Wow...I'm so happy tonight to find such fine gentlemen and scholars discussing this wonderful, living work of art together.
Oh I see what you mean. I guess that could be excused by all the confidence he gains with all that happens to him in Eternum. It's also an usual trope, the hero that gain more and more confidence as the story progress, with all the fights, the dangers etc. That plus the fact that she's clearly and heavily flirting, practically telling him to go for it.
As for Dalia and Penelope, I believe he does check with Dalia during the beach scene when she says let's do it, that's when she justify wanting to do it with the "you make me feel more confident" and all that nice stuff. As for Penelope there's only one scene really and it's the photoshoot where he actually is uncomfortable and not familiar and she's the one who insists on taking the photos.
I get what you mean though, Nancy could have been more "in control" with a more surprised and less jarring Orion, even if he doesn't reject her. The photoshoot with Penelope is a good comparison for what you're saying. Yeah, maybe he could have been more like this in the Nancy scene too.
It didn't bother me much though, as long as it can be justified with how the characters feel I'm fine with it. All the "good girls" with Annie bothered me more but I basically replaced them in my script
. Talking about it because it seems like the same "symptom" of Orion become more and more dominant in the last two updates, even when it's a little pushy or unecessary.
Sure, can't really refute any of these points as they all make sense. It's good to hear your perspective
I sobbed just as hard my second playthrough for all this scene. I hope everyone who experiences it can connect in some way with childhood, loss, childish invincibility surrendering to adult pessimism, and the restoration of that innocent child who never truly left.
I can actually somehow get this.
At this point in the story he is a virgin that pretty much hasn't ever touched a woman, being sold on the idea that an extremely attractive woman that REJECTED many others, is interested in him. It's funny but i find it understandable.
Interesting. I'm don't know if I see it this way, BUT I wonder if our feelings regarding this choice has to do more with our experience than with Orion's.
We know that Annie has been in love with him forever, but he doesn't. For that reason, we feel rotten to the core making a choice that we know would absolutely crush and devastate Annie.
Also I agree completely with everything else you said. Comparing Penny's scene with Nancy's was brilliant.
For me it's...been the opposite...
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I really wish at this point we could have a sex-free version of the game
Fun game - I had a big smile on my face while playing it. My biggest problem however is with the point/relationship system. I do not like the way it is implemented - here are some of my opinions. I realize that these cannot be implemented in Eternum but maybe they can be considered in the future when the dev is making the next game.
- Character paths should not close because of one-off choices. I would prefer if character paths close over a period of time if you dont have enough points at various checkpoints. Losing out on a path should be a gradual process rather than an instant one.
- One off/instant choices should close a path only if we do something that really impacts that character. For example I am fine with Dalia's path getting closed if we reveal her password and that asshole at the gym (Brock I think?) hears it. I am not ok with paths getting closed for random shit that does not impact the character (not going with dalia/nancy to the gym should not close their paths - maybe you miss out on points and over time if you keep making bad choices you may lose their path but something so trivial should not instantly end their paths).
- Choices that grant points should feel intuitive and should reward the player for reading dialogue. I would expect peeping on Dalia would make me lose her path (especially since she makes it a point to check that the MC is not in the bathroom). Instead we end up gaining points if we follow the walkthrough - it makes no sense to me.
- My personal preference would be to hand out points liberally. Losing out on a girl's path or forming negative relationships should be a deliberate and intentional choice by the player. However this is just preference.
Other than this I really enjoyed the game. The fights against thanatos and the gladiator were excellent. The horror server with luna/annie was incredible. I loved hogwarts, ekabar and ion. The girls interacting with each other during the heist and nova's phone call were great. The story and characters are interesting.
Great job
Caribdis - I will probably end up supporting this game. Also give us a character card for Calypso - she is obviously sticking around and I would love to see her character profile, her interests and the various outfits.
SOMEBODY ELECT THIS MAN AS PRESIDENT PLEEEEEEEEASE
Once in a Lifetime's model was basically "nobody knows anything about anyone until the very end".
The fact that the game was so intensely enjoyable and engaging in spite of this, is certainly remarkable and really shows how readily we've bonded with the characters.
And no, "it's a harem game bruh" is a completely imbecilic response. Genres only exist in the *first* place because an extraordinary work created it.
We don't need time spent on jealousy drama, but we do want everyone to matter and feel involved. Caribdis' style has basically been to write each romance as a separate line with hardly any influence on the others, to ultimately bring them all together. It's a collection of "more paths, more good".
He does it exceptionally well, and it's so amazing that you don't even notice it. But I would indeed prefer to lose the "gotta collect them all" feel, like you are playing an RPG where you are just maxing relationship points with to get their final stat boosts.
Lauren and Judy's finding out scene was basically as good as it could have been. Being a DIK is not a harem game obviously, but the throuple is so emotionally gripping and relatable that it doesn't undermine anything, even if it's your first exposure to something poly. Here's three people who love each other.
It's clear that Caribdis is a wonder in what he's created. There is a method, and he could make 10 more games using the same formula, and they would all be smash hits because he's just that great in making you FEEL for the characters.
Yet, he could do even more than that. He has the skill to break away from relying on an audience's familiarity with harem staples. He could have SO much more room for the stories he can tell and romances he can write, because he is just that good.
All's well that ends well, but it just doesn't feel the best to be thoughtlessly escalating relationships that you know would hurt others, up until the supernatural fantasy ending.
To that end, it would be really nice if you could achieve the happiest ending possible (I assume that's ending together with everyone, based on Once in a Lifetime) without that requiring being 100% full steam ahead with 100% of the girls, 100% of the time, passing 100% of the "path" choices.
"Please stop Nancy, I have a girlfriend" *can still pursue later*
"Let's just go to sleep, Annie" *stay friends longer, free up choices on other paths, higher romance score and lower lust score, etc*
"Nova you don't have to do this, I don't want this to happen under duress!" *negotiates Maat into letting her go with Dione, in exchange for being killed or tortured by her (which Maat would totally get off on)
Another problem is with the paths so separated, more and more content each chapter will be locked behind the 100% 100% 100% playthrough.
Consider: if you didn't do the thighjob with Annie, then you miss an entire sequence in the latest chapter, full of so many reveals and clues about Eternum, not to mention characters likely to return.
