Yeah i agree with some points, When Eric was there and threatening, (0.3-0.4) I was driven by anger to play the game. Now i'm just like "yeah only mom left to fuck".
The other thing is, and thank you for pointing that, No one ever comes to you. Except if you are punished or if you hide the spider. People could use your help but would spend weeks dealing with their problem instead of coming to talk to you. In other words, everyone hates you, you are miserable and lonely and you don't even leave the house.
Pretty depressing...
Yeah, pretty much. I only began playing recently, starting with 0.5. I agree that there is no romance and scarce affection to be found. Max is little more than a prop and he gets savaged on that point more than once. That said, I don't know that there is any indication that he is deserving of more and it kind of works out in his favor since this seems to allow the sisters to dissociate from their familial relationship and use him as such.
It may also be worth noting that the maximum attainable relationship (at this point) with most family members seems to be "friends" (exception for Alice who can reach "flirting"). So, with that in mind, I don't really expect them to be treating max in a romantic way. Of course, that's not to say that there is not room for those relationships to continue to grow and evolve...
I think there is a missed (or perhaps incomplete) opportunity after Lisa busts in on Max and Alice doing a web show. Instead of resolving the issue after one conversation, this could be expanded to have the fallout last over a couple days where Max must decide to: A)Continue business as usual (the existing resolution), B)Convince Lisa to join in, or C)Give up doing shows with Alice in exchange for an evolution of his relationship with Lisa.
If the points you make were portrayed at least somewhat realistically that would be OK, but the continuing complaint is that they're inconsistent and shallow. They exist simply to serve the gameplay, rather than have a compelling story altogether. Nobody initiates with Max because of the grind-style gameplay, he doesn't leave the house because that would require an entirely new location with options etc. etc.
What I fail to understand, when people justify Ann trusting Eric over Max, is where do you draw the line ? Would she allow Eric to bang Kira, Alice or Lisa due to being submissive ? If not, then why during a particular scene does she trust the person who's out naked with his dick in hand instead of her clothed son. How much more obvious could things be in that situation ? To top it off, Max is blamed for said act and suddenly turns so retarded he forgets to say he was going to the toilet. At this point you might argue that Max is actually retarded all the time, but how would he be able to take advantage of Alice in the Blog opportunity if that's the case ? Furthermore take another side of Max - anybody acting the way he does in real-life would be insta-shipped to military school without the need for Eric to suggest anything at all.
Inconsistency piled upon inconsistency, has desensitized some players to the point where they unconsciously accept them or excuse them with gameplay choices. Yes, these story points are made to serve the gameplay, but it's not impossible to have good gameplay which serves the story. As I've mentioned before - imagine if Eric wasn't a douchebag and built genuine affection with the rest of the family. The impact on gameplay would be roughly the same, but the story would become infinitely more mature/realistic than the juvenile fantasy it is right now.
P.S. I'd recommend trying out Dreaming of Dana to anyone who hasn't done so yet. Yes, the gameplay is much weaker than Big Brother, but writing-wise it's the best and most realistic (incest) story of any game. It proves you can have an interesting sexually charged narrative, without it devolving to nonsensical plot threads to create artificial drama.
As far as lines being drawn, I think Ann eventually crosses any line she dares to lay down. Given that we are shown she can be easily manipulated by Eric or Kira and will allow things such as Alice's private punishments or Lisa's "sex-education" or Max being allowed to watch.... I really don't see the photo of Eric jerkin it as a deal-breaker. Ann is not a perfect person. She is "damaged goods" and people should accept that. Really, the whole family is pretty fucked up in some way or another.
I don't disagree with the opinion that the story is shallow or juvenile. However, I don't fault the game for that either. In that regard, I suppose that I just treat it like a Hollywood summertime blockbuster.... Go into it hoping to be entertained without the expectation of fantastic literature. At this point, my expectations are being met and I have enjoyed exploring the different paths. I also accept that this is an incomplete game with room to improve. So far, I've played the "Forget about Alex" GF path and the Olivia Path and probably three of the paths to get rid of Eric (There are supposed to be six ways?). I've enjoyed my playtime and eagerly await more updates.
For me, it's simpler to appreciate the game for what it is rather than be upset about what it isn't.
(I haven't yet tried DoD but I will soon as I have only heard good things about it. I probably would have given it a play sooner but the characters looked pretty fugly from what I've seen.)
