I totally agree with you. It is only fair that both protagonists have a similar amount of content, tattoos, outfits or something else that also allows Ian to be personalized. I like that there are two protagonists and they must have the same weight visually and in the story
I get what you are saying but I don't think that fair necessarily means equal. Ian and Lena start from different points as characters, Ian doesn't care about fashion and goes with his hoodie everywhere, his wardrobe is like 10 years old. I know, he can change and start to give more importance to his appearance but maybe going from almost 0 to the same focus on fashion than a girl's, who is also a model, would be too much. I mean, I'm not Ian at the beginning of the story and my gf has way more clothes than I do and like 10-15 times the ammount of footwear I possess.
There's also the difference between how much money can Ian and Lena potentially make. Ian has way less opportunities, so even if we had extra custom options like underwear, more clothes, tattoos, jewelry, watches... you would not be able to afford it unless you cheat.
I have also had that impression for several reasons. Lena's events have an impact on the world around her, Ian's do not; Lena's performances have been central to the interactions, Ian's tournament is unknown to everyone except Jeremy; The world conspires to make life difficult for Lena, Ian does not go through great difficulties; Possible breakups are decided by Lena and she never puts Ian in a position where he is the one who gets angry and decides; Lena can access clothes, lingerie, tattoos and toys, Ian only clothes. Certainly the narrative of the story seems to be driven by Lena and Ian is only the co-pilot, which is why I have said before that I hope they have the same narrative and visual weight (referring to customization options)
I partially agree, I think you are overstating it a bit. Ian starts the game living with Perry because he was "kicked out" from his parent's house and he's working quite a shitty internship with a bitchy boss. If you don't make the right choices, he ends losing even that and having to work as a rider. He also starts just coming out of a quite serious depression and with a lack of confidence (let's remember he might not even get his dick to work with Alison or Cherry).
Also, Ian can break up with Lena if during the relationship talk Ian wants to go for a serious relationship and Lena refuses because she doesn't love him or she had something with Jeremy. He also breaks up with Lena (automatically without player's choice) if you decide to date Cherry during chapter 11. And he is the one to raise the issue and initiate both arguments if they break up because of Lena's stalkfap or the lack of sex.
And I'm sure that during the MMA tournament some of Ian's friends will be there and if he reaches the finals it would be more of an event. Again, I can see it where you are coming from but I think it's not so bad. And Lena is way more popular than Ian with Eva's fanbase so it could be quite worse (and still can, let's hope not).
IIRC EK mentioned that the one getting Prologue will get Epilogue so, Ian will get CH12 epilogue too. I can't remember exactly where she said this but it was recently. It may be something like this:
- Ch12 Prologue - IAN
- Ch12 Alpha - IAN or LENA
- Ch12 Beta - LENA or IAN
- Ch12 Epilogue - IAN
- Ch13 Prologue - LENA
- Ch13 Alpha - IAN or LENA
- Ch13 Beta - LENA or IAN
- Ch13 Epilogue - LENA
My understanding of the development plan with more frequent smaller updates is more like this:
- Ch12 Prologue Alpha - Ian POV mainly MMA
- Ch12 Prologue Beta
- Ch12 Prologue
- Ch12 Ian part Alpha mainly Beach house
- Ch12 Ian part Beta
- Ch12 Ian part
- Ch12 Lena part Alpha
- Ch12 Lena part Beta
- Ch12 Lena part
- Ch12 Epilogue Alpha ( she didn't explicitly mention it when she explained her new approach, but probably Lena POV)
- Ch12 Epilogue Beta
- Ch12 Epilogue
