VN Ren'Py Cosy Cafe [v0.9] [Cosy Creator]

[Lord Soth]

Not gonna lie, the graphics initially put me off. I've never been a great fan of the HS type style but still try the games because you do find some gems.

This game looked a bit rough (no offence dev) but after playing about 10 mins I kinda felt compelled for more...plus I did start to get drawn to the girls. Reaching the point where we catch Lucy in her underwear and the shocking revelation...wow did I feel some real rage start...so well done dev in stirring some emotions with that. What can I say, I'm pretty invested in this now.

Great work, can't wait to unfold more of the story

 

[Deleted member 5730975]

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My preference is new content. The reason being after another 6 months you will notice you have improved again. In a year you will notice you have improved yet again and this will continue as you gain experience.

I personally think it is better to take your learnings and push forward instead of getting stuck endlessly reworking the game. If you have learnt something new and awesome, showcase those skills in the next update. I think you can keep reworking your game several times and never be satisfied with it because each time you do you will find new things you can improve upon. You also hit a point of diminishing returns where you make changes that most players simply dont care about. I personally care a lot more about story, character development and progression compared to minor improvements to visuals which most of the time I dont even notice unless the dev specifically points them out.

If you are releasing your game on steam, or if you are reworking the game because the underlying codebase is a mess or if you have actual evidence that you are losing players because your game looks like crap in the beginning, it can be a good reason to think about reworks however I dont think any of the above is the case for this game so my (selfish) suggestion is to showcase your skills on new content instead.

But of course it is completely your choice.

 

[Cosy Creator]

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My preference is new content. The reason being after another 6 months you will notice you have improved again. In a year you will notice you have improved yet again and this will continue as you gain experience.

I personally think it is better to take your learnings and push forward instead of getting stuck endlessly reworking the game. If you have learnt something new and awesome, showcase those skills in the next update. I think you can keep reworking your game several times and never be satisfied with it because each time you do you will find new things you can improve upon. You also hit a point of diminishing returns where you make changes that most players simply dont care about. I personally care a lot more about story, character development and progression compared to minor improvements to visuals which most of the time I dont even notice unless the dev specifically points them out.

If you are releasing your game on steam, or if you are reworking the game because the underlying codebase is a mess or if you have actual evidence that you are losing players because your game looks like crap in the beginning, it can be a good reason to think about reworks however I dont think any of the above is the case for this game so my (selfish) suggestion is to showcase your skills on new content instead.

But of course it is completely your choice.

Thanks for the reply!

Yeah, I've more or less come to the same conclusion. My main motivation was that I suspect the graphics are putting off some first time players - generally the feedback I've been getting has been overwhelmingly positive, for which I'm very grateful, but one recurring theme is something like "This was better than I expected", suggesting the initial impression people get is somewhat low.

But as I said, I've come to the same conclusion that I'll keep improving and then keep wanting to re-do old stuff forever, so I'm just going to post some newer preview images when 0.3 comes out (this weekend on patreon) and hope people see them and don't get put off by the earlier graphics.

 

[Deleted member 5730975]

Thanks for the reply!

Yeah, I've more or less come to the same conclusion. My main motivation was that I suspect the graphics are putting off some first time players - generally the feedback I've been getting has been overwhelmingly positive, for which I'm very grateful, but one recurring theme is something like "This was better than I expected", suggesting the initial impression people get is somewhat low.

But as I said, I've come to the same conclusion that I'll keep improving and then keep wanting to re-do old stuff forever, so I'm just going to post some newer preview images when 0.3 comes out (this weekend on patreon) and hope people see them and don't get put off by the earlier graphics.

Is that the graphics though? Because I am one of those people who felt like it was better than I had initially expected as well. But the reason I felt that was has nothing to do with the visuals of the game.

When I first played the game I was expecting your generic harem with girls with cardboard personalities who were put in there so you could cross out a checklist of fetishes etc. It was better than I expected because of the writing, the wholesomeness and the fact that you were able to make the player care for the girls. This has nothing to do with you or the game it is just how many harem games are and I have low expectations by default as a result.

I think when it comes to people who dislike the visuals, they dislike HoneySelect graphics as a whole but as they keep playing it grows on them. But you are the dev and you probably have more accurate feedback. If you have a lot of feedback and you think it is hurting the game or preventing it from growing they you should do what you think is best for the game.

 

[Cosy Creator]

Is that the graphics though? Because I am one of those people who felt like it was better than I had initially expected as well. But the reason I felt that was has nothing to do with the visuals of the game.

When I first played the game I was expecting your generic harem with girls with cardboard personalities who were put in there so you could cross out a checklist of fetishes etc. It was better than I expected because of the writing, the wholesomeness and the fact that you were able to make the player care for the girls. This has nothing to do with you or the game it is just how many harem games are and I have low expectations by default as a result.

I think when it comes to people who dislike the visuals, they dislike HoneySelect graphics as a whole but as they keep playing it grows on them. But you are the dev and you probably have more accurate feedback. If you have a lot of feedback and you think it is hurting the game or preventing it from growing they you should do what you think is best for the game.

You could be right, I would guess it's a combination of factors and the graphics plays one part of it. Regardless, for now I'm going to focus entirely on new content, at least for the next few updates.

 

[RexGenocide]

I tried this game on first release and droped it after a minute, because of navigation in the house. I'm glad i gave it another chance when 0.2 released. If you you want to remake something, remowe this hell in the start.

 

[Elduriel]

I tried this game on first release and droped it after a minute, because of navigation in the house. I'm glad i gave it another chance when 0.2 released. If you you want to remake something, remowe this hell in the start.

well it's not that bad as you make it out to be, but I fully agree it's completely unnecessary. I (and I suspect many others) are easily put off of an AVN with mechanics like this, and some could easily see this the minute they start the game and delete it right then and there (I'm glad I didn't, but I thought about it)

 

[Cosy Creator]

so my suggestion would be to keep it like it is since its really lovely - but to add a notice ingame that there will be no sandbox after this initial bit.

Thanks guys, I do like giving people the opportunity to learn the layout of the building, so this is probably what I'll do.

After 0.3 I'll also remove the part in the bedroom at the start/end of some earlier 0.1 days where you have to click on the bed/stairs, as someone else recommended recently. So then the only free-roaming part will be the exploration at the very begining, complete with a warning that that's the only instance of sandbox.

 

[rambool]

I came here for just another boring stuff for skip-reading, but it turned out as pleasant surprise. I really hope this wont get "abandoned" after 0.3 or something.
Though its just plain HS, visuals are still good. Its always nice to see some more creative stuff, poses, set-ups, situations and angles, other than just bunch of trite stock animations.
The story is simple but still works just fine. And i really like that its (mostly) kinetic, less bother with choooiiccceeess))), more story always fine with me.
Although this "you need to click on the bed each day" seems kinda weird.
Gonna check this in a few months.
Good luck to dev.
And plz more teacher content mhehe.

 

[Lalalala1981]

This game is a gem. And while not particularly into feet,I love the little cat girl.

All the LI's are amazing so far as well.

Looking forward to more backstory on the grandpa as well.

 

[Lord Soth]

Finished the latest update and yeah, really enjoyed it overall.
I like the MC. It's a breath of fresh air having one that's got a dominant side without being an asshole about it - well unless they deserve it. The girls are lovely and I love how the harem thing is going. Sarah is just meh, for me - not a fan of her personality or look but that's just my personal preference. The others though are great in their personalities and dynamic. Lucy I felt was just a tad bit too plain, kind of felt a little disservice to her considering how cute the others are. As for the graphics, I wouldn't lose too much sleep over it dev, you have the story bubbling along nicely and some great characters with a feel good situation for the player as he builds his harem and business. Some HS games I played might have looked better but were not as enjoyable, so the important part is already doing well. Look forward to next update

 

[Cosy Creator]

This game is a gem. And while not particularly into feet,I love the little cat girl.

All the LI's are amazing so far as well.

Looking forward to more backstory on the grandpa as well.

Glad you liked it!

I'm not into feet either, so there won't be much more of it (plans for exactly one more foot scene, with a different girl) - really that scene was just meant to be Akatsuki experimenting with her newfound power to get the MC hard, and the only reason I didn't have him reject it outright was because I thought it could be a bit jarring to players that do like feet.

 

[Lalalala1981]

Appreciate the info. Very much looking forward to more of this.

 

[Ultimecea]

0.3 comes out (this weekend on patreon)

tbh this is such a huge teaser since public version is stated to came out on may 20th
you just make me itch for more
i just cant bear to wait for more of these warmth that you can get when back in those teenage years
it's a bit of recollection for me to connect to how the mc behave sometimes

 

[Cosy Creator]

tbh this is such a huge teaser since public version is stated to came out on may 20th
you just make me itch for more
i just cant bear to wait for more of these warmth that you can get when back in those teenage years
it's a bit of recollection for me to connect to how the mc behave sometimes

Well considering the nature of this site, there's a good chance you won't have to wait until the 20th

 

[Ultimecea]

Well considering the nature of this site, there's a good chance you won't have to wait until the 20th

Quite true...
it still didnt take away the fact that i have to wait in between the phase of a new update and the new release
it keeps raising my anticipations, sadly~~

 

[Deleted member 6035931]

huh.

so there is a real signature already.

oh well...

 

[CoffeeSaint]

oh well...

you did a hell of an awesome job, Breathing Dawn!



thanks for sharing.

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cheers.

 

[Deleted member 6035931]

you did a hell of an awesome job, Breathing Dawn!

View attachment 2576198

thanks for sharing.

• • • • •

cheers.

That's very kind of you. Thank you!

I like them, but yours is really fancy. Funny how I found it just when completely done.

And I've never seen that GIF of yours. The guy has an awesome name. Would always write it like that!

(out of reactions btw) <3

 

[EvolutionKills]

You could be right, I would guess it's a combination of factors and the graphics plays one part of it. Regardless, for now I'm going to focus entirely on new content, at least for the next few updates.

I want to second It1940's opinion there, and I think I might have some insight.

Ultimately the visuals are good, and I'm a fan as I've made abundantly clear. However, in comparison to a lot of the stuff floating around in this space, the visuals are very understated. They're not gonzo anime parodies, nor do they have extreme proportions. No goofy hair or hair colors, glowing eyes, horns, tails, wings, or animal ears. They're all pretty ordinary, unassuming, but attractive young women. What the visuals don't do is grab your attention. They are, in a word, subtle.

The visuals don't need to be center stage, and that's alright, cause the true star attraction is the writing; and you can't really sell good writing with screenshots.

So at a quick glance, we see yet another slice-of-life school harem with HoneySelect visuals. They're relatively common, and to be fair, most of them aren't that great. So I'm not really surprised that you're getting a lot of 'that was better than I expected' feedback, because what makes this experience great can't be easily encapsulated in a screenshot alone (also I am a bit of a jaded cynical asshole, so anything that isn't hot garbage sorta surprises me these days).

You're building up a good slow burn. I like the characters and I'm investing in seeing where they go next. The visuals complement, rather than distract from, the excellent writing. I'm eagerly awaiting to see what happens next.