I can definitely appreciate that the changes in tone I have put on the game could be jarring, and I both see and am sorry to hear that the path I have taken with the story isn't resonating with you.
One of the biggest difficulties with S3, from where I picked up the mantle of writing, is that the stakes created make it a lot harder to continue in the status quo. (For full disclosure, I picked up the writing from Jessica's Arc onwards, after the intro had set up Alice, and the stakes of time being fixed and returned to normal had been introduced.)
It set a very real constraint where not working on fixing MC's relationships and dynamics was impossible. His usual hijinks of trying to find new and creative ways to fuck weren't really a realistic option for him going forward. This is not to say that you can't have humor, silliness, and fun within this setup, and I have tried to ensure MC has his moments of ridiculousness to counteract the more profound moments I am trying to add and create.
This is not to say I didn't want to go deeper with the characters. Anyone who's followed my messages in this thread or on Inceton's Discord will know I feel quite passionately about injecting a deeper resonance and connection with the LI's in the game. But, I did feel this was not only my wish, but something that was necessary with the context and starting point I had when taking over the project.
In the main, I have felt there has been an appetite and a desire within the fanbase to go deeper with the characters in the game for a while. This is not meant to invalidate your own feelings of wanting to keep the series to steer by its tried and tested formula to date. It is just where I believed sentiment in the community lay overall, and my own instincts as a writer. And, so far, I have been quite pleased with the comments that have been returned. I can only go by what I have read here and over discord, but, in terms of the new story and direction, the comments to date have been encouraging and left me feeling good about the decisions and paths I have taken.
It is a tricky situation in a lot of ways. All creative work put out into the world is. I want to create a game that everyone can enjoy. It's all any creative wants. But, as the old saying goes 'you can't please everyone.' And please don't take that as me washing my hands of your wants and hopes of the game (I know the saying can sometimes come over that way).
What I mean is, the act of trying to juggle and appeal to the fans' wants and hopes for the story, while trying to tell the best story I can, is a kind of alchemy. Lots of different ingredients to weigh up and to try and get right. We do our best, but invariably, you can never make something so utterly perfect that everyone is satisfied.
I hope you'll stick with the story, and nothing I'm saying here comes over as dismissive of your thoughts on the direction. There is more humor to come and moments that won't be as deep as the current arc's focus.
Thank you for giving me your thoughts. As always, every player's opinion matters to me, and I'm always grateful when someone takes the time to say exactly what bothered them or what they enjoyed about an update, as you have, instead of just saying 'shit sucks.'
While I can't promise any drastic change of course, I'll keep your words in mind as I continue on and see if there is any way to adjust the ratios of ingredients in the pot to give a little more of what you feel is lacking.
