VN Ren'Py Completed Exploring the Big Apple [Ep.7 Fixed] [Dimajio333/SadPepper]

[Pr0GamerJohnny]

I feel the professor just didn't belong so I personally didn't care at all about him. I felt the addition of him just didn't make sense. He wasn't even worth critiquing. His addition I believe is why it's ending the way it is DEV doesn't know where to go from here. Backed himself in an corner.

Disagree because that's one fundamental strength of not being shackled to a specific project, and actually finishing games he makes.

Or said another way - I don't think you're totally wrong, but 'doesn't know where to go ' and 'backed himself into a corner' is too much sturm und drang to describe dimaggio; he'll wrap up game, then we can all look forward to whatever he'll be working on next.

 

[Dessolos]

I feel the professor just didn't belong so I personally didn't care at all about him. I felt the addition of him just didn't make sense. He wasn't even worth critiquing. His addition I believe is why it's ending the way it is DEV doesn't know where to go from here. Backed himself in an corner.

Honestly I liked the professor because he was new a breath of fresh air , i'm not a fan of sharing with only 1 guy unless I really like the 1 option. However I do feel the relationship between them felt rushed I was honestly hoping she would start something with another college student.

 

[Dealbreaker]

Disagree because that's one fundamental strength of not being shackled to a specific project, and actually finishing games he makes.

Or said another way - I don't think you're totally wrong, but 'doesn't know where to go ' and 'backed himself into a corner' is too much sturm und drang to describe dimaggio; he'll wrap up game, then we can all look forward to whatever he'll be working on next.

I get what you mean here - he seems to be rather unsentimental in his relation to his own creations and this can be healthy for a developer, he is able to end things.
On the other hand he obviously misjudged this time because you don't introduce totally new character arcs just before you decide to end it. It seems unusually erratic and lacking in self-knowledge here, he didn't foresee the danger of burnout (we all don't of course).
Judged by his other projects, I think his interest seems to focus on a certain phase in the NTS story, and this is the most interesting phase of course, when the woman gets into it learns her desire and asserts herself sets rules in her relationship. Then his interest fades after he narrated that. This time he was at the brink of going further. I would very much like him to do that. A lot of kinks seem to be fixated naturally on certain moments where spedific things happen and you want to repeat that over and over again, this is in their nature. But as a storyteller you have to develop it further and I think NTS has such a potential.

What one also can see over the course of his games is certainly a progress in this variation on the same topic - IMO the scenarios and the psychology became more mature and more plausible, and this is why I regret this.

 

[oldshoe]

I understand most of the complaints being made, but I personally can't get angry with a dev who has given us so much quality enjoyment and then finishes with a completed tag no abandoned. I can't wait for the next journey to begin and hope his health holds as long as mine does.

 

[Filipis]

But in Pineapple Express she was carrying his buddy's kid at the end? I thought you would have loved that one.

Problem is, even on the cheating route, the paternity of the kid is never confirmed as MC and Julia always have sex at least once before shit hits the fan (in PE). Not only that, but the baby is never shown, just a few renders (depending on your path) of Julia getting back in the NTR action after giving birth.

All in all, not a very well thought out ending, and I don't want the same thing happening here with Emma, MC, and Martin triangle.

 

[Filipis]

Disagree because that's one fundamental strength of not being shackled to a specific project, and actually finishing games he makes.

Or said another way - I don't think you're totally wrong, but 'doesn't know where to go ' and 'backed himself into a corner' is too much sturm und drang to describe dimaggio; he'll wrap up game, then we can all look forward to whatever he'll be working on next.

Problem is, his endings are rarely strong.

His closing game is... mid at best.

And a proper finale goes a long way.

 

[Dealbreaker]

Problem is, his endings are rarely strong.

If I had to put this in general terms beyond this dev only, I would ask: can a fetish really become a story according to the rules of classical storytelling or is it damned to remain a repetitive series of moments, of practices, of positions? Can it be transformed into it without losing its fetish-character?
Because you can sense the fetish-character of his stories all the time, e.g. when he repeats certain sentences again in different games or the type of woman, you can see a progression there, his imagination works on the same type over time (exception pineapple express).

 

[Filipis]

If I had to put this in general terms beyond this dev only, I would ask: can a fetish really become a story according to the rules of classical storytelling or is it damned to remain a repetitive series of moments, of practices, of positions? Can it be transformed into it without losing its fetish-character?
Because you can sense the fetish-character of his stories all the time, e.g. when he repeats certain sentences again in different games or the type of woman, you can see a progression there, his imagination works on the same type over time (exception pineapple express).

You can have different setups, that evoke different reasonings for the FMC in question.

Sharing my Fiancee: IIRC, the FMC had no other sexual experience other than with MC - inexperienced shy girl on the verge of promising herself to one man only? Gold.

Pineapple Express: In trying to keep up a ruse to save a friends dignity, the FMC discovers something new about her relationship and sexuality? Gold.

Exploring the Big Apple: the FMC is "forced" to share an apartment with an older, but hunky gentleman. As the couple decides to experiment, tensions arise until the boiling point is reached - and a final decision is made. Gold.

See? Last three games all had different premises, and as such, should have a different enough experience and method to the madness.

The endings are the only thing I might argue are largely the same, there's only so many ways these situations can end - but Dimajio never properly explored any so far. They all end too fast, and don't dive deeper into the psychology of the MC or the FMC on any given ending.

 

[Dealbreaker]

The endings are the only thing I might argue are largely the same, there's only so many ways these situations can end - but Dimajio never properly explored any so far. They all end too fast, and don't dive deeper into the psychology of the MC or the FMC on any given ending.

I absolutely agree with you there. But my sucspicion is, that there could be a more general problem behind that and not only a weakness of this dev. The setups you rightly describe all are exactly that: setups to make the enactment of the fetish possible. And once they have fulfilled this aim, they don't support a classic story arch anymore, because they are only constructed with that aim in mind. They don't offer enough potential or meaning for an end which makes sense because they have outlived their usefulness. That doesn't mean that the could't be developed in that direction but on the other hand I see a lot of games on this site which are very elaborate and where is a lot of effort in storytelling but loose their pornographic fetishlike intensity I appreciate so much with this dev here. With him you can always rely on his clear vision and razor focus on the sexual content and the sexual logic.
The difficulty is to find a narrative logic which remains at the same time a sexual logic behind the things that happen to the characters. The ending should be motivated in my opinion on the sexual level. At the same time it must not be trivial or mechanical. Pregnancy is the classic example for an ending as consequence of sex. but there should be others.

 

[Pr0GamerJohnny]

Problem is, his endings are rarely strong.

His closing game is... mid at best.

And a proper finale goes a long way.

But if we agree his closing writing is mid, and his strength is in the initial character buildup and early 'transgressions', then to me that would better the argument for him ending prematurely and starting work on a new title; it plays to his strengths, not weaknesses.

If I had to put this in general terms beyond this dev only, I would ask: can a fetish really become a story according to the rules of classical storytelling or is it damned to remain a repetitive series of moments, of practices, of positions? Can it be transformed into it without losing its fetish-character?
Because you can sense the fetish-character of his stories all the time, e.g. when he repeats certain sentences again in different games or the type of woman, you can see a progression there, his imagination works on the same type over time (exception pineapple express).

It's a very good question, one I've discussed aloud on my own thread in considering my own game design. Particularly in this arena, where so much of the appeal comes from that initial "line-crossing" and buildup, it's difficult to think of storytelling devices to prolong or revisit that feeling.

 

[xert13]

Can’t say I am surprised the Dev is wrapping it up. Wasn’t sure where it was going after last update. Interested to see what his next project is going to be. I thought in the past he expressed an interest in doing a straight up Netorare story. I may be confusing him with another Dev.

 

[NewTricks]

Can’t say I am surprised the Dev is wrapping it up. Wasn’t sure where it was going after last update. Interested to see what his next project is going to be. I thought in the past he expressed an interest in doing a straight up Netorare story. I may be confusing him with another Dev.

You might be thinking of the developer EHellJay.

 

[Dealbreaker]

One more thing, which a appreciate in the devs writing even more compared to other games: The FMC doesn't constantly reassure the MC that she will stay with him, love him, come back to him always etc. I know a lot of people like to have that and I don't dismiss that, but I like how this is different here. Because it seems plausible that this is not her concern at that very moment, she is not there to calm him but to go forward with her desire and she needs to be a bit ruthless for that. Those speeches often to me appear as deliberate inserts of the devs to signal something to their viewers (often with the same words in different games), not as authentic things the girl would say and think in that moment. Also of course this often rings hollow anyway, but this is a matter of personal perception of course.
That doesn't mean that she on the other hand doesn't acknowledge the needs of the MC for example in the new flat Martin would have sent him away in order to fuck her in the meantime, but she arranges it so that he can stay and watch. Again this is good writing, doing things nonverbally instead with stump speeches.

 

[Filipis]

One more thing, which a appreciate in the devs writing even more compared to other games: The FMC doesn't constantly reassure the MC that she will stay with him, love him, come back to him always etc. I know a lot of people like to have that and I don't dismiss that, but I like how this is different here. Because it seems plausible that this is not her concern at that very moment, she is not there to calm him but to go forward with her desire and she needs to be a bit ruthless for that. Those speeches often to me appear as deliberate inserts of the devs to signal something to their viewers (often with the same words in different games), not as authentic things the girl would say and think in that moment. Also of course this often rings hollow anyway, but this is a matter of personal perception of course.
That doesn't mean that she on the other hand doesn't acknowledge the needs of the MC for example in the new flat Martin would have sent him away in order to fuck her in the meantime, but she arranges it so that he can stay and watch. Again this is good writing, doing things nonverbally instead with stump speeches.

Amen.

Most devs do that in games with NTS, and it really grinds my gears to hear the woman coddle the MC like that.

 

[Becca 28]

Just discovered this little gem. What fun! Loved the story, the renders, and the writing. And offering the different perspectives is so clever, surprised no one thought of it before. Bummed to hear that it's ending, but I do agree with the developer's decision...the primary arc is effectively complete. In fact, move-in day could have easily been the finale, one that would have saved us from the professor arc that seems both forced and superfluous.

Either way, this is a really great effort, and i hope the developer scripts a satisfying and believable conclusion.

 

[Ashira13]

Just discovered this little gem. What fun! Loved the story, the renders, and the writing. And offering the different perspectives is so clever, surprised no one thought of it before. Bummed to hear that it's ending, but I do agree with the developer's decision...the primary arc is effectively complete. In fact, move-in day could have easily been the finale, one that would have saved us from the professor arc that seems both forced and superfluous.

Either way, this is a really great effort, and i hope the developer scripts a satisfying and believable conclusion.

sarcasm?

 

[packard1928]

Just discovered this little gem. What fun! Loved the story, the renders, and the writing. And offering the different perspectives is so clever, surprised no one thought of it before. Bummed to hear that it's ending, but I do agree with the developer's decision...the primary arc is effectively complete. In fact, move-in day could have easily been the finale, one that would have saved us from the professor arc that seems both forced and superfluous.

Either way, this is a really great effort, and i hope the developer scripts a satisfying and believable conclusion.

look on the first page,, there is a link to his other games. All are good.

 

[WeAreChecking]

Shame that the next update will be the last but Dev said it from the start, still feeling disappointed tho. But a top tier game nonetheless.


The most plausible ending the Prof could get is him getting a new job as an actual journalist or principal/dean somewhere that he'll have to move away because of the story he did with Emma last update, so he can be used in Dev's future projects or he could you know choke on rice and die.

 

[Joshy92]

Let's introduce a new character for Emma and then finish the game the next update.

 

[Dessolos]

Let's introduce a new character for Emma and then finish the game the next update.

Yup just like all of his games ive played they start decent , right when it gets good it's over tho this one is the worst case ive seen so far. tbh I don't even want to try the games i've yet to play by this dev cause im afraid right when it gets good gonna be over. I probably will play the next one and hope it will won't be turn out the same

I know someone will say it's not over yet and im jumping to conclusions without playing the final update but meh I don't feel like there is anything he can do that will change my mind other than not end it lol.