I believe the level of [non-]NTR in this game is exactly the same as it was in Acting Lessons. Did we ever see one of the LI's or fringe girls actually doing anything of a sexual nature with Liam or anyone else? If you or anyone else remembers something, please correct me. Assuming for the moment that I am right, I propose that this kind of game (without any NTR) is exactly what DrPinkCake wants to write. I mean, two straight games like that tends to indicate a trend.
Of course Acting Lessons was degrees of magnitude darker than this game. I agree with you that AL was based on personal experience - a game he had to get off his chest. I believe he has stated as much, although I don't intend to search back through his posts to find where he said it.
So, since I also believe he's had most of the basic plot mapped out since before he started writing, I guess we're just going to have to agree to disagree on a few things. No bigie. I respect your opinions even if I disagree with a couple of them.
Personally, I don't mind what happens to 'make things more real'. I've played games with cheating and sharing, so it's not a big deal to me, since I know in advance what I'm getting into. Of course in BADIK, if my MC's chosen LI's cheats on him in a path, and I can do nothing to stop it, I'm gone. I don't see that ever happening, though, in this game.
It's been about two years since I played AL (and have no interest in playing it again), but as I recall I don't think it sugar coated things quite to the level BaDIK does. We're explicitly told Anna cheated on the MC, even if we don't see the dirty deed; that was what broke them up and caused the MC's funk at the start of the game. I also think Rena had some problems with her ex (Megan's former jerk of a boss). I don't think it went into much detail, but it also didn't reassure us they never went beyond holding hands. I never tried pursuing Melissa or Leah, so I don't know if they had any noteworthy encounters the MC learned about
(beyond Leah being a serial killer, obviously) .
Now that I think about it, though, there is the early scene with Angela and Hedwig. Unless the MC makes a big play to bed them both himself, one of them can spend the night with Liam only for us to later learn that nothing happened between them. This leads into the eventual revelation that Liam is in bad shape, but one could argue it's a similar setup to the way Chad making no move on Sage leads to the revelation that he's gay. I think the difference, however, is that in AL we're explicitly told that Angela/Hedwig are new, casual hookups whereas Sage/Chad were an official couple for at least several months. Liam's failure to 'consummate' the date is just an odd, embarrassing detail that doesn't really change how we view the girl. Sage slogging through a sexless (possibly affectionless) romance is a very different matter that becomes difficult to reconcile with her typical behavior.
Of course, it's hard to make a proper comparison because AL was a very different game than BaDIK (I hope!!). It was deliberately structured as a dark drama with moments of levity whereas most of the time BaDIK is about having fun. I don't think it's unreasonable of DPC to take a more mainstream tack when fun is the objective. The issue of shying away from NTR is a small part of the game and where to draw the line in a given situation is ultimately a judgement call. But IMHO it's noteworthy that the 'purity' of the girls we can bang is never challenged (to the point it's almost a running gag) while girls like Arieth are presented as not even worth considering by the MC.
Maybe Season 3 will let us start something with girls that do have a clear history (like Elena or 'Carolyn'), which would certainly change the dynamic. Until then, while I don't think it's as simple as DPC 'selling out' to the whims of his patreons, I'd say it's worth pondering why he's been *so* thorough in keeping other heterosexual males away from the LIs/side girls .
Continuing on the discussion on DPC avoiding showing, or even hinting of any other relationships, do you think we will never see Maya & Josy kiss after you break up with them? Will all LIs stay asexual for the remaining of the story if you decide to stay faithful to your Crossroads choice?
From what I've seen so far that seems to be a high possibility, so I ask the ones that are vehement against this, tell me you at least see that the story is weaker because of it, I don't care what you prefer, as long as you are honest and agree that the story realism goes down the drain and the world seems more mechanic and less lived-in.
Maya and Josy acting like a couple (rather than part of a throuple) is a bit of a complicated issue because there are in-game reasons why the two of them would avoid PDAs. Most obvious is because they need to keep the relationship a secret, but also because it would be more than a little cruel to make out in front of the MC even if he is comfortable being 'just' a friend (**cough** looking at you Episode 4! **cough**).
That means we're sort of limited to seeing any intimacy in cutscenes, and in general I think it's wise to avoid explicitly showing the sex lives of characters the MC isn't involved in. Exceptions need to have some level of plot relevance, and there hasn't been much opportunity for that for M&J lately because their plotline has been stalled. The only real opportunity I can think of was during their discussion in Josy's room at the start of Episode 8. That was a plot relevant conversation and the MC wasn't present, so it would have made sense for the two to display some affection on screen.
So that's one missed opportunity that did weaken the story a bit, but I'd say M/J are still small potatoes relative to Sage, Bella or even Zoey.
A lot of people have forgotten about that little line from Bella. It's easy to be lulled into a false sense of security with her, now that full sex has happened and girlfriend status achieved. I wonder how long DPc will allow the good feelings to last before he pulls the rug out from underneath? Could be soon with Jill conflict or the return of James. Or perhaps he waits...and lets things simmer for a while and then crushes hearts.
My guess is we'll spend episodes 9 & 10 reintegrating Zoey into the MC's life and setting up the eventual fault lines in his chosen branch. Episodes 11 and 12 (especially 12) will be when the other shoes drop and we get our next big crisis. So 3-4 episodes.
Has there been any other 4th wall breaking moment like that, excluding the episode ending monologue montages, since I don't consider those being anything similar? Do you think DPC jumped the gun and its not backpaddling and it will probably never get mentioned again?
I'm thorn between wanting a great twist and wanting my happy ending, so I guess I'll be ok with whichever direction.
We get similar 'omniscient MC' narration at the end of Episode 3 (the bit about doors), and it returns in Episode 8 (both in the montage narration about how people come and go, and his quip about not asking the right question right before he panics over who Sage's parents are). It seems like DPC uses it whenever he wants to foreshadow something dramatic and doesn't sweat its absence the rest of the time.
