Ariestra Given that I like this enough to comment. I have to say... you're making 2 different games at the same time, with each updates targeted towards probably a minority of your audience, based on the fact that the split is so early, ans based on i the audience wants a challenging game or just wants to see all the content without giving any effort, and based on the more specific type of content you're delivering.
I'm probably just bitching out, but I'd be trying to consolidate the storyline so that even if a few replays are required to get most of the content, it'll be worth it. There's no reason we can't be FORCED to attend school regardless of our will while retaining/cementing our will to submit OR defy... PRIOR to a runaway storyline.. or I can be "coincidentally" led into a runaway storyline and be made to progress under threat of Game Overs BEFORE being captured and forced to attend school.
Even if I know that Cassandra is out for domination and ownership of me... my inability to convince others of this fact in the runaway storyline can simply be a more nuanced way that she dominates me. The fact that I had no option but to trust her in the Runaway storyline simply adds more nuance to how she can dominate me in the submission/schooling storyline.
I mean... a femdom fan who ONLY wants to submit to ANY woman..., the FIRST woman who will allow this fan to be in her presence after complete submission... deserves ONLY the domination afforded by the average Dom. MC has already been defined as desirable by MANY potential women. If I'm thinking about branching storylines..., I'm thinking about a Game Completion where 1> I have proven myself to be amongst THE most common resources that ALL the women of Misantria have a right to(along with life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness...) to the extent that I am as unremarkable as oxygen 2> I have proven myself capable enough to choose how I might make my own fate, where the Game Completion allows me to either devote myself to some further expansion of Misantria, to devote myself to the exclusive whims of a particular denizen of Misantria or to contribute to Misantria's potential downfall... sequel or not. I'm thinking about how to get maximal content for a maximal amount of time from a single game story.
I'm not thinking of a game that branches in the first 15 minutes to become 2 exclusive stories half of which may or may not appeal to me. If you end up making a game with gameplay that may not be worth the time and effort involved with seeing it through... the split storyline will REALLY turn people off, IMFUO.
If you SMEEEELLLL what the robtbo's cooking.... even at THIS point in development, the 2 storylines may be efficiently merged into one if the ONLY factor is the sequence in which "Hero" passes through them. If the player is made to have no choice BUT to play through any branches and the knowledge/stats/skills/objects attained in this the branches don't really come into play until a single primary goal is set for the player of the game... be it submission/forced submission/selective submission or successfully gaining respect as a chosen servant by one's favorite amongst superiors... or even... madness, I know... being successful in overthrowing the governing forces of Misantria... I just think it's a bad idea to force the player into such a decision so early in gameplay. I think it makes it a little worse for everyone.
Feel free to tell me to fuck off.