VN Ren'Py Being a DIK [v0.11.1] [DrPinkCake]

[Herbert1]

It doesn't lead you on, at no point it promises you any sort of harem route. Having shared "common route" which eventually splits into individual path(s) for the girl you pick is a very common approach to VNs. Though admittedly this is more common for Japanese games than the Western take on the subject.

The common route is a harem route(again not actually a harem but I don't have a better term for it). Even with the individual routes it's still a harem(you get what I mean) because they don't impede each other with a few exceptions(some make sense, others don't). It just feels like a way for the dev to artificially extend playtime so he has more time between updates which I get but also considering the purpose of a game is to be enjoyable this is an impediment.

EDIT: Let people have a choice is all I'm saying so you don't force them to make a choice they don't want to make.

 

[Oliver Wendell Homely]

And before anyone tells you it's not realistic let me remind you it's also not realistic that a guy fucks a dozen people at the same time and four of them are friends. No one plays this game because they want realism.

It may not be very realistic, but for me a harem route would just make it ridiculous. Some of the drama of "Being a DIK" stems from the MC's growing feelings of guilt and doubt as his number of sexual partners/romantic interests expands. Having to choose among several very compelling love interests is part of what makes this story so compelling, in my view. There are a few harem games I've enjoyed, but only because it's porn fantasy cranked up to 11. I can't think of a harem game that made me really connect with any of the characters on a genuinely emotional level. Look at the whole Josy-Maya-MC situation from the first season. In a harem game that whole story would be moot because regardless of Josy's and Maya's feelings, they would become part of the MC's harem in the end. It just doesn't fit this kind of game.

 

[lipe2410]

View attachment 2015675

I wanted to be a Saudi prince so i would pay 10 millions dollars just to DPC add a branch where MC spend all his nights in Pink Rose having fun with the wholesome ladys there.

 

[Mesmerizet]

This game badly needs a harem path(not actually a harem more like not having to make the choice between the girls). It leads you on and then abruptly makes you choose between the different girls which is just a massive buzzkill. It wouldn't even be hard to make - it's something even a modder should be able to do. All that has to be done is removing the path lock.

And before anyone tells you it's not realistic let me remind you it's also not realistic that a guy fucks a dozen people at the same time and four of them are friends. No one plays this game because they want realism.

Yup, I was hoping that we could have Harem path but apparently we need to select a primary LI (choices are between Jill, Bella, Sage, Maya/Josy, and Quinn right?)

 

[jaw1986baby]

I wanted to be a Saudi prince so i would pay 10 millions dollars just to DPC add a branch where MC spend all his nights in Pink Rose having fun with the wholesome ladys there.

It would be far, far cheaper to go to Vegas in real life. More women as well since there would not be RAM limitations

 

[Herbert1]

This is clearly coming from someone who is not involved in the dating scene and hasn't been for a while. There's different levels of dating these days. You start by "seeing" someone (or as Lily puts it "rolling") where you go out together to parties or to bars but there's no commitment, then you get more serious and start dating them, going out to restaurants or cinema, more intimate one to one meetings than when you're seeing them but at this stage you can still see or date other girls. Then if you want to get more serious with a girl you're dating the you go exclusive with them.

The only unrealistic thing about this game is it skips the non-exclusive dating stage, but that'll just be because of how long it would take to set up different dates with each LI. Even after the choice of going exclusive with an LI we're still not going to be going out on traditional dates with them for that reason.

Except it's not coming from the persona you've crested for me. The thing you call ''rolling'' is just being friends or fuckbuddies. Going to bars or parties together is nothing special. And this entire first section of your comment is irrelevant.

You're seriously going to be sit here and say fucking a dozen girls simultaneously while also advancing to the dating stage with like half of them is even close to realistic?

 

[travelman]

But there literally is "others" route, am I missing something?

 

[lipe2410]

It would be far, far cheaper to go to Vegas in real life. More women as well since there would not be RAM limitations

Being a Saudi Prince, i would play my 10M-branch in my room while some Top-Tier Vegas's strippers will give a treat to my cock

 

[Herbert1]

It may not be very realistic, but for me a harem route would just make it ridiculous. Some of the drama of "Being a DIK" stems from the MC's growing feelings of guilt and doubt as his number of sexual partners/romantic interests expands. Having to choose among several very compelling love interests is part of what makes this story so compelling, in my view. There are a few harem games I've enjoyed, but only because it's porn fantasy cranked up to 11. I can't think of a harem game that made me really connect with any of the characters on a genuinely emotional level. Look at the whole Josy-Maya-MC situation from the first season. In a harem game that whole story would be moot because regardless of Josy's and Maya's feelings, they would become part of the MC's harem in the end. It just doesn't fit this kind of game.

I agree that it would be immersion breaking and ridiculous story wise. The thing is not everyone has the time to go through every route of a 20GB game and the fact that the MC is even making such a choice as a guy who just turned 19 is insane. All he has to do is remove the branch locks so the people who want to see every branch in their playthrough are able to. He doesn't need to change the dialogue or scenes at all. That way everyone will be happy - the ones who want a romance story and the completionists.

 

[Herbert1]

But there literally is "others" route, am I missing something?

Others just means the side characters. I was confused about it at first too.

 

[jtc]

Game is ruined because of a couple songs ?

Come on...

Right. I mute every Renpy game before playing it.

 

[Herbert1]

At the time you're making the decision then you haven't actually been dating anyone, you've been seeing all or a proportion of them. And yes having multiple sexual partners while not being in an exclusive relationship is common.

It's also worth noting that the only LI who would accept the current situation going forward would be Sage who is happy to be fuckbuddys. The throuple, Jill and Bella would have soon begun to put pressure on Fuckface to commit to them anyway, Fuckface knows this and is preemptively making the decision which will gain him points with his chosen LI and avoid future conflict in the next couple of episodes.

At the time you make the decision you've been doing quite a bit more than just seeing a lot of the characters. And a dozen different people who all know each other is not ''a few''. Personally the fact that Bella is even a route makes no logical sense to me considering she knows you're dating Jill as well and yet seems to have no problems with it makes no sense but I'll take it cuz she's hot.

 

[Herbert1]

Bella has a problem with herself dating Fuckface, that's why she tries to push him towards Jill. She's worried that she's betraying James, she's worried about the age difference and she's worried about her position at the college. That's why if Fuckface does choose her over Jill she's finally convinced to let loose with Fuckface despite all her misgivings because if Fuckface does choose her over the attractive rich girl much closer to his own age he must be serious about her.

I never really saw any thought given to Jill by Bella. Her problems always seemed to be related to James, age difference and her job. Bella would never realistically fuck Fuckface if Fuckface was dating Jill.

 

[Herbert1]

Do they fuck before commits to a relationship with Bella? So at that stage he's no longer dating Jill. Although not telling Jill first was a bit of a shit move by Fuckface.

Bella literally blows him or at least starts to while Jill is in the other room. I don't think Fuckface and Jill were quite dating at that point but Bella was fully aware of Jill's feelings about MC. And she expressed no concerns about that.

 

[ffive]

The thing is not everyone has the time to go through every route of a 20GB game

That's too bad, but then they could always opt for wasting less time posting on the forums how the game should accommodate them and actually spend that time playing the game instead..?

(this may sound cold, but believe me, i get the time constraints and having a backlog that grows faster than you can chew through it. Ultimately a much better solution is to learn to let things go; play the route(s) you like, and move on. There's zero gain from wasting time on parts and routes you don't enjoy, just so you can tell yourself you've "completed" the game)

 

[Herbert1]

That's too bad, but then they could always opt for wasting less time posting on the forums how the game should accommodate them and actually spend that time playing the game instead..?

(this may sound cold, but believe me, i get the time constraints and having a backlog that grows faster than you can chew through it. Ultimately a much better solution is to learn to let things go; play the route(s) you like, and move on. There's zero gain from wasting time on parts and routes you don't enjoy, just so you can tell yourself you've "completed" the game)

You underestimate the drive of a completionist, especially considering all the routes are good.

 

[BeingADikDik]

You underestimate the drive of a completionist, especially considering all the routes are good.

Arieth + Madame Rose throuple path, go!

 

[Herbert1]

Isn't that incident the prompt for her to get the guilty feeling regarding James and all her other doubts? It's at that point she decides to not proactively do anything else with Fuckface, from then until ep 8 when Fuckface commits to her exclusively it's Fuckface doing all the chasing and Bella's trying to push Jill and Fuckface together because she thinks that will be best for all f them.

She always has the guilty feelings about James, though not in this incident. I never saw Bella try to push Jilla and MC together and certainly not because of her own guilt. Bellas view on MC has always been, at least in my view, more about the fact that MC is a good guy while she fucking hates Tybalt.

 

[Herbert1]

Arieth + Madame Rose throuple path, go!

Arieth would be fucking awesome especially considering MC would get crabs which would make quite the funny scenes in game

 

[ffive]

You underestimate the drive of a completionist, especially considering all the routes are good.

It's not that much of a drive if one is looking for shortcuts to get what they want.

Also, i think you're underestimating the amount of work it'd require to have things done your way. Some of the game events are mutually exclusive, and the story may rely on that to determine outcome(s). It's not just the matter of "removing the locks" but also adapting the code to, up to now, non-existent possibility that these locks are no longer present.