Thanks for replyingHey, I appreciate you responding to my review!
Yes, this was one of the events I had in mind.
I think my main issue with the scene was that I am the type of player that loves exposition, so I instantly chose to follow her. I also - personally - felt bad about leaving Kali to have to suffer through the history lesson alone (especially when she responds negatively to you ditching her here). I'm sure people will argue that there were no actual, concrete points lost by skipping, but that's not how I felt as a player. I felt guilty. And this was before I even knew what the contents of the history lesson even were. That's what I meant by "forced." And I'm sure there are plenty of people who play this game and skip the scene without being affected at all, and that's fine. My viewpoint is not representative of everyone else's.
With the actual library scene, I actually really enjoyed the information I was being given about the elvish history. What I didn't enjoy was the constant interjections by Vanessa. I get it; she wants to support the elves, because she's seen the bad things done to them. I'm also a stereotypical elf-owner in her eyes. And maybe you were trying to write her as a dislikeable character, maybe not. I was there to get some nice worldbuilding, not get shouted at by a character I don't care about. It completely ruined what would have otherwise been an awesome scene for me.
This also applies to the scene where I'm meeting with Kali late at night to give her coffee; I'm not even given a choice before Vanessa's talk-show randomly comes out of nowhere. I have to sit through her very opinionated interview with another random elf for several paragraphs before I'm allowed to interact with Kali again. I went to the university to grow closer with Kali - especially since it was her character's event, not hear Vanessa ranting.
That's my main gripe with Vanessa; it's not her ideologies or her political views. It's not even how her character is written. It's the fact that she's ruining your well-written scenes with her presence.
I was confused, because you've done character separation wonderfully before with Ashley and her schoolmates. I was able to enjoy Ashley's storyline without having to be too concerned about Felicity and Emma's bitchiness, because they had their own stories that you focused on. I was able to grow to love them in their own route. Same applied for Kate; she had her own path that I could explore.
Vanessa on the other hand, is super one-dimensional from the player's perspective; I'm not even given a separate route to get to know her. She just barrels into me in random scenes and makes herself hateable then disappears. I'll be enjoying someone's event, then I'll roll my eyes because she'll appear, once again, and ruin the interaction.
Like I mentioned above, I'm sure there are plenty of people who are able to just skip the lines and not care that much. That's fine if they feel that way; they don't have to be as invested as I am in these small things. I am just a single player among thousands after all. But it doesn't sit well with me; it's literally driving my enjoyment to the ground.
On an unrelated note (and this is totally less constructive and more about what I selfishly want, so you definitely can disregard this if you want), I don't like the dark tone the game has taken on. I initially fell in love with Harem Hotel, because I was able to have a lighthearted fantasy harem with characters that were, to an extent, three-dimensional. I didn't really come into the game wanting more politics and emotional angst - I have enough of that in reality. But like I said in my review, that's up to you as the author. No blame there.
Thanks man!
I'm open to hearing suggestions on changing the mood of Vanessa slightly during these interactions, I'll get back to on that later, I'm busy at the moment. I don't want her to be totally disliked, so maybe it would serve everyone better if it was toned down a bit in her earlier interactions.
I think the issue you have with Vanessa's interview with the elf lady comes mostly from your bad first impression of her, would you agree?
There is character separation for Vanessa, she actually becomes a side character later once you get to properly know her, and at this point, she shouldn't be annoying or pushy at all and will actually respect you for what you do.
Harem Hotel was never meant to be only lighthearted. I love including lighthearted moments, and will continue to do so, but I tackle serious stuff like slavery, mental disorder, oppression, depression, class struggle, among many other serious topics. I see stories like a roller coaster, which means there will be ups and downs. I think it keeps a story interesting. You never want to plateau. But bad things happening should only make the victories feel worth it, and sweeter, which are and will be happening, but it's all apart of an ongoing story.
For example, Ashley was very poor as we all know, and Felicity & Emma were very rich, it's no mistake that F&E bullied Ashley.
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