VN Ren'Py Completed Haley's Story [v1.1 Pre-Patched] [Viitgames]

[danomator]

At the very beginning of the game, we have this monologue from the MC:

"You were excited at first, when you and your sister Haley found entry jobs at the same company. And living together will certainly reduce the cost of moving to the city. But you had forgotten how she can be."

That is followed by:

"The ride over here reminded you... Spoiled brat. Daddy's girl. She's your twin, and only two hours older than you. And to her, that's enough to always break your balls. But she's always been there for you. So, how much can you really complain. How her boyfriend Jack puts up with her, you'll never know. Maybe he's happy that they're now having a long distance relationship."

I don't know where the MC was living, but it doesn't seem like it was with Haley. It also seems like she was living with Jack.

Besides, from their first trip home, which was only a few weeks after they moved in together, they were stunned that the MC's room had been left the same, but everything had been moved out of Haley's.

Also, while they were walking around the house, Haley said, "It feels smaller somehow. The whole house.", which is a comment that would only be made by someone who hadn't been home for awhile.

I can't see any way that they had lived together in their parents house just before moving to the city. The probability is that neither of them had lived at home since they left for college.

well but this monologue doesn't really mean they have been living appart and never saw each other. most likely yes they lived away from home but went to the same college and were staying in different dorms obviously. so they saw each other on a more or less daily basis but not necesseraly spent every minute with each other like they do since they live in the same place and work in the same bureau.

this would make sense with both the monologue and the "we've never been appart for that long" line Cartageno mentioned.

 

[Walter Victor]

well but this monologue doesn't really mean they have been living appart and never saw each other. most likely yes they lived away from home but went to the same college and were staying in different dorms obviously. so they saw each other on a more or less daily basis but not necesseraly spent every minute with each other like they do since they live in the same place and work in the same bureau.

this would make sense with both the monologue and the "we've never been appart for that long" line Cartageno mentioned.

Right. I never thought that the MC and Haley lost contact after going off to college. I assume they saw each other, as you do, on a semi-regular basis, but were traveling in different circles, until they both landed this job.

There are a lot of things we don't know. Did they go to the same school? Probably. How, where and when did Haley meet Jack? We know he's a musician. But did he go to Haley's school, or did they meet at a concert or some local club. And how long have they been together. We know that she didn't travel with him, because Haley tells her mom that she wasn't a 'roadie'. We know that Mom is aware of Jack, and I assume that Jack has met Haley's parents, but we don't know how and where. I assume that Jack never spent the night at Haley's house. But Jack does have their home number, as he and Mom have been talking lately.

We also don't know if this is the first job that Haley and the MC have held, or if they held other jobs after college. We do know, though, that Haley had to help the MC tie his tie for their first day of their new job. So that seems to indicate that they are straight from college, but it's not conclusive.

Lots of unknowns to go along with the few tidbits the developer has given us. So everybody gets to build some of their own recent history for our favorite couple.

 

[Avaron1974]

our favorite couple.

Just to note that while I think Haley is great, I am a Sandra fan here.

My MC is still with her and i've no plans on splitting them up. If Haley wants in then she'll have to accept sharing.

 

[danomator]

Right. I never thought that the MC and Haley lost contact after going off to college. I assume they saw each other, as you do, on a semi-regular basis, but were traveling in different circles, until they both landed this job.

There are a lot of things we don't know. Did they go to the same school? Probably. How, where and when did Haley meet Jack? We know he's a musician. But did he go to Haley's school, or did they meet at a concert or some local club. And how long have they been together. We know that she didn't travel with him, because Haley tells her mom that she wasn't a 'roadie'. We know that Mom is aware of Jack, and I assume that Jack has met Haley's parents, but we don't know how and where. I assume that Jack never spent the night at Haley's house. But Jack does have their home number, as he and Mom have been talking lately.

We also don't know if this is the first job that Haley and the MC have held, or if they held other jobs after college. We do know, though, that Haley had to help the MC tie his tie for their first day of their new job. So that seems to indicate that they are straight from college, but it's not conclusive.

Lots of unknowns to go along with the few tidbits the developer has given us. So everybody gets to build some of their own recent history for our favorite couple.

well we also could be entirely wrong and the discrepency between them being never appart for a longer time as the couple of days this business trip takes and the opening monologue that it was just an oversight by the dev tho. stuff like this happens.

 

[Walter Victor]

well we also could be entirely wrong and the discrepency between them being never appart for a longer time as the couple of days this business trip takes and the opening monologue that it was just an oversight by the dev tho. stuff like this happens.

Right. The dreaded plot holes!

The MC could have been living at home and working with Dad for the last 10 years, while Haley was a high-priced call girl in Los Angeles.

Or, maybe the MC and Haley had a falling out right after high school, and haven't even spoken to each other until they were forced to take this job, because it was the only one either of them could get, and Mom and Dad refused to let them move back home.

Maybe Klaus continued his 'tutoring' even while the twins were in college. Maybe he was 'tutoring' the MC too!

Who needs plot consistency?!

 

[EZ8lt]

Right. I never thought that the MC and Haley lost contact after going off to college. I assume they saw each other, as you do, on a semi-regular basis, but were traveling in different circles, until they both landed this job.

There are a lot of things we don't know. Did they go to the same school? Probably. How, where and when did Haley meet Jack? We know he's a musician. But did he go to Haley's school, or did they meet at a concert or some local club. And how long have they been together. We know that she didn't travel with him, because Haley tells her mom that she wasn't a 'roadie'. We know that Mom is aware of Jack, and I assume that Jack has met Haley's parents, but we don't know how and where. I assume that Jack never spent the night at Haley's house. But Jack does have their home number, as he and Mom have been talking lately.

We also don't know if this is the first job that Haley and the MC have held, or if they held other jobs after college. We do know, though, that Haley had to help the MC tie his tie for their first day of their new job. So that seems to indicate that they are straight from college, but it's not conclusive.

Lots of unknowns to go along with the few tidbits the developer has given us. So everybody gets to build some of their own recent history for our favorite couple.

Was it settled that they were in college? I was never sure of it, because when they went home for the first time and Haley said how much the place feels unfamiliar, like the school, MC says it wasn't a long time since they were there, while a Business degree in college at least takes 3 years if not more.

 

[danomator]

Right. The dreaded plot holes!

The MC could have been living at home and working with Dad for the last 10 years, while Haley was a high-priced call girl in Los Angeles.

Or, maybe the MC and Haley had a falling out right after high school, and haven't even spoken to each other until they were forced to take this job, because it was the only one either of them could get, and Mom and Dad refused to let them move back home.

Maybe Klaus continued his 'tutoring' even while the twins were in college. Maybe he was 'tutoring' the MC too!

Who needs plot consistency?!

well yeah i mean we are talking about a story in a friggin porn game after all and not macbeth level shakespear type of writting lol

 

[pothb]

Eh, nothing really seems so out of place that I'd call em plotholes, especially when it can be explained away like it has been. Not everything has to be explicitly said, hell, that would usually end up in a lot of exposition, and that'd just be bad writing.

 

[Walter Victor]

Was it settled that they were in college? I was never sure of it, because when they went home for the first time and Haley said how much the place feels unfamiliar, like the school, MC says it wasn't a long time since they were there, while a Business degree in college at least takes 3 years if not more.

I believe the conversation you are thinking of takes place when Haley and the MC start out to explore the old neighborhood. She says, "It's different though, isn't it.", he responds, "What?", "Everything.", "No. You're different. You're looking at it through different eyes." That doesn't give me any indication that they have been home recently.

If you review the conversations when they went to the lake, it seems like they hadn't been there in a while.

Then there is the meeting with Nick, where it sure looks like Nick might have put on a few pounds.

Not only that, but on the drive back home, Haley says, "It was nice to see them, wasn't it?", to which the MC responds, "Yeah. It's been a while.".

To me, everything in the game points to them being away since having gone off to college... at least. There are just too many references to the 'old days' when they were in high school for me to think differently.

 

[danomator]

I believe the conversation you are thinking of takes place when Haley and the MC start out to explore the old neighborhood. She says, "It's different though, isn't it.", he responds, "What?", "Everything.", "No. You're different. You're looking at it through different eyes." That doesn't give me any indication that they have been home recently.

If you review the conversations when they went to the lake, it seems like they hadn't been there in a while.

Then there is the meeting with Nick, where it sure looks like Nick might have put on a few pounds.

Not only that, but on the drive back home, Haley says, "It was nice to see them, wasn't it?", to which the MC responds, "Yeah. It's been a while.".

To me, everything in the game points to them being away since having gone off to college... at least. There are just too many references to the 'old days' when they were in high school for me to think differently.

yeah agreed. most likely they went to the same college and got the same job in the same company. so i guess they have been gone for 3 or more years.

 

[yctracon]

I don't know why but somehow with this game I find it interesting thinking about this kind of stuff.

However the more I think about it, the more I come to the conclusion, that no one specific timeline makes a lot of sense.

The best I can come up with is that for whatever how much time has past since highschool they continued living with their parents doing god knows what. However theres no mention of college ever in the entire story, so it's weird to me how everyone assumes they went to college.
Maybe I'm not familiar enough with how things are in murica...

I think theres a lot of evidence pointing towards them never before having moved out of their parents house before. There are comments from their parents how they need to be indepentent, there are comments about how they are worried about haley and how mc needs to take care off here, and those don't seem like comments parents would make if the children had already moved out years ago. Also theres a scene where mc forgets to buy bath products, and that again points to him never having had to provide for himself in that way.
But they also dont seem like they just finished school 3 months ago, the way they talk about that whole time it sounds like it was at least a couple of years ago, I agree with you all there.
Also I definitelly think this is the first time they lived together outside of their parents house, and I cant imagine a world where they didnt live together for several years, and still continued to see each other every single day - there is this comment how they've never been apart for more than 2 days.
Also to me they seem to be in the age group as Sandra and if we look at Sandras career it seems she must be at least in her mid twenties, iirc she has worked at some law firm and tried to get a promotion for years.

 

[Walter Victor]

I don't know why but somehow with this game I find it interesting thinking about this kind of stuff.

However the more I think about it, the more I come to the conclusion, that no one specific timeline makes a lot of sense.

The best I can come up with is that for whatever how much time has past since highschool they continued living with their parents doing god knows what. However theres no mention of college ever in the entire story, so it's weird to me how everyone assumes they went to college.
Maybe I'm not familiar enough with how things are in murica...

I think theres a lot of evidence pointing towards them never before having moved out of their parents house before. There are comments from their parents how they need to be indepentent, there are comments about how they are worried about haley and how mc needs to take care off here, and those don't seem like comments parents would make if the children had already moved out years ago. Also theres a scene where mc forgets to buy bath products, and that again points to him never having had to provide for himself in that way.
But they also dont seem like they just finished school 3 months ago, the way they talk about that whole time it sounds like it was at least a couple of years ago, I agree with you all there.
Also I definitelly think this is the first time they lived together outside of their parents house, and I cant imagine a world where they didnt live together for several years, and still continued to see each other every single day - there is this comment how they've never been apart for more than 2 days.
Also to me they seem to be in the age group as Sandra and if we look at Sandras career it seems she must be at least in her mid twenties, iirc she has worked at some law firm and tried to get a promotion for years.

Haley says, "It was nice to see them, wasn't it?", to which the MC responds, "Yeah. It's been a while.".

NOBODY says this if they have been living with their parents all their life, and went back to see them after a few weeks, or even a couple of months.

You are right though about the '2 days'. When the MC is supposed to go on a trip with Adriana, Haley says that the longest they have been apart was 2 days at Band Camp, which I presume was before college, if not in primary school.

So that leaves either living at home, or going to the same college and attending at least some of the same classes. Since they both obtained the same job at the same company, being in the same college program would seem likely.

To me, that narrows down the speculation considerably. So I'm going with the 'college together' theme.

So the raging issue now becomes, which one of them plays a musical instrument, and which instrument. We know that Haley is adept at the skin flute, but I don't think that would be one of the programs at Band Camp.

 

[Walter Victor]

I don't know why but somehow with this game I find it interesting thinking about this kind of stuff.

The reason is that the two main characters draw you in like no other game that I have played. What happens (and happened) becomes important, because we empathize so much with them. That is the single best thing about the writing in this game. Other games may be superior in many other ways, but not in the empathy the developers elicit for Haley and the MC.

 

[Segnbora]

The PC busts her chops all the time, and as a result she kind of thinks of him as a "worthy opponent." Their relationship is affectionate, caring, but also filled with constant moments of verbal sniping and it's rare when either one of them address the other with a sentiment other than sarcasm.

But that's the thing. Haley likes it that way. She comes across to me as someone who needs to have someone to keep her grounded. Someone to balance her, but someone who can also "keep up" with her. As in, someone who can take her bullshit and throw it right back.

So, this is the brat persona in the kink world to a T. She's a submissive but she wants to push her partner over the edge until/so that he punishes her for her behavior. There are innumerable games that attempt BDSM personae, but this is one of the most flawless representations I've ever witnessed.

Her brother still hasn't really gotten this since their relationship turned sexual. I'm quite curious to see if he will.

 

[Cartageno]

However theres no mention of college ever in the entire story, so it's weird to me how everyone assumes they went to college.

I'd call it at least "probable", given the job they seem to be doing. Jogging statistics to get a report usually isn't a job for the high school level. (That there is a certain lack of training is a bit jarring, even though of course the VN doesn't emphasize the work as such. Also as a side note and as somebody who has to do with this on a regular basis: this office would so not be allowed in my jurisdiction - too small, lack of windows, ...)

The reason is that the two main characters draw you in like no other game that I have played. What happens (and happened) becomes important, because we empathize so much with them. That is the single best thing about the writing in this game. Other games may be superior in many other ways, but not in the empathy the developers elicit for Haley and the MC.

Three main characters IMO. (And I think that's the way the main story will go) Sandra is also more than just a pretty face. Come to think of it, even Lisa is somewhat different from your run-of-the-mill stuff with her "I'm up to anything with anybody, but not with my friend's friend". And while I would agree that Alana, Adriana and Diane are about as bland as they come, and that the dialogue is sometimes a bit too condensed for my liking - sometimes two short lines make you care more about Haley or others than some games manage in 150 lines of exposition. (By the way: never do 150 lines of exposition, but that is a different matter).

 

[Vordertur]

this office would so not be allowed in my jurisdiction - too small, lack of windows, ...

Are you trying to tell me that this is not an accurate depiction of "office life?" I don't believe it.

You must be registered to see the links

 

[Avaron1974]

However theres no mention of college ever in the entire story, so it's weird to me how everyone assumes they went to college.

They aren't flipping burgers and found themselves with pretty decent employment, it's a pretty safe bet college happened.

 

[EZ8lt]

They aren't flipping burgers and found themselves with pretty decent employment, it's a pretty safe bet college happened.

They have entry level jobs in the basement literally, and doing statistics with excel it seems. I'm not sure how it goes in other countries but we had that pegged down in high school, so I'm still not convinced that they actually went to college, or that they have lived separately from their parents for an extended period. While I do see your points on the matter, yctracon brought up some valid ones as well.

I'd call it at least "probable", given the job they seem to be doing. Jogging statistics to get a report usually isn't a job for the high school level. (That there is a certain lack of training is a bit jarring, even though of course the VN doesn't emphasize the work as such. Also as a side note and as somebody who has to do with this on a regular basis: this office would so not be allowed in my jurisdiction - too small, lack of windows, ...)



Three main characters IMO. (And I think that's the way the main story will go) Sandra is also more than just a pretty face. Come to think of it, even Lisa is somewhat different from your run-of-the-mill stuff with her "I'm up to anything with anybody, but not with my friend's friend". And while I would agree that Alana, Adriana and Diane are about as bland as they come, and that the dialogue is sometimes a bit too condensed for my liking - sometimes two short lines make you care more about Haley or others than some games manage in 150 lines of exposition. (By the way: never do 150 lines of exposition, but that is a different matter).

I wouldn't call Sandra a main character yet, while she has her own route now, and gets more included in one, tho while she's away it's gonna be phone and video calls most likely, for the better part of the game, she has the role of a support/side character. I'm not sure how much we have till the end, the core of the story is still about Haley and the MC through her. While I agree on Diane and Alana being bland ones, Adriana had a good amount of story and character progression for a side char, and it seems she's still has more to offer.

 

[Avaron1974]

They have entry level jobs in the basement literally, and doing statistics with excel it seems. I'm not sure how it goes in other countries but we had that pegged down in high school, so I'm still not convinced that they actually went to college

I live in the UK and the job market is slim compared to people looking for those jobs. Even entry level basement dwelling jobs require college education.

 

[EZ8lt]

I live in the UK and the job market is slim compared to people looking for those jobs. Even entry level basement dwelling jobs require college education.

Here it depends on the companies flexibility. I saw examples when skills and affinity took priority, and saw the degree being one as well. Sometimes those who apply doesn't have the proper education but do well on the tests or in the interviews, and they get the job regardless. Of course, this is usually at the type of jobs where education isn't necessarily gives you the edge over the others, or on an entry level where they don't look for expertise on a specific area.