First, the game doesn't specify how long Serena and Joel have been together, but it should be clear that they're relatively early in their relationship. Certainly longer than the first week, which is different that most of my games, but probably not years.
Well, it was definitely not so obvious to me. Where I come from, couples don't live together just after several months of acquaintance. Not because society is conservative, but because moving to another place is expensive and living with someone you really don't know is a big risk. Of course, students live in dormitories, but you won't get a co-ed room there.
Besides, this apartment looks quite expensive to me. It is definitely not something that a journalist from a small newspaper in a medium size town could rent immediately, just like that. I know she's a lawyer, but still, renting such a place requires serious thought and a lot of money (cash deposit), and I don't think that Serena rented it before, when she was alone. Or maybe I just analyze everything too much.
They're building their relationship and, "Oh, by the way, I know someone who can turn invisible," isn't something you'd bring up out of the blue early on.
But are you telling a newly met boyfriend about your traumas, deeply ingrained in your mind? I don't think so. It usually takes years before a traumatized person really opens up about such a topic.
When Serena does disclose the actually important thing that she's been keeping from Joel, I explicitly give you permission to say, "Fuck this, I'm outta here." Yeah, I didn't spend a ton of time writing a branch to this game where Joel breaks up with Serena. I didn't want to. Life Changes with Keeley taught me that the cost of writing stories I don't want to write brings nowhere near an equal amount of benefit.
Fair enough, but I am still a bit disappointed by the fact that a few scenes for an alternative ending are missing here.
As for the morning sex with Christine, considering what they've done together, that's extremely tame. You can be 100% sure that they've discussed boundaries, and that isn't one of them. If you're thinking, "Man, I would hate to have my girlfriend have sex with me in the morning," then you should be on the Laura path. As Moskys said, the whole point of that entire game is to give people who are weirded out by Christine somewhere else to go.
Sex in the morning is definitely something completely different from sex while sleeping. You can like both anal sex and morning sex, but I doubt you would be happy for so-called "anal wake".
The problem with sleep sex is that it is always non-consent. You can never be sure if it would be pleasant for your partner or not. When (s)he is asleep (s)he cannot even tell you if (s)he is in the mood.
I write stories about broken women and the heroic men who save them.
Why not just about broken people saved by good people who care? Does gender really matter that much to you?
Tell me something, do you believe in gender equality (I am not talking about transgender right now, although I didn't find a single trans person in your games)? This is not a complaint, but just a question. I can see that you're trying to dismiss some stereotypes about women, but the men in your games are... how to say this... old fashioned.
Let me say that again. The women in my games are broken.
As far as I know, Chloe is extremely rich now. Elsa, Jessika, Sarah, Miranda, Beth and Serena can't complain about the lack of cash neither. Maybe Hanna is a bit poor, because as we can see in her office, she can't afford even basic shoes. She is probably spending all profits from her company on her employees so they can rent awesome flats in town. And Joel must be definitely employee of the month.
Is it a double standard that I rarely tell stories about broken men? Sure. But why would I want to? I want to tell stories about superheroes, not people who can fly or shoot lasers out of their hands, but people who, through strength of character, can help the broken women in their lives.
Jokes aside, why your game can't be about helping a lost guy, at least just for once? Why is it so difficult for you to show compassion and understanding to a man without punishing him immediately after he gets it (see: Jason and Trisha)?
You can say, "I'm not interested in a story where the MC is a superhero when it comes to the way he treats his love interest," and that's fine.
I've never been a fan of superheroes, nor those with superpowers, such as Superman or Spiderman, nor those with with powertoys, like Batman or Iron Man. Actually, I've never read Marvell or DC comics. I don't even like Indiana Jones. I would rather look for a parody than for a classics of the genre. The heroes without superpowers is what I like about your games, but I'd like to see it at least once how you empathize with a lost guy the way you empathize with broken women. Just it.
But the answer isn't to convince me to make my main characters be jerks. The answer is to go play any of the vast, vast majority of games on this site where being a jerk is the only way to succeed.
I've never asked for a game when MC is a true jerk, who doesn't respect women. I've never asked for a game with the harem route, where you drag all women to your bed either by manipulation or blackmailing. This is not my taste.
What I really want to see is a guy who doesn't have to be perfect and can make some mistakes that can be forgiven later. A guy who can find understanding from his love interest or just a female friend. A guy who can be a little bit shy, while still being able to experience love. A guy who doesn't always have to understand the body language or take a hint, but who won't be banned from love for the whole life because of this.
I know it can be hard when the guy is MC, so maybe it would be worth making the protagonist a woman at least once.
BTW: So far, the guy I could identify most with was Marc from Redemption for Jessika. Because apart from his fast typing skills, he was the most average guy, even a bit insecure, not a fairy-tale prince who is supposed to find and save the princess.
I know that I write for a niche.
Actually, it is quite opposite. Stories about broken women are mainstream. In some, people save them, in others, people use them, but either way, these stories are about lost women. Stories about broken guys are extremely rare, not only in games, but even in movies, especially when it comes to the adults, not just some poor kids from a third world country, like Lebanon or Bangladesh.
I know that there are very few women who truly believe in gender equality. Even less of them can tell amazing stories and create solid games with such theme. I am fine if you are not one of them, but I'm not going to stop looking for it and I am not ashamed about it.
