It's not just that DPC's first game was dark, it's the manner in which it was dark that matters. AL had several 'serious' elements throughout the story (primarily
Liam's cancer and Melissa's family issues), but they were never the primary focus of the game. Yet just as the game is entering the final stretch, an entirely new serious plotline leaps out of the woodwork, literally
murders one of the main characters, and proceeds to drag the MC through every miserable thing it does to him over the next two acts. The MC suffers a nervous breakdown from the trauma; no surprise it traumatized some players too!
That, IMHO, is the concern about Acting Lessons. It goes extremely dark, but the darkness doesn't flow naturally out of the work. It's tacked on at the end for maximum shock value. DPC has made it clear he's fine with how AL ended, which means that
*if* he wants to put a shocking turn into this game, it's entirely possible he will use the same technique.
And technique makes a big difference. Even if DPC intends BaDIK to have a lighter tone than AL (hardly a constraint!), we know there are going to be some heavy moments. The question is how those moments are presented. For example, plenty of people have speculated about Neil dying; the death of a beloved mentor is a classic trope in a coming of age story like this. There are lots of ways that could be done, and some are more dark than others. But let's consider the difference between these two scenarios:
- WARNING: The following scenarios are entirely for illustrative purposes!
- Following some major revelations about the MC's mother, he and Neil have a big argument. The MC returns to B&R and a few days later Neil is killed in an accident at the construction site. The MC is devastated that he never got the chance to make up with his father, but his friends at B&R offer their support to help him through it. In the following episode, the MC gives a big eulogy to his dad, and even reconnects with a few members of Lynette's family who choose to attend.
- Desperate for money to cover her losses, Quinn turns to the MC for help but he refuses, annoyed with the upheaval caused by [insert latest shenanigans here]. Instead, Quinn is forced to arrange an accident at Neil's worksite as part of a protection racket. A few days later, the MC is fooling around with [preferred LI] when Quinn makes her move. But something goes wrong and Quinn is caught in the catastrophe. Unaware of her guilt, Neil saves her and dies instead. When the MC learns the truth, he is unable to process it. He blames [preferred LI] for distracting him and preventing him from racing to his dad's side at the hospital leading to a breakup. He blames himself for not helping Quinn when he had the the chance, dropping out of B&R. Above all, he blames Quinn for actually doing all this. Unable to prove anything to the cops, he relentlessly hounds her for weeks. In the following episode, Quinn finally suffers a nervous breakdown and attempts suicide. Based on his actions thus far, the MC can get the chance to forgive Quinn and talk her out of it, or condemn her and get closure. Either way, he he visits Neil's grave to explain his thoughts and begins the long process of putting his life (and relationships) back on track.
Personally, I think both of those are 'dark' turns the story could take and both are still much better than Acting Lessons. But assuming equal execution, I find the former far more appropriate to this game's story than the latter. Unfortunately, the author who gave us AL could well give us the latter, and there would be no warning until it happened. So I'm not going to stop worrying about this game until we get to the end credits.
