VN Ren'Py Corporate Culture [v0.7] [sqwl]

[EndlessNights]

I really wonder what the plan for this character is. Because if she ends up being a gold digger, then she seriously needs to start digging already, because she hasn't gotten much of anything, yet. If she ends up as an actual romantic option, then I wonder how that's going to fit into the story, if Edward eventually manages to get closer to Alice.

Right, I don't see how a Lucy who is really after a rich and powerful man would ever be happy with Edward for very long no matter how much he lies and pretends. Surely the deception would fall apart like a house of cards over time. Does he expect Elsa to bankroll the whole affair even once Lucy starts wanting more and more from him? Will he know when practice is over (yuck) and it's time to dump her? When things do collapse, he'll then have a hostile neighbor who'll be willing to tell every other woman who shows up at his apartment about the kind of person he really is. It's also perhaps not really the best idea to anger someone who works in the PM's office. The whole situation seems way more likely to blow up badly in Edward's face than end well even if it boosts his confidence in the short term.

On the other hand, it has always made sense to me that Edward could have made Lucy into a gold digger purely in his mind since she really didn't seem to be that kind of person in their initial interactions and Ed's thinking is often misguided and impulsive. The head-scratcher as you noted is why Lucy ultimately only responds positively when Edward playacts and treats her poorly. She never seems like a gold digger to me until the moment when Ed makes some bizarre deductive leap and suddenly decides she is one. Will it turn out to be bad writing because she seems so inconsistent as a character or good writing because it shows us how skewed Edward's perception of things really is?

If she isn't the person he thinks she is, then it's still possible that being honest and semi-kind to her will pay off in the very long run and the alpha/asshole path will end in utter failure. Then again, they just might not be a very good fit for each other on either path and perhaps no amount of either honesty or deception will change that. That's certainly realistic even if it does cheat us out of the only thicc love interest.

I still really want the redemption arc for Edward that doesn't involve him being the protagonist of an Ayn Rand novel and I could see how other LIs stacking up against his chosen trophy wife could be the catalyst.

I'm with you on the non-Randian redemption arc. If Edward ends up in a hopeful, healthy place at the end of the game, I'll count it as a win even if he's completely alone. However, I think Alice has potential to be more than a trophy wife -- she's not my favorite LI, but they're pretty good together and I could see him growing into a better person thanks to her challenging and encouraging him.

 

[Jericho85]

On the other hand, it has always made sense to me that Edward could have made Lucy into a gold digger purely in his mind since she really didn't seem to be that kind of person in their initial interactions and Ed's thinking is often misguided and impulsive. The head-scratcher as you noted is why Lucy ultimately only responds positively when Edward playacts and treats her poorly. She never seems like a gold digger to me until the moment when Ed makes some bizarre deductive leap and suddenly decides she is one. Will it turn out to be bad writing because she seems so inconsistent as a character or good writing because it shows us how skewed Edward's perception of things really is?

I don't know, I think it's pretty clear that she's materialistic in the first date. Edward inadvertently impresses her with Elsa's car, and she only fucks him if he lies about his career. At that moment, her body language changes and you get +3 romance points with her. So I don't think it's in Ed's head. I think she's genuinely materialistic.

In addition, she seems to like attention and she's got some pride issues. She thinks she has Ed's eye, but then she sees Elsa in the hallway with a well-dressed Ed and she's simultaneously impressed by Ed's expensive clothing and threatened by extremely attractive blonde Ed is with... something Elsa picks up on almost immediately because she starts playing off it after Lucy rudely butts in without even acknowledging Elsa.

BTW this is all while she's already dating that Jensen dude. Edward is her #2 until she thinks he has money. Then it's "That Jensen, he means nothing to me. He's no match for you". Bitch is trashy as fuck.

 

[EndlessNights]

I don't know, I think it's pretty clear that she's materialistic in the first date. Edward inadvertently impresses her with Elsa's car, and she only fucks him if he lies about his career. At that moment, her body language changes and you get +3 romance points with her. So I don't think it's in Ed's head. I think she's genuinely materialistic.

True, but by the time they go on their date Edward seems to have already decided she's a gold digger. That's why he borrows the car from Elsa, and that's why he thinks to lie about his career to impress her. Once he's mentally categorized her as a gold digger, you can generally view Lucy's later behavior through that lens and have it make more or less sense.

What puzzles me is how on Earth the two of them went from having a fun, casual time watching Game of Thrones and chatting (one of my favorite scenes in the game) to Lucy scheming for a piece of Edward's nonexistent fortune. It's a sudden, jarring transition, and I can't understand what made Edward judge her so harshly in the first place unless he simply views all women as gold diggers (is Alice exempt from this jaundiced view because her father is wealthy?). With his mental health issues, it's at least possible we're not seeing the world of Corporate Culture as it really is but rather through Ed's occluded vision.

In other words, the points might be a lie.

 

[Jericho85]

True, but by the time they go on their date Edward seems to have already decided she's a gold digger. That's why he borrows the car from Elsa, and that's why he thinks to lie about his career to impress her. Once he's mentally categorized her as a gold digger, you can generally view Lucy's later behavior through that lens and have it make more or less sense.

What puzzles me is how on Earth the two of them went from having a fun, casual time watching Game of Thrones and chatting (one of my favorite scenes in the game) to Lucy scheming for a piece of Edward's nonexistent fortune. It's a sudden, jarring transition, and I can't understand what made Edward judge her so harshly in the first place unless he simply views all women as gold diggers (is Alice exempt from this jaundiced view because her father is wealthy?). With his mental health issues, it's at least possible we're not seeing the world of Corporate Culture as it really is but rather through Ed's occluded vision.

In other words, the points might be a lie.

Walks like a duck, looks like a duck, quacks like a duck. I think there's only so much you can explain away by calling it Edward's interpretation. She's already decided that Ed is loaded and that the removal of furniture and previously grungy lifestyle is all just a midlife crisis. Her behavior is certainly a sudden transition, but it's not unrealistic. There are women just like that who change attitudes the moment they whiff green.

She fucks Edward before revealing she already has a boyfriend, says she has a "good thing going" with said boyfriend who she then sweet talks on the phone right in front of Edward the morning after they fucked. When she sees Edward in expensive clothes talking with Elsa, she gets territorial... she secretly checks Edward's phone while he's asleep, all while fucking another dude who probably also has money.

And she's really the only character that Edward suspects is a "gold digger" because she's not exactly subtle about it. Elsa thinks she's a gold digger too. Two other LIs are already wealthy and we don't know much about the fourth LI because Edward barely notices her.

Alice is another matter. Edward has a blind spot with her, so he doesn't notice that he's acting like a chump around her and she's taking full advantage of it. Humorously, there's a point where Edward thinks that if Elsa wanted to use him, she'd be nicer to him. Funny that he doesn't apply that same logic to Alice.

 

[jufot]

I think Alice has potential to be more than a trophy wife -- she's not my favorite LI, but they're pretty good together

Are they? I see their dynamic as a high school cliché. She is the popular and beautiful cheerleader, and he is the loser nerd who does her homework because he thinks that's the way into her pants.

 

[mightybored]

Yeah, MC has a lot more development to do on his end if he doesn't want to just be a doormat.

 

[EndlessNights]

Are they? I see their dynamic as a high school cliché. She is the popular and beautiful cheerleader, and he is the loser nerd who does her homework because he thinks that's the way into her pants.

Sure, that's not wrong and is definitely an aspect of their relationship, but there are also ways Edward's dynamic with Alice is unique in a positive way. When he goes on a misogynistic incel rant in her presence, she challenges his views and dares to tell him he's off-base. To my memory, she's the only person in the game to do this so directly. Elsa seems to view Ed's resentments as useful as a motivation tool. I suspect some of the other characters would likely just be appalled to know what he's really thinking and want nothing more to do with him.

When Ed is with Alice, he also tends to come across as more engaged and connected than normal. I think he's funnier, too, though in a different, more lighthearted way than when he's bantering with Elsa. Just the fact that their conversations do tend to be on the lighter and more positive side for the most part is a good thing for him in my view considering Edward's usual depressed and bitter mental state.

What Edward has to offer Alice other than attention, adulation, humor, and schoolwork assistance is a bit iffy at this point, but I suppose she might like a challenge and enjoy horrifying her father at some point down the line. I do think the way he's gone about wooing her isn't great -- he hasn't used methods as extreme as he can employ with Lucy, but he's still using tricks to try to force a connection he doesn't think could be established organically.

 

[jufot]

When he goes on a misogynistic incel rant in her presence, she challenges his views and dares to tell him he's off-base. To my memory, she's the only person in the game to do this so directly.

That's fair. Though with the latest update Elsa started doing it a bit too. At the coffee shop she tries to tell him, indirectly, that this obsession with Alice isn't healthy and certainly isn't 'love' as he claims to be, but he isn't very receptive. But that's understandable, I think. His relationship with Elsa is very antagonistic and he's always defensive. The same message coming from Alice would be a lot more effective since he basically worships her.

When Ed is with Alice, he also tends to come across as more engaged and connected than normal. I think he's funnier, too, though in a different, more lighthearted way than when he's bantering with Elsa. Just the fact that their conversations do tend to be on the lighter and more positive side for the most part is a good thing for him in my view considering Edward's usual depressed and bitter mental state.

Agreed. Elsa deliberately pushes his buttons and doesn't really give him any breathing room. Alice is a lot more casual with him, and it's easier to keep things congenial when the topics are fairly shallow. I'm not ready to declare his 'relationship' with Alice an overall positive (it still feeds his delusions) but in the short term having an outlet besides Elsa is definitely a good thing.

 

[Wazzatheboss]

Even if Edward's love for Alice is not really healthy, I still think it was good thing for him.

Before that love at first sight with Alice, Edward was a mentally broken man, with no professional future. It was a wake up call that gave him the resolve to change everything in his life, improve socially, professionnally and physically.
Without Alice, he doesn't meet Elsa and doesn't get her "help", he doesn't get closure with that couch scene.

Even if Elsa is probably using him as a pawn for whatever reason or Alice ditch him, Edward seems in a better shape now and won't mentally crumble like he did when Jenna cheated on him with his bestfriend

 

[Jericho85]

Even if Edward's love for Alice is not really healthy, I still think it was good thing for him.

Before that love at first sight with Alice, Edward was a mentally broken man, with no professional future. It was a wake up call that gave him the resolve to change everything in his life, improve socially, professionnally and physically.
Without Alice, he doesn't meet Elsa and doesn't get her "help", he doesn't get closure with that couch scene.

Even if Elsa is probably using him as a pawn for whatever reason or Alice ditch him, Edward seems in a better shape now and won't mentally crumble like he did when Jenna cheated on him with his bestfriend

And I think eventually he'll realize that the Alice thing is really just a pretext he created for himself. Elsa kind of told him as much in the Coffee Shop scene when she told him to thank her whether or not things work out with her. I always like a self-improvement story and whatever excuses he needs to get there, in the end it's a good thing (Even though I think Alice only see's a chump in the MC).

As far as Elsa, I don't think she has any malicious intentions with the MC. Whether there is any kind of self-serving motive for her, who knows. But she's spent a tremendous amount of time, money and effort on MC so far. I doubt there are any romantic feelings she has for the MC yet, but that can obviously change in later chapters. But it might simply be as she says it... She just sees something in the MC. He's a capable man with fixable problems. Or maybe her desire to help him doesn't really have so much to do with him, but rather something in her own past experiences.

Either way, whether she ends up being an actual love interest or not, I don't care. She's easily the most intriguing and most entertaining character in this story. She might even be the most enjoyable female character in any VN I've played.

 

[jufot]

Either way, whether she ends up being an actual love interest or not, I don't care. She's easily the most intriguing and most entertaining character in this story. She might even be the most enjoyable female character in any VN I've played.

Hear, hear! Elsa is my favourite VN character, and I think she's a better fit as a life coach than a love interest for Edward

 

[ostrogotihichun]

any updates ?

 

[Counterside14]

Hear, hear! Elsa is my favourite VN character, and I think she's a better fit as a life coach than a love interest for Edward

Well, I'm playing this game for the sole purpose of fucking Elsa in the end, I don't care about any of the other character.

 

[dolfe67]

Yeah Elsa is the driving force of this game

 

[dolfe67]

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Hey guys!

First, let me thank you for your support through those months and staying despite all that uncertainty and no news and everything.

Now to the news, a good one:

I'm finally getting back to work. It will probably take me a couple of days to figure out where I left off, but it's nothing comparing to months we had to wait.

Just news:

All the time it takes to complete the upcoming update will be charge free - billing stays on pause as we agreed before.
But after the 0.5 update I will resume monthly billing and won't be pausing it as I did before (Unless some fucked up shit happens again, but let's hope not).

The reason for that is a lot changed in my life last year. And the game that used to be just a hobby, something you do mostly for fun and emotions, became a valuable source of income, much more valuable that I'd like to admit.

Now I'll do my best to focus on the game and devote more time to it. But no pausing Patreon because of that, sorry.
I've set some target numbers of images per month I need to reach. Don't expect some crazy numbers - there are still hardware limitations, but I hope the pace of development will improve. If, for some reason, I'm not anywhere near target numbers, then I'll pause the billing. But let's not count on it.

Also depends on how it will play out, scenes might become a bit simpler in order to increase production speed. I'm talking about scenes like the one with Tommy and the pub, and others big frame by frame scenes - those are pain in the ass to make. I'll try to keep to something simpler like conversations and skipping right to the start of it, without showing how someone walk into a room etc.

There are also might be drop in render quality. I used to spend hours switching lights back and forth for some minor improvements, now it could become more standardized across all scenes. Plus, I'm thinking about making a simpler environment, which should decrease render time and time it takes to set up a scene.

I appreciate your support very much. Thank you.

 

[7empest5teele]

Most of the women are rendered very well, with a good variety that many can choose from as their desired preference, but the MC looks like a Crackhead wearing a VERY bad wig, complete with a pullover and a polo??
LMFAO it's almost like you were set out to create the most sickly, disturbing MC possible!
Why not add him being bald, track marks on his boney arms, missing a fcking hand, drooling and finish him off with a club foot??
Oh and that idiot with the BUN for a hairdo is a closet gay I am guessing lmfao!

 

[mightybored]

Well, I'm playing this game for the sole purpose of fucking Elsa in the end, I don't care about any of the other character.

In the end? I'd take her front, tbh.

 

[7empest5teele]

So THE END doesnt actually mean THE END I am guessing since we have only made one woman addicted to our D, though I do very much appreciate the way she was drawn.
At least the MC got a better hairdo, so he doesnt look like some stupiid teen Emo.

 

[vivaloveyou]

Is there an update time?

 

[Nikola100A]

Hi bros