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Game and Story Suggestions (Spoilers!)

A topic by West Dragon created Jul 29, 2023 Views: 612 Replies: 6
Viewing posts 1 to 3
(+1)

I enjoy the series you've made so far as it tickles a number of things I like. I was especially drawn to it for the use of hypnotism and non-consensual to consensual. And those are things that bring me back for more.

There are some things I personally suggest that I think would improve the game that I've divided between Gameplay and Story. It goes without saying that you are ultimately free to dismiss and ignore any and all of my suggestions for any reason or lack thereof. It is, after all, your game to do with as you please. And whatever you do with it, it remains enjoyable regardless of whatever criticisms I have.

Gameplay:

I'd like to see a better color or brightness contrast (or both) between characters and maps. Dark maps with equally dark-colored characters makes navigating the game difficult, especially for someone like me with impaired vision.

I understand that something like this could be a massive undertaking considering the time and effort you've already placed into designing things. I also understand that the setting of the game is supposed to be dark and dingy. But I really want to be able to see things better, more clearly. I do not know if others feel the same.

Story (Spoiler Warning!):

For Story, I have a few suggestions; though, I may be jumping the gun on any of these things considering the game is still in development.

1. The initial sequence of Mezz' exposure to Dragon's Breath left me expecting to see something and disappointed when I didn't. Getting to that point for the first time took me a while and I felt excited to finally get what I expected from this series. Instead, I received vague descriptions that suggested hypnosis being involved before the game proceeded to the next map.

I understand art can take a while to get right and that implementing it into the game can take even longer. I don't necessarily require eye candy for every instance of smut. I just wanted something...more physical, sexual after reaching the point where I thought I'd done enough to get to that point.

2. Please include 'work' at the club. Even if it's locked behind how broken Mezz ends up in game.

3. The 'good' ending to Gutter Trash left me feeling dissatisfied. I get that most everything that happened to Mezz happened with little to no consent on his part.

I explored most, or all, possible outcomes in the game in its current state. And the ending involving Mezz incapable of fighting with only one exception was one where I wanted to see something happen to him similar to what happened when and if he ends up in an identical state in the first game.

Instead, the ending is the same as if he just fights his way through.

I would love for an update involving a more thematic end for a completely broken Mezz that doesn't involve an 'undo button'.

Developer

Thanks for the feedback! Let me work my way through it here...


-I definitely agree that it's a bit hard to see. Unfortunately there isn't an easy fix to this. I could simply turn the dynamic lighting off as an option, but then it would look...very bad. Like if you've every seen an unlit/flatlit 3d render. A lot of it comes down to careful decisions made in terms of art direction, and the unfortunate reality is that unlike with a real-time 3d game, once the assets are "baked" it would take an enormous effort to go through and re-do them all.

For what it's worth, it is on my mind, and I do what I can to make things at least a little better. IMHO GT is considerably better/more easy to see than CS1 was, and I've done a number of things to make it so: the "darkness" in GT is lighter than in CS1, and the mobs have stylized outlines to try to make them pop.

I will say, however, that if your main concern is simply seeing Mezz's sprite against the background that is a quick and easy fix: I can just set up a toggle to have the dynamic lighting give a bit of a glow to his sprite. I avoided doing this for style reasons, but for people who have actual impaired sight I could certainly add it as an option.

Story:

A lot of my replies here boil down to "We'll get there," but to share more specifics:

1. It would be neat to have a scene for the initial brainwashing, yes. And for that matter some cool shots for the opening and endings. But art is "expensive," in both time and effort, and so it has to follow a strict hierarchy of importance. Would you rather have art for that scene, at the cost of only two VHS scenes instead of three? Relative to other scenes that needed to be done, it was low-priority, so it was relegated to text-only. The bottom line is that some scenes would be NICE to have art for, and some HAVE to have art. The latter obviously get made first.

Might I make it in the future? Maybe, but I have another 3 packs of content, with actual scenes in them, and I think most people want to see that first. And then it will probably be on to Chapter 3. But maybe at some point I'll be able to fill those out.

2 and 3. I think I should clarify in case you don't know: A big chunk of the game is still being produced. As such, the "ending" for Slut Mode isn't the real ending: the game just re-directs you to the normal ending for now. So you're correct, you should be dissatisfied. I'm working on the CG/Art for the first pack right now, and it includes the stuff for that ending. Same story with work at the club (if you mean the host club, not the undergound club/party. That was always intended as an alternative to the final fighting gauntlet before Khazeem. It is "work" of a kind, more undercover scheming that can go wrong, but for those who want more genuine, tangible whoring mechanics, that will be coming later in ANOTHER pack (although not for the host club).

But yes, there will definitely be more Bad Ends to come. Standard structure for all these chapters is that there's always 3 ends: Good, Trained, and Bad (where he doesn't escape). As well as some dead-ends before reaching the boss. So it'll take some time, but they're in-progress.

Meanwhile, let me know if that glow around Mezz would help you, and I'll whip up a test version to see how it works for you.

(+1)

Thanks for the quick and excellent response, I had not expected it. I was honestly worried I might have been too critical of your work. Because it really is fun, and I know it has a way to go before being finished. I've honestly waited to try the continuation of Cruel Serenade and the wait (and cash) ended up being worth it.

Response to the Art Stuff:

I definitely understand all the art having required time, effort, resources, etc on your part and much of what's done is done. I'd definitely appreciate any additions you can include to make the game more accessible though such as that 'glow' you mentioned for Mezz...Maybe even extend that option to other sprites in dark areas because, well, navigating a broken Mezz past enemies I can barely see ended up being a harder challenge as a result of...personal issues.


Response to Story Stuff:

The initial brainwashing was a minor criticism. I felt my expectations lifted then dropped because of the amount of game needing played to reach that point. The content that followed made up for it though. And I am aware that you are writing a story with a protagonist who genuinely wants to make things better even if he isn't all too bright in the head. I am aware that yours is your own brand of a post-apocalyptic world and, as such, you want to include serious and dramatic elements. It's smut with story. So, that criticism was based off my personal preferences of wanting to get to the spicy, saucy stuff sooner.


Conclusion:

As I mentioned in my original post, I know the game isn't finished. I merely included things I want to see on the off chance you may not have accounted for them, but I suspected you had, and I suspected correctly. I am definitely looking forward to the content you have planned and are working on.

There are areas I look forward to accessing and exploring, and the scenes they may entail. The locked door behind the Hotel. The upstairs of the Hotel. The fancy restaurant in the Gutter. The Entertainer route. And more.

Thank you for your continued work on this project.

Developer

No problem! And no, no worries, I wasn't annoyed or anything. This is exactly the kind of feedback I ask for. I can't guarantee I'll agree with or implement everything people suggest of course, but it's valuable to know how people are responding, what's working and what isn't. The easy fixes I can make fast, and the hard ones I can at least make a note of for potential work eventually. 

If you're on FurAffinity, drop me a note there so I can send you a link to a test version with the sprite glow once I get around to implementing it. If you'd rather not bother, I'll just hold on to it and roll it out when I have other stuff to patch as well, or possibly with the first content pack.

(+1)

I appreciate the offer, honestly, but I think I would rather wait to play the game again when there's substantially more content included in it. It's not so much a privacy issue. More that I feel like I've done everything I can in the game in its current state.

Developer

Perfectly fine, I'll roll it into the other stuff for that pack then. Just didn't want to keep you waiting if it was preventing you from enjoying/finishing the game as it exists so far.

First off I really love your games the writing is phenomenal and I'm super looking forward to going down the middle.

So my question/suggestion is there a chance for a route where you aren't mind controlled but you still have sex with hyenas because you secretly want to or a scene with the boss Hyena cause you never do suck his dick.