VN Ren'Py Matrix Hearts [v0.3.4] [Blue Otter Games]

[Estius]

I laughed at the "please stay seated until we dock" announcement on the plane ride to the island.

boats dock
planes land

 

[TigerWolfe]

I laughed at the "please stay seated until we dock" announcement on the plane ride to the island.

boats dock
planes land

Planes dock with the jetway/bridge, that gets you from the plane to the terminal. The pilot will often ask people to stay seated until docked because some passengers will assume they can move as soon as the plane lands, however for safety of operations and crew passengers need to stay seated until the aircraft is no longer taxiing, which happens once it is docked.

There's a lot of shared vocabulary between boats and aircraft, it's aeronautical engineering for a reason.

 

[Estius]

Planes dock with the jetway/bridge, that gets you from the plane to the terminal. The pilot will often ask people to stay seated until docked because some passengers will assume they can move as soon as the plane lands, however for safety of operations and crew passengers need to stay seated until the aircraft is no longer taxiing, which happens once it is docked.

There's a lot of shared vocabulary between boats and aircraft, it's aeronautical engineering for a reason.

Yes, but it's not the language they normally use when briefing. They'll say wait until the aircraft comes to a complete stop. I know, silly nit-picking and probably just one of those things someone who worked in the aviation field might find funny. (aviation nerd)

 

[TigerWolfe]

Yes, but it's not the language they normally use when briefing. They'll say wait until the aircraft comes to a complete stop. I know, silly nit-picking and probably just one of those things someone who worked in the aviation field might find funny. (aviation nerd)

I've definitely heard them use dock before and as retired USAF aircrew I didn't think it sounded funny at all, but sometimes things just catch our ears as odd.

Someone should make an aviation focused AVN, that'd be awesome.

 

[Deleted member 3727657]

Don't play this game. You won't like it. Go find something that caters to incels, or redpillers, or whatever other weird-ass nonsense you clearly believe in. As someone who has actually had sex, I want you to know that the things you appear to value are absolutely meaningless, and no woman is ever going to willingly touch you if you continue to behave as if those things are important. Unless you lie to her, or you pay her, or both. Even then I'm not convinced.

To reiterate: this is not the game for you. You will not enjoy it.

Source: Originial post (slightly modified) from another answer you got to the exactly same question. The same belongs to this game and the answer was the friendliest way. I couldn't say it as friendly as Storm ⛈ , so I just copied it.

You're welcome.

hi mate
I don't follow games that have vaginal sex or anal sex early, even if they are masterpieces in all other aspects.
So, if we want to say with numbers, After getting to know the main girls, how many hours will it take for the relationship to end in vaginal sex or anal sex?
TigerWolfe

 

[Nico Odin]

I really like this game so far. Best Girls imo are Rylee and Layla but I really hope that Siara will come to the Island too. Are there any plans for it?

 

[_doodle_]

havent played in a long time. Last time I played it ended when that one girl saw you in the bathroom after the storm. in the safehouse i think. There was a glitch that made it so that was the last render i saw. Anthing past that?

 

[Quetzzz]

While playing this game, I made a few notes to base my review on. This is a cleaned-up dump of that:


Language:

• Is the plane a private charter (like the stewardess says) or is he flying first class on a commercial plane? From the renders it looks like a private charter, MC says "first class". Later in the game, it's referenced as a private charter as well.
• "I had my arm pinned. I wouldn't buy into it if I were you." is weird to say to the person who's developing the treatment.
• "All that work and the money would have paid off." -> He's talking about sponsors "All that money, and the work would have paid off." (Lots of errors like these.)
• "held up at school" -> "held back at school"
• "and she couches the boys team." -> "and she coaches the boys team."
• "At the risk of this something wrong, no, I touched none of your flags."
• "My favorite Olympic Canadian" -> "My favorite Canadian Olympic" (Though MC never was an Olympic/Olympian, he was a hopeful.)
• Often "wondered" is used instead of "wandered" ("You wondered off for a while...")
• "It's translating your tangible emotions. Those you can't hide." -> intangible/subconscious ?
• The use of "bork" instead of broken (or other synonyms) gets a bit tired. People don't talk like that. One person might, but not everyone.
• After Layla colored her hair, she says "It's beautiful!", I suspect this line should be spoken by the MC.
• "You outta go adventure" -> "You out so go adventure"? I don't understand this sentence.
• "We're you waiting long?"
• "It's about finding the photo that proposes to you and makes you feel all giddy inside." -> "speaks to you"
• "I promised her I would keep her in the mystery." -> "... in the loop."
• "I know you're making a dirty joke, but you outta focus on the task at hand." -> oughta, if you have to. Though I think it's weird for a bookworm like Rylee to use dialect like that.
• And for that matter, most main characters speak the same way. Rylee has traveled a lot, it's possible she picked up accents or language quirks on her travels. But they mostly speak the same way the MC does, which is supposed to be Canadian.
• "pop a squat" is probably not the best idiom to use for sitting down. In some areas it implies defecation.
• "Like, I've been out at 1am in Canada and shit, but it still feels humanized." -> civilized.

Renders

• Stewardess hand job: the animation loop is janky
• Stewardess intercourse: the stewardess is floating on the table
• Stewardess from behind: her leg clips through the table
• From behind closeup: MC's penis vibrates (Gives the impression that frame rate is lower)
• Scenes are often contradicting MC's injury. Like not using the handrail while going up stairs, or supporting his weight with his bad leg. He'll be carrying people around, or walking long distances.
• When Xia shows her breasts, there's a looped animation of them moving. Could've worked as a titty-drop, but what's there just doesn't make sense.
• "image "laylahouse enter ch3" not found"
• "image "chrystas mc_waggle ch3" not found"
• "image "chrystas cart_shout ch3" not found"
• "image "coconut girl_teasing ch3" not found"

Story

• Stewardess doesn't even offer to finish him off, just sends MC packing after his bad knee gives out.
• Layla wasn't honest with MC, but he just goes with it. If it's that important for the story that MC goes to school, it shouldn't have been based on manipulation.
• Told Xia I wanted to get the treasure alone, she said goodbye saying "meet me tomorrow and we'll go get your treasure."
• Dialog doesn't really acknowledge in-game events. On my 2nd day I interacted with less people (Ignored most girls, told Dutch to f-off, didn't go to the party, went home on the bus, didn't invite the stewardess), but MC still told Layla about his new attitude and getting better.
• At the museum, the glove doesn't transmit through clothing. Except it does when touching Layla's stomach over her shirt, and later over her panties.
• MC says to Stormy (Chapter 3) "I thought you didn't like uncomfortable silences?", this hasn't come up in my playthrough, this is the first time meeting her.
• Stormy calls MC "Olympic hopeful", yet it would've been the first year mountain climbing became an Olympic sport, and Layla and Stormy have been away from their hometown for years now. She couldn't have thought this about the MC at the time she lived there.
• Never met Frianca, she's acting familiar, MC calls her "Tats" as if they're friends.
• MC says "I already have a rep around town. They might think I'm boinking the monster from Gobzilla.", My MC hasn't slept with anyone yet, except for the encounter on the plane. Where is this reputation coming from?
• And, for that matter, I have no clue how the meeting with Chrysta came into existence.
• Dialog in the later part of the game is written as if players are meta-gaming, not role-playing. MC is depressed and coming out of his shell, yet the options to leave things alone disappear over time. With choices like "Hug" or "Clap her butt", there's no real choice here. If you do pick "Clap her butt", Layla replies with "Really!? In public?", as if MC and Layla have had anything intimate going on. This gives me the impression that the author expects that players are going for all the points and encounters, instead of trying to play through MC's story of healing mentally.
• Why the hell are we telling Chrysta (we can't stand each other) about Layla and the tech she's working on? What's the context of this meeting and why is she there? Looking through the game's variables, this event is supposed to happen regardless of choices, so why isn't there any context or setup for it?
• So far we'd been given a lot of choice on how to handle Rylee's investigation, yet we trust Chrysta (who'd we have a lot of reasons to be suspicious of due to her connections) with it. I feel the game and story falls apart here. We've been given no insight into Chrysta.
• A screen tells the player that Layla bought the MC a new phone, yet the conversation after makes it sound that MC is using Layla's old work phone.
• Stormy invites us on a trip on the boat, we've had 2 opportunities before to set something up, yet this one we can't refuse.
• Now MC says he has to meet Gemma in the weekend. He has talked to Gemma maybe twice, but never set up a meet. Apparently this is an invitation to try out fleet racing. If this was set up previously, then I missed it because I cut every conversation with Gemma short.
• Gemma says I've improved a lot over the past week. If anything, I've been doing worse. The game fails to motivate my character, he's feeling unmotivated, depressed and introverted. If the writers want this MC to go out and have "fun", then someone should drag him out of his home. Like, instead of having this default meeting with Gemma that comes out of nowhere, MC could've told Layla that he has no plans and will improve his butt-imprint on the sofa instead. After Layla leaves, Gemma is at the door, she apologizes for bringing up sports at the café. Then, instead of asking the MC about his interests, she would just talk about her love for fleet racing, and say that she's worried about MC. She can imagine how it'd feel if she couldn't row anymore. This is how'd you get under the MC/player's skin and entice them to open up to Gemma. They can still go out and go rowing afterward.
• MC can't swim, Gemma apparently knows this. She lets MC drop into the water by rocking the boat. It's a miracle MC doesn't sink, since the water (in the next render) is too deep to stand. She says "In every sport you have to operate under pressure! Ugh.", WTF Gemma, it's your job to teach MC to deal with this 'pressure', he doesn't know this sport. Instead of passing the blame, apologize instead.
• Next, she entices MC with the promise of naked breasts to give it his all, but when he does, he gets chastised for not being a team player. While it was Gemma who said she'd sit at the back and would follow MC's actions ("Don't worry about paddling"). Instead, she didn't paddle at all.
• Gemma isn't very appealing for the depressed and injured sports-lover. She's super active, while this MC would appreciate her drive, getting serious with her would mean he'd have to spend time with her on her terms, and he'd have a constant reminder of his own physical limitations.
• And again, this whole conversation with Gemma feels more intimate than it has any right to be. My score with her is in the negative.
• After meeting Olivia, MC says "I'll have to play this right.", why? Gemma and MC just flirted a bit, which I interpreted as her just trying to get me on the team.
• "We have lunch together every afternoon, then I play that weird card game, and my activities after school have been ingrained into me too." I declined the card game with Dutch, and honestly I have no clue what activities MC means. So far he's going home after school or meeting up with Layla. The game does a lot of "tell, don't show", which is sad for a visual story.
• "I haven't felt this way since I was rock climbing.", yet a few screens back, MC says "I've been outside way too much, and with Layla busy, I think we earned ourselves a night in with the World Cup." So what is it, game? One time MC is introverted, then he's feeling great with tons of activities. Then he goes back to saying things like "I'm working on the 'being nice' thing still, alright?" Another point is that MC is constantly giving irony, facetious or self-deprecating remarks. The way he "jokes" makes him unlikable to me, and reinforces that he's still in a bad mental space.
• Despite turning down Dutch's game, apparently MC is now playing that game regardless. Even more, he's trying to rope Rylee into playing as well. Why? What's the motivation here? I haven't experienced this game yet, why would I want Rylee to be a part of it already? It's even weirder because taking part in the game was an "ultimate choice", but apparently it wasn't that ultimate? It's also disrespectful towards Rylee. It's not up to the MC to decide that Rylee needs to be more social, it even contradicts what MC tells her, that he's introverted to and understands her. If anything, Rylee and the MC should've had a talk about this, and Rylee should've been the one asking his help with pushing her out of her bubble.
• At the end of the photoshoot and declining the "sexual tension", Xia says "we have a weird relationship", except I didn't spend time with her before now.
• Fishing with Stormy... Layla wanted MC to go on a date with Stormy because Stormy has issues climaxing. Layla thought that MC could "fix" her. Well, if Layla just sees me as a toy for other women, that means she'll get the cold shoulder now. It felt good getting closer to her, but her "lending" me to some other woman doesn't make me feel like Layla wants me.
• When saying goodbye to Stormy, there's the option to "Promise to keep your promise". Earlier, MC got a choice to try and help Stormy climaxing, I chose to "I'll think about it.". Yet, this dialog option has MC saying "... we're gonna fix the cum machine". This is wrong, the promise that he made was that he'll think about it. This is yet another example of the dev assuming everyone would go for the lewds.
• After the splash screen "Life continues as you ...", there are no contextual clues what day or time of day it is. Making "Is Rylee even here anymore?" confusing. What does 'here' apply to? MC is lounging, it doesn't look like he's at school. Why wouldn't Rylee be 'here'? Did something happen after the storm and her mom looking for her? Nope, apparently Rylee just wasn't at the academy.
• Ninja-MC. Sometimes MC has trouble getting up due to his knee, but ninja-MC can crawl and run just fine. Is the game forgetting about his condition? If it has improved, I haven't seen the MC say anything about it.

 

[Maviarab]

Blah blah blah...

Take a deep breath and go outside for some fresh air. It's an adult VN. You ain't Roger E.

 

[Quetzzz]

Take a deep breath and go outside for some fresh air. It's an adult VN. You ain't Roger E.

I like consistent storytelling, books or AVN, doesn't matter. Who is Roger E.?

 

[misterandy33]

At the museum, the glove doesn't transmit through clothing. Except it does when touching Layla's stomach over her shirt, and later over her panties.

Or perhaps it has an effect not because of the glove itself, but because of Layla's own internal struggles with her own relationship/feelings towards the MC...

TBH though, it's been a while since I last played this, so my memory might be a bit fuzzy

 

[Blue Otter Games]

Or perhaps it has an effect not because of the glove itself, but because of Layla's own internal struggles with her own relationship/feelings towards the MC...

TBH though, it's been a while since I last played this, so my memory might be a bit fuzzy

You are correct! It's a bit of sci-fi.

I would recommend for other people who have such a problem with the game to not play it. If you feel the need to bash something into pieces, then that is your prerogative, but some people don't take into account how much time a developer puts into making a game only for someone to turn around and criticize it with a low review.

Yes, you have the option to review whatever you want, but it says something about someone who goes the extra mile to pulverize someone. I never mention anything if it's below a mid-range review if it was made by a team or a solo developer. We don't have financial backing of millions. I can't even go back to Chapter 1 or 2 and make corrections that aren't in dialogue. Yet I persevere in the face of glaring criticism because I am passionate about my project and the players who enjoy playing it!

This is why I no longer pay attention to F95 reviews, because they represent the vast minority of actual players. I so happened to be checking the message board here and noticed I had to scroll through all the reasons I'm not a AAA studio. If you have such a problem, do no play my game, and play something that you like. You can save yourself time too.

Look, everyone, I think there otter-be a general rule around all my games to be nice. If you enjoy something, enjoy it! If you don't, go find something you do like. Please, keep in mind the solo developers who try their best to make the most awesome game they can! It's not going to be perfect. Cheers to anyone who can make a perfect game! If I was going through the motions, I wouldn't have made a near 7 hour game with 3 chapters. Chapter 4 is going to take me months because of how big and how much content I have put into it.

Keep your dreams alive, Otters! If you have a goal, let no one stand in your way. Be the best Otter you can be.

 

[Quetzzz]

Yes, you have the option to review whatever you want, but it says something about someone who goes the extra mile to pulverize someone. I never mention anything if it's below a mid-range review if it was made by a team or a solo developer. We don't have financial backing of millions. I can't even go back to Chapter 1 or 2 and make corrections that aren't in dialogue. Yet I persevere in the face of glaring criticism because I am passionate about my project and the players who enjoy playing it!

There are two ways you can look at my review and notes. Either you take it as me trying to pulverize you, or, as me trying to relay bugs and concerns. Mind you, I never attacked you personally, I only made observations. My review contains points I liked and disliked.

Also, I bought your game on Steam, I didn't refund it, even if I was unhappy with it. I see potential, and would've considered buying season 2. This reaction, however, is giving me second thoughts. Feel free to discard any criticism as hate, and see how far that gets you. Or, you can take part in a constructive conversation with your audience, and see if there are more people that are confused or frustrated. If I just wanted to rag on your game, I could've done that with a single line of text. I wouldn't have spent hours taking notes and writing a comprehensive review.

Whatever you take away from this, at least fix those 4 bugged scenes. Please?

 

[Nemo56]

...Keep your dreams alive, Otters! If you have a goal, let no one stand in your way. Be the best Otter you can be.

Btw ... the itch.io version is still at Ch 3 v3.2.3. Is it intentional that v 3.4 from July is not available there yet?
(Seriouy question, I really don't know if that's supposed to be exclusive for Patreons or whatever.)

 

[Blue Otter Games]

There are two ways you can look at my review and notes. Either you take it as me trying to pulverize you, or, as me trying to relay bugs and concerns. Mind you, I never attacked you personally, I only made observations. My review contains points I liked and disliked.

Also, I bought your game on Steam, I didn't refund it, even if I was unhappy with it. I see potential, and would've considered buying season 2. This reaction, however, is giving me second thoughts. Feel free to discard any criticism as hate, and see how far that gets you. Or, you can take part in a constructive conversation with your audience, and see if there are more people that are confused or frustrated. If I just wanted to rag on your game, I could've done that with a single line of text. I wouldn't have spent hours taking notes and writing a comprehensive review.

Whatever you take away from this, at least fix those 4 bugged scenes. Please?

A constructive conversation is talking to the dev, asking them to do better, not going in every single store page they have to thrash them.

Had you simply messaged me, posted a single thread on here, or even left a review on one of the sites, I would have gladly taken your criticism, but when I get a personal message in Discord that there is someone posting negativity on every page there is available for my game... how does that make a dev feel?

I'm not saying I'm not going to take your suggestions into consideration. I can gladly fix those bugged scenes, and think about making sure all my routes are more cohesive. I've taken many-a-critique from fans. I've taken their critiques on my shotty lighting in renders, my pacing for the MC, many people complaining about the MC calling the women dude or bro... many things have been implemented that you don't know about.

All I'm asking is to talk to the dev. We are people. Hard working people. Think about that next time before posting a review on every single site. You're well within your right to ask for better, and I plan to make the best game possible. You obviously played the game, and I thank you very much for playing.

I am quite busy working on Chapter 4, so I don't go on here but once a week to answer questions and take stock of things. In the future, if you play my game, please try to reach out to me since you obviously paid attention to the game. While criticism in reviews is helpful, I get 90% of my feedback from players who reach out to me, because it doesn't do well for the mind to dwell in the review section. I have an entire section on Discord for saying however you feel about the game and what you want improved.

Again, thank you for playing my game. Cheers to all Otters!

 

[Blue Otter Games]

Btw ... the itch.io version is still at Ch 3 v3.2.3. Is it intentional that v 3.4 from July is not available there yet?
(Seriouy question, I really don't know if that's supposed to be exclusive for Patreons or whatever.)

The Itchio version is getting the wave to the current public version this month! The entire site is going to be getting a lot, including the Android version of Season One.

The in-game phone feature is almost complete as well, and that's going to be implemented into the paid version of the game, while the public version is everything except the in-game phone and the Point and Click spheres. I had to implement something extra for those who buy the game but want to make sure that public players can experience the story too!

I am ottering to make the most awesome game! Splish-splash!

 

[_doodle_]

havent played in a long time. Last time I played it ended when that one girl saw you in the bathroom after the storm. in the safehouse i think. There was a glitch that made it so that was the last render i saw. Anthing past that?

anyone? lol

 

[Quetzzz]

All I'm asking is to talk to the dev. We are people. Hard working people. Think about that next time before posting a review on every single site. You're well within your right to ask for better, and I plan to make the best game possible. You obviously played the game, and I thank you very much for playing.

I reviewed the game on Steam, because I bought it on Steam, and I reviewed it here. I added a link in my review to my notes, to invite discussion. Because, mostly where the story is concerned, it's always possible I missed something. Any "review bombing" is merely in the head of the person who messaged you. Though, a part of me was also curious how you'd react, because I noticed you've only been liking good reviews of your own game. It gave me an impression.

I'm not on Discord or any social media, and haven't posted anything on Itch or whatever other sites you're using. And even if I had done that, I don't necessarily think it would've been wrong. I just don't think my opinion is important enough to do that.

It's my impression that you're young, and stressed out, possibly even a bit too concerned with how you're perceived by others. In business, people don't care how much effort you put in, they only care about the results. Spending 10 hours in the kitchen won't get you compliments if the food is burned. Luckily, when you have a fan base, you can leverage them.
What I'm proposing, is that you put the .rpy files on GitHub (or alternatives) and allow people to do pull requests. You keep ownership and creative control of your creation. People could propose changes, which you can review before accepting or refusing. If you're having trouble writing in different voices, ask someone to rewrite a character's lines in their way of speaking. You can crowdsource translations this way as well.

And, dude, though love is love too. Learning to down the medicine without the spoonful of sugar will improve your mental state. The only person who needs to be proud of your achievements, is you.

 

[Maviarab]

Ypour way too full of yourself dude. Reviewing AVN's like your a pulitzer critic lol.

 

[Blue Otter Games]

Your impressions are wrong, however. Nor am I ever going to need anyone to do character work for me. But thank you for the suggestion, I'll definitely keep it in mind for other things like translations.

I don't give a flipping flying f about reviews, nor am I stressed about it. Otherwise, I would comment on every single heated review I get. I haven't commented on a single one. Many developers won't because it spawns things like this, which i want to swim from. You appear apt at this subject though and keen on details, you outta make your own project. If you would like to have a discussion about it, you're more than welcome to send me a private message. Otherwise, thanks for playing and your insight.

Now, no more of this talk, let's return to talking about the game and not the Otters around it! You can use Otter memes though. Otter memes are awesome and so are otters!