Abandoned My Sweet Neighbors | Completing the game project !

[Orangepocalypse]

and yes, I know that everyone has their own opinions and yes I would be happy to engage with anybody in a thoughtful discussion of what makes MSN the game that it is (was).

 

[MattShizzle]

Be nice to know why Pendejo just abandoned the game. That is unacceptable behavior unless he like died or something.

 

[ImperialD]

yeah .. i've been waiting awhile for this game .. it is awesome .. curious as to why they stopped producing it

 

[Orangepocalypse]

yeah .. i've been waiting awhile for this game .. it is awesome .. curious as to why they stopped producing it

Pandelo reported that his mother had a heart attack and that he was going to take some time to look after her. His Patreon has been paused ever since with no further notice.

The game is dead . . . sadly.

 

[SinAppeal]

Based on what's there so far, I'd say that to call the game an homage is a questionable claim. The game is enjoyable enough, mind you, but if someone is looking for something that closely resembles the essential qualities of MSN, I would say it's way too early to say if that promise will be delivered.

This is worth noting since the dev is using this board to drive traffic to his game. What's there so far is just a brief taste, and I've left a review on that page if you're interested in more detail.

Thank you so much for your detailed answer and your review!

I really appreciate that you took the time.

MSN is a classic in VN game history and it won't be easy to follow in its footsteps.

But I do my best every day! What you have seen so far is a brief glimpse. The new update will be cool with lots of new content and erotic insights. And the game HUD will be revised as well

This weekend I will have almost all new renders for the next chapter done.
Since 11.4 I've been going full throttle.
All in all I will be able to update the game about 4-5 weeks after my first release.

Hopefully you like the pace and of course the renders and my work effort.

 

[Orangepocalypse]

Thank you so much for your detailed answer and your review!

I really appreciate that you took the time.

MSN is a classic in VN game history and it won't be easy to follow in its footsteps.

But I do my best every day! What you have seen so far is a brief glimpse. The new update will be cool with lots of new content and erotic insights. And the game HUD will be revised as well

This weekend I will have almost all new renders for the next chapter done.
Since 11.4 I've been going full throttle.
All in all I will be able to update the game about 4-5 weeks after my first release.

Hopefully you like the pace and of course the renders and my work effort.

Let me be clear . . .

Developing a quality game and claiming a connection to MSN are two very different things. Even making the claim that you are following in MSN's footsteps commits you to developing a game that reveals an understanding of what those footsteps are beyond "people liked that game" and then executing on that understanding.

If you're basically going to use an MSN discussion board as a platform to advertise your game, then you are inviting commentary on how effectively you are doing that.

So it's not a question of whether you are "doing your best" or even whether your game turns out to be good or not . . . it's an issue of doing justice to MSN if you're going to use another game's board as a form of advertising.

 

[Orangepocalypse]

Beyond the unquestionable quality of Pandelo's renders (a real commitment to facial expressions that made the characters more alive and the daughter so endearing), I'd say that the story arc that Pandelo was developing was part of what made the game so compelling.

The fact that the MC was romancing both mother and daughter individually, that MC's pursuit of the daughter was totally behind the mother's back (mom starts to suspect when the game was abandoned), and that MC's attentions towards the mother would at times influence the daughter's relationship points (jealousy) created a dramatic tension that to me is unique in this genre. As the MC, you need to be mindful of making the best choices in order to continue to juggle the two relationships in the face of a developing story where the mother becomes more suspicious and the daughter becomes more jealous/possessive.

The two major story arcs - the sexual awakening of the daughter and the MC juggling the two relationships were both told in a compelling way. The desire to include MFF content appears to have been planned by Pandelo introducing a coworker for the mother and a friend for the daughter, and this would allow Pandelo to tell his story of tension between MC, mom, and daughter in a way that didn't have to include the whole "landlady/younger tenant" construction to make the game Patreon and Steam friendly. Including both the mother and the daughter in the same sexual scenario isn't necessary to drive the main story, but Pandelo included a way to provide MFF content as a nice side dish.

I could have seen Pandelo continue the story arc from mom is oblivious to the MC/daughter relationship, to mom suspects, to mom finds out and kills the MC in a fit of rage that came from a combination of jealousy and of anger over how her innocent daughter had been defiled. Perhaps even a murder-suicide conclusion or one where mother and daughter confront and kill the MC. People would be talking about an ending like that alongside the plot twist in Acting Lessons as legendary examples of writing in the genre.

Pandelo was (is?) a gifted storyteller with a great artistic eye for renders. I just think it's a mistake to think that a story that has two blonde neighbors is what makes MSN what it is. It's really so much more than that, and it's not something that will be replicated simply by recreating the story's original premise.

 

[darlic]

I agree with almost all you said, but...
That possible ending made me freeze the blood in my veins. If that was how the game should have ended I wouldn't never, ever pardon Pandelo for that (even more than DrPinkCake), this is my opinion but how stupid and uncalled for would that be to add such dark thematics in a game like that?

 

[SinAppeal]

Beyond the unquestionable quality of Pandelo's renders (a real commitment to facial expressions that made the characters more alive and the daughter so endearing), I'd say that the story arc that Pandelo was developing was part of what made the game so compelling.

The fact that the MC was romancing both mother and daughter individually, that MC's pursuit of the daughter was totally behind the mother's back (mom starts to suspect when the game was abandoned), and that MC's attentions towards the mother would at times influence the daughter's relationship points (jealousy) created a dramatic tension that to me is unique in this genre. As the MC, you need to be mindful of making the best choices in order to continue to juggle the two relationships in the face of a developing story where the mother becomes more suspicious and the daughter becomes more jealous/possessive.

The two major story arcs - the sexual awakening of the daughter and the MC juggling the two relationships were both told in a compelling way. The desire to include MFF content appears to have been planned by Pandelo introducing a coworker for the mother and a friend for the daughter, and this would allow Pandelo to tell his story of tension between MC, mom, and daughter in a way that didn't have to include the whole "landlady/younger tenant" construction to make the game Patreon and Steam friendly. Including both the mother and the daughter in the same sexual scenario isn't necessary to drive the main story, but Pandelo included a way to provide MFF content as a nice side dish.

I could have seen Pandelo continue the story arc from mom is oblivious to the MC/daughter relationship, to mom suspects, to mom finds out and kills the MC in a fit of rage that came from a combination of jealousy and of anger over how her innocent daughter had been defiled. Perhaps even a murder-suicide conclusion or one where mother and daughter confront and kill the MC. People would be talking about an ending like that alongside the plot twist in Acting Lessons as legendary examples of writing in the genre.

Pandelo was (is?) a gifted storyteller with a great artistic eye for renders. I just think it's a mistake to think that a story that has two blonde neighbors is what makes MSN what it is. It's really so much more than that, and it's not something that will be replicated simply by recreating the story's original premise.

Ture words and spoken with passion. I'm totally cool with that and go d'accord. At the end of the day, results count. That's why I'm continuing to work on it now. And who knows, maybe it will convince you someday

 

[desmosome]

It's been so long since I've played MSN, but it was just a pretty routine game in this genre. I'm not sure why people are calling it revolutionary or something. The model for the daughter was pretty good. The mom had a stock model I think. Render quality is no where near top tier for it's time. Truth be told, I never got all that far into it because the writing was pretty bad. Almost as bad as Mr Dots or Lewdlabs. The MC acts like a typical teenager in a grown man's body (look at that ass! oh my god!). So right away, our expectations are rather low when it comes to the seriousness of the script. So we look for the porn angle and see if it delivers there. All the interactions are some weird mix of simpy or pervy teen and it's just nauseating after a while. Mind you, the English wasn't perfect either if I remember correctly.

 

[Orangepocalypse]

I agree with almost all you said, but...
That possible ending made me freeze the blood in my veins. If that was how the game should have ended I wouldn't never, ever pardon Pandelo for that (even more than DrPinkCake), this is my opinion but how stupid and uncalled for would that be to add such dark thematics in a game like that?

Obviously some people would never forgive the writer for that twist, but to be fair these are the same people who constantly complain when a dev "sells out" to what the mob wants rather than to stick with his/her original vision.

Why does every one of these things have to end in either a harem, a pregnancy, or an abandoned tag? I just think it would be an incredible twist to see karma catch up with one of these MCs who fucks anything that moves.

Yeah, you'd have a lot of pissed off people. I think you'd also have others who get rocked by the surprise and once the shock wore off would think that the ending was legendary. A real artist might actually take that chance.

 

[ImperialD]

Ture words and spoken with passion. I'm totally cool with that and go d'accord. At the end of the day, results count. That's why I'm continuing to work on it now. And who knows, maybe it will convince you someday

dam last i remember playing this game i got to eat out the daughter ,,,, fucked the mother .... wanting the daughters friend also .... but loved this game alot

 

[darlic]

Yeah, you'd have a lot of pissed off people. I think you'd also have others who get rocked by the surprise and once the shock wore off would think that the ending was legendary. A real artist might actually take that chance.

Putting a twist in a story just for the sake of it, for me, would be considered just bad writing or lack of originality.
It may seem counterintuitive but if you think about it this writing technique has been abused over the years, since the publication of Murder on the Orient Express (maybe this was not the first but it's probably the most popular).
Managing to write a good story without the use of such "gimmicks" would require more effort by the author's side, but again this is just my opinion

 

[Orangepocalypse]

Putting a twist in a story just for the sake of it, for me, would be considered just bad writing or lack of originality.
It may seem counterintuitive but if you think about it this writing technique has been abused over the years, since the publication of Murder on the Orient Express (maybe this was not the first but it's probably the most popular).
Managing to write a good story without the use of such "gimmicks" would require more effort by the author's side, but again this is just my opinion

The technique of plot twists has been used both successfully and unsuccessfully throughout the history of literature and film. Is the ending of "The Usual Suspects" a gimmick?

I wouldn't see a character reacting strongly to both betrayal by a romantic partner and a perceived threat of her child as a contrivance, and I don't think that most people would be reacting against it based on some kind of Utne Reader analysis.

I'm on my way out the door for vacation and I don't know if this board is the forum to discuss the psychology/sociology of the consumer(s) of adult visual novels, but the inevitable freak out in reaction to a dark and shocking ending would not be for the most part based on literary theory. I think it connects more closely to the general rejection of NTR and the aversion to wanting to see the MCs face during a story - issues surrounding agency and control.

Good writing is good writing and bad writing is bad writing. I don't think you can reject the concept of a shock ending or a plot twist as purely gimmickry . . . it can lend to effective storytelling.

I'd be interested in seeing a well-executed ending like this to a story both because of its originality and for the experience of seeing a board full of people collectively lose their minds. Burn it all down!!

I'm delighted to continue the conversation, but I may be off the boards for the next ten to twelve days. I promise I'm not ignoring you if you reply.

 

[God3333]

Any update with what's going on with this remake?

 

[darlic]

The technique of plot twists has been used both successfully and unsuccessfully throughout the history of literature and film. Is the ending of "The Usual Suspects" a gimmick?

Good writing is good writing and bad writing is bad writing. I don't think you can reject the concept of a shock ending or a plot twist as purely gimmickry . . . it can lend to effective storytelling.

I'd be interested in seeing a well-executed ending like this to a story both because of its originality and for the experience of seeing a board full of people collectively lose their minds. Burn it all down!!

I'm delighted to continue the conversation, but I may be off the boards for the next ten to twelve days. I promise I'm not ignoring you if you reply.

I think I can see your point better now, so please allow me to clarify myself.
What I was trying to say is you can call it a gimmick when it is clear the author didn't know how to continue the story. Whenever this happens, the easy way out of this is to put something that forces the reader to suspend their disbelief. This sometimes works, but most of the time it doesn't and leaves the reader with a feeling of disappointment.

With that being clarified out, the rest is a matter of personal opinion.
You said you'd enjoy an ending where the girls go full "psycho killer" mode, whilst for me, that would only induce a hefty amount of rage. To each their own

 

[lolblue25]

Any update with what's going on with this remake?

Nope. The one who said they were remaking it hasn't posted in the thread since August 31st.

 

[God3333]

Nope. The one who said they were remaking it hasn't posted in the thread since August 31st.

Shame

 

[Ayhsel]

More like they probably realized it was a silly objective to have. Developing a game is way harder than most realize. And the benefits of finishing another's work are very little. At most it is a good fan work of another's game. At worst, it is just crap.

Better time and resources spent developing your own game.

oh well.. pity. time to unfollow the thread.

 

[F1forhalp]

hmmm waited a while, time to write it off..
unwatched.