So, I don't know what to make out of this. Some inline spoilers ahead for those of you who have not played the game thoroughly.
I was on Reddit yesterday, and there was this user who claimed that DPC officially calls the Other's branch the Alone branch. And he pointed out at the script files for episode 9 to check what he meant.
And it turns out that in these scripts for episode 9, DPC uses this expression in the code when he refers to the Others' branch: branchAlone. Yeah, like that.
So in the game code we have:
branchIsabella
branchSage
branchJill
branchMayaJosy
branchAlone
Which raises the question, why does DPC name the Others' branch like that in the code? Wouldn't it has only been natural to name it just 'branchOthers'? Is he secretly pointing at what he has in store for whoever decides to pick that branch? I.e. Is actually the fate for any player who takes that branch to end up alone?
Now, if we analyze the bunch of girls that fall into the Others category, that such disappointing destiny is what is reserved for the MC even starts to make sense. Let's see... We have:
Four women, noticeably older than the MC, and each one with sure loads over their shoulders: Cathy, Jade, Nora and Madame Rose.
Two more strippers: Nicole and Lily. One of them is noticeably older than the MC and is a mom. The other addresses the MC at the end of episode 9 with a cold and direct warning: “Do not fall in love with me”.
Three girls that are willingly prostituting themselves: Melanie, Sarah and Riona. The last of whom is also doing drugs and dealing with them.
One girl that reunites the whole sinner package (Quinn): to the prostitution and the drug dealing businesses, she adds that she is managing the prostitution ring and an overall attitude and behavior towards most people that is not doing any favors for her.
The only side girl for whom I can't find any obvious reason to think why she can't end up with the MC is Zoey. But then again, she falls into the Others (Alone) branch and makes only one good sample among many problematic ones.
What do you think of all this?
It's interesting, but it doesn't actually preclude the possibility of the Alone Branch leading to further branches, and that is something we won't know until next episode.
I personally think that the Alone Branch is going to lead to future branching, Quinn for example is looking to get MC involved in her drug dealing, Nicole wants to go on a (proper) date with him, Lily has been harassing MC to "roll" with her for several episodes at this point, Riona hints that she doesn't actually find the slut lifestyle all that fulfilling, Sarah and Mel are definitely a dead end, and fuckface has some interesting words for himself if he ends up in the bed with Tara, Gina, and Tiffani;
Also, if you make out with Riona at the party and you end your night with the three thots, or with the bunny thots, you get MC and Riona making out as your end screen, if you completely rejected Riona's advances you get a view of the rain and the brick wall as seen from the window in MC's room.
Then again we are talking about the dude who made Acting Lessons here, so it's not impossible that he's going to fuck you over for not picking one of the main girls.
(I always pick Melissa in AL BTW)
I remember reading in one of DPC's Q&A sessions (can't remember which year) where he wasn't cemented to specific endings for any character, and that he hated it when one of his favorite TV shows ended up forcing a really shitty ending because the writers had already decided on the ending when they first wrote the show, which then led to all the character development from between the first and last season being ignored, and that he would never do such a thing.
All in all, I don't think you should attach too much emphasis on the branch name during E9, consider the fact that he's introducing a cheating mechanic for all the main girls, which suggests that those branches won't be permanent either. I don't see why you would be able to get off an MG branch and onto the Alone branch without there being any possibility of the Alone branch also leading to further branches, take Josy as an example, it's pretty much made explicitly clear that you're going to get a Josy solo branch in the future, she looks overjoyed if you tell her that you're thinking of her all the time, because she's thinking of MC all the time.
I'm looking forward to E10, I think DPC will throw a curve ball at us, but I hope it's not a retarded curve ball.
