VN Ren'Py Friends in Need [Ch.1 Remake v0.25] [NeonGhosts]

[Dessolos]

My overall ranking
1. Viola
2. Brittani
3. Pepper
4. Nikki (based on the redesign)
5. Gabby
6. Ashe
7. Mason

Don't know enough about Alex to rank her yet.

For me it's
1. Nicki
2. Pepper
3. Brittani
4. Viola
5. Ashe
6. Gabby ( not interested in being more than friends so no LI for me)
7. Mason ( not interested in being more than friends so no LI for me)

 

[Bad Wolf]

My overall ranking
1. Viola
2. Brittani
3. Pepper
4. Nikki (based on the redesign)
5. Gabby
6. Ashe
7. Mason

Don't know enough about Alex to rank her yet.

My ranking is short:

1. Gabby

1a. Mason

If I were to choose anyone else, I'd say Alex. But as you said, we don't know enough about her.

 

[motseer]

My ranking is short:

1. Gabby

1a. Mason

If I were to choose anyone else, I'd say Alex. But as you said, we don't know enough about her.

Mine's shorter... wait... that sounded better in my head. I meant, my list is shorter... obviously.

1. Gabby

Hehe... Sup, Silent one

 

[Bad Wolf]

Mine's shorter... wait... that sounded better in my head. I meant, my list is shorter... obviously.

 

[RC-1138 Boss]

Do tentacles with Mason!
Hehe loved the bukkake render with him.

 

[The Anti]

Alex dark path gonna be fun
She looks like a fighter

 

[hitman2511]

The Urination tag should be added.

 

[Karana]

The Urination tag should be added.

Is there a urination scene in the game or is this a suggestion that you want to see someone get pissed on?

 

[Dessolos]

Is there a urination scene in the game or is this a suggestion that you want to see someone get pissed on?

If I recall correctly there is one with Ashe but only if you play on the normal version with the patch and you have to be on the dark path. Not 100% sure tho

 

[jish55]

My ranking is short:

1. Gabby

1a. Mason

If I were to choose anyone else, I'd say Alex. But as you said, we don't know enough about her.

Gabby is the only right answer, so good choice.

 

[HSHS1111]

My ranking is short:

1. Gabby

1a. Mason

Gabby and Mason are indeed quite short.

 

[PHIL101-YYouPPHard]

You're right, it's definitely not a guarantee, but probably she wouldn't just roll over and accept it. MC getting his ass whupped would be hilarious lol. Dark MC is a vile predator who likes it when his victims don't fight back.

Actually, being a dark MC enjoyer, I'd love more girls who fight back. Pepper was a nice start.

Oh, hell no!!!
I draw the line at anything entering my butt

I was meaning something wholesome
Like letting Mason ride me like a bull or something
While he only focuses on getting himself off

For someone who draws the line at your butt, you sure do employ quite the homoerotic bottom lingo there
Nah, just messin' obviously

Yes, because a kind, handsome multi-millionaire getting a lot of girls is unrealistic.

You guys are confusing sex with romance. Can you honestly think of a single extremely handsome, rich man who has multiple concurrent women all in a romantic relationship with him simultaneously and who are all aware of each other? Come on, guys... you play way too many porn games, it's frying your brains Women don't find romance in being one of a dozen collectible pokemon cards for one man. That's very obviously a hyper-masculine fantasy. Which is fine, there's nothing wrong with the fantasy... but it isn't remotely believable in the real world and from what Neon's said, he wants his story to be believable and grounded in reality to a satisfactory degree.

And anyways, we're already going to get a full "harem" for corruption routes and harem-lite for a few select romantic interests who happen to be into sharing in a limited capacity. This all runs parallel to what we actually find people doing in the real world and it perfectly agrees with his already stated aims. Not sure why this isn't enough for people.

I also specifically called out the potential of a slightly ridiculous 'harem path' add-on. Something that would lean into the silliness whole magic-dick MC thing, while also letting players get that ending. I was always a big fan of that gimmick where, if you beat a game once, you could unlock bonus stuff on subsequent playthroughs. So I think it'd be super fun to do something where you beat the game on a love path, and thereby unlock the love harem path.

That sounds really fun & awesome actually! Also sounds like the best way to satisfy some of these romance harem enjoyers who want some WVM-style silliness without ruining the entire premise of the game's setting.

 

[Master of Puppets]

You guys are confusing sex with romance. Can you honestly think of a single extremely handsome, rich man who has multiple concurrent women all in a romantic relationship with him simultaneously and who are all aware of each other? Come on, guys... you play way too many porn games, it's frying your brains Women don't find romance in being one of a dozen collectible pokemon cards for one man. That's very obviously a hyper-masculine fantasy. Which is fine, there's nothing wrong with the fantasy... but it isn't remotely believable in the real world and from what Neon's said, he wants his story to be believable and grounded in reality to a satisfactory degree.

Yes, it happens all the time in societies where polygamy isn't taboo. Keep the insults to yourself.

 

[Maviarab]

Yes, it happens all the time in societies where polygamy isn't taboo. Keep the insults to yourself.

Polygamy isn't neccassarily a harem...and if you were as smart as you like to think you are MoP...you'd know in those 'societies' women rarely have rights or any respect and most of the women actually dislike their situation. Where they are happy about it, is still..incredibly rare. The fact that there are more women trying to 'escape' those situations and societies than join them...should be a small indicator don't you think?

Anything else?

 

[PHIL101-YYouPPHard]

Yes, it happens all the time in societies where polygamy isn't taboo. Keep the insults to yourself.

The "insults" were meant to be teasing, not serious. So, we can relax and chill.

Well, I personally think you're injecting more fantasy into the world... as I do not think women enjoy being in harems; it's a male fantasy usually imposed by force or at least by circumstance rather than true desire. Swinging is much, much more believable, but even that is pretty damn rare amongst most people.

But, the real point to think about here: where does FiN take place? That's really all anyone needs to know to realize why romantic harems involving all the LIs would just be silly, even if you were correct. Also, on top of that, the way Neon's written the characters just wouldn't mesh with that at all. I can't see Pepper being into sharing "one perfect guy" or w/e with 12 other women... or Ashe... Risa refused to even fuck the MC after his date with Ashe. Gabby. Brit. And all the rest. It's like if you wrote all the LIs to enjoy being pissed on or something... one character makes sense to have that fetish.. but when you write it into all of them, it starts to feel silly and removes their individuality (makes them very same-y). And that's how a love harem for every LI would feel; just very artificial and forced.

 

[Joshy92]

Harem or no harem I don't care
My goal is to make sure Nicki & Mason are happy and enjoying life
Of course that also counts for all the other love interests too

 

[Dessolos]

While I'm not big fan of harems. Unless it was with multiple close friends and said women are close with one another as well as it was the women's idea to form said harem because they all care for the guy / MC. Because otherwise there wouldn't be that much romance even if everyone agreed. Because if it was said guy / MC 's idea the harem usually comes across as him wanting to be a manwhore and a harem without any romantic feeling from both sides feels pointless to me.

Why I think it's better for the women to form said harems instead off the guy / MC is because it can come across more forced and would eventually to lead to drama or some not being happy if was the guy / MC's idea. While the same can be true if was the women's idea to form it with the guy / MC the difference to me is it feels like said women in the harem actually want it and to be with the same guy / MC instead of the guy wanting it for sexual desire. Because even if said guy does have feelings more than sexual desire with all the girls when it's the guy / MC that makes the harem it usually comes across more as a way to fulfill his sexual his desire instead of the guy / MC having romantic feeling.

 

[Defenestrator.for.traitor]

Harem or no harem I don't care
My goal is to make sure Nicki & Mason are happy and enjoying life
Of course that also counts for all the other love interests too

Here's a thought? What if they will be happy without you? Would you gracefully bow out or would you still try to get in even though it makes them less happy?
Would you be happy for them even if it does not make you happy? Do you love them that much?

 

[Joshy92]

Here's a thought? What if they will be happy without you? Would you gracefully bow out or would you still try to get in even though it makes them less happy?
Would you be happy for them even if it does not make you happy? Do you love them that much?

Damn that is a tough question
I would like to think if I was in that situation I would say yes
But I don't know
I think the guilt would make me leave them alone
Because I know I would feel like garbage seeing them unhappy if I was the cause of it

 

[NewTricks]

Harem games aren't realistic, but neither are NTR games, femdom games, incest games, corruption games, or any of the other fantasies people enjoy in games like this. Friends in Need is not an exception to this. Games have a certain conceit, a compact that is made between the creator and the audience, to indulge in a certain fiction for the purpose of enjoyment. This is the ride, you can either get on board or get left on the curb. Friends in Need has for the most part taken a path of verisimilitude, not really trying to conceal that Guy is an "everyman" character. It's right there in the name. He's just a guy. That is central to his appeal. While we are rooting for Guy's success, we don't want it to be so easy. So far the game has a good balance of creating tension between the characters.

Introducing the conceit of your average harem game isn't going to improve the game and might be too absurd for the audience to accept. It will break the compact that was built between the author and the audience. When I am teaching creative writing I instruct that building this compact is the most important portion of a story. Your audience will accept a great deal of absurdity just as long as they know that is the deal. They will even accept bad plots, bad scenes, bad characters, and nonsensical ass pulls, just as long as it is in service of honoring the deal that was silently made when you began the story. Most of the failures in popular entertainment recently have been the result of breaking the deal.

So to sum it up, how many girls Guy ends up with at the end isn't as important as having each individual story reaching a conclusion that is right for that individual character. The compact that was built wasn't "watch this guy get a lot of girlfriends" it was rather that each of the girls (and the boy) have a goal to reach or a problem to solve. Guy is going to help them do it, and maybe help himself along the way. Maybe he will help himself to a little too much. So that is the journey we are on and it is bound to be more satisfying if the conclusions are somewhat unexpected, yet predictable in hindsight. That is what delights an audience. If they all fall in love with him or they all get together and take him to the cops those are conclusions that are bound to be equally unsatisfying. So let's keep going and see what happens.