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

[PHANTOM44]

You’re right in your argument about cause and effect mostly - but that is more often than not discovered after the event has occurred usually by some ( in the case of a gas leak ) kind of investigation. From the victims perception there is no foreshadowing.
I contest that foreshadowing isn’t an absolute requirement in drama - it might be in literature ( again i’m not an expert ) but not in cinema. AVN or VN? might be the grey area where these two theories confront each other;as it’s comparatively a new dramatic medium.
In the film ‘Meet Joe Black’ the initial character played by Brad Pitt is killed with no foreshadowing - and it is all the more shocking for it.
A similar scene unfolds in the film Erin Brockovich - with the title character being involved in a car accident.
As you have argued before foreshadowing is an excellent way to build drama - but should it be the only way? Just because a film doesn’t use the foreshadowing technique does that automatically condemn it to suck? Surely that’s a Matter of individual taste.
Everyone brings all their life experiences and knowledge into consideration when judging something - you do this when you judge ‘Acting Lessons’ - consciously or subconsciously you judge it as a writer - your opinion isn’t wrong - it’s how you feel - and you’re entitled to it ,and to express it too.
DrPinkCake isn’t an experienced writer - apparently this is the first thing he has ever written.He made the decision to not use the foreshadowing technique ( for the fire scene) - well mission accomplished it shocked everyone.. Going back to the Meet ‘Joe Black film’ - Brads untimely death was explained after the event - maybe that’s what the good doctor has in store for Acting Lessons. Time will tell..

 

[N7]

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I saw some concerns regarding Isabella's chest size.
That's totally fine, different strokes for different folks.

However, upon reflection and from feedback, I realized that the outfit wasn't the best choice for showing her off.

So, here she is in another outfit. It's the same chest size as in the other picture.

This is how she will appear in the game.

Even if it still is not for you, I wanted to give her a second chance for those of you who were on the fence.

Cheers and thanks for the valuable feedback!

Dr PinkCake

 

[DanMachiFan]

I saw some concerns regarding Isabella's chest size.

:noexpression:

 

[fauxplayer]

For me the problem was sag, not size. This new preview makes her look like a hot girl with big tits rather than a hot girl whom gravity has not been kind to.

 

[Ennoch]

Whats wrong with her chest size?? What concerns..

 

[Deleted member 795684]

What will be the other game about? And will there be a female protagonist or male again?

 

[N7]

Whats wrong with her chest size?? What concerns..

if you check the poll that he last made people are complaining that all of them have big breasts even maya XD
but yeah i love bella she has a killer body.

 

[fauxplayer]

Same size, different outfit.

 

[Ennoch]

Same size, different outfit.

..different camera angle, a more beneficial one for her i'd say. Funny how people expect a perfect look from every angle but if the size doesn't scale accordingly to the angle to make it look perfect, it won't appear as perfect from all angle.
See? In the end it all comes down to tit size We can discuss story and all but it will all boil down to the boobies :relievedface:

 

[Burt Reynolds Mustache]

You’re right in your argument about cause and effect mostly - but that is more often than not discovered after the event has occurred usually by some ( in the case of a gas leak ) kind of investigation. From the victims perception there is no foreshadowing.
I contest that foreshadowing isn’t an absolute requirement in drama - it might be in literature ( again i’m not an expert ) but not in cinema. AVN or VN? might be the grey area where these two theories confront each other;as it’s comparatively a new dramatic medium.
In the film ‘Meet Joe Black’ the initial character played by Brad Pitt is killed with no foreshadowing - and it is all the more shocking for it.
A similar scene unfolds in the film Erin Brockovich - with the title character being involved in a car accident.
As you have argued before foreshadowing is an excellent way to build drama - but should it be the only way? Just because a film doesn’t use the foreshadowing technique does that automatically condemn it to suck? Surely that’s a Matter of individual taste.
Everyone brings all their life experiences and knowledge into consideration when judging something - you do this when you judge ‘Acting Lessons’ - consciously or subconsciously you judge it as a writer - your opinion isn’t wrong - it’s how you feel - and you’re entitled to it ,and to express it too.
DrPinkCake isn’t an experienced writer - apparently this is the first thing he has ever written.He made the decision to not use the foreshadowing technique ( for the fire scene) - well mission accomplished it shocked everyone.. Going back to the Meet ‘Joe Black film’ - Brads untimely death was explained after the event - maybe that’s what the good doctor has in store for Acting Lessons. Time will tell..

I didn't go too much into this because I didn't want to go too long with the last post. I figured there was a good chance this would come up. I think the main difference here in my mind is the following. In Meet Joe Black or Erin Brokovich the accident or death is the inciting incident. It is what sets the entire narrative in motion. It doesn't quite apply here I think because this isn't an inciting incident... it's a twist that appears to be a climax. And a pretty big one at that. The rules as they are, are different at that point. Pink will assuredly explain what went down after the fact. And it might be a great explanation. But I don't think that will make the scene itself better. I posit that knowing WHAT happened isn't necessary... but that we had no indication of either the danger, nor the situation itself is what made it feel cheap.

Mr. Mustache, I'm not aiming this post at you, I just quoted you because I'm edging my way into your conversation.

I may regret chipping in on this topic, especially since I haven't a played up to this point yet. I don't know that nature of the debate has an answer, but my two cents...

The saying "life imitates art" comes to mind. In creative writing there are tools like foreshadowing, which when applied, frequently do improve the general acceptance and enjoyment of a story but don't necessarily mimic life. Entire series have been written about the do's and don'ts of creative writing. But these tools are really only conventions that aid a story in appealing to the greatest number of people and helping it gain acceptance by the widest possible audience. It's possible for a writer to ignore these rules and still find success (Dostoevksy comes to mind with his stream of consciousness writing).

I think the more a game or story is meant to be a simulation, the more randomness an audience may be willing to put up with. But at the end of the day, that acceptable level of randomness is entirely subjective. It's right up there with, is Jackson Pollock a talented artist or a worthless hack? (I'm voting hack but there are plenty who would disagree).

The dev should just be aware that most people are going to rate how acceptable the randomness is based on traditional conventions of creative writing. If devs aware of that and want to buck the norm, good for them! Something amazing may result. But people can't be blamed for wanting something that conforms to the more traditional method of story telling with which they are comfortable and familiar with.

Salute mates!

One never 'has' to follow the rules. But when those rules are broken (and they are broken in big and small ways all the time) you generally need to be extremely careful about it, or exceptionally good. I said before, I am a big structure guy... and structure can often be played with. But the more you do... the more chances you have to screw up.

And Pollack was maybe not a hack. But quite overrated. I still hate Dadaism, neo or not.. Fuck dadaism.

 

[DanMachiFan]

Same size, different outfit.

View attachment 161677 View attachment 161678

I said it the other day and I repeat it. I find her spectacular.
And in this new image (I speak above all of her face) she is even more beautiful.

I could agree that Dr PinkCake didn't choose the best image in the first post, but unleashing a ruckus, and not only on her apparently....

In the very near future, daz will make a fortune by selling surfboard models.

@fauxplayer I quoted you only for the images, my post isn't directed at you. :coldsweat:

 

[Ennoch]

but that we had no indication of either the danger, nor the situation itself is what made it feel cheap.

Now this is understandable. It was a shock, literally out of the big wide blue. I was reading your explanation/view on how random events aren't random just unknown to the victim (and the reader in this case) really. I think this is another of those things that fall under different judgment by people with different taste. The lack of preparation. In movies we get this through the change in music. In writing there are hints, just like you say.

But the lack of these don't make such execution cheap just naturalistic. This doesn't necessarily means more interesting or good but thats probably a tad bit too much realism. If i imagine an epic battle scene in a movie without the music, i'd probably miss it eventhough thats how it would happen in real life. I still don't think anything is wrong with it, nor that its cheap. Just less dramatic. If his goal was to make it simply grim instead of dramatic i feel like he succeeded. I obviously have no idea whether this was deliberate on his part or not to be clear.

 

[Dragonflight]

First of all, welcome, welcome

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I don't generally disagree with your point actually. But to me it's the context that makes it feel off.
We have a baseline of a largely positive story with some serious notes and overall it's flowing well. Then bam! Something that has could have come out of a telenovela happens in episode 5. Then there's the scene in the house in episode 6 that... brought back more drama and also didn't feel quite right to me. And then the ending of episode 6.

The contrast between the first part of the story and this last part is what is standing out to me, it's kind of like a genre shift. The final scene alone is not a problem for me.
We all had bad things happening in our lives and I'd argue that foreshadowing is not even a problem here. It's this shift that gives you that slightly uncanny feeling the more you read on.
That being said, it will be a riot to watch the reactions to episode 7 when it releases ^^

 

[PHANTOM44]

Ok I understand now what you mean by an inciting incident - that would mean that the robbery in ‘Acting Lessons’ was the inciting incident ( where the main protagonists met ).
Was Brads death in ‘Meet Joe Black’ an inciting incident too? Not sure as Claire Forlani’s character doesn’t witness his death - she’s oblivious to it at the time .
Would the fire scene in acting lessons be considered a climax too? It strikes me that a climax (steady lads ) would be the end result of foreshadowing,and as you say there is no foreshadowing of that event.
Thats why I brought up ‘Meet Joe Black’ - that was a twist ; in that the audience were full sure that their meeting in the cafe was going to develop into something more - then boom Brads noggin meets windscreen.You’re right though I don’t actually think we will be able to fully judge doc’s writing ( apologies if that wasn’t you ) until the next chapter or even the whole game comes to an end.But it’s interesting to discover how a screenplay or story is put together.

 

[Ennoch]

That being said, it will be a riot to watch the reactions to episode 7 when it releases ^^

The riot will happen days before :coldsweat: Have you seen whats happening in threads of awesome titles when an update is coming but not being told when exactly? Absolute mad-house

 

[PHANTOM44]

As far as realism goes - there are certain events that happen in life where there is no foreshadowing - no warning of what is about to unfold; and it is devastating... (the fire in Acting Lessons is like that)
The effect is similar - there is no rhyme or reason.. maybe that’s what DrPinkcake was aiming for, after all didn’t he say some of the story was based on events that had happened in his life?

 

[PHANTOM44]

THIRTEEN DAYS...

 

[ultorem13]

Sorry all for my previous post...i just think we all have enough issue and real life dramas all days long, so for a game or better, for a little fun timing after a hard work day, i need a little softer stories, not just to take a choice who no let burning alive...ty for letting me write my eye point*.... *point of view (sorry for bad english)

 

[fauxplayer]

We can discuss story and all but it will all boil down to the boobies :relievedface:

That's why I chose to save Megan. I like Melissa more, but, you know... boobies :closedeyesmile:

 

[blahblah2]

I literally downloaded this game because I was bored. Visual novels aren't really my thing, but i decided to give it a try.
At first, I thought you were just going to have sex with a bunch of characters, but it has a great story! And the sex scenes actually have a reason for it to happen. Greatwork by the Doc! Definitely considering donating!

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What would make this even better is dialogue (audio) and fully animated scenes.