Father/daughter games are so much rare compare to the usual mom/son and brother/sister.
I can understand that. Go to Rotten Tomatoes and look at some of the worst movies ever made, none of them score a 0%. There is some one out there that will like just about anything. If you decide to watch the movie Basket Case, you're probably going to like it. Is it because it's a good movie? No; it's because if you choose to watch it, you already know what it is. I think the same is true here to some extent here. Most new players already know something about the content and choose to play it. There is also the binge watch phenomenon.
I pay attention to such things because it interests me. It seems to me that games where women are the victim of abuse tend to do worse financially than games that do not. Personally, I will not support games that contain such content. One of the reasons this bothers me so much here is that I once supported this game as the romantic comedy that I loved. Now it's almost unrecognizable. I support Mr. Dots and have for some time. The quality of his games are maintained, I like his new game Sunshine Love as well, which has brother/sister incest.
The quality of the story took a nose dive with the August update, the update that introduced Klaus. It was more evident to people who were playing month to month. The writer's vision was to have this wrapped up in 4-5 updates. Ptolemy has been working nonstop on projects for years. I don't want to ignore it because without my annoying comments other developers might get the idea that this plot twist is a good idea to copy as happened with AL.
Do you really think that Acting Lessons is a good example here?
This was precisely my feeling. It is a common problem with pure love stories after all. Once you get the girl, the story is over and you need ad hoc elements to keep it alive. The same happens to harem stories once everybody agrees MC can fuck whoever they want. Note however that those ad hoc elements can be more interesting that the original story itself. But this requires in some sense, changing the essence of the story.
Right! They could have left Klaus out and developed a completely different drama, perhaps one as suggested by ptahn. Or they could have left all the drama out, and explored different combinations of participants, and everything would have been all rainbows and unicorns. But they did neither of those things, and instead propelled us down the path we have now. <Shrug.> Either way, I could have still supported the game, provided that the narrative remained good. But they chose this path, and I'm all in with what we have. I can hardly wait to see how everything is resolved. In fact, this is one of those games I might continue playing if the sex stopped completely. There are a few of them. After all, we've seen the ultimate - sex between Haley and the MC. After that, there are still a few more things I'd like to see when it comes to sex scenes. But now... the plot's the thing!
AL is especially relevant here. You have answered your own questions. You did not like what happened and neither did I. I and many others (possibly even you) voiced our disappointment with the story turn. We all moved on. What was left were the people who liked the twist and new players that never had the chance to bond with the characters like I (possible you) did. It became one of the highest rated stories on this site. It would not have been as highly rated if a poll was taken right after the fire update, but it got the reputation of being this great story that everyone loved. So much so that another developer stole the idea of asking MC to choose which of two LI's should live and which to let die. We both know that AL is not universally loved. My point in continuing to comment is not to dissuade people from playing. It's to point out to developers that this game (which may at one time been universally loved) is not regarded highly by everyone and that any developer thinking of using a similar plot twist in their own story might want to think again. They should at least check out the comments after the August update. They might also keep in mind that while this game is rated highly, the positive ratings get a few likes while my negative rating got twenty likes.
If you're on the Haley-only path, there hasn't really been a plot since August.
Do you honestly believe that developers will reconsider a game that they have thought out, just because some people might not like it? I think they have probably already taken that into consideration. I am positive that DrPinkCake was well aware of the shitstorm he was about to unleash. He did it anyway, and despite your lack of support, he is thriving.
Acting Lessons works so well precisely because it does that. The formular is essentially five steps:
It's not his lesson, it's the lesson to other developers. In the story I mentioned, the developer seemed honestly shocked by the negative comments he received. When I brought up his theft of DPC's plot twist, he went on and on about how highly rated AL was and how successful DPC was. He said that he was not in DPC's league. In his case, this developer used the plot device because he thought people would like it since they all liked it so well in AL.
That is only because of your dislike of the game.
In the Haley-only route, there has been no movement in her coming to grips with what happened to her. She went a therapist once and did not discuss the topic. She once admitted to MC that Klaus hurt her. There has been no real discussion about how they stay together, only the parents trying to pull them apart. Not a lot of content for seven updates. More happens in one of WVM's weekly updates. I'm not prejudiced against the game, my hope is that it can return to its former glory. It seems less and less likely and more likely it's going to end with a whimper.
Sorry, but I don't consider a copycat-developer a serious developer. Whether the developer is copying a good game or dross, it's still a copy. I don't expect complete uniqueness in a porn game, but a developer's own thoughts along the way would be nice.
