VN Ren'Py Completed Acting Lessons [v1.0.2] [DrPinkCake]

[Dylannbi29]

Very nice and sexy game !!

 

[curtwagner1984]

@Le Pew

4. You should watch the movie "Burnt by the Sun" by Nikita Mikhalkov (1994). You get the same kind of punch in the stomach as an (maybe not so) unexpected and mind blowing turn of events occur that completely changes the tone. There is no good ending after that. After going through the story, this change of tone is not bothering me at all.

I'm not saying that tonal shifts never work. Subverting expectation is a popular tool in writing. However I do say that my feeling here is that the tonal shift was 'meh'. I is my feeling that the fire played more of an artificial bump to the stakes than an organic outcome. Furthermore, the fire happens regardless of your decisions.

5. I do not agree with your idea of a necessity of a happy ending in porn stories.

I don't think it's a necessity. I think it's very recommended though. Especially in those kind of games. See, in a player choice emphasised game it a very good idea to reward the player when he makes the 'correct' choices. From a game design standpoint it's bad if the player feels that no matter what he chooses the cards are stacked against him. (It's ok to do this if there is an actual choice path to get out of this situation.) So I agree with, a complete crap ending is possible where, everybody dies for example.. But the point of this complete crap ending should be that if you do everything right, no one dies.

Think about

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. It punishes you if you didn't do some things correct. However if you do everything right you can make sure everyone makes it out alive. This is very rewarding to the player seeing their 'correct' choices materialized to an outcome that matters. Knowing that there is a 'good' ending also adds to the replayability of the game.

Of Course it's the writers artistic choice how to write the story. But again, to me everything that happens after the fire and Leah being the baddy all along feels a bit disjointed.

As you put it yourself in the conclusion, the author did it by himself with limited resources, so in the end one can say he outdid it.

Indeed.

I'm just happy it isn't another incest game where a guy lives with his mother and two sisters, and his aunt comes to visit.

 

[Th3DEAD]

1.0.0 Gallery unlock

 

[joe316]

Glad to see so many others upset with the cruel unhappy ending in this game.

 

[Serra Angel]

[SPOILERS AHEAD!]

I think this is one of the best games on this site and of this type. It has good amount of lewdness and erotisism yet also somewhat good charecter motivation and storytelling. I gave it 5 stars.

That being said, I don't think it should be immune from criticism. I'll concentrate on what I disliked in this game. Maybe the dev would see this and take this as a constructive criticism for his next project.

1. Locked Romance with Megan.

I'm sure this was discussed before, but here is my 2 cents: At the first few episodes before other characters were introduced, namly Melissia and Rena it's quite understandable why the plot should revolve around Megan. She's the gateway to the other characters. However after that I think the game should let the player choose whom they like most. As far as I can tell there is no way for the MC to be 'just friends' with Megan right up to the very end. Thus there is no way to get it on with one of the other characters without being a dick to Megan.

In a game that emphasizes player choice, it would be nice to give the player a choice of whom they want to pursue and change their mind right before the climax.


2. Locking Out Mellisa Romance Based On A Single Decision.

When Mellisa is first introduced, there is an option to have sex with her, or do nothing. If you do have sex with her, it is slizzy because it's behind Megan's back. If you do nothing, you are locked out of Mellisa being a romance option for the rest of the playthrough. And in the fire scene, there isn't even an option to save her over Megan. This feels forced and unnatural. Through the course of the game, your interactions with Melissa are pretty much the same no matter which option you chose at first(Have sex with her or not). You still offer her to move in with you, she still shares a bed with you and Megan, You still help her alot. So why shouldn't she develop feelings for you over the course of the game, and why can't you approve of those feelings? Bottom line, I think the MC should be able to pursue Melissa even if he initially turned her down.

3. Liam

I know that the male sidekick isn't the focus of the narrative in this sort of games, however Liam is a major character in this game, and to me he feels a little flat and mostly unrealistic. Narratively speaking I'm puzzled by the fact that Liam isn't attracted to any of the female characters in the game. Being impotent doesn't make you lose interest in women. It just makes you frustrated that you can't have sex with them. Liam's attraction to one of the girls could have been a great source of tension and drama.

Liam mostly used as a plot device instead of a full fledged character.

Also some of the unrealism of Liam stems from the fact that he's there to empower the MC. This is especially apparent from the art class scene where the MC draws a good drawing, but all Liam manages to do is a stick figure. Liam character is constant and experience no growth. He is present in most of the events in the game yet he doesn't seem to be affected by them.

Also, technically speaking I think the 'approval' rating threshold for Liam to help you in the last few episodes are pretty high. (I'm talking about him taking a call from you after you see Ana). I prefered Liam at every choice I got except that I went dancing with Rena at the party. Liam had 0.5 cake missing from a perfect rating, yet he still didn't pick up when I called. It seems really weird to me. In the course of the game, Liam doesn't show and signs of disappointment with you. You are his brother. Yet it seems like if you don't cater to his every whim he let's you down when you need him the most. This technical gameplay issue seems at odds with Liam's character so far.

4. Tone and Theme.

This is a writing issue.
It seems the game can't decide on it's tone. The last 3(or so) episodes seem like they belong in a different game all together.

The game starts as this light hearted romantic drama\typical male fantasy where every female character you meet is beautiful and wants to bone you despite themselves. While all the men are either assholes or impotent. And ends as a grim horror\thriller. I think the author wrote himself into a corner with fire sequence. Yes it's a good cliffhanger in terms of suspense, but a really cheap shot in terms of writing that force you to change the overall tone of the game.

There is nothing bad with typical male fantasy, this is why people look for games like this, however it's a bit tone deaf to kill one of the female leads in a male fantasy game.

Tone change in the middle of the game isn't necessarily bad, Doki Doki had a similar (Though a bit more extreme) tone change, yet there the tone change was the whole point of the game and it was supported by the narrative and gameplay mechanics. Here it isn't supported by either.

5. Ending

I feel like the ending was 'meh'. It has to do with the tone shift after the fire scene. The game switches from being a date sim ish game where your goal is to court a girl into liking you to a passive B horror/detective movie. I also wasn't a fan of the '

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' approach to Leah's villany. It feels like everything that happens after the fire is your choices unfolding their consequences which is fine. But the tonal shift really disappointed me. The ending also leaves a bitter taste in your mouth, because someone definitely dies. A lack of a 'happy ending' doesn't mean that the story is bad, however it seems that porn games should end with a 'happy ending'. At the very least maybe there should be one choice path that leads you to the best possible outcome.

P.S
6. Ana's Arrangement:

I feel this point lacks some options, for example you could discuss Ana's proposal with Megan. Or somehow verbally convince Ana to back off. Also it seems there are no negative repercussions to just flat out deny Ana's deal. That means that Ana bluffed when she said she will fuck up Megan's career. Maybe there should be an option to discuss this with Ana instead of just making her disappear.



Conclusion:
I don't want to sound like I shit on the dev's hard work, I still think this game is one of the best games in it's genre.
I also wanted to elaborate on why those issues aren't that bad:

Issues 1 & 2 about locking player choice:

Implementing a branching narrative is extremely hard. Or maybe even impossible. The number of branching paths you need to implement increases exponentially at each choice, so even if you have 2 options per choice. Just after 6 choices you will have to implement 126 paths. (At first you have 2 paths, each of these has another two paths. So you have 2 paths for the first level and 4 for the second. 6 overall, and so on.) Most AAA game developers who have huge teams and millions of dollars in budget, don't do real brunching choices, they just want to make the player feel like there are choices but really the plot is pretty much set in stone. One can't expect a single developer to do a better job at it than AAA developers.

Writing Issues 3 & 4 & 5 :

Even though I do have a problem with the ending, it does reference you choices and act accordingly. There are multiple endings just as you would expect. Writing can always be better, that's not to say it's isn't good. It just can do with some improvements, such as giving Liam a more serious impact on the game instead of him just being a gateway to certain activities.

So. Many. Words......

 

[Cmann]

5. I do not agree with your idea of a necessity of a happy ending in porn stories. After all why more in porn than in any other genre? I

Because a porn story should entice and enhance erotic emotion, not make you sit and cry with your dick in your hand.

It was an amazing game I highly recommend to those that haven't tried it before, but in my opinion it deserves a different category. And I question the point of making the last sexual scene so detailed after spending the entire episode killing that erotic emotion.

 

[Vader455]

Damn this game hit me right in the feels

 

[Le Pew]

Because a porn story should entice and enhance erotic emotion, not make you sit and cry with your dick in your hand.

It was an amazing game I highly recommend to those that haven't tried it before, but in my opinion it deserves a different category. And I question the point of making the last sexual scene so detailed after spending the entire episode killing that erotic emotion.

Isn't that exactly what reward is about?

Maybe I'm too much of a gamer or too old to be aroused by mere drawings, but I haven't been having anything in my hands while playing games from around here. Maybe that's why came to like the narrative just as it is.

 

[Cmann]

Isn't that exactly what reward is about?

Maybe I'm too much of a gamer or too old to be aroused by mere drawings, but I haven't been having anything in my hands while playing games from around here. Maybe that's why came to like the narrative just as it is.

Yes, made sure to specify 'so detailed' because of this. The game had established a very mature and serious tone before this and made sure to shut down any lower instinctual urges, so I found it odd that the scene was so detailed.

Deliberately didn't read about the game play and tried it from recommendation so it is of course at least partly my fault. All I knew was to expect high quality and from the jokes in other threads to expect something bad regarding one of your friends. If I had known the type of game this actually was, I would have approached it very differently and would have no doubt enjoyed it more. Hence why I feel it deserves a different category or tag.

Maybe I'm too much of a gamer or too old to be aroused by mere drawings

Maybe we are simply different people with different perspectives and tastes, but that is merely my thought on the subject.

 

[Scrot]

Man this game was amazing i just cried out on the last scenes,
this game has a nice history and the girls are really nice just keep doing more games like this you are in a good way
this was one of the best games i ever played in this kind
that Liam guy is super fun i laughted a lot with hes jokes
was fun play the game

Good luck

 

[ntentacle]

Came to fap, ended up crying.

This is the saddest boner I have ever had.

Honestly though, game author has talent. Told a story worth telling rather than what everybody was expecting. Hope he's making lots of money.

 

[Bob11Bob]

It is honestly best writing and story I saw in any porn game, I played, ever. Akabur's stuff goes second now. I wish I had money to give this guy on patreon. I really do.

 

[ntentacle]

1.0.0 Gallery unlock

EDIT: Wasn't aware that there are two save folders. Thanks folks! For amateurs like me, make sure you replace the copy in AppData\Roaming\RenPy\

 

[Scrot]

Came to fap, ended up crying.

This is the saddest boner I have ever had.

Honestly though, game author has talent. Told a story worth telling rather than what everybody was expecting. Hope he's making lots of money.

I think this was the first game i played that i could really enjoy full story without pass anything i hope to i really wanna play more of is games he is really good in that he and Mr. Dots are gods making this kind of games xD

 

[Daver]

I can't define this game a porn one, ina strictl ymeaning of the term, because the sex scenes are not meaningless (as in porn movie), but they happen (almost) at the right time and are useful for the development of the stories and there is a great emotional involvement

WARNING SPOILER





I have cried because I lost some close friends because of cancer (and I cried again when Liam defeated it), I get sad because I was left by a girl who refused to move in another city with me and it hurted me having to choice who have to die between Megan and Melissa. All this things happened despite it is only a game

 

[Th3DEAD]

Doesn't work for me after overwriting in the saves folder. Still missing a bunch of scenes.

Both save folders ? The one in your game folder and in appdata ?
Look at : C:\Users\xxxx\AppData\Roaming\RenPy\ActingLessons-1523296524

 

[Walg]

Doesn't work for me after overwriting in the saves folder. Still missing a bunch of scenes.

It's working for me and I removed my own persistent from the saves folder. Sorry to ask but did you extract and replace the persistent in the saves folder or did you just drop the zip in the saves folder?

 

[Samajd]

It's working for me and I removed my own persistent from the saves folder. Sorry to ask but did you extract and replace the persistent in the saves folder or did you just drop the zip in the saves folder?

i extract and replace the persistent in the save folder + did that in renpy folder, also delete old persistent and don't work...

 

[TorrentToad]

I still want to know why this game was named Acting Lessons. Having played the whole game, there is maybe one chapter and a bit which form the 'acting lessons' part.

But hey, I am not complaining here. Great game with real choices, though Megan was kind of forced onto MC even if he was not interested in her...

 

[Walg]

i extract and replace the persistent in the save folder + did that in renpy folder, also delete old persistent and don't work...

That's a strange one because it works fine for me.

Have you finished the game and you're just finding the missing scenes that you don't have?