Does anyone think this is bad? Roll back is still always available, and roll forward is too, untill you hit one menu choice that requires a skill.
I think this is fine, personally. If I compare it to games with minigames, rollback requires players to re-play the minigame. Having to click the option again is a very minor inconvenience. And, I suspect, roll forward isn't used that much anyway.
And it's different if he isn't falling in love while fucking everyone, or while fucking no-one or something in between. It's difficult for me, as a writer, to write different dialogues with the inner voice that correctly account for all possible combinations and reasons why that particular set of options was chosen. First, because there are many different options, and secondly because I don't know what goes on each player's head when they make the choices that brought them to that situation.
Yeah, that's fair. As a player, I do realize that every choice offered by the game, adds an extra layer of complexity for the writer/dev. From a roleplay perspective, the reverse is true as well. Sometimes we need to take a step back and look at the meta, the paths the writer make available, and what they need the player to do, to move the story forward.
One note I made, is how I -as the player- felt worse than the MC after the inner-demon monologue during the weed-trip. I was surprised he didn't try to throw himself off of the balcony right there.
And while, subjectively, I didn't like it. I know that, objectively, you needed to give the MC a catalyst to reconnect with his friends, to get a change of perspective. I also found it uncharacteristic that the player didn't get the choice to partake in weed, which reinforced my impression of "plot convenience". (And as a side-note, I think it would've worked better as an LSD/mushroom/psychedelic trip, but I don't know if there are legality issues with that.)
Now, all this is more of an observation than criticism. While the MC's sudden 180 did take me by surprise there, and shattered my immersion for a minute, I did realize it's a limitation of the genre. It's the same limitation that prevents me from telling Emma to STFU and to stop turning every-fucking-thing into a competition. This is my own preference, I don't like people (men or women) who are like this, I much prefer to be surrounded by people who build each other up, instead of one-upping. Regardless, the MC seems to like it, so I try to mute my own preference.
The alternative to all of this, is a railroad experience where the author just tells their story, and any player choice is purely cosmetic. I think, generally, you've struck this balance very well.
This ends up with me, as the writer, interpreting those possible "game states" in a different way than you, the player, which can create a weird dissonance between the story you're trying to create and the story that the game thinks you're trying to create. These situations should be avoidable as much as possible, but it isn't an easy task. I recently wrote a bit more about this topic in general
here, if you're interested in more of my thoughts about it (and haven't read that post yet).
I hadn't read that post before, it was an interesting read. And you're right, it's hard, if not impossible, to account for how a player fills in the MC's motivations. The dissonance you mention is exactly what I felt with the weed-scene, but yeah, the story has to progress as well. For the RP I was doing, it would've fit better if the MC had a breakdown, and a real heart-to-heart with Olivia afterward, but that's neither here not there. In the subgenre of character driven AVN, this game still easily ranks in my top 3.
I know you advise against it, but I'll be playing through multiple times to explore different paths and consequences. The amount of achievements still left to get, make me think there's a lot of content I haven't yet seen. And, I'm actually curious if my perspective on events/characters will change with more intimacy involved.
Edit: I'd also like to make a request/suggestion. Is it possible to let players rename the "Page #" on the savegame screen (as an alternative to named saves)? With the game still being in development, and me doing several runs, I'd love for a better way to keep track of which saves are what. While I'm a completionist, I still like to stay true to the spirit of the game, and not just unlock every option to see everything in one playthrough. As far as achievements go, it seems at least 6 playthroughs are needed, probably 10 to see all the dom/sub variations.
