Concerning Alison and The Shrink

[Goblin Baily: DILF]

And here I was thinking you were calling ThunderRob adorable

I think Rob will agree with my opinion about the cameo

 

[OneManVN]

Please don't... AFOTA is a game for connoisseurs of the finest things, don't change a thing, however if you have it in you to make a third game, go ahed, it's gonna be glorious!!!

No, thanks I'm good with two right now. Way too much work as is and for the amazing 2$ an hour I get for it, I'm not going to commit suicide by starting a third. As for changes, I'm not changing anything. I'll see about a better description on the OP of Alison, maybe I'll describe the entire first chapter. That should be enough right? I mean you are a police officer, who rescues a girl and your life is thrown into chaos is not enough.

 

[Goblin Baily: DILF]

No, thanks I'm good with two right now. Way too much work as is and for the amazing 2$ an hour I get for it, I'm not going to commit suicide by starting a third. As for changes, I'm not changing anything. I'll see about a better description on the OP of Alison, maybe I'll describe the entire first chapter. That should be enough right? I mean you are a police officer, who rescues a girl and your life is thrown into chaos is not enough.

Maybe " you play the role of a police officer, one night you rescue a woman from a bunch of thugs. Looking at her you are faced with the demons of your past.. will you be able to start living again or will you let your darkness corrupt everyone around you"

 

[OneManVN]

Maybe " you play the role of a police officer, one night you rescue a woman from a bunch of thugs. Looking at her you are faced with the demons of your past.. will you be able to start living again or will you let your darkness corrupt everyone around you"

No worries, I'll give it a complete rewrite. I've been very busy with the games and I've neglected PR, as well as advertising/selling it with words and pictures. Took me a year to change the OP images.

 

[danteworks]

Good question, Rob. Like many devs, game related time is spent on developing my own game so I am not educated or well researched enough to comment on either of these two games compared to the rest to make an in depth comparison.

I think on some measures, OMVNs games are successful - they are very well reviewed, and they have players which speak very positively about them. I wish I had more players like that for my own game! Perhaps then, you refer to either player count or patreon pledges.

in my mind, those two go hand in hand. The more people that play your game, the more people eventually become pledges. Ideally you want to boost the number of people who find your game interesting enough to spare the effort to click on and download the game.

On F95, there are a few main ways to do this. You need a good title, good cover picture, good preview pictures, good tags, and good overview description. I think the tags for both games are pretty good. Someone said Alison fall of apple was a bad name but I actually think it’s interesting even more so than the shrink so it’s equivocal. I think the biggest factors in play are probably the overview description and cover pictures.

After that, the game has to have merit itself and earn the respect and support of the players, something I can’t say because I haven’t played, but thats another story.

 

[Ying Ko]

I never played Alison Fall of the Apple simply because none of the woman presented appealed to me. I downloaded The Shrink because of Leliana. In The Shrink we are introduced to Alice by her waking up the protagonist and a playful scene between the two ensues, by comparison we are introduced to the other family members, in a half-assed manner, by the protagonist describing them to us. In the swimming pool scene the protagonist enters and Leliana leaves, another playful exchange between Alice and the protagonist occurs. After that the protagonist and Alice leave the house, at that point I checked the image file and saw the rest of the content was with Alice and thus stopped playing. Imagine, if you will, if Cheeky Gimp had done this in Where the Heart Is. If Katie had got all the meaningful content while Jenna and Monica got shafted, do you think Jenna and Monica fans would have stuck around? No, they wouldn't have. The developer clearly loves Alice and his fans seem to as well, from what I’ve read, but for those of us that don’t, there is no point in sticking around for the other female characters who are essentially side characters. Perhaps this will be rectified in follow up releases to The Shrink, but I have a feeling it will always be the case to a significant enough extent.

 

[OneManVN]

I never played Alison Fall of the Apple simply because none of the woman presented appealed to me. I downloaded The Shrink because of Leliana. In The Shrink we are introduced to Alice by her waking up the protagonist and a playful scene between the two ensues, by comparison we are introduced to the other family members, in a half-assed manner, by the protagonist describing them to us. In the swimming pool scene the protagonist enters and Leliana leaves, another playful exchange between Alice and the protagonist occurs. After that the protagonist and Alice leave the house, at that point I checked the image file and saw the rest of the content was with Alice and thus stopped playing. Imagine, if you will, if Cheeky Gimp had done this in Where the Heart Is. If Katie had got all the meaningful content while Jenna and Monica got shafted, do you think Jenna and Monica fans would have stuck around? No, they wouldn't have. The developer clearly loves Alice and his fans seem to as well, from what I’ve read, but for those of us that don’t, there is no point in sticking around for the other female characters who are essentially side characters. Perhaps this will be rectified in follow up releases to The Shrink, but I have a feeling it will always be the case to a significant enough extent.

Yeah, I guess I should have made sure the demo covered your favorite characters instead of doing the prologue. Well, 0.2 is coming out soon and it has an equal amount of content for all the girls. It had nothing to do with "Love" a specific character VS others. It had to do with this is the plot, and this is how we start.

 

[ThunderRob]

guess he didnt try v 0.2 and notice the development with Aiko...its so hard to miss..if you dont play

 

[OneManVN]

guess he didnt try v 0.2 and notice the development with Aiko...its so hard to miss..if you dont play

I don't know, all I know is that made no sense whatsoever. It was a demo, it was the intro, and it was a linear story. As expected from a linear story things take place a certain way. I wasn't going to send the whole family to the store so "fans" of girls who didn't exist before 0.1 would be happy. Some people complain just to complain. I have no bias towards a character when it comes to the games, simply because I don't make them for myself.

 

[ThunderRob]

i should clarify my previous content..those that sub to him or are favoured bro's have played v 0.2 and the game actually begins and there is interaction with the other dames...no details..just..0.1 was an intro to show you the house the dames the MC etc..v 0.2 its game on and choices appear and fun begins
SO...sub and see for yourself...a certain part is funny AF

 

[Ying Ko]

I don't know, all I know is that made no sense whatsoever. It was a demo, it was the intro, and it was a linear story. As expected from a linear story things take place a certain way. I wasn't going to send the whole family to the store so "fans" of girls who didn't exist before 0.1 would be happy. Some people complain just to complain. I have no bias towards a character when it comes to the games, simply because I don't make them for myself.

My post was to provide potential insight into ThunderRobs query. In regards to the introductions to the characters, they say show don’t tell. Alice’s introduction followed that rule well, we got to know her by the protagonists interaction with her. Unfortunately the other characters got introduced by narration, it would have been better to be introduced to them by interacting with them. Perhaps I was being mean by calling them ‘half-assed’, but they were certainly lesser introductions by comparison. If you had limited time you could have held off with the intros to the others, then again if you hadn’t have introduced them in the first release your potential audience may never have learnt of their existence. On hindsight I see that you may have been caught between a rock and a hard place due to time constraints. I hope you don’t see my comments as a personal attack, as I bear you no ill will.

 

[OneManVN]

My post was to provide potential insight into ThunderRobs query. In regards to the introductions to the characters, they say show don’t tell. Alice’s introduction followed that rule well, we got to know her by the protagonists interaction with her. Unfortunately the other characters got introduced by narration, it would have been better to be introduced to them by interacting with them. Perhaps I was being mean by calling them ‘half-assed’, but they were certainly lesser introductions by comparison. If you had limited time you could have held off with the intros to the others, then again if you hadn’t have introduced them in the first release your potential audience may never have learnt of their existence. On hindsight I see that you may have been caught between a rock and a hard place due to time constraints. I hope you don’t see my comments as a personal attack, as I bear you no ill will.

No, I never took it that way. I was saying exactly what you said. "A rock and a hard place" I had to release a demo, but I also had to make sure people got to know the characters somewhat. The 0.1 was the opening, 0.2 is the proper introduction and you'll see for yourself that a lot of effort has gone into ensuring they all get a fair share of renders. Alice is by default on a slightly higher priority due to her story linked likeness for our MC. She adores him and is the only one who does. So, no worries, and apologies if I was rude.

 

[Ying Ko]

No, I never took it that way. I was saying exactly what you said. "A rock and a hard place" I had to release a demo, but I also had to make sure people got to know the characters somewhat. The 0.1 was the opening, 0.2 is the proper introduction and you'll see for yourself that a lot of effort has gone into ensuring they all get a fair share of renders. Alice is by default on a slightly higher priority due to her story linked likeness for our MC. She adores him and is the only one who does. So, no worries, and apologies if I was rude.

No harm, no foul.

 

[The Panty Sniffer]

Aiko is the best Aiko number 1

 

[ThunderRob]

Aiko is the best Aiko number 1

not what this thread is about Captain Obsessive

 

[ZTex]

Personal opinion time for Allison.

I've played it and it's all over the place story wise, by this i mean it doesn't really know if it wants to be a mob thriller, a supernatural thriller, sci-fi or something else entirely and if i had to guess that's what puts some people off.

Also, i won't pretend to speak for everyone but i feel the focus on having 3 different modes of play is severely hampering it developement as it seems to suffer from a case of lacking focus. This could be a personal thing of mine and not others but i think the game could do more with a true centralized narrative that gets updated regulalry and the the other modes just being options built into said game as kinks/routes you branch into naturally as opposed to pre-selecting them.

As far as The Shrink goes...

The renders are good, but it's a .1 (0.2 on Patreon). This hampers it from growing here because people don't like to jump into things that are good but short and will generally wait until there's more for them to enjoy. Also there's the promise (if i read correctly and it wasn't a joke) of niche content and while that can help, it only helps if the characters and the story are there to back it up (see previous point about it being short).

For both of them as a whole...

They both have potential but i'd wager some people are offput by a dual focus to developement because they think the game they get attached to will suffer because of the other project.


That's my 2cents as to why they are "underperforming".

 

[kytee]

A lot of valid criticism here. I've never heard of The Shrink so I won't comment on that, instead my comments will be directed towards Alison Fall of the Apple. For me personally, it's the title, the characters, and the fact that it's split into 3 parts with alternating development cycles which drive me away.

The title, from the get go, sounds like a slow-paced female protagonist corruption game so it's an instant no-go for me if I was browsing a list of names of games. I get that the title may be important to the theme of the game, but from the perspective of someone who knows nothing about the the game, I'm going off of what I can imply from the name.

I don't find the characters attractive, but that's a me thing. Short haired girls aren't my thing.

The 3 part alternating thing was what ultimately detracted me from the game when I first saw it. For games with choices, I tend to choose the path I want to follow and stick onto it. I usually never play the other paths unless I was unsatisfied with my path or I really like the girl in the other path. Knowing that it may take upwards of 3 months to get my path updated really turned me off. I may come back to it a long ways down the road when there's enough gameplay and story to satisfy me for one sitting, but I'd never go into it early.

All that being said, I guess I will try the game now.

 

[jamdan]

Just for Alison, as I haven't played the Shrink yet. Note: I have played Alison since it was first being developed. I think its an enjoyable game.

I think the main thing that could drive people away from it is, while this can be a good thing for others, there is a lot of stuff going on. It can be confusing, it might hurt immersion and its can seem too disconnected.

At the beginning of the development, it seemed like it would be a fairly straight forward romance game. MC saves this girl, she falls in love with him etc. But the story changed a lot as it split into 3 completely different paths, added tons of new girls, added some sci-fi supernatural stuff and all sorts of things that can just make the game seem like a jumbled up concoction.

Also, since its 3 completely different paths it takes longer to develop. If you are just interested in the romance route, then you might not want to play the harem or dom paths but you also don't want to wait that long to get to play your preferred romance route either, so you don't become a supporter. You either just stop playing or just download the game whenever that route is updated.

Really, this game could be a case study of the "less is more" argument. You don't need 3 completely different routes, a dozen + girls and that sort of thing. Its too hard to follow for a lot of people. A story that is enjoyable, not overly complex but interesting and a few good LI's (maybe 2-5) are all you really need to have a popular VN. The rest is just luck.

 

[cognu]

I'm just lurking most of the time. Never bothered to reply any post or thread, this one... i asked myself the same question, and i truly want to help giving some personal insight, because i love the way the dev makes his games.

I have my own anon perspective, which may or not be shared by other silent lurkers and pledgers.

I dont know a shit about how this works but I want to just explain what i perceive about these projects, and what drives me to pledge or not for a project.

Once i discover a game, play it, and then if i liked read the thread to see more of it, impressions, what's to come, some teasers, anything that keep me entertain until the next release.
If i truly love a game, i'd pledge gladly, most of us have a limited amount of resources so we need to be picky when it comes to choose what to support.

Even when the product it's amazing, which is the case, i usually find the thread with cool banter, teasers from the dev, but, more often than not, i'm being remembered about the goals, the lack of support, pledge for more faster development, which sounds fairly reasonable, but it drives you away from the entertaining part of the post, and gives the dev an image of needy, whiney (I dont want to offend, it's a distant perception and i may surely be wrong), and some post even reveal some kind of burnout with some "rude" or not statements..

I think, to answer the real question about this thread, that some of us are being discouraged to support a project by just it's surrounding. For me, a project it's less attractive if the dev is constantly asking for help, support, etc (Again, i may be or not a minority, just can talk about what i perceive).

I understand the need for venting, for being crystal clear with the supporters (One of the good things about this dev), but at the end of the day, when so many projects are available, it's easier to support the ones that are amazing and it's surrounding (Post, threads, fan content, etc) is filled mostly with game related content and possitivity.

TLDR; the games have all the things to be on top. better PR for those projects, you have a solid foundation with those amazing trusted users backing you, focus only on in game related content, your work will speak for itself. And never compromise your vision.

I hope I have been helpful in any way.

 

[Deleted member 229118]

I've come across the game several times as I was browsing, opened up the page and never downloaded or played it, the description just isn't descriptive enough, nothing catches your attention, and the name doesn't tell you enough either. It's not exactly poke in the eye title like Dating your daughter, sisterly lust etc. Alison Fall of the Apple what? May play it now to check it out but seriously consider writing up a better description

I think this is the problem.

In Alison Fall of the Apple you play a highly trained military veteran who has been working as a cop in NYC since the disappearance of his pregnant wife 7 years ago. After saving the life of a young woman named Alison your life is thrown into chaos with thugs, hitmen and the corrupt elite of the Big Apple trying to hunt you both down. With lives on the line choices will matter and decisions will have major consequences, for you and for those around you.
Alison FotA is essentially 3 games in 1 where you will find major differences in both story and characters depending on whether you choose the Love, Dom or Harem route with no render repeated on another path.

What i read here is this:
This visual noval will be about a failure(7 years without finding his wife and slaughtering the jerks who i assumed kidnapped her despite being a highly trained military veteran and cop really doesnt inspire me to believe he is comptent and i deal with enough incomptence in real life that i dont want it in my games) ends up in trouble with criminals because he saved a girl they wanted.
Sounds like a boring story about being on the run.
Not really my thing.
Ow and he points out choices will matter and decisions will have major consequences?
Every time i read that line it was a lie.
I have yet to see a game where choices did more then change a dialog here and there.
Visual novals are boring to begin with (most of them have crap stories and those with good stories tent to lack gameplay/choices that accauly change the outcome enough for the choice to matter)

Am i wrong about this?
Probley.
Would i download this?
Not really it just screams failure protaganist to me.
A compleet lack of gameplay, choices that wont effect more then a few dialog change's, linear gameplay and a unlikeable main character who apparent doesnt just slaughter idiots on mass?
Yeah not really my thing.

Dont get me wrong i wish the dev luck with his games.
I just wanted to point out how i saw it.

In THE SHRiNK you are a 23-year-old, virgin, good for nothing, deadbeat loser who lives in a house full of women in a small town called Woodsville. Life was always kinda quiet and uneventful there... that is until today. An outbreak, that began as a revenge story of an angry female scientist getting back at her cheating husband, is about to hit your home town. Coincidentally today is also your birthday and you have decided it's time to make some changes in your life but the effects of this virus are set to change your life in ways you could never imagine.

Good for nothing deadbeat loser virgin?
Ow a game about me?
Execpt for the age and living in a house full of woman part.

The woman are passable.
Not really good looking but not ugly either.
Maledom and Incest, nice.
Ow femdom and urnination, pity.
No mind control? What did the scientist release then?.

So we have a scientist that releases an outbreak of ???
In order to get revenge on her cheating husband?
Sounds like your avarage: You are stuck within a building with bautifull woman for you to corrupt story.
Ok i am a bit curious about the nature of the outbreak but with stuff like stationmaster, superpowered, lab rats 1 and 2, and other games where i accauly feel like i am in control i dont really see any reason to play this game.
It offers me nothing that the dozen or so other visual novels havent already showed me.


And i think that is the problem.
It looks like just an other visual noval.
The once's we seen so many times we are very skeptical about the story being good.
The choices having meaning or the characters not being anoying.

And i like to remind everyone:
This is how i read the site.
Not how it is.
It give me no reason to accauly think of this as just an other bad visual novel.