Yes, that works and I can see that being implemented in a more interesting way, but I'd still like to see a game that took all the stigma out of it. I maintain that if someone cheats, that doesn't make them corrupt. They're someone who cheated. I don't care about the general consensus... People in general are too judgemental, and if you get into group thinking, it's even worse. It's a responsible commercial decision for an author to cater to the general public, or specific well known groups within the public, but they don't have to. A good author will be able to make at least some people pause and think. Labelling is the most basic form of thought... To categorize objects based on their most relevant features. But it's something any pre-school kid can do. They can tell a horse from a dog, and, unfortunately, they can also tell the "bad kids" from the "good kids" (how many of us haven't been through the trauma of a lonely childhood, because we didn't want to get along with the kids that do "bad things")? An adult should be able to discern beyond the level of labelling. To base your opinion of a character in one single act in the story, as in cheating defines them as a cheat, and a bad person, is kinda lazy, like one issue voting. I understand that for many players, a beloved character who suddenly cheated would be a shock - isn't that the whole point of NTR? I get that part... What I don't get is the desire to be shocked and crushed emotionally up until the very end. But a betrayal of trust is just that, one betrayal of trust. Doesn't wipe out the whole prior relationship, not in my book. You (the MC) can decide you can't handle it, no problem. Or you can decide you can, and look at your LI as a person, someone whose actions do not stem directly from your own will. Challenging, but probably satisfying, if an author managed to guide us through such a process of going beyond what the collective subconscious wants you to think, say and do. That's the beauty of liberty. I'm not saying you can't be angry or that you have to forgive you LI - but I do say, if you're in control of your emotions, you should at least let them explain, perhaps even understand together where their actions stemmed from, and let each party make their own mind, without ultimatums or manipulation.
puuhh, that borders closely to real life issues now. i mean our resentment for certain characters stems from our own point of view, even if we are not the ones, who are in their shoes.
i don't condemn anyone who is able to forgive their partner for cheating. but i certainly can't forgive someone who cheated on me (i can call myself lucky that this has not happened to me).
it's probably overkill to compare these two, but i want to illustrate how deeply this affects me:
you might also don't forgive someone for murdering someone.
though of course murder is far worse than cheating, both are still trust issues. killing someone with my own hands is so bizzare to me, that anyone who does this is beyond me. they have taken something off, that makes them human. how could i trust such a person?
someone who cheats on me, have destroyed any semblance of trust i put on them. there is absolutely no telling if they won't do it again, if given the chance.
someone who has "yet" not cheated on me, i can still think that they would react the same way i do, if i cheated on them.
but games like these can have cheating or killing people, without me reacting this way. simply because it's not real. but who hasn't played a game and wanted to reload a save, because they were too rude to an NPC? so i still act in a certain way like i would do in reality. but since it's a fantasy, i can explore scenarios i wouldn't go normally.
that's why i think a game needs to protect characters from players hating on them. because when people get emotionally invested in them, you can't go off and destroy their image.
for example the game "acting lessons" has a very much hated ending, because the dev thought confronting the playerbase with an impactful situation like we discuss here, outside their power to change through choices, would make good drama.
don't get me wrong, it's drama like in all those romance soap operas, with "who loves who?" and "they did what?", which is pretty much the essence of a NTR game. just that the NTR game is neatly packaged in juicy explicit sex scenes.
however you have to be careful not offend them by creating drama.
-
i think
Im fine with cheating LI's, as long as there are realistic consequences, such as the possibility to kick them out of the door instead of having the choice to either forgive her, forgive her or forgive her.
is onto something here. i think what happens in a game, especially games like "nothing is forever" needs to be justified.
you need to justify why MC can cheat on Lea or Jen. you need to justify why MC can get involved with a cheater like Kim.
because otherwise it may become too real, and we explicitly play games to not play reality.
and if a LI is cheating on your MC, then it should be possible to throw her aside.
