So just with the first day, we already have three premises:
1) What will be the consequences of selling your software to this shady guy?
2) Will Christine go back to study? Or will she find something in the city that clears her mind?
3) Will your feelings for her grow in any way? And if they do, will she be receptive or not? Will you act in any way to make her become attracted to you?
And this is exactly why I felt the game started off very promising. But unfortunately, the follow-up had been very lacking because it got sidetracked into other things that felt like a filler.
For example:
1a. Up to 0.0.7, what exactly is the consequence of selling your software to Silver? So far nothing, right? We've sold it to him. We've used it to spy on Christine and Jess, and we're going to use it on Sonya's husband. But what exactly is the consequence of selling the software to Silver itself? Absolutely no clue because the game has never informed us what Silver was using the software for. After we sold the software to Silver, the software has become irrelevant other than being a mechanism in the game to spy on the girls.
1b. Now let's say there is a consequence (whatever that is in the future), is it something that is even preventable? No. The player is forced to sell the software to Silver with no other alternative than Game Over screen.
2. Is there even a single thing at all that led to her going to back to studying? As far as I can see, she is pretty much set on working even if for a sexual predator like Silver. I'm not sure going back to studying is even an option that she's considering.
3. This is the main premise of the game, but I feel that it's where it's moving extremely too slowly for no good reason because the game is distracted by other non-MC/Christine content.
And yes, it would be awesome to be able to develop it much faster, and to provide many more branches... but so far we haven't been able. That is one critique we have to accept and learn from
To be honest, I think the attempt to create too many branches (some with absurd conditions, and unclear requirements) is actually the downfall of the game (up to now, might change later when T4boo goes full-time). Why? Because he clearly bit more than he can chew. I understand he didn't have as much time, so he could only produce so much in each update. And that's fine. But if that's his capacity, then make sure that it counted. That's why I've been very critical about the secondary content sidetracking the main story progress.
It's kind of like having an exam and told to write a 2-page essay, but you tried to write 50 pages just for the introduction. If the limit is 2 pages, then make sure you include the intro, body, and conclusion in those 2 pages. Don't write as if you're writing a 500-page novel.
An easy example how sidetracking happened in this game is Sonya. What exactly is the purpose of this character? Honestly, can the game be just fine without her? Absolutely. Will the game still be "Babysitter" without her? Absolutely. Her role in the game so far:
1. Be the meat for Silver to touch so he'd agree to buy the software. Does this scene actually add anything to the "Babysitter" game? Not really. Can this scene be skipped and just assumed that Silver bought the software without Sonya? Of course.
2. Fight with husband and came into office crying, got banged by MC. Isn't this just a filler sex-scene?
3a. Her husband killed MC. Game over.
3b. Feeling guilty for making out with MC, then going to spy on husband with the software. Not really related to the "Babysitter" storyline either, right?
Similarly with Jess, but at least Jess is somewhat related to Christine and could potentially play a bit more integral role in the storyline if Christine and Jess ended up working together after all.
This is why I'm frustrated with the pace. T4boo already had limited capacity to create content each update. But instead of focusing on what matters, he filled with the game with unnecessary distraction. I'm not accusing him of milking it because I don't think he did it on purpose. But if he actually did it on purpose, then it's the very definition of milking.
but... saying the story is going nowhere... excuse me if I say I can't accept that. The path is clear and we know where it is taking us, so trust us we will get there. Hopefully faster in every update, as we'll be able to provide more content.
I'll believe you and we'll see next update. I don't ask for double the content per update. What I want is clarity on where the game is going. You said you know where it's taking you. I'll have to see what the next update is like because so far, it didn't feel like the path is clear.
