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

[Nikko_]

For this "genre"/type of game there is a very easy solution to the writer´s block... lean on the community for "inspiration". And that doesn't mean to take what the people write literally, anything can be tweaked heavily as you see fit.
Aside from that it seems as if Eva doesn't know where she wants to end up with every character. If she could define something like 2 endings for every character(maybe 3 for a few) then it gets easier. You just start "filling in the blanks" to get there.

 

[Arata20]

For this "genre"/type of game there is a very easy solution to the writer´s block... lean on the community for "inspiration". And that doesn't mean to take what the people write literally, anything can be tweaked heavily as you see fit.
Aside from that it seems as if Eva doesn't know where she wants to end up with every character. If she could define something like 2 endings for every character(maybe 3 for a few) then it gets easier. You just start "filling in the blanks" to get there.

Apparently, EK doesn't want to turn ors into late trashy gggb with all resulting perversions. But if do not increase the degree from chapter to chapter, then game will simply mark time (as it is now) and will be boring (as it is now imho).

 

[BloodyMares]

How much is the pay?

Volunteers only

 

[mommysboiii]

what does this mean boiss?? is this alision and ian in a relationship?? about what is alison talking about at the end what do you think????and alision seems different to jeremy or maybe this is if ian is not in a relationship

 

[Gicoo]

what does this mean boiss?? is this alision and ian in a relationship?? about what is alison talking about at the end what do you think????and alision seems different to jeremy or maybe this is if ian is not in a relationship

The scene is from an earlier chapter when the boys hung out.

If changing the display on all scenes inolving a phone call/text messge (and there are quite a lot), it wastes additional time. I'm baffled how Eva sees it necessary to fix what isn't broken. " since the display method that I had been using so far felt really lackluster " It is text, there is no need to have it displayed special.

Every time a new update is released I play through the first chapters on skip-mode. And it often halts, because there is a line or two that got changed slightly. Do they change or improve the dialogue? No, the effort involved in it doesn't pay off.

I'd prefer it if the current chapters are left alone and should be regarded as finished and finalized temporarily. They can be revamped after the game is completed. But if Eva keeps polishing the old chapters, it isn't surprising that the new ones take even longer.

 

[bauman]

what does this mean boiss?? is this alision and ian in a relationship?? about what is alison talking about at the end what do you think????and alision seems different to jeremy or maybe this is if ian is not in a relationship

It's from Chapter 2. It happens if Ian goes to lunch with Alison instead of Holly. The dev just shows off the new UI changes with the screenshot.

 

[mommysboiii]

The scene is from an earlier chapter when the boys hung out.

If changing the display on all scenes inolving a phone call/text messge (and there are quite a lot), it wastes additional time. I'm baffled how Eva sees it necessary to fix what isn't broken. " since the display method that I had been using so far felt really lackluster " It is text, there is no need to have it displayed special.

Every time a new update is released I play through the first chapters on skip-mode. And it often halts, because there is a line or two that got changed slightly. Do they change or improve the dialogue? No, the effort involved in it doesn't pay off.

I'd prefer it if the current chapters are left alone and should be regarded as finished and finalized temporarily. They can be revamped after the game is completed. But if Eva keeps polishing the old chapters, it isn't surprising that the new ones take even longer.

It's from Chapter 2. It happens if Ian goes to lunch with Alison instead of Holly. The dev just shows off the new UI changes with the screenshot.

ohh I remember ohh no my small pipi got all exited eva jebaited me I was already speculating

 

[dd82]

So, here we go. Hi all, this my first post in this forum.


I've been playing this game for a while now and it really is well done. I especially love how you can help Perry to get a shot with Emma, also I'm a fan of the Alison path. That being said, I have some gripes. I totally understand that each choice one makes in this game exists in its own parallel universe, the thing is, some of them seem to inherently spoil certain characters as a whole, especially Lena.


Let me explain. Fetishes are optional in this game, but the way they are introduced seems to indicate that they always exist below the surface, regardless of the path you choose. Now, both as Ian and Lena you have the choice to cheat or to remain faithful, but if you, as Lena, cheat on Ian with Axel, it is made abundantly clear that Lena cannot get over Axel, sexually speaking, because of a certain fetish she has. In a way that makes her whole character unsuitable as a real love interest for Ian, even if you never made any of the choices leading to this point, which is a shame, she is one of the protagonists after all.


This has to be dealt with in some way. I don't know what Eva Kiss has planned, but this needs to be something beyond mere lip service (no pun intended).

 

[Gicoo]

also I'm a fan of the Alison path.

Why?

In a way that makes her whole character unsuitable as a real love interest for Ian, even if you never made any of the choices leading to this point, which is a shame, she is one of the protagonists after all.

Is this the mindset that your girlfriend is never allowed to have thoughts for someone else and that she needs to be pure?

Your frustration to never have a wholesome Lena because of the potential Axel corruption is something you have to accept. This is a game of choices and branches, unlike straightforward RL, in which a theoretical Lena would either discard Axel for good or relapse, but not both at once. They are still consistent: Faithfull Lena agrees with corrupted Lena that the sex was good, but simply prioritizes her livestyle differently and doesn't give it as much weight as other things.

Sticking to multiverse theory, maybe there is a version of your girlfriend who is happily engaged to your worst enemy. Should that possibility hamper your relationship with her in your reality and should you accuse her of potentially cheating you? Do you only have a glorified, romanticized mindset that you two are destined to be together forever? That would be an insecure envious behaviour.

 

[ffive]

Every time a new update is released I play through the first chapters on skip-mode. And it often halts, because there is a line or two that got changed slightly. Do they change or improve the dialogue? No, the effort involved in it doesn't pay off.

It doesn't pay off for you because you've already seen this context, but that's very self-centered approach to a game which is played by many more people, quite a few of them brand new.

 

[Gicoo]

It doesn't pay off for you because you've already seen this context, but that's very self-centered approach to a game which is played by many more people, quite a few of them brand new.

The changes are so miniscule that they wouldn't lead for a new player to have a better experience of the game.

 

[dietmountaindew]

Was on the Lena/Ian loyalty path and somehow managed to get the StalkFap jerk off scene with Stan, making that by far the hottest moment of my canon playthrough. Sheesh.

 

[ffive]

The changes are so miniscule that they wouldn't lead for a new player to have a better experience of the game.

Well, Eva evidently disagrees or they wouldn't have bothered. So, you know, opinions etc :v

 

[jojogeo]

Soooo... update in 2 months?

Chapter 10 was released in december (21) so ... end of june (hopefully)

 

[_Zebra_]

If changing the display on all scenes inolving a phone call/text messge (and there are quite a lot), it wastes additional time. I'm baffled how Eva sees it necessary to fix what isn't broken. " since the display method that I had been using so far felt really lackluster " It is text, there is no need to have it displayed special.

It doesn't pay off for you because you've already seen this context, but that's very self-centered approach to a game which is played by many more people, quite a few of them brand new.

The changes are so miniscule that they wouldn't lead for a new player to have a better experience of the game.

Well, Eva evidently disagrees or they wouldn't have bothered. So, you know, opinions etc :v

I agree that the changes are not too great. First of all there is no background separation, which will make the text harder to read. There are also elements which are not needed - the characters heads. I play as Ian, I don't need to see his head every time he sends a message. If the chat was not good enough, at least go all the way with the implementation and do it like this:

Use the existing phone mask and add the chat in there. Keep the phone centered, to make it easier to read, keep the text direction consistent with real life apps (sent msg on the right, received msg on the left) and use character heads only when you really need it.

 

[GrigoriRasputin]

So, here we go. Hi all, this my first post in this forum.


I've been playing this game for a while now and it really is well done. I especially love how you can help Perry to get a shot with Emma, also I'm a fan of the Alison path. That being said, I have some gripes. I totally understand that each choice one makes in this game exists in its own parallel universe, the thing is, some of them seem to inherently spoil certain characters as a whole, especially Lena.


Let me explain. Fetishes are optional in this game, but the way they are introduced seems to indicate that they always exist below the surface, regardless of the path you choose. Now, both as Ian and Lena you have the choice to cheat or to remain faithful, but if you, as Lena, cheat on Ian with Axel, it is made abundantly clear that Lena cannot get over Axel, sexually speaking, because of a certain fetish she has. In a way that makes her whole character unsuitable as a real love interest for Ian, even if you never made any of the choices leading to this point, which is a shame, she is one of the protagonists after all.


This has to be dealt with in some way. I don't know what Eva Kiss has planned, but this needs to be something beyond mere lip service (no pun intended).

The personalities and motivations of the characters are not set in stone. Based on your decisions, they will morph accordingly. This can lead to some retroactive changes - for example, if Lena sleeps with Axel it is established that she is not over him. If she does not sleep with him then she has moved on. There is no single 'canon' answer on how she feels about Axel.

You can agree or disagree with this approach to storytelling and character development.

Also:

Chapter 10 took around 7 months to complete.

It is too early to say for sure, since work on the next chapter has not started yet, but assuming the final version of ch. 10 is released in December I would optimistically estimate May or June for a ch. 11 update. It could easily come in early July or later.

While chapter 11 might be slightly lighter in content, I don't see any reason to believe the complexity of the game is ramping down. I suspect a longer development cycle (2/year) will become the norm from now on.

Looks like my prediction has aged well, so far.

 

[fatpussy123]

The personalities and motivations of the characters are not set in stone. Based on your decisions, they will morph accordingly. This can lead to some retroactive changes - for example, if Lena sleeps with Axel it is established that she is not over him. If she does not sleep with him then she has moved on. There is no single 'canon' answer on how she feels about Axel.

You can agree or disagree with this approach to storytelling and character development.

Also:



Looks like my prediction has aged well, so far.

To be fair about the development time, there was the prologue that released between chapters and for me it definitely has made the wait for the new chapter feel shorter. I hope Eva Kiss fully adopts the approach of having a prologue release before the main chapter release. I also remember a previous chapter Eva Kiss wanted to release Ians part first and then Lena's later, but her patrons voted against that, so doubt that will ever happen.

 

[Doppelgang]

Fetishes are optional in this game, but the way they are introduced seems to indicate that they always exist below the surface, regardless of the path you choose. […] This has to be dealt with in some way.

But that's the exact point. In Eva Kiss' previous game, the protagonist was basically a blank slate, almost without any character traits before our choices defined them. In ORS, the protagonists are instead a few years older, with more life experience and clearer personalities. And then we meet them at a defining moment of their lives, as they look for ways to move on after their breakups—letting us choose which of their instincts and/or rational sides they want to follow. We can't undo Lena's submissive side and how great she found some parts of her relationship with Axel, but we can have her decide that other things are more important for her from now on, like the qualities she finds in Ian.

It's obviously subjective if you prefer the protagonist type from GGGB or from ORS—but saying it is something that has to be dealt with, is more or less saying that a fundamental and very deliberate part of the whole game has to change.

 

[dd82]

But that's the exact point. In Eva Kiss' previous game, the protagonist was basically a blank slate, almost without any character traits before our choices defined them. In ORS, the protagonists are instead a few years older, with more life experience and clearer personalities. And then we meet them at a defining moment of their lives, as they look for ways to move on after their breakups—letting us choose which of their instincts and/or rational sides they want to follow.

That's fair.

We can't undo Lena's submissive side and how great she found some parts of her relationship with Axel, but we can have her decide that other things are more important for her from now on, like the qualities she finds in Ian.

I don't fully agree here. We can see those characters in a way they can never see themselves, because we can witness them across a multitude of actions they can make. There are things that doom a relationship from the get go, no matter how much two people like each other, if those things are just left unadressed or avoided.

It's obviously subjective if you prefer the protagonist type from GGGB or from ORS—but saying it is something that has to be dealt with, is more or less saying that a fundamental and very deliberate part of the whole game has to change.

Please note my intentionally vague phrasing when I wrote "This has to be dealt with in some way." I don't mean have Lena become indifferent to this, that's just plain unrealistic and probably impossible, psychologically speaking. But it possibly will need to be adressed sooner or later, whether or not those options have been chosen in a particular playthrough.

 

[BloodyMares]

The changes are so miniscule that they wouldn't lead for a new player to have a better experience of the game.

If the changes are miniscule they were likely implemented by me or Lara to fix typos or grammar or just for better presentation (avoid repeated words, etc). They don't distract Eva from focusing on the latest chapter whatsoever.