Jun 1, 2017
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Is there an option for Ian to break up with Lena? Or is it always Lena breaking up? e.g. after Ian vs Robert or after Ian and Lena fight over StalkFap.
 

Zara Scarlet

Engaged Member
Apr 3, 2022
2,402
3,206
No I'm saying that Lena/Ian was most likely the primary idea to make this game. It truly feels that is the reason every other LI (besides Holly) all have massive red flags to try and lead players towards this pairing.
They're both the protagonists, so yeah they're obviously the main focus of the storyline. I just don't think Eva ever intended them not to have the option never to get together as a couple. Whether they do or they don't, both their stories are inextricably entwined, and they end up in some form of relationship, even if it's just as friends.

That's the nature of being a protagonist, virtually everything in a storyline is focused on you. And this game is viewed solely through the eyes of it's protagonists. We know for instance on some playthroughs, that Alison had a threesome with Jeremy and Billy during their trip, but we never get to see it, apart from a short video clip that Jeremy may send to Ian, because Ian wasn't there. If the protagonists don't see something, we don't see it either, even if we're aware that it happened. All the other characters in the game, are just extensions of Ian and Lena's story, because we never see any part of the game from their viewpoint.
 

Zara Scarlet

Engaged Member
Apr 3, 2022
2,402
3,206
Is there an option for Ian to break up with Lena? Or is it always Lena breaking up? e.g. after Ian vs Robert or after Ian and Lena fight over StalkFap.
With Stalkfap, they only stay together if Lena acknowledges she was at fault, not to take Ian's feelings into account. If she doesn't, it's Ian who effectively breaks up with her.
 
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oohhh

Member
Mar 29, 2022
254
242
been playing this game since last year ....
havent seen sex scene route with Stan ....

am i missing some choices ?
 

Blurpee69

Well-Known Member
Jan 7, 2023
1,370
2,802
They're both the protagonists, so yeah they're obviously the main focus of the storyline. I just don't think Eva ever intended them not to have the option never to get together as a couple. Whether they do or they don't, both their stories are inextricably entwined, and they end up in some form of relationship, even if it's just as friends.
Hence the title of the game. "Our Red String" is referencing the red string of fate, from various Asian cultures, that ties Ian and Lena together, and how their string(s) is weaved in and tangled with the strings of all of their friends.

I've written on it a long time ago, I think around chapter 8 at this point, but to quite literally quote myself.
The title is a reference to the Red String of Fate, an ancient Chinese or Japanese (I don't remember which) belief that people who are destined to find love and marry each other are bound by an invisible red cord. The cord can become tangled and bind with other cords, but will never break, so these cords can create a great web of fate at times. Hence why all these characters lives are interconnected and they seemingly keep running into each other even when they don't plan too.

We're seeing a snapshot of Lena and Ian's lives. Perhaps they have a red cord that binds them, or perhaps their red cords just got tangled with each other the night they met in that ally. How we play them will likely determine that, but for now they are bound by fate to at least be near each other.
 

Chemish

Active Member
Sep 12, 2018
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2,572


Work on the last part of Chapter 12 continues. This weeks I've been writing, amongst others, some texting scenes between Ian and two members of the female cast. Can you guess who? I've also been working on some drawings, and I've been finalizing some images. Some are new, but others are drawings I already did that are being re-purposed for this new setting.

Reusing art assets is something most VNs do to save resources and time, since creating each image takes a lot of time, even when you use a simplistic approach like the one used for ORS. That seems about to change with the arrival of AI, but that's a topic for another time... Making little modifications like changing the scenery, clothes or expressions, or even the lighting, can reframe the image into another setting without having to draw everything from scratch again. After all, how many images of Ian and Lena in a missionary position do we need? (still a few more, but I'd rather save them for new highlights in future scenes).

I've always tried to reuse assets very sparingly, for minor scenes like kisses, or swapping a character for another one in the same drawing for scenes that could happen in different paths, but I started using it more heavily in recent chapters. I felt quite hesitant about it at first, but I think it lets me create more expansive scenes that would be cut-short otherwise. The moment that made me decide to take this route was Cindy's last lewd scene in the Tournament update. I knew I wanted to include an intimate moment between Ian and Cindy that would advance the plot of their emotional, and physical relationship, but I didn't have time to create an entire set of illustrations for that scene (and I tend to be especially meticulous with Cindy's drawings). My first idea was to start the scene in media res, that way I could show only the plot point and player interaction that was relevant, but it felt quite underwhelming. But now I have a ton of Cindy illustrations, that cover a lot of poses and actions...
I'm creating a visual novel, after all, and I relized that aside the little graphical changes I could do to the image, the most powerful tool to reframe the context of the illustration is the writing. I hope the text can give the re-used asset a new context, or use it to enable a more fluid scene that couldn't happen without the proper visual support. Don't get me wrong, I wish I could accomplish this without reusing any images... but I also think some of them turned out too beautiful to just show them once :p
In any case, this is one of the compromises I take to push the development of this project. I know it's not ideal and I hope you're not too bothered by it, but hopefully this will allow me time to focus on creating new and more interesting images instead of drawing the same basic poses again and again.


1
 

BlandChili

Engaged Member
Dec 15, 2020
2,388
5,462
Bro Perry, PISS OFF! We do not need you gawking at Lena during this potential Ian Lena scene. Go hide in Emma's closet or whatever the fuck you do off screen at the beach.
View attachment 3701591
I always find it funny when the sprites are just standing there reacting.

Please let us play as Lena, I would so enjoy letting her be a tease while only Holly could actually do anything with her. :devilish:
 

Vengeance_11

Newbie
Game Developer
May 14, 2019
91
240
Cindy is 100% of them, but my guess is that she throws a curveball and has Jess as the second. Makes sense that she would stay in contact with Ian after he looks after her, but maybe not after he took advantage of her situation.
 
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