VN Ren'Py Abandoned Personality [v0.4] [ImJustThatKinky]

5.00 star(s) 4 Votes

ThunderRob

Devoted Member
May 10, 2018
9,497
26,465
feel like you are nothing but Sachi's bitch-boi being dragged along without a say in the matter..and i do not even like her...so that kind of took me out of the game before even finishing the current content..i gave it a try...but i'll pass..good luck though..for people not as obstinate as me it should be a fun ride.
 
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WaltS

Si vis pacem para bellum
Donor
Apr 4, 2018
2,038
2,450
My take on this - all of two cents' (American/European/whatever) worth...

I persisted through the current version but have to say I most probably won't come back for more. Sachi is quite unnerving and the voice acting is getting on me nerves mucho, especially all the too often repeated swearing. After about halftime I was thinking of either quitting or muting the voice acting.

I decided I wanted to persist to see if it might get better somewhere down the line so muted voice but even then I have to conclude it was time wasted :/

As @thunderrob mentioned already there's just no immersion - Sachi is a spoiled brat w/o any redeeming qualities, 'M' is just plain boring and the gameplay is 'so-so'. And don't get me started on Angel's (sic!) religious allegories. No use shoving religious beliefs down people's throats.

The graphics are kinda fresh, it's a new take on this but that alone isn't worth it IMO (YMMV tho'...)

Alas - congrats on the voice acting of 'Adam' (the snake)! The guy sounds like Patrick Steward and that's something I like. But this alone ain't worth it.

Sorry for being this open but I hope it helps some.

Peace :)
 

ImJustThatKinky

Newbie
Game Developer
May 25, 2018
76
60
My take on this - all of two cents' (American/European/whatever) worth...

I persisted through the current version but have to say I most probably won't come back for more. Sachi is quite unnerving and the voice acting is getting on me nerves mucho, especially all the too often repeated swearing. After about halftime I was thinking of either quitting or muting the voice acting.

I decided I wanted to persist to see if it might get better somewhere down the line so muted voice but even then I have to conclude it was time wasted :/

As @thunderrob mentioned already there's just no immersion - Sachi is a spoiled brat w/o any redeeming qualities, 'M' is just plain boring and the gameplay is 'so-so'. And don't get me started on Angel's (sic!) religious allegories. No use shoving religious beliefs down people's throats.

The graphics are kinda fresh, it's a new take on this but that alone isn't worth it IMO (YMMV tho'...)

Alas - congrats on the voice acting of 'Adam' (the snake)! The guy sounds like Patrick Steward and that's something I like. But this alone ain't worth it.

Sorry for being this open but I hope it helps some.

Peace :)
Thank you for your comment. It's always good seeing different people view on the game. The whole thing with Sachi is that she has a reason for being the way she is, I kind of didn't want to make just a simple porn game and one with a developing story. I was hoping the whole talk with Ms. Bell would clear thing up for player if they've even gotten that far. And Mikoku or M is suppose to be kin of plain since a Sachi said, he has no personality, so that's also something that will change. And with Angel I hope you didn't truly believe that I was trying to push a religious agenda cause that wasn't my goal. This game is about showing how many different type of people are out there in the world, some you'll like and some you'll hate. But like I said, I'm happy you played the game a gave me your feed back, it's much appreciated.
 

doutei

Newbie
Dec 27, 2016
58
35
Thank you for your comment. It's always good seeing different people view on the game. The whole thing with Sachi is that she has a reason for being the way she is, I kind of didn't want to make just a simple porn game and one with a developing story. I was hoping the whole talk with Ms. Bell would clear thing up for player if they've even gotten that far. And Mikoku or M is suppose to be kin of plain since a Sachi said, he has no personality, so that's also something that will change. And with Angel I hope you didn't truly believe that I was trying to push a religious agenda cause that wasn't my goal. This game is about showing how many different type of people are out there in the world, some you'll like and some you'll hate. But like I said, I'm happy you played the game a gave me your feed back, it's much appreciated.
Saying that it'll get better later is all well and good, but you're not giving people enough to be invested right now. Right now it's just the guessing minigame and a couple of sex scenes with paper people who you fuck once and then walk off cured.

Just because you want to develop the story doesn't mean that you have to start out with everyone as an unlikable git or a blank slate. I am at the point where I don't want to help Sachi change because she's just that unpleasant to be around. It was particularly hilarious when they were dealing with the gay guy and she was going off on how horrible he was. At that point I honestly sympathized with him more than her because she has given barely any reason for her to be this way while he at least had understandable problems that were contributing to his situation while she wasn't helping. I also don't care to see Mikoku grow because he's so bland that his growth could literally be anything.

The only person I care about is probably the shopkeeper because she's actually lively and is someone I want to learn more about (please don't let her story be done). If the art wasn't so to my liking, I'm not sure I would still be following this.
 
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ImJustThatKinky

Newbie
Game Developer
May 25, 2018
76
60
Saying that it'll get better later is all well and good, but you're not giving people enough to be invested right now. Right now it's just the guessing minigame and a couple of sex scenes with paper people who you fuck once and then walk off cured.

Just because you want to develop the story doesn't mean that you have to start out with everyone as an unlikable git or a blank slate. I am at the point where I don't want to help Sachi change because she's just that unpleasant to be around. It was particularly hilarious when they were dealing with the gay guy and she was going off on how horrible he was. At that point I honestly sympathized with him more than her because she has given barely any reason for her to be this way while he at least had understandable problems that were contributing to his situation while she wasn't helping. I also don't care to see Mikoku grow because he's so bland that his growth could literally be anything.

The only person I care about is probably the shopkeeper because she's actually lively and is someone I want to learn more about (please don't let her story be done). If the art wasn't so to my liking, I'm not sure I would still be following this.
Well it's hard to judge what people are going to like and what people are going to hate. Some people hate Sachi out right, while some people think Sachi is enjoyable and funny. And Ms. Bell/ the shopkeeper, is surly going to be more involved in the story. I'm not sure if you got to her scene yet which shows you things about Sachi and Mikoku's development.

And I wouldn't call it a guessing mini game since the answer to people's problem could be pointed out based on the way they acted during the date and the reasonable questions that you asked them.

I'm truly sad that you don't like that game, but I hope Ms. Bell and the art will keep you around. XD
 

Kaviktal

Newbie
Jan 17, 2018
29
35
Well it's hard to judge what people are going to like and what people are going to hate. Some people hate Sachi out right, while some people think Sachi is enjoyable and funny. And Ms. Bell/ the shopkeeper, is surly going to be more involved in the story. I'm not sure if you got to her scene yet which shows you things about Sachi and Mikoku's development.

And I wouldn't call it a guessing mini game since the answer to people's problem could be pointed out based on the way they acted during the date and the reasonable questions that you asked them.

I'm truly sad that you don't like that game, but I hope Ms. Bell and the art will keep you around. XD
I'm not trying to be mean when I say this, so please humour me; it feels like you're not actually engaging with the criticism. You don't have to agree with the criticism and effect changes based upon it, but you should at least take it into consideration. At least ask questions because you'll probably make a better product for having done so.

When Sachi was criticized as being unlikable you responded by saying that other people like her, instead of asking why the person thinks she's unlikable. When it's pointed out that the main character is too much of a blank slate you reply that they're, "supposed to be bland/ boring," and that later content will address why/ will potentially flesh out their personality. Boring doesn't inspire the player to care about the story and so you lose the player's interest. Too many people will stop playing before the MC develops into an interesting character come Act III. It's important to grip an audience at the beginning of a story, not part way into it. Now I'm not saying you need to have a huge info-dump at the beginning of the game, but think about how you could introduce parts of the MC's personality earlier in the game than you've set up for right now.

The reason games with MCs that serve as a self-insert for the player, ala Mass Effect, work is that the player can build a personality of their own via character interactions and, to some degree, game play decisions. Individual choices don't necessarily indicate what the character is like, but the aggregation of choices over time does. An entirely blank slate usually doesn't work because being overly relatable comes across as being unbelievable.

I'm sorry I'm going on and I promise this will be the last thing I have to say. When the "gameplay" is criticized as being a glorified guessing game you defended with, "it's not a glorified guessing game, it's a glorified quiz." Now there's nothing wrong with that if that's the game you want to make. However, you should know that that's how the game comes across to the player, for now. If that's not the game you want to make then maybe take a look at the way it plays and ask yourself what you wanted it to play like and how you can go about getting it to that state.

I lied when I said that'd be the last thing I had to say. The very last thing I have to say is this, everything I've typed up here is my opinion and my interpretation of the interactions that came before me. I am in no way trying to say that you don't interact with or engage with your fans or that you're ignoring all criticism. What I'm trying to get across is that the impression I got from those earlier interactions was one of deflection. I'm not trying to be mean or to down talk you as if I'm some genius of storytelling. I just wanted to point out how some of your responses may seem unsatisfying to players and how it might appear as though you're not taking the criticisms seriously. I know criticism can be hard to stomach or can hurt because of course it would. Any project you share with others is important to you and so receiving criticism can trigger any number of defence mechanisms, but you'll be better for it. Except when someone's being a dick. If they're just being an A class dick, fuck 'em. So with that said, keep on keeping on. Make the best game you can, and best of luck. I hope I've been of some help.
 

ImJustThatKinky

Newbie
Game Developer
May 25, 2018
76
60
I'm not trying to be mean when I say this, so please humour me; it feels like you're not actually engaging with the criticism. You don't have to agree with the criticism and effect changes based upon it, but you should at least take it into consideration. At least ask questions because you'll probably make a better product for having done so.

When Sachi was criticized as being unlikable you responded by saying that other people like her, instead of asking why the person thinks she's unlikable. When it's pointed out that the main character is too much of a blank slate you reply that they're, "supposed to be bland/ boring," and that later content will address why/ will potentially flesh out their personality. Boring doesn't inspire the player to care about the story and so you lose the player's interest. Too many people will stop playing before the MC develops into an interesting character come Act III. It's important to grip an audience at the beginning of a story, not part way into it. Now I'm not saying you need to have a huge info-dump at the beginning of the game, but think about how you could introduce parts of the MC's personality earlier in the game than you've set up for right now.

The reason games with MCs that serve as a self-insert for the player, ala Mass Effect, work is that the player can build a personality of their own via character interactions and, to some degree, game play decisions. Individual choices don't necessarily indicate what the character is like, but the aggregation of choices over time does. An entirely blank slate usually doesn't work because being overly relatable comes across as being unbelievable.

I'm sorry I'm going on and I promise this will be the last thing I have to say. When the "gameplay" is criticized as being a glorified guessing game you defended with, "it's not a glorified guessing game, it's a glorified quiz." Now there's nothing wrong with that if that's the game you want to make. However, you should know that that's how the game comes across to the player, for now. If that's not the game you want to make then maybe take a look at the way it plays and ask yourself what you wanted it to play like and how you can go about getting it to that state.

I lied when I said that'd be the last thing I had to say. The very last thing I have to say is this, everything I've typed up here is my opinion and my interpretation of the interactions that came before me. I am in no way trying to say that you don't interact with or engage with your fans or that you're ignoring all criticism. What I'm trying to get across is that the impression I got from those earlier interactions was one of deflection. I'm not trying to be mean or to down talk you as if I'm some genius of storytelling. I just wanted to point out how some of your responses may seem unsatisfying to players and how it might appear as though you're not taking the criticisms seriously. I know criticism can be hard to stomach or can hurt because of course it would. Any project you share with others is important to you and so receiving criticism can trigger any number of defence mechanisms, but you'll be better for it. Except when someone's being a dick. If they're just being an A class dick, fuck 'em. So with that said, keep on keeping on. Make the best game you can, and best of luck. I hope I've been of some help.
Sorry if anything I said so far came off as shitty in my responses, I truly didn't mean that. The reason I didn't ask about why Sachi is unlikable is because it's easy to understand why. She loud, she swears alot, and she doesn't really treat the MC the best, so it's pretty obvious why someone wouldn't like her, but he may had different reason as to why. And the MC to me is boring also, but no in a bad way. Many RPG have you play a voiceless protagonist that doesn't do much but move the story along. I wanted the MC to be that but also grow as the story goes along. I feel like that his boring responses mixed with Sachi's crazy acts are what makes them mix well, but to each their own. And I'm not saying that as a "fuck your opinion" I'm saying that as a I'm not going to be able to please everyone.

And when it come to the game mechanics it's always hard to judge if I've done a good job and portraying it or if people are just skipping through it and not reading the dialogue presented to them. If you skip everything then yes, it would feel like a guessing game. Since a good chunk of people don't read porn games and skip to the scene, it's hard to understand if I did a bad job or if people are not getting the information that was presented to them. If I had more of a full scope of how people are playing the game, it'd be easier to send a comment back.

Again, I hope I didn't come off as a dick, I'm pretty new to this whole video game thing XD. But I do love criticism, but when I'm hit with criticism that sometime I feel like is explained in the game if you've just read, I sometime don't know how to respond. But thanks again for shooting me a reply, hopefully I can get better in the future.
 
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Kaviktal

Newbie
Jan 17, 2018
29
35
Sorry if anything I said so far came off as shitty in my responses, I truly didn't mean that. The reason I didn't ask about why Sachi is unlikable is because it's easy to understand why. She loud, she swears alot, and she doesn't really treat the MC the best, so it's pretty obvious why someone wouldn't like her, but he may had different reason as to why. And the MC to me is boring also, but no in a bad way. Many RPG have you play a voiceless protagonist that doesn't do much but move the story along. I wanted the MC to be that but also grow as the story goes along. I feel like that his boring responses mixed with Sachi's crazy acts are what makes them mix well, but to each their own. And I'm not saying that as a "fuck your opinion" I'm saying that as a I'm not going to be able to please everyone.

And when it come to the game mechanics it's always hard to judge if I've done a good job and portraying it or if people are just skipping through it and not reading the dialogue presented to them. If you keep everything then yes, it would feel like a guessing game. Since a good chunk of people don't read porn games and skip to the scene, it's hard to understand if I did a bad job or if people are not getting the information that was presented to them. If I had more of a full scope of how people are playing the game, it'd be easier to send a comment back.

Again, I hope I didn't come off as a dick, I'm pretty new to this whole video game thing XD. But I do love criticism, but when I'm hit with criticism that sometime I feel like is explained in the game if you've just read, I sometime don't know how to respond. But thanks again for shooting me a reply, hopefully I can get better in the future.
No, no, no, you didn't come off as being shitty at all! Truly. Making games is a damned hard thing. Really all I was getting at was keep communications open and maybe be a lil' more deliberate in how you engage with people. I have no doubt you've got the best intentions, I just don't want things to get misconstrued because of a little miscommunication or vague phrasing here or there. That aside, we all get better as we practice. I'm sure you'll wind up doing just fine with this game, and hopefully the next.

Thanks for the damn swift reply, by the way. Remember to properly balance your life and your passion projects. Don't let anyone pressure you into anything, game related or otherwise. And best of luck in all future endeavours. ;)
 
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ImJustThatKinky

Newbie
Game Developer
May 25, 2018
76
60
Hey just wondering did anyone unlock Ms. Bell's scene. I would like to get people opinion on the voices acting of that scene and the way the scene played out just so I can know what to do in the future.
 

serialaries

Newbie
Game Developer
Nov 25, 2018
79
278
I really liked this game! It's an interesting concept and I can't wait to find out more about sachi and mikoku!
I only have one question and I don't really know if it has been answered before, but during the whole game many characters make comments on M's total lack of expressions, this is paired with the fact that every background is black and white with the exeption of the sextoy shop after the weekend; are those signs that Mikoku's whole problem is a total lack of emotions? Or am I just overthinking things?

Again, a great game with amazing graphics! (p.s. I love that you have the option to skip particular scenes)
 

ImJustThatKinky

Newbie
Game Developer
May 25, 2018
76
60
I really liked this game! It's an interesting concept and I can't wait to find out more about sachi and mikoku!
I only have one question and I don't really know if it has been answered before, but during the whole game many characters make comments on M's total lack of expressions, this is paired with the fact that every background is black and white with the exeption of the sextoy shop after the weekend; are those signs that Mikoku's whole problem is a total lack of emotions? Or am I just overthinking things?

Again, a great game with amazing graphics! (p.s. I love that you have the option to skip particular scenes)
Yes, those are all signs. I'm also really happy you enjoyed the game. It's amazing hearing back from people. I'm working hard to try a get the next part of the game to see the light of day. And don't think you're overthinking this game, I put alot of thought in the way things are presented and the small things people do or say XD
 

Dankwank

Newbie
Sep 23, 2018
48
195
Heyo, I finally got around to finishing the version that was posted on here. I got to say I thought the voice acting was pretty good. It sort of reminded me of Danganronpa, or Persona. I also got hints of the persona series in the plot as well, which I thought was cool. Did that help inspire this game?
Anyways I noticed this game was still categorized as being on hold. I was wondering if you'd made any progress since July 4th? After having played through the demo I definitely think I'll support the game on patreon, and I encourage everyone else to do the same.

Oop! I just double checked the Patreon Page, I see the next update is coming out on Aug.1st
 
5.00 star(s) 4 Votes