So do I. And all that did was have me quit that game and never play another one of his games.
Similar here. While as a hobby writer I understand his reasoning for making that scene, I do not agree with him on it. The fire was not so severe, the circumstances of it allowed for pulling out both downed persons. Forcing the players to choose just one person to save, when it is obvious that both can be pulled out in time, is a serious WTF. The maker of that VN could have chosen to make us pulling out the people based on who we like more first, to make a heart decision here. While I know HEA cannot be in every story, forcing drama by Deus Ex from the writer like this soured my opinion of that creators VNs.
That is why I like Pale Carnations so much, even if some themes shown are not my cuppa tea and I speed through them if I need to do them for the playthrough. You have the choice of more natural options, some shut off the other, but that is logically done. You can go one way or the other, but you are not forced to choose a specific option knowing the situation allows for more.
Take e.g.
TD1900 ´s version of how Edwin can help Rosi get the loan sharks of her back for a couple weeks. You have several persons you can ask to help and some of these options are only available if you relation scores are good enough! Additionally, even if you can ask, in some cases these helpers want something for themselves or you have to haggle to get the help free. Furthermore, who you choose in the end will impact your MCs story down the road, it has different "touches" of how the story will play out if you for example ask
for help. Well done decision forks! Great work, TD, really great work! And this is one reason PC is such a good game!