VN Ren'Py Our Red String [Ch.13.3.4] [Eva Kiss]

[dontcarewhateverno]

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Hi guys,

When it rains it pours, or so they say. Last time I told you about how I was falling behind with ORS' production due to burnout and some other issues and now I got the "unspecified virus of unknown origin", I've spent most of the week in bed feeling like shit, so production hasn't exactly ramped up.
I've been thinking about it for a while and I've decided that starting February I will put all charges on my page on hold. I feel I'm not giving you enough value for your money at this moment and it doesn't sit right with me.

I've said in the past that I'm the one looking forward to new releases the most, and that I really wish I could still publish every single month. I can't wait to realize the ideas I have for ORS and there are also several other projects in the back of my mind I'd love to bring to life at some point too. Taking too long to release a new chapter becomes stressful to me, especially considering this business model: a monthly subscription deserves to be rewarded by a flow of continuous content, and ORS is far from a finished piece. That means that work is never over, and as soon as the last chapter is released, pressure to get the next one ready starts lighting a fire under my feet. I've already talked about it in previous posts, but after more than 4 years of uninterrupted work and due to other personal issues, I found myself feeling quite burnt out after Chapter 9.

I know some of you kindly warned me about that pitfall but I guess I just ran with it because that was the only way I was able to keep myself on the loop, and I still stand by that choice. And because I want to get back in that loop, I want to feel at ease to keep working on this big project. I take your support really seriously, so the constant anxiety of delivering content worthy of your hard earned money has been eating at me. I'm not sure if I'm shooting myself in the foot here, but I think it's the right thing to do and it'll help me get back into things with less stress

I haven't been able to do that recently, so I'm looking to turn that around. So rest assured I will continue to work to bring you quality content and finish ORS like I've always intended to do. The review of the first 9 chapters + Stan's integral rework should not take much longer (it's already taken too long), followed by that Steam release I always talk about and I haven't been able to make a reality yet.

This was hard to write, I hope I did a good job. I know this is far from ideal and I hope I didn't make things sound worse than they actually are. There's a lot of cool stuff coming for ORS, I just want to get it out more efficiently. As always, I want to keep things open and transparent when it comes to the game's development. I'll keep you posted, so stay tuned for next week.
Thanks a bunch guys!

--------

The variety and depth of fetishes and paths is a double-edged sword for this game & its success. At least for a solo-dev studio ( albeit with some part time workers & dedicated volunteers).

I don't think Eva would've gotten half of the user-base or patreon supporters she has without such a variety of paths to please so many people. But it's also proven to be too large an undertaking for a dev with shoestring resources.

A greater amount of pre-planning in paths and narrative consideration could have slashed at least 1/4 of the work here though. For instance, with a sketched out plot and some deep consideration at the planning stage, it could have been easy to tell there was little appeal to playing out a Robert path all the way through. Still want to incorporate some of the kinks involved? Simply incorporate them into another character users are more likely to select (say Mike or Axel). She'd still have to vary a few sex scenes for the character adopting those kinks, but would save a ton of time in the long run. As-is, there is so much content there that a majority of players will never see, even in multiple play-throughs. While many paths played often still have inconsistent text throughout.

Also: Illusion of choice = sometimes a good thing, when not overextended. People often bitch about the illusion of choice in visual novels and tbf it's often abused by creators. But it has its place and can help overall quality focus when not over-abused. ORS doesn't seem to have enough illusion of choice in that respect, considering the resources at hand.

I'm guilty of armchair devving here. But if I were in her shoes, I think I'd narrow the focus quite a bit in future projects, focusing more on quality and consistency of text in each choice made & incorporating a good deal more illusion of choice, with enough real choices to still be satisfying. Even having half the options and paths that ORS has is quite a bit more options than most any game in the adult vn genre. IMO, it would be just as satisfying or more (unless any of my fetishes were cut. Then "WTF Eva?!? Reeeeee". Kidding... sort of). The plethora of choices are a big part of what makes her work unique. But I think she could still stand to cut quite a bit while keeping that uniqueness.

 

[Dr.Brule]

I saw the discussion of a 3 some. The only plausible 3 some is Allison has a neurotic breakdown being in Lenas shadow and has a 3 some with Ian and Stan.

 

[InfamousGuy]

I've always thought that a sort of "out there" threesome idea would be IanxAlisonxLena BUT you have Ian and Alison banging while Lena watches.

I think this potential (not at all) route can stem from Lena stepping back from Ivy and Holly's lewd scene. If she chooses to watch, then I could see a potential cuck route for Lena (as opposed to the gigachad GOAT himself Ian). Though this would not fit Lena's character, I do think it's a fun idea to throw out there as it could make sense if Lena starts to like watching Ivy and Holly which could transition over to something like Ian and Alison banging at Ian's place while Perry is away and Lena somehow gets in and then proceeds to watch from the creek of the door which would probably turn Alison on as she likes to make sure that she is above Lena when it comes to Ian.

Obviously this is a far fetched idea but why not speculate as we won't be getting chap 10 for a while.

 

[Brazilian Engrish]

So, till next week. And fuck you covid19. I hope Eva gets better.

 

[Trainer7]

Hope you get well soon Eva!

 

[bauman]

Hi guys,

When it rains it pours, or so they say.

Listen lil' homie, when it rains it pours
Hollow tips and talons, when it rains it pours
Get caught in lead showers just because
N ain't playin', when it rains it pours
N get set up, when it rains it pours
End up wet up, that's when it rains it pours
It usually, goes down over money and whores
But lil' homie in my hood, when it rains it pours

 

[Zed-cero]

awesome

 

[Deleted member 3064965]

The game's development is going through its roughest patch so far after about two years of production, but Eva's still working on it and providing regular updates on Patreon. In yesterday's update she's also saying that the rework of the first 9 chapters "shouldn't take much longer", and she's been claiming in almost every recent post that nothing's changed concering the game's long term development. We obviously don't know what the future holds.

 

[Quintillian]

The variety and depth of fetishes and paths is a double-edged sword for this game & its success. At least for a solo-dev studio ( albeit with some part time workers & dedicated volunteers).

I don't think Eva would've gotten half of the user-base or patreon supporters she has without such a variety of paths to please so many people. But it's also proven to be too large an undertaking for a dev with shoestring resources.

A greater amount of pre-planning in paths and narrative consideration could have slashed at least 1/4 of the work here though. For instance, with a sketched out plot and some deep consideration at the planning stage, it could have been easy to tell there was little appeal to playing out a Robert path all the way through. Still want to incorporate some of the kinks involved? Simply incorporate them into another character users are more likely to select (say Mike or Axel). She'd still have to vary a few sex scenes for the character adopting those kinks, but would save a ton of time in the long run. As-is, there is so much content there that a majority of players will never see, even in multiple play-throughs. While many paths played often still have inconsistent text throughout.

Also: Illusion of choice = sometimes a good thing, when not overextended. People often bitch about the illusion of choice in visual novels and tbf it's often abused by creators. But it has its place and can help overall quality focus when not over-abused. ORS doesn't seem to have enough illusion of choice in that respect, considering the resources at hand.

I'm guilty of armchair devving here. But if I were in her shoes, I think I'd narrow the focus quite a bit in future projects, focusing more on quality and consistency of text in each choice made & incorporating a good deal more illusion of choice, with enough real choices to still be satisfying. Even having half the options and paths that ORS has is quite a bit more options than most any game in the adult vn genre. IMO, it would be just as satisfying or more (unless any of my fetishes were cut. Then "WTF Eva?!? Reeeeee". Kidding... sort of). The plethora of choices are a big part of what makes her work unique. But I think she could still stand to cut quite a bit while keeping that uniqueness.

Completely agree. In its current state, the scope of this game requires a dedicated group, not a single developer. But if she intends to keep working on the game alone, it would be best thing would just to assume all future updates will require an incremental amount of time. That way she doesn’t stress with guilt, and supporting fans don’t feel betrayed with unrealistic expectations.

 

[haidar08890]

How to play the android version?

 

[CoalPhelps]

Guys, while we wait, can you recommend any other interesting VNs with female protagonist here?

 

[dontcarewhateverno]

Guys, while we wait, can you recommend any other interesting VNs with female protagonist here?

Bright Past has lots of grind, a mess of bugs, some cringe in the writing and zero non-scuzzy male love interests, but as bad as I'm making it sound, it's worth checking out. The amount of ambition and depth of the game so far is like nothing I've seen in a porn game. I just hope the dev hires a native language English speaker with some writing talent to smooth out some of the rough patches once the game is complete, plus redesigns some of the cringier male character models. Lots of lesbian options, if you're into that. It needs A LOT of work. But it has the potential to be very good if the dev smooths things out. Warning: You're basically going down a deep corruption path to move the story forward, no matter what. The level of choice in that regard is lacking as well.

Other VN suggestions I've posted 100+ times here: Heal Slut (best non-EvaKiss F-protag VN out there), Jessica O'Neil's Hard News. I won't mention Eva's other game due to the "no shit Sherlock" factor.
Non VN: Last Evil (fantastic from a gameplay aspect. Warning: Monster rape).

Nothing else I've come across for female protag is any good. (Though TBF, there aren't many good male protag adult vns either. Most of the content in this genre as a whole is pretty terrible, which is why decent games like this one have such a dedicated following).

Let me know if you are open to Male Protag vns though and I'll list a few more.

 

[HornyTranschicken]

Guys, while we wait, can you recommend any other interesting VNs with female protagonist here?

Bad Memories and Dog Days of Summer are two good ones. Though they are lesbian focused if thats not your thing. Lisa is another good one but I suggest playing the renpy version.

 

[DavDR]

Bright Past has lots of grind, a mess of bugs, some cringe in the writing and zero non-scuzzy male love interests, but as bad as I'm making it sound, it's worth checking out. The amount of ambition and depth of the game so far is like nothing I've seen in a porn game. I just hope the dev hires a native language English speaker with some writing talent to smooth out some of the rough patches once the game is complete, plus redesigns some of the cringier male character models. Lots of lesbian options, if you're into that. It needs A LOT of work. But it has the potential to be very good if the dev smooths things out. Warning: You're basically going down a deep corruption path to move the story forward, no matter what. The level of choice in that regard is lacking as well.

Other VN suggestions I've posted 100+ times here: Heal Slut (best non-EvaKiss F-protag VN out there), Jessica O'Neil's Hard News. I won't mention Eva's other game due to the "no shit Sherlock" factor.
Non VN: Last Evil (fantastic from a gameplay aspect. Warning: Monster rape).

Nothing else I've come across for female protag is any good. (Though TBF, there aren't many good male protag adult vns either. Most of the content in this genre as a whole is pretty terrible, which is why decent games like this one have such a dedicated following).

Let me know if you are open to Male Protag vns though and I'll list a few more.

I couldn't agree with you more about BP. So much potential I hope it can live up to it's promise.

The only game that I can add to your list is Wands & Witches, a Harry Potter parody game where you can play as male or female protagonist. The art style may not be for everyone though.

Also agree with you about Heal Slut. Sparkle is easily my favorite MC in games.

 

[dontcarewhateverno]

The only game that I can add to your list is Wands & Witches, a Harry Potter parody game where you can play as male or female protagonist. The art style may not be for everyone though.

The art is precisely why I never checked it out. The drawing skills are not great and not what I'm generally looking for in an adult VN. I might check it out to kill the time if all else is good though. I've found myself playing through some of these games (like Mist and Jessica O'Neil) just for the story, even though the erotic parts did nothing for me. Story-based games have become more of my unwind entertainment in the past few years, as the US and UK entertainment industries have been churning out so much ideologically brainwashed garbage/propaganda. Not like most of the stories in these games are fantastic. I'm just hurting for something different from the current trends right now and I've burned through most of the good tv shows and films from pre-2016.

 

[Tallyhoe]

It’s hard to write an interesting story. Harder to write multiple of them at the same time. And much, much harder trying to intertwine and connect them together.

I know she stops taking money out of guilt, probably doesn’t want to be seen as milking. But how does she support herself during this time? A lot of her patrons say they don’t mind being charged. I don’t know how she can backtrack this when she realise she needs money to help with her life and work. She can’t just come back and say hey I actually need to charge you guys now even though I still have nothing to show, sorry, right? Imo she pulled the trigger too early and it’s bad for the business. That’s $4000 monthly that can help her in anyway.

 

[dontcarewhateverno]

Eva is likely making closer to $12k a month, with a portion of that going to work she contracts out for. She's probably got some cash in the bank to float on. This seems to be both a mental health decision and a customer retention decision. She needs to alleviate some of the pressure while she gets her mind and focus in order. At the same time, she's putting her money where her mouth is, instilling trust with her Patreon supporters. Some of whom may leave in the long run if that trust is no longer there. Not a mind reader, but that's my interpretation. Reputation is important in any business and this is a business. It's a good customer service tactic. She's probably also dedicating a good deal of time trying to get the game up and running for steam and may not feel in good conscience that her supporters should have to pay for that work.

 

[aris666]

Eva is likely making closer to $12k a month, with a portion of that going to work she contracts out for. She's probably got some cash in the bank to float on. This seems to be both a mental health decision and a customer retention decision. She needs to alleviate some of the pressure while she gets her mind and focus in order. At the same time, she's putting her money where her mouth is, instilling trust with her Patreon supporters. Some of whom may leave in the long run if that trust is no longer there. Not a mind reader, but that's my interpretation. Reputation is important in any business and this is a business. It's a good customer service tactic. She's probably also dedicating a good deal of time trying to get the game up and running for steam and may not feel in good conscience that her supporters should have to pay for that work.

It does look, like a nice decision, which deserve respect. As many other developers just goes on hiatus, while being fully aware that most patrons will not cancel subscription, as it is usually not a big sum per person (keeping tabs on a game, which didn't get updated version for almost 18 months now...)

 

[DavDR]

The art is precisely why I never checked it out. The drawing skills are not great and not what I'm generally looking for in an adult VN. I might check it out to kill the time if all else is good though. I've found myself playing through some of these games (like Mist and Jessica O'Neil) just for the story, even though the erotic parts did nothing for me. Story-based games have become more of my unwind entertainment in the past few years, as the US and UK entertainment industries have been churning out so much ideologically brainwashed garbage/propaganda. Not like most of the stories in these games are fantastic. I'm just hurting for something different from the current trends right now and I've burned through most of the good tv shows and films from pre-2016.

Another story that you may like is Oathbreaker. I was reluctant to mention it earlier because although Oathbreaker 1 is an incredible story, the continuation Oathbreaker 2 seems to me at least to have bogged down with too many characters. There aren't many sex scene's, and any animation is rudimentary at best but the story is very engrossing and well written.

 

[Kalenz123]

Another story that you may like is Oathbreaker. I was reluctant to mention it earlier because although Oathbreaker 1 is an incredible story, the continuation Oathbreaker 2 seems to me at least to have bogged down with too many characters. There aren't many sex scene's, and any animation is rudimentary at best but the story is very engrossing and well written.

Oathbreaker 2 has some quality of life improvements over 1. (being able to scroll back, save at any time etc).
The story is also very good. Also Oathbreaker is a VN you play for the story not for the porn. The sex scenes are just an extra.
The number of chars and side stories has exploded beyond any reason. I skipped all dialogue of secondary chars and I can still follow the story perfectly well.