"Gameplay:1/2out of 5"
Of course that's the one that's leading.
At least the "Gameplay:4/5outof 5" of
Fantasy Kingdom (would be my choice) is running in second.
Maybe the human race isn't completely hopeless
In an attempt to nudge things in the direction I'd prefer, I'd like to point out that:
A 'story mode' option essentially changes a game into one of those silly clickfest VNs that the ADD crowd loves.
And by going that route you can get a good bite out of
both groups.
But, the 'sandbox VN' risks losing a chunk of the 'I want a
game' crowd.
If you go the route of trying to keep as much as you can of both groups, I'd suggest introducing the 'story mode' much earlier in the dev cycle then was done with MwM.
That way the (simple minded fools
) that just want a VN will see from the start that there's an option for them too. And they'll be less likely to wander away.