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

[hameleona]

The "everything comes out roses" scenario gets played out too often. That ending is a dime a dozen, so what's wrong with something different? The writing was good enough to make you pissed. Very pissed, when it threw you for a loop and changed tones. Character development was so good that you freaked when you were forced to choose one of them. All of this was written into the story before the author began the first rendering, so this was all premeditated. Indeed, some things could have been written different, like forcing Megan upon you, but that part was vital to what Leah does at the end of episode 7 and beginning of episode 8. This was Dr Pink's first try, and I applaud the gonads he showed in making his vision happen.

The mind can be affected by the bodies chemistry when the unexpected occurs, so repeat after me, "Chemisty".

Because it's presented badly.
Actually, scratch that. It was handled horribly.
Comedy turns in to bittersweet comedy turns in to dime a dozen drama. The writing is top-notch, but the mood swing is shit. It's way more than me being frustrated at a badly executed transition. It's me being frustrated, because one of the best products atm failed to the same trap so many other games fail - lack of development consistency.
The foreshadowing is way too little to be of use.
The tone stays upbeat and funny and hopeful literally to the moment, where we are presented by a sadistic choice, that makes no sense, turns the story on its head and doesn't deliver on what is expected.

Spoiler: Yeah, spoilers

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i think...imho...now that the story has taken a tragic turn..pissed off many...to try and "fix" it and give smiley happy endings would make it even worse..we have now(most of us) accepted that things went to hell bad..thus all the endings must be tinged with tragedy...we cannot have a "happy" ending..we can have a "content" ending..but not a happy one..so i expect..if DrPinkCake is a good writer he'll avoid a sudden change of tone and make it all cheerful and weee.

Well, he has proven that he cares not for sudden tone changes. Or player choice.
Honestly, if next episode has a fork in the story from just before the fire... no, he won't do it. It's way too much work. Pulling off a way for a happy ending at this point is ether gonna be bulshit "Oh, but you were just in a coma and everything is fine" shit (almost as bad of an approach as the tonal shift in the last episodes) or the equal of 2 episodes of content. So... IDK, fuck this game. I'll probably won't even bother to pirate the next episode.
So yeah, you are right - we are stuck with bad endings, tho after the final ass-pull twist, I can expect any stupidity to hyappen.

 

[purity_xyz]

well it is a bit far for leah to set the fire on house. even Ana used to hate MC but still do good thing though. u never know about woman, even though who love & fuck u

 

[gralthan]

Jesus, all these crybabies complaining about the author giving us an actual story instead of a braindead fap-fest. There's plenty of those types of games on the forum, good riddance. However, this still is a testimony to the story, as long as it makes you feel emotions, it means the story works. Even if it is crying of emotional toddlers.
Personally, the plot twist (the final one: I want to leave out the spoilers) felt a bit cheap, but as far as the genre of adult games is concerned, that's way ahead of the competition. This game, among Depraved Awakenings is the crop of the cream of this site, and it's really great to see how the "industry" grew and matured over time, something I didn't see myself saying couple of months back.

 

[Enyos]

Or player choice

There's going to be 22 endings in Episode 8, based on decisions made up through Episode 6. I would imagine it'll be more like 4-6 unique endings and variations thereof.

even Ana used to hate MC

Spoiler: Ana

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She never hated the MC. Quite the opposite, she loved him dearly and wanted to spice things back up (being a drama queen) since he had become domesticated, but realized afterwards that her own actions were foolhardy.

 

[hameleona]

There's going to be 22 endings in Episode 8, based on decisions made up through Episode 6. I would imagine it'll be more like 4-6 unique endings and variations thereof.

there are 10+ endings only by simple variations on the girl the MC chased after and if he gets her or not. Add for example two ways to resolve the best friend story line and you get 20+. So, honestly I'm not that impressed by "22 endings". The dev would have to do a lot more house fires to cut them below 22, when I think about it.

Jesus, all these crybabies complaining about the author giving us an actual story instead of a braindead fap-fest. There's plenty of those types of games on the forum, good riddance. However, this still is a testimony to the story, as long as it makes you feel emotions, it means the story works. Even if if it's crying of emotional toddlers.
Personally, the plot twist (the final one: I want to leave out the spoilers) felt a bit cheap, but as far as the genre of adult games is concerned, that's way ahead of the competition. This game, among Depraved Awakenings is the crop of the cream of this site, something I didn't see myself seeing couple of months back. It's really great to see how the "industry" grew and matured over time.

Yet very few people complain about lack of fapping and a lot complain about cheesy attempts at drama and making a "serious story" out of nothing. And with cheesy plot twists. I can only hope Depraved Awakenings will be more consistent with it's story than this game. Tho for such a twist to occur they would have to turn it in a comedy fap-fest. DA is dark, brooding and serious from the start and only builds on it (and I love it for that). AL started as a comedy trying hard to become a drama... and jumped the shark in my book. It failed to be both at the end. It's way to cheesy and mellow for a drama. Can never return to comedy.
If the tone was much darker from the start - than it would have worked.

 

[UncleVT]

This thread needs

Spoiler

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[Rook2099]

Jesus, all these crybabies complaining about the author giving us an actual story instead of a braindead fap-fest. There's plenty of those types of games on the forum, good riddance. However, this still is a testimony to the story, as long as it makes you feel emotions, it means the story works. Even if if it's crying of emotional toddlers.
Personally, the plot twist (the final one: I want to leave out the spoilers) felt a bit cheap, but as far as the genre of adult games is concerned, that's way ahead of the competition. This game, among Depraved Awakenings is the crop of the cream of this site, something I didn't see myself seeing couple of months back. It's really great to see how the "industry" grew and matured over time.

This is not actual story. Actual story set up the fire, and mood. Actual story is sense. Actual story does no use a red head burning house with a stupid plot twists. Game was actual story before chapter 6. Now game is shitting with drama.

Want a actual story? Depraved Awakening.

 

[gralthan]

This is not actual story. Actual story set up the fire, and mood. Actual story is sense. Actual story does no use a red head burning house with a stupid plot twists. Game was actual story before chapter 6. Now game is shitting with drama.

I know, right? There's absolutely only one, single, way to tell the story! How dare he try to tell it the way he imagined it. On a stake with him!

 

[Enyos]

Twists like this are expected in DA (which is about to release the finale), so it doesn't stir emotions. There is no character attachment, and anyone could die and you wouldn't bat an eye. The reason several are so upset, is that you got something that you weren't expecting/wanting from AL, namely emotions.

I know @UncleVT 's sweety turned out to be crazy (she scared me from the beginning), and many are upset about that because they didn't pick up on the nuances (which are clearly there after you know). There was a lot of foreshadowing throughout the game, albeit subtle. Play through it again, and you'll see it hidden in plain sight.

This VN gave me a panic attack with episode 6 and turned the waterworks on in episode 7, something I am thankful to Dr Pinkcake for. No movie or novel has ever elicited such an emotional response from me before. It was not expected, nor wanted, but the result is indisputable. It's a very unique piece of work. Most really loved it, but many really loathed it. Strong emotions can alter the bodies chemistry, so take a deep breath and repeat after me, "Chemistry".

 

[UncleVT]

 

[gralthan]

Yet very few people complain about lack of fapping and a lot complain about cheesy attempts at drama and making a "serious story" out of nothing. And with cheesy plot twists. I can only hope Depraved Awakenings will be more consistent with it's story than this game. Tho for such a twist to occur they would have to turn it in a comedy fap-fest. DA is dark, brooding and serious from the start and only builds on it (and I love it for that). AL started as a comedy trying hard to become a drama... and jumped the shark in my book. It failed to be both at the end. It's way to cheesy and mellow for a drama. Can never return to comedy.
If the tone was much darker from the start - than it would have worked.

So if you go to see a Marvel's movie, something you expect to be heavy action packed and focused, and the director decides to throw in a couple of jokes here and there, I assume you throw a tantrum, tear the ticket to pieces, and march out of the movie? No?
It's almost as if those things can be interchangeable and/or can work alongside one another. There's a reason things like dramedy or black comedy movies exist.

 

[Rook2099]

I know, right? There's absolutely only one, single, way to tell the story! How dare he try to tell it the way he imagined it. On a stake with him!

He can tell how he will present everything he wants. I can say it was bad. Very bad. I do not know why this is going to hurt you so much. It was bad. You want it to be good, it will never change the truth.

Twists like this are expected in DA (which is about to release the finale), so it doesn't stir emotions. There is no character attachment, and anyone could die and you wouldn't bat an eye. The reason several are so upset, is that you got something that you weren't expecting/wanting from AL, namely emotions.

I know @UncleVT 's sweety turned out to be crazy (she scared me from the beginning), and many are upset about that because they didn't pick up on the nuances (which are clearly there after you know). There was a lot of foreshadowing throughout the game, albeit subtle. Play through it again, and you'll see it hidden in plain sight.

This VN gave me a panic attack with episode 6 and turned the waterworks on in episode 7, something I am thankful to Dr Pinkcake for. No movie or novel has ever elicited such an emotional response from me before. It was not expected, nor wanted, but the result is indisputable. It's a very unique piece of work. Most really loved it, but many really loathed it. Strong emotions can alter the bodies chemistry, so take a deep breath and repeat after me, "Chemistry".

If this is the first story that has received such an emotional response from you. Read more. Much more. Because it is more about what you've been reading, like the quality of the story here. Or you have the love of cheap, unreproduced tears and drama. If so, am I suggesting a TV Novels? Or a movie about sparkling vampires and werewolfs. It's okay like shit. But admit it's shit. And stop with the Chemistry line. It is bad in the game and even worse when you use. It does not mean that it looks smart, it does not represent your argument, it is not original and unnecessary.

So if you go to see a Marvel's movie, something you expect to be an action movie, and the director decides to throw in a couple of jokes here and there, I assume you throw a tantrum, tear the ticket to pieces, and march out of the movie? No?
It's almost as if those thing can be interchangeable or can work aside one another. There's a reason things like dramedy or black comedy movies exist.

No, but if the movie is bad we talk about how the movie is bad with friends and online. All people do here. But to do this is to hurt the fans of this game though and get told that whining. This game is angry as a romance and is bad like a suspense. It was good as a romance with a run before. Then came the red hair fire.

 

[acewinz]

On the topic of potential endings and people being upset at the last 2 plot twists

Spoiler: spoilers

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[Enyos]

<snip>

There's no reason to resort to personal attacks to try and make your point. It's rather rude and uncivil, and doesn't show yourself in an intelligent light. We understand that you don't like the writing, and have said so for the last several days, beating the same dead horse. If you think DA's writing is better, then it's a matter of personal opinion, and we've all said our piece.

 

[UncleVT]

@Rook2099

Netgear, How many posts do you like to say you like the game?

How many posts do you like to say you don't like the story? And try not to turn this into personal attacks.

 

[Enyos]

Spoiler

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I had this same feeling until I played the Rena path.

Spoiler

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This is all purely hypothetical though, and there is no telling what will truly happen until the final episode is released.

 

[crazyloins]

I don't know that anybody is complaining about getting an actual story. That's not even what this game is. Up to the the last couple chapters, the story is as forgettable as most of the characters in it. Liam is really the only standout character, the rest are pretty much standard fare.

There are 2 main reasons I am pissed about the game:
Poor/misleading setup and execution
The game sets itself up as a romcom. In the very beginning intro, the MC is talking about how he wants to "reminisce" about how he met Megan, a girl who changed his life. The word reminisce generally connotates going over pleasant memories, and is completely different from recounting extremely traumatic experiences with a therapist, which seems to be the crux of what the game actually is. Throughout the entirety of the game, that expectation that this is a simple, light romcom is consistently reinforced. Subverting expectations can be awesome when done well, but this game does it very poorly.

"Choices matter"
I leave some leeway here, as it's been stated that there are 22 different endings to the game depending on choices you made through chapter 6. However, it's hard to see a large portion of choices made having a serious impact as a large number of them concern a character who is now dead and things don't look hopeful for the character you chose to save. It feels like the choices you made have almost no impact.

So if you go to see a Marvel's movie, something you expect to be heavy action packed and focused, and the director decides to throw in a couple of jokes here and there, I assume you throw a tantrum, tear the ticket to pieces, and march out of the movie? No?
It's almost as if those things can be interchangeable and/or can work alongside one another. There's a reason things like dramedy or black comedy movies exist.

There's a pretty huge distance between throwing a few jokes into an action movie and this. The comparison doesn't work. This is more like if you went to a Marvel movie, and an hour and a half in, it turned into Saw. In which case, I'm sure a large number of people would walk out.
And yes, there is a reason that dramedy and black comedy movies exist. And they work largely because you go into them knowing that they are those things. Think of all the times when you saw a preview for a movie, and then saw the movie and it was nothing at all like what you expected based on the previews. Whether the movie was better or worse because of that, the preview was still pretty much a lie. And that is basically what the backlash about this game is.

Anyway, those are just my opinions. If you or anyone else likes the game, and where the story has ended up... that's great. I'm not going to fault anyone for enjoying something I didn't. Everyone has opinions, and now I'll let you get back to insulting people who don't agree with yours.

 

[acewinz]

@ Enyos Ah. There is some hope then.

Spoiler: spoiler

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[Philly_Games]

Twists like this are expected in DA (which is about to release the finale), so it doesn't stir emotions. There is no character attachment, and anyone could die and you wouldn't bat an eye.

OUCH! What did I do?!? Though I'm pretty sure if any of the other girls die I'd get far more death threats then I did with the last one.

 

[Enyos]

@ Enyos Ah. There is some hope then.

Spoiler: spoiler

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Yes, there's another theory I had about that as well.

Spoiler

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OUCH! What did I do?!? Though I'm pretty sure if any of the other girls die I'd get far more death threats then I did with the last one.

XD Sorry to call you out, it's just that your game has been brought up a lot in this thread about how to "properly" kill off a character. DA is a noir detective novel (and I really do like it ), so the atmosphere is already dark and anything could happen, and most wouldn't be surprised. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if the MC croaks in the finale.