VN Ren'Py Harem Hotel [v0.18 Beta3] [Runey]

[MrHatIsHere]

I just completed the last quest for Lin, where Lin started a protest for ending slavery that resulted in Cornwall taking over (seemingly the country) using an all-powerful AI that was apparently developed in secret. It seemed to have twists and turns for the sake of twists and turns, getting more and more ridiculous, with such drastic up-and-down shifts in tone that I ended up just being annoyed at the whole thing.

Runey seems to be constantly shifting about what the story is supposed to be, between a fun slice-of-life harem story, or a less-violent Shadowrun-like dystopia about slavery and genocide.

 

[DigDug69]

I just completed the last quest for Lin, where Lin started a protest for ending slavery that resulted in Cornwall taking over (seemingly the country) using an all-powerful AI that was apparently developed in secret. It seemed to have twists and turns for the sake of twists and turns, getting more and more ridiculous, with such drastic up-and-down shifts in tone that I ended up just being annoyed at the whole thing.

Runey seems to be constantly shifting about what the story is supposed to be, between a fun slice-of-life harem story, or a less-violent Shadowrun-like dystopia about slavery and genocide.

That is weird that you see it that way, because I have been playing this from the beginning, and I could see from very early on that this was all coming...
From the very beginning they spoke of the corrupt government and the cruelty of slavery to both the elves and the androids.
So, obviously going after making changes in the government, and dealing with the issue of slavery, were both planned for the future...
So, it boggles my mind that anyone could not see where Harem Hotel was heading for a story line from the very beginning...

I would say that the story has never waivered at all from the course that it was set on, from the very beginning.
And that it is in no way like the visual novels where the dev's cave in to the demands of players, which is good.
Because those games rarely ever get finished, because the dev's caved in so many times, that any plans that they had for the game, became impossible to achieve, and because of that the stories tend to get confusing.
Runey has been very good at staying with his vision, and not caving in to people who whine that they want things done their way...
And for that Runey, I say, THANK YOU!

 

[Smarmint]

I just completed the last quest for Lin, where Lin started a protest for ending slavery that resulted in Cornwall taking over (seemingly the country) using an all-powerful AI that was apparently developed in secret. It seemed to have twists and turns for the sake of twists and turns, getting more and more ridiculous, with such drastic up-and-down shifts in tone that I ended up just being annoyed at the whole thing.

Runey seems to be constantly shifting about what the story is supposed to be, between a fun slice-of-life harem story, or a less-violent Shadowrun-like dystopia about slavery and genocide.

You weren't clued in from the beginning when told that all Elves were slaves? The whole game has been building up to this point.

 

[Shark_inA-chiar]

Content drip feed is real, is the author working on other projects besides this one?

it looks like your new so i am not going to be a dick like the others any question you ask you can just 99% look back a few pages and you will find the answer or try the search in the top right

 

[MrHatIsHere]

My issue is with the tonal whiplash, where, as I stated, there are "twists and turns for the sake of twists and turns, getting more and more ridiculous, with such drastic up-and-down shifts in tone that I ended up just being annoyed at the whole thing." For example, I was actually drawn into Lin's protest, and it seemed to culminate in Android hacking the robots and signs, until ARCHON appears as a blatant Diabolus ex Machina that even the characters seem to admit comes right the f*** out of nowhere and results in a plot twist that is confusing as h***.

 

[DigDug69]

My issue is with the tonal whiplash, where, as I stated, there are "twists and turns for the sake of twists and turns, getting more and more ridiculous, with such drastic up-and-down shifts in tone that I ended up just being annoyed at the whole thing." For example, I was actually drawn into Lin's protest, and it seemed to culminate in Android hacking the robots and signs, until ARCHON appears as a blatant Diabolus ex Machina in a twist that even the characters seem to admit comes right the f*** out of nowhere and is confusing as h***.

Spoiler: stuff

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[shadowtempered]

Spoiler: stuff

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I understood the narrative and explanation, but I kind of agree with his statement. Honestly, I feel there should have been hints or something, perhaps in a different context than how it was presented, so when it did arrive we would be more like "but wait, wasn't that X!" vs. the "SURPRISE!" we got.

Spoiler

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If you don't mind the prolly poor analogy to Deus Ex (the original):

Spoiler

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Course, that's just my feel.

 

[Runey]

I understood the narrative and explanation, but I kind of agree with his statement. Honestly, I feel there should have been hints or something, perhaps in a different context than how it was presented, so when it did arrive we would be more like "but wait, wasn't that X!" vs. the "SURPRISE!" we got.

Spoiler

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If you don't mind the prolly poor analogy to Deus Ex (the original):

Spoiler

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Course, that's just my feel.

Archon is a top secret government project that was not supposed to be released this early. There wasn't supposed to be any hints it existed because it has never been tested before, it was just suddenly released like a kraken. Being normal people, you should have no idea about this, but check Android's 12th event

Spoiler

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[shadowtempered]

Archon is a top secret government project that was not supposed to be released this early. There wasn't supposed to be any hints it existed because it has never been tested before, it was just suddenly released like a kraken. Being normal people, you should have no idea about this, but check Android's 12th event

Spoiler

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I understood it was under wraps, but that complete jump-scare introduction just isn't my jam. I tried to provide examples to subtle introduction that I did like, but not trying to say those are better - just a different way is all.

I didn't catch that reference, but it's been so long that while I do restart with each version I don't 100% slow read the events anymore so I miss some of that nuance. So kudos to that.

 

[Runey]

This just isn't true. Nothing about the early game really indicated that the elf stuff was going to be an overarching theme. The Lin plot was just one of a few different porn troupes sex slave, nerdy computer girl, yandere, slutty school girl. The early game really reads like the elf slave stuff is just the thinnest way they can justify the fetish and they really only start to build on it much later. When Android was introduced it was a one off thing created by the grandfather with no further indication that there is a broader world of robots. The android stuff gets built upon and eventually it they go back and change Android to default to Pixel because it makes no sense in the context the story evolves into. Its pretty clear the author didn't really start with a grand vision and the story just kinda progressed the way that serialized content tends to. I'm guessing the reason it becomes such a focal point is because the author is so bad at writing believable characters and believable character archs that its simpler to wiki dump a bunch of lore stuff than do that.

The insults are totally unnecessary. We get it, you don't want story, you didn't pay attention to it at all, you ignored all of the foreshadowing because you wanted my game to be something it's not. Go play another one. There is no point in arguing on a forum of a game you don't like, it's a waste of your time.

 

[shadowtempered]

This just isn't true. Nothing about the early game really indicated that the elf stuff was going to be an overarching theme. The Lin plot was just one of a few different porn troupes sex slave, nerdy computer girl, yandere, slutty school girl.

Wut

You discover Lin would like to improve things for the Elves in one of her earliest events when she meets the Queen. Is it day 1? No, but who starts a story that way. Even if the story wasn't designed from the get go for that, it did lead up to it early on.

The early game really reads like the elf slave stuff is just the thinnest way they can justify the fetish and they really only start to build on it much later. When Android was introduced it was a one off thing created by the grandfather with no further indication that there is a broader world of robots.

The grandfather purchased Android, he didn't build her from scratch. She was a pet project to fix up. Why would you assume she was a 1-off product?

There are two types of individuals: 1) those who can extrapolate from incomplete data. 2)

The android stuff gets built upon and eventually it they go back and change Android to default to Pixel because it makes no sense in the context the story evolves into.

What?

Its pretty clear the author didn't really start with a grand vision and the story just kinda progressed the way that serialized content tends to. I'm guessing the reason it becomes such a focal point is because the author is so bad at writing believable characters and believable character archs that its simpler to wiki dump a bunch of lore stuff than do that.

Ah yes, the tried and true way to have a discussion about something: insult the creator.

 

[henk1]

... check Android's 12th event

Ahh so nice to hear that this was indeed foreshadowing, it was the first thing I thought about when it appeared on the screen.


Thanks for your hard work devman, I'm looking forward to the next release

 

[wjfbbs]

Hello, game developer! Thank you for creating such an excellent harem-themed game. However, as an Android player, I have some concerns.

In a certain plot, the protagonist suddenly faints and has a fever. Then Android instructs everyone not to approach the protagonist and helps Lin make a cake for the protagonist to eat in order to regain his health.

Hmm, setting aside the issue of not going to the hospital when sick, I don't think eating cake when having a fever is a good idea. It would be better if it could be changed to a bowl of steaming white rice porridge.

Lastly, I truly appreciate you creating this outstanding work. Please keep up the good work!

 

[thelastone98]

The insults are totally unnecessary. We get it, you don't want story, you didn't pay attention to it at all, you ignored all of the foreshadowing because you wanted my game to be something it's not. Go play another one. There is no point in arguing on a forum of a game you don't like, it's a waste of your time.

This guy was skipping story? Man, the first time I played this I was enjoying the story so much I was skipping some sex scenes

 

[Runey]

Hello, game developer! Thank you for creating such an excellent harem-themed game. However, as an Android player, I have some concerns.

In a certain plot, the protagonist suddenly faints and has a fever. Then Android instructs everyone not to approach the protagonist and helps Lin make a cake for the protagonist to eat in order to regain his health.

Hmm, setting aside the issue of not going to the hospital when sick, I don't think eating cake when having a fever is a good idea. It would be better if it could be changed to a bowl of steaming white rice porridge.

Lastly, I truly appreciate you creating this outstanding work. Please keep up the good work!

Thank you
People don't go to the hospital for every minor sickness, only when it's serious. He had the flu

 

[Smarmint]

I don't know what to tell you. For me, every update has been building up to this, from the elf slave story slowly progressing with more elf colonies you find out about, some that enslaved others. Android's glitching revealing mysterious entities in cyberspace, and the storyline of society's increased use of robots and AI to perform tasks the elves are currently performing, making their existence more precarious. This story doesn't seem like the type to just kill or imprison all the elves as the endgame, so a revolution is the only solution.

Plus, remember the breeding of elf clones for their blood? This was revealed 2 or 3 updates ago, and couldn't just stand unremarked. I am only a little surprised Kali and most of the others seem overall OK with it.

I think most of us players weren't at all surprised by the turn toward darkness. Sorry you missed it. Maybe you should read more books. Other than the fluffiest young adult novels, the good ones have layers of story that aren't immediately apparent from the first chapters.

It's true that there is a major change in theme from the happy Harem Hotel, to the world being taken over by an AI overlord, but for me when the Hotel was invaded by the cops, I knew the shit was about to hit the fan in a big way, and nobody would be unscathed. It is basically a heavily foreshadowed plot twist, that for me just makes the story more interesting.

After a handful of updates introducing and getting to know the main characters, all AVNs need some propulsive mystery or plot element to keep the story fresh update to update. Just having everyone happy and the MC playing musical hotel rooms with all the LIs for the next 10 updates would be rather boring, wouldn't it?

 

[Quetzzz]

Plus, remember the breeding of elf clones for their blood? This was revealed 2 or 3 updates ago, and couldn't just stand unremarked. I am only a little surprised Kali and most of the others seem overall OK with it.

Even much earlier, during the early game freeroam events in the city, the MC comes across elements of this story.

Concerning the blood-camps, I think Kali is being gaslighted by her father, and in turn convinces the others that the elves have it better in those facilities.

 

[DigDug69]

Even much earlier, during the early game freeroam events in the city, the MC comes across elements of this story.

Concerning the blood-camps, I think Kali is being gaslighted by her father, and in turn convinces the others that the elves have it better in those facilities.

Probably in a similar way to how some people claimed that slaves were better off as slaves before the American civil war.
They weren't, but it made those people feel better about slavery when they said it.

 

[Rome5555555]

Thanks for your hard work devman, I'm looking forward to the next release

The more people donate, the faster the new release of the game will come out

 

[Cockva]

The more people donate, the faster the new release of the game will come out

Rather the opposite