Hi Zara,
I agree with that. At least we share the same definition of the relation between a storyline and a protagonist.
Here I disagree.
Where do you see independent storylines for any of the side characters in this game ? Can you give me examples from the game ?
Imho, none of them has an independent storyline, therefore, as I said in a previous post, none qualifies to be a protagonist messing with the main one about MC's corruption.
I give two examples to back my opinion:
- The strip club
- The Gym series of events
The strip club.
I agree when one says this event about MC's landlord has some fillers content but the goal of this event qualifies to be part of the main storyline.
The goal of this side event is to show the landlord introducing his friend (buddy) and showing that the landlord intends to share MC once he fucked her :
MC cannot be present during this event, it would make no sense.
This content is part of the main storyline because here
the landlord shows a goal about sharing MC with his buddy, it is a goal related to MC and
he is expected to do actions for that goal from now on, therefore it belongs to main storyline.
For this purpose the content present in the game does the job until the landlord showed a naked MC picture to his buddy.
Afterwards, if I were the dev, I would only have introduced the two whores and start a sex scene just enough to make players know the two men will fuck them and stop it asap if the goal is to show how shady is that place.
I read the lines of the content afterwards the picture of naked MC is shown (game on stage + sex scene with the landlord and one of the whores)...
Imo, They bring nothing to any storyline you can imagine about any character involved or not including MC of course : all progression is paused... The content is just a "game" on stage and a sex scene... Nothing more...
As I said previously, this content just help to show how shady the strip club is because prostitution is assumed by the owner.
Do you really see any content in the strip club event that qualifies as elements of storyline for any side character ? I do not...
A storyline about a character is a demanding thing, it includes a goal, for the character within it, to be defined and this goal definition depends on the character only... A storyline cannot be made out of fillers by definition.
The goal depends on the character only (storyline answering the question
what story to tell) but the storytelling (answering the question
how to tell the story defined in the storyline) can include as many secondary characters as seen necessary.
The Gym series of events involving the MILF, the blond muscular owner, the redhead girl and her boyfriend cheating on her.
I see two parts about this series of events : the first is when MC is involved by the MILF. The second starts when MC stopped to be involved.
MC being involved in the first part, I do not see it as a separate storyline. I think we agree on that (please tell me if not).
The reason MC is not involved in the second part is explained (she cowardly broke relationships and "fled"). Here
if MC is never involved again later with those side characters in Gym, I can agree with you.
However, if she is involved again later AND if it becomes clear that all that happens in this second part (in which MC is not involved) is used and required to make MC progress on her corruption, it is NOT an independent storyline.
In that case (MC to come back being involved with Gym side characters), it is not an independent storyline because its conclusion is MC's corruption progression : the goal of the main storyline.
There is, I think, the point we disagee... You see different storylines about side characters you see as protagonist with their storylines when I see only a different kind of storytelling about side characters, from the usual one used in single female protagonist game.
The usual storytelling being as I said above, to see the content through MC's eyes only.
Best regards.
