4.20 star(s) 282 Votes

Johnny Bravo.

Active Member
May 26, 2017
997
1,818
alright, went through the update, and I have to say, and sorry for the harshness, but I fucking hate Kaylah. I just know, absolutely KNOW that she's going to lead Emma down a very dark, unsavory path. My MC obviously turned her down without second thought (I don't think I've ever pushed a button in a VN that quickly) but her influence on Emma is not going to be a very good thing at all.

If anything like what happened to Charlotte happens to Emma in this game I don't know if I will continue to play it. When I originally got the game, the Charlotte flashback scenes made me uninstall the game for a while because I was sickened by it. I'm not going to come back a second time if it happens to Emma.
I agree with you Charlotte almost being beaten to death was pretty damn dark that I even felt bad for her I wouldn't want Emma suffering the same fate as her mother and let's not forget about that duche bag Zac about his plans for Emma.
 

TheFonze

Member
Aug 3, 2018
137
161
I figured Charlotte or her sister were the options, and good ones too. Her daughters seemed inappropriate due to the age difference, even though they're all adults. I really do think the story aims for Charlotte and the MC to be together, but Lucy really does fit the role too.

Are there any other options that are decent? Only the author knows, but I just don't see it.
 

warlock4vr

Newbie
Jun 6, 2018
30
35
I agree with you Charlotte almost being beaten to death was pretty damn dark that I even felt bad for her I wouldn't want Emma suffering the same fate as her mother and let's not forget about that duche bag Zac about his plans for Emma.
Whilst I agree, it was darn worth it, makes that connection on an emotional level.
 

quorkboy

Active Member
Sep 26, 2020
801
1,623
This is exactly what's wrong IMO. The VN doesn't need the mystery for the story to proceed. The stalker being arrested doesn't mean the story is over. There are still other plot in the game such as Charlotte's problem with the A-lister, Emma's story with Zack, etc.
The danger to Emma from the stalker is the reason Charlotte allowed the MC into their lives. Does she need protection from the actor? Yes. Will she at this point, given her history, allow the MC to stick around to protect her from him, if the threat to her daughter is gone? Given that she doesn't want to reveal who he is, probably in no small part due to not fully trusting the MC, I'm sceptical.

She definitely won't keep him around because Emma has a crush on an asshole who doesn't deserve her attention. Nor for Suzi's problem (which, unless it happened in this update, Suzi hasn't even revealed yet.) So while there are other plot points to resolve, the reason for the MC to be there is the stalker.

As a MacGuffin, the stalker is very suitable and there's no good reason to resolve that mystery right now.

You completely misunderstood my point. It's not about Kaylah vs Suzi. It's about Suzi being one of the four main female characters, but being so underdeveloped in the game that she's overshadowed by someone who is merely a side character like Kaylah.
I don't believe I misunderstood. You were speculating about why Kaylah might get more screen time and directly asked a question about whether Kaylah might be considered more likeable. I took this as a jumping off point to state my preference in context of your question. True, I did not address why Suzi is getting so little screen time, but I wasn't trying to.
 

1337Bob

Member
Jan 31, 2018
239
1,113
As a MacGuffin, the stalker is very suitable and there's no good reason to resolve that mystery right now.
I believe that's exactly Skylaroo's point - that the stalker is a MacGuffin. Consequently, the story doesn't need to examine or go into substantial depth. It's literally just there to initiate the story and drive the plot forward. I believe Skylaroo's objection is that the story keeps returning to it and dragging on without either resolving it or doing anything meaningful with it. The audience doesn't care for a huge amoutn of pages or screentime or dialogue delving into the backstory or the explanation of the MacGuffin. That's not what the audience is invested in.
 
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quorkboy

Active Member
Sep 26, 2020
801
1,623
I believe that's exactly Skylaroo's point - that the stalker is a MacGuffin. Consequently, the story doesn't need to examine or go into substantial depth. It's literally just there to initiate the story and drive the plot forward. I believe Skylaroo's objection is that the story keeps returning to it and dragging on without either resolving it or doing anything meaningful with it. The audience doesn't care for a huge amoutn of pages or screentime or dialogue delving into the backstory or the explanation of the MacGuffin. That's not what the audience is invested in.
I agree with you that it doesn't need to be a major portion of the story content, but ...

You don't usually resolve a MacGuffin. Or do anything meaningful with it. There's no need to be invested (though personally I am intrigued, and others may care more than you think.) But as a story catalyst, it must continue to feature because once it's gone the story loses its reason for being. The only way to eliminate it is to first set up other coherent reasons for the story to continue. Which I don't think has happened yet.

A good example of resolving a MacGuffin that caused problems is Twin Peaks. Twin Peaks was never about the murder of Laura Palmer. It was about what happened to and around the people during the resulting investigation. After the murder was solved (I believe due to studio pressure) the series lost focus, and needed to come up with reasons for Agent Cooper to stick around. A lot of good stuff followed, but it took a while to recover.

Up to the last version of Hillside, I don't think the stalker plot has taken up much story time. Perhaps my perception is off, but that's how it seems to me. Did it suddenly take up a lot in this update?

There's also the possibility this interpretation is incorrect and the mystery of the stalker matters to the story. In which case resolving it early isn't really appropriate. It would be unusual (though not unthinkable) for a mystery story to resolve the central mystery before the end. But I would expect the investigation to progress and so feature more, which is why I suspect it's a MacGuffin.
 
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Chronos169

Member
Jul 14, 2020
323
3,052
I agree with you that it doesn't need to be a major portion of the story content, but ...

You don't usually resolve a MacGuffin. Or do anything meaningful with it. There's no need to be invested (though personally I am intrigued, and others may care more than you think.) But as a story catalyst, it must continue to feature because once it's gone the story loses its reason for being. The only way to eliminate it is to first set up other coherent reasons for the story to continue. Which I don't think has happened yet.

A good example of resolving a MacGuffin that caused problems is Twin Peaks. Twin Peaks was never about the murder of Laura Palmer. It was about what happened to and around the people during the resulting investigation. After the murder was solved (I believe due to studio pressure) the series lost focus, and needed to come up with reasons for Agent Cooper to stick around. A lot of good stuff followed, but it took a while to recover.

Up to the last version of Hillside, I don't think the stalker plot has taken up much story time. Perhaps my perception is off, but that's how it seems to me. Did it suddenly take up a lot in this update?

There's also the possibility this interpretation is incorrect and the mystery of the stalker matters to the story. In which case resolving it early isn't really appropriate. It would be unusual (though not unthinkable) for a mystery story to resolve the central mystery before the end. But I would expect the investigation to progress and so feature more, which is why I suspect it's a MacGuffin.

"The Owls are not what they seem!"
 
4.20 star(s) 282 Votes