VN Ren'Py Completed City of Broken Dreamers [v1.15.0 Ch. 15] [PhillyGames]

[Deleted member 3313072]

I entirely agree on that and recognize this flaw of a lack of heart to heart with Gloria, I pointed this out with some details a few pages ago. However I recognize this as a minor or at least not a crucial underdevelopment of certain scenes and not of the entire story. Yes, they might have been better written and handled. But her story arc as a whole is believable. There are no delusional problems out of nowhere caused by a lack of communications. I need not exploit the suspension of disbelief while watching it.

As an unbiased observation: there are no obvious caricatures in CoBD that are pushed everywhere in that game. For instance: Tex isn't gifted with a ridiculously bizarre coiffure like on the preps. That drug dealer from Abby's arc doesn't have a tiny micro cock and doesn't bang watermelons. Red Moon doesn't attach Jake Murphey just for fun for no reason and he/she/it isn't a stupid jock / augment on steroids with a small cock who says with confidence he has a big one. Katie /Victoria falls in love with Jake because of his deeds, jokes, behavior etc. not due to his cutie face and unique oversized dick.


Well, I don't mind drama even an unnecessary one if that drama is convincing (*whispering in fear*) I don't even mind the DnG and a sugar overdose with Jill in that game, damn I sense my ass will be kicked again, it is already sore following that brawl with Pink Cake Eaters
Let's give an example: there is a girl of 18 y.o. and she:

• saw her mommy die with her own eyes in a car accident (!) being a kid;
• accidentally killed her boyfriend (!) during moments of intimacy due to a weak control of her (!) unexplored powers while being 16 y.o.
• was kicked out of home (!) at the age of 16 (!) by her own daddy who pretended that he was manipulated and charmed by his new passion, whereas she (!) had no more relatives;
• had to survive alone in the worst and poorest district full of thugs and dregs of humanity

Is it an acceptable drama to you, or more precisely, would you sympathize for that girl?
I suppose there is no need to mindlessly abuse the so called suspension of disbelief concept to embrace this drama and you will have no objections if you are forced to babysit and protect this poor character.

Spoiler: Let's give another example

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I've sympathized with Gloria throughout this whole game, that certainly never waned, which is probably why I never see her as an LI, but I don't think she's a "damsel in distress" either. Some people, in games and in real life, get dealt a shitty hand of cards over and over. Gloria has had a good run of bad luck now for years, since she was a child, I can't help but feel and sympathize with her. It's one of the reasons why I love this game so much, is to see her in the end get the happiness she truly deserves.

Yeah I've been pretty vocal about the last few chapters about it's mainly centered around everything Gloria, but that only means the payoff in the end is going to be really good. It's all in the build-up, the tension, the anxiety of not knowing what the hell is going to happen; with her, with the whole crew, Baynard, Meredith, etc. Depending on how Philly constructs this, we could be in for one fucking hell of a ending and a surefire build-up towards it.

It's all in the construction of the game that makes this one so appealing; the music, the characters, the setting, the plot(s), the side-plots and all the ins and outs that have made me be so hooked on it. It's why I recommend it always first to people looking for a new VN to play.

As far as the drama goes, naturally, in this game, it's a high necessity, and it's not a soap opera at all. You know where you stand with everyone. You know the players, both good and bad, and those who walk a thin line between those two classifications (like Sasha, who I mentioned in an earlier post) and there's no cheesy BS or scheme to get one person to back off from being with another person.

It's more adult, it's darker, but yet can have some wonderful moments if you choose the right path and the right girl (you know who I'm thinking about here) where as a certain game seems to me is geared towards the younger crowd. Me being my age and my background, this is the game I'd want to play the rest of my life if I was only given one VN to choose from (sorry Caroline) but it's the truth.

 

[RC-1138 Boss]

I have a feeling she's going to become an ally at some point. The MC has tried to be kind to her (minus holding her in the cell, but that was more Sonja's doing in my opinion) but I think she still may yet be of value to the group. Yeah she stole Gloria and all after the battle but with all these run-ins we're having with her, it has to mean something, like she has a part in the bigger picture to play, whether a small one or big one, and it might have a link to Todd being an ally too, which in turn could affect Abby somehow for those on her route?

I was diplomatic with the whole Little Big thing in the Pit by taking Abby, I just have a feeling they could all be linked somehow depending on how you treated them...?

Just an idea

Yeah that seems the obvious outcome, she will become some sort of Jake's contact.

Sasha's apearences (after her first time) so far seems just designed to shoehorn her in the story so far. Case in point the whole bringing Gloria to the pit to hide and heal storyline could be done using Abby and her past with the place and the people who live/work there ( keep in mind this was still used but to bring Gloria back from the place).

Still this is a minor annoyance and i do believe the dev can developer her into a more interesting character.

Why is that? Because are you missing Henry? Is he your favorite muse over all girls?

So is this your attempt at what? Snarky bigotry? Really?

 

[AlienEDM]

So is this your attempt at what? Snarky bigotry? Really?

I am just messing with you, dude! Don't be so serious! Of course you have the right to like and deslike whatever girl or guy in the game you want. But, I disagree with you about what you say that Sasha or Sonja are both boring girls.

 

[beef-devourer]

As for Sasha, personally I don't mind if she will get more screen time, hopefully not to be a meaningless one-off fuckmeat, but I wouldn't like it to be at the expense of more significant characters from the story standpoint like Shanlon and Meredith, which are already going slightly underused saying hi to Dragon and Lynn from Depraved Awakening. By "underused" I don't mean lewd scenes only.

By the way Sonja has a low opinion of Sasha for some reason, Sonja doesn't approve :

Spoiler: Sonja on Sasha

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[Skeltom]

By the way Sonja has a low opinion of Sasha for some reason, Sonja doesn't approve

Sonja doesn't approve of much. I like her but she tends to be quite... determined. (Don't tell her I said that)

 

[cxx]

Any chance of uploading Katie's pics in full HD as well?

upped 1st pic with irfanview.

 

[beef-devourer]

but I don't think she's a "damsel in distress" either.

Even if she is, this juice of a damsel in distress is worth the squeeze as she is a natural superhuman and into boys. Just in case Gloria isn't my fav, like you I find her a daughter figure. Looks like Jake is gifted with two daughter surrogates: a good girl Gloria and a naughty little minx Chandra . To me Katie and Victoria seem to be the canon choice.

It's all in the build-up, the tension, the anxiety of not knowing what the hell is going to happen; with her, with the whole crew, Baynard, Meredith, etc. Depending on how Philly constructs this, we could be in for one fucking hell of a ending and a surefire build-up towards it.

Speaking of Meredith, even though she is a villain towards us, she is a villain not because "she is a villain" like in lots of games / stories / movies. She just does her job in cold blood (or at least she endeavors to seem like that) being responsible to the executive board: the higher your position is the higher responsibilities and the more severe consequences of your failure are. "Hey Jake, nothing personal just business, I would even get laid with you anytime, so no offence." Not to mention that nothing human is foreign to her. That's definitely not a sworn archenemy material to despise.

I don't neglect the value of villains because they are villains. To me a well developed believable bad character is always more enjoyable and more valuable for the story than a poorly written good one . That's why I, speaking of that VN, would trade a pair of some notable characters for Quinn any time. Might be it's just me because of my analyst / consultant / researcher job background - I'm mostly deprived of any personal prejudice and lean to judge by facts and actions. And truly speaking of the physical appearance, every female character in CoBD is undoubtedly unequivocally attractive. If it isn't true to someone, well, I genuinely envy this someone.

Spoiler: Transferring Meredith to that game

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It's more adult, it's darker, but yet can have some wonderful moments if you choose the right path and the right girl (you know who I'm thinking about here) where as a certain game seems to me is geared towards the younger crowd. Me being my age and my background

Well, this statement gave me some food for thought . What is more important - a setting as the thing-in-itself or the story implementation quality like the characters development; motivation of their deeds; dialogues; plausibility of characters' interactions etc. To say nothing of a fact that the younger folks do not constitute a solvent audience as a rule.

Speaking for myself, a setting alone doesn't matter to me at all, whether it is a college story, a cyberpunk action or an intriguing detective. I am not even into the cyberpunk setting. Nevertheless, CoBD is my No.1 for the reasons not actually based on personal preferences. Although I admit that another game is in fact No.1 for most players either for the reasons based on the qualitative angle and facts.

 

[beef-devourer]

Guys pinch me I am hallucinating - I see custom renders with Shanlon along with Victoria. It can't be real.

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Happy 4th to our friends to the south!

Enjoy your day and make sure you have fun. I have celebrated it down there a few times and know how crazy you guys can get (in the best of ways) on this day, so remember to stay safe as well

I got a beer with me, so cheers!

Philly

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Spoiler: Shanlon and Victoria in custom renders

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[BisonFan02]

Guys pinch me I am hallucinating - I see custom renders with Shanlon along with Victoria. It can't be real.

FOR MODS:
If the content below breaks the rules - don't give me a yellow card please, just delete the part under a spoiler. I've read the rules and haven't found anything suspicious regarding the content below.

Spoiler: Shanlon and Victoria in custom renders

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I mean.....you may as well include the patreon post from Philly for the 4th of July...where they came from. Haha

 

[AlienEDM]

Guys pinch me I am hallucinating - I see custom renders with Shanlon along with Victoria. It can't be real.

+++​

You must be registered to see the links

Happy 4th to our friends to the south!

Enjoy your day and make sure you have fun. I have celebrated it down there a few times and know how crazy you guys can get (in the best of ways) on this day, so remember to stay safe as well

I got a beer with me, so cheers!

Philly

+++​

Spoiler: Shanlon and Victoria in custom renders

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My dream finally come true. Victoria and Shanlon finally together.
I have an observation about the renders, though. The commemoration is July 4th, US Independence Day... so the stage car should be an American symbol: Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro, etc. Instead, this car that Philly chose appears to be a Volvo or Mercedes-Benz replica.

 

[MoarDakka123]

Guys pinch me I am hallucinating - I see custom renders with Shanlon along with Victoria. It can't be real.

+++​

You must be registered to see the links

Happy 4th to our friends to the south!

Enjoy your day and make sure you have fun. I have celebrated it down there a few times and know how crazy you guys can get (in the best of ways) on this day, so remember to stay safe as well

I got a beer with me, so cheers!

Philly

+++​

FOR MODS:
If the content below breaks the rules - don't give me a yellow card please, just delete the part under a spoiler. I've read the rules and haven't found anything suspicious regarding the content below.

Spoiler: Shanlon and Victoria in custom renders

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Good lord, what a kinky evening that would be...

 

[apocalypsetoday]

This game is amazing and my inspiration to create my own. Thanks for your dedication!

 

[ename144]

I entirely agree on that and recognize this flaw of a lack of heart to heart with Gloria, I pointed this out with some details a few pages ago. However I recognize this as a minor or at least not a crucial underdevelopment of certain scenes and not of the entire story. Yes, they might have been better written and handled. But her story arc as a whole is believable. There are no delusional problems out of nowhere caused by a lack of communications. I need not exploit the suspension of disbelief while watching it.

As an unbiased observation: there are no obvious caricatures in CoBD that are pushed everywhere in that game. For instance: Tex isn't gifted with a ridiculously bizarre coiffure like on the preps. That drug dealer from Abby's arc doesn't have a tiny micro cock and doesn't bang watermelons. Red Moon doesn't attach Jake Murphey just for fun for no reason and he/she/it isn't a stupid jock / augment on steroids with a small cock who says with confidence he has a big one. Katie /Victoria falls in love with Jake because of his deeds, jokes, behavior etc. not due to his cutie face and unique oversized dick.

There aren't?


I get what you are saying, but I still think this just comes down to you liking the cyberpunk, technonoir genre more than a college sex farce. The melodrama you're decrying is just as important to that genre as the grim gumshoe with a dark past is to this one. There's nothing wrong with liking some tropes more than others (even if your favorites are less popular), but that's no reason so slam the ones you don't like.

As the saying goes, tropes are tools. They're a way for a writer to establish character and setting quickly and efficiently. They don't automatically make a work bad just for including them. CoBD is a very different story than Being a DIK so the tropes each game uses, and the way it uses them, will be different.

And frankly, I think the two games are sufficiently different that there's not much point in comparing them directly.

Spoiler: Let's give another example

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Hang on. First of all, I think that's an extremely oversimplified and inaccurate version of events. Second, I don't think you should complain that "that game" is bad for being an unending series of forced cliches while also complaining that Maya is an insufficiently stereotypical lesbian.

 

[Skeltom]

This game is amazing and my inspiration to create my own. Thanks for your dedication!

That's funny, my inspiration comes from games outside of this one. I can admit that I will most likely never be on the same level as Philly but someone has to try and contribute to the adult game scene. I mean actual adult games with real world situations not the mindless fuck fest drivel that people seem to be infatuated with.

 

[apocalypsetoday]

That's funny, my inspiration comes from games outside of this one. I can admit that I will most likely never be on the same level as Philly but someone has to try and contribute to the adult game scene. I mean actual adult games with real world situations not the mindless fuck fest drivel that people seem to be infatuated with.

I agree I think story is really important

 

[beef-devourer]

I get what you are saying, but I still think this just comes down to you liking the cyberpunk, technonoir genre more than a college sex farce. The melodrama you're decrying is just as important to that genre as the grim gumshoe with a dark past is to this one. There's nothing wrong with liking some tropes more than others (even if your favorites are less popular), but that's no reason so slam the ones you don't like.

I don't slam (gosh, this word sounds too strong, was I that harsh , I feel like Gary Busey now) the setting, I only tried to highlight the most implausible and ridiculous subplots as well as the most grotesque characters regardless of the setting by comparison with CoBD where appropriate. The setting as the thing-in-itself doesn't matter to me. I lean to base my views on comparisons and observations.

Ironically, I am not into cyberpunk, I would rather prefer a modern day college setting over a cyberpunk action, all other things being equal. So my personal tastes are irrelevant, my only preference is that a story realization quality / writing / build up matters more than quantity / graphics and animations / lewd scenes counter.

As the saying goes, tropes are tools. They're a way for a writer to establish character and setting quickly and efficiently. They don't automatically make a work bad just for including them. CoBD is a very different story than Being a DIK so the tropes each game uses, and the way it uses them, will be different.

And frankly, I think the two games are sufficiently different that there's not much point in comparing them directly.

Hang on. First of all, I think that's an extremely oversimplified and inaccurate version of events. Second, I don't think you should complain that "that game" is bad for being an unending series of forced cliches while also complaining that Maya is an insufficiently stereotypical lesbian.

I don't say that that game is all bad so avoid it and sling mud at it. Damn, I never said that that VN was bad, I don't understand why you have attributed to me this claim. On the contrary, I recommend that VN to everyone beyond this forum and say there is a very high probability that the game experience will be enjoyable.

I just humbly try to demonstrate by examples that Philly's writing is superior in quality over the VN No. 1 (I admit that that game is the No. 1, if an impartial assessment takes place) from the story design and realization standpoint on an assumption that we consider only human relationship aspects and ignore the setting and variety of in-game activities. All my negative towards that game appears only within such comparisons between that game and CoBD, not in isolation. Also I find Philly's games underrated.

Within my comparisons I don't just generate a pure negative, I [strive to] substantiate my observations without personal attacks. I admit my substantiations might be incomplete or erroneous due to not considering certain facts in full or partly. I will gladly read disproofs and amendments that are also based on evidence and logic. I won't be offended if someone negatively but reasonably reviews a character I like. In the end these are just fictions with a bunch of pixels on the screen .

In conclusion, I'd like to note: I was DPC's supporter of the Josy tier, so I have the unequivocal moral right to bitch about those story elements of that VN, which I consider very flimsy or malfunctioning , without offending other people of course.

 

[Deleted member 3313072]

I don't slam (gosh, this word sounds too strong, was I that harsh , I feel like Gary Busey now)

Gary Busey before or after he had his motorcycle accident? Because before, he was normal. After? Not so much playing with even near a full deck anymore, maybe 1/4 of a deck

 

[beef-devourer]

Gary Busey before or after he had his motorcycle accident? Because before, he was normal. After? Not so much playing with even near a full deck anymore, maybe 1/4 of a deck

Definitely after
Before he wasn't that racy and memetic. Even though it sounds cruel and cynical, that accident in fact helped him tune his talents up to the max settings. Actually he is sane, there is a vid on YT titled "Gary Busey vs. Angry feminist", where an extra size radical feminist scolds him and yells at him whereas he stays calm like if he has nerves of steel and in control of the situation.

Damn, I wouldn't mind if there were a Gary Busey in CoBD as a secondary non-hostile character (Meredith's father or uncle? ) that would be comparable to his role of a special agent Peter Keyes in Predator 2 or commander Peter Krill from Under Siege.

Also there are two vacations abandoned by Tex and Henry.

 

[Deleted member 3313072]

Definitely after
Before he wasn't that racy and memetic. Even though it sounds cruel and cynical, that accident in fact helped him tune his talents up to the max settings. Actually he is sane, there is a vid on YT titled "Gary Busey vs. Angry feminist", where an extra size radical feminist scolds him and yells at him whereas he stays calm like if he has nerves of steel and in control of the situation.

Damn, I wouldn't mind if there were a Gary Busey in CoBD as a secondary non-hostile character (Meredith's father or uncle? ) that would be comparable to his role of a special agent Peter Keyes in Predator 2 or commander Peter Krill from Under Siege.

Also there are two vacations abandoned by Tex and Henry.

Yeah he's sane, but the amount of brain damage he had afterwards wasn't good. I mean, a motorcycle accident with no helmet? Not very smart.

But a Busey-type post accident character is certainly dark enough for this kind of game for sure. Maybe as the head boss of Baynard....?

Never saw Predator 2 or Under Siege, but I'll take your word for it.

 

[beef-devourer]

Yeah he's sane, but the amount of brain damage he had afterwards wasn't good. I mean, a motorcycle accident with no helmet? Not very smart.

But a Busey-type post accident character is certainly dark enough for this kind of game for sure. Maybe as the head boss of Baynard....?

Never saw Predator 2 or Under Siege, but I'll take your word for it.

I suggest to watch the official trailers of Predator 2. They won't take much time. Also I recommend to note his voice too.
There is a meme "oh my" by a porn actor Chad Diamond, you might have seen it. But this is just a miserable rip-off of the only true "oh my" - Busey's line in Predator 2 - it can be watched in the trailer #2.

After listening to his voice you will probably realize that it's a pity the voice acting feature is almost impossible in this category of the VN genre. The Baynard CEO or Directors Board Chairman is over the top I think, but a department chief or a special forces squad commander trusted by the executive or directors board - why not