understand development is still too early for any kind of real twists yet, I would really like some struggles and moral dilemmas towards handling Asterion in future updates of the ‘good’ route. The MC still hasn’t really had to sacrifice much to be nice to Asterion (I know the arm thing, but even the MC states that realistically it shouldn’t happen as long as he doesn’t go back on his word). I would love to see future conflicts where the MC might have to lose or sacrifice something important to keep his promise to Asterion—though since the MC is a ‘self insert’ perhaps something like damaging a relationship with someone or giving up a potential valuable hotel function would be cool, to really establish how much the MC is willing to give to end the master-slave structure that’s been established. It would help the ‘best ending’ route feel more like a reward and less like a ‘default’ route where taking any abuse options towards Asterion are more of a second playthrough ‘what-if’ rather than a real conscious choice a player would choose.

In any case, I enjoyed this very much, I love your writing, I appreciate the art and music, and I think overall this is a very good experience that will sit with me for a good bit, like any good and impactful story does. I hope you’re as proud of your efforts as you should be, as Minotaur Hotel’s been a very enjoyable and impactful experience for me. I am excited to continue observing where you take this!

(+2)

[spoiler time]

Yeah I've kinda thought about it without exactly how to phrase it. I don't even know if it actually is criticism but, that Lead Ring reeks of Chekhov's gun. I did the pact anyway of course, but it really puts me on edge for future events.

Viewing posts 1 to 22 of 35 · Next page · Last page