VN Ren'Py Re Education [v0.68] [Purplehat Productions]

[Kay_Kay]

If you play through the non-brainwashing route the protagonist's reaction makes more sense, and the game's overall themes become more apparent. The thing he's really looking for is something he can't get from a mindless drone, so he's pretty much guaranteed to feel like shit in that particular route. The brainwashing route had actually been setting that up from the start, so it isn't a complete 180. Having skimmed through it again, you can see it with his reaction to Rachel's mindless confession in the prologue, and in Chapter 2 with how he quickly loses interest in her and starts focusing on Kylie.

Edit: To make things easier to understand, note that Rachel's dead brother Chris is meant to be a mirror for the protagonist. So the story she tells in the chair is relevant to more than just her own backstory.

Don't get me wrong. I understand him feeling empty, disappointed or thinking that it isn't satisfying but in chapter three he deadass mentions feeling depressed, which i'm afraid does come out of nowhere. I don't mind how he feels as long as i'm still able to lead the main character the route i want, but i just felt like that specific scene came out of nowhere (at least for me).

I also get that in the non-brainwashing route there might be some sort of paralel, but at least in the route i played Rachel's dead brother was mentioned like once in the first chapter and it was just to state he had commited suicide, and the MC's reaction to that was like ''oh ok, that's kinda messed up'' so at least in that route i don't see that parallel.

P.S Once again, I still liked the game. I just felt like it couldn't hurt to share a few of my concerns with it.

 

[Kay_Kay]

Ahem.

And why yes, this is the purple hat that is developing Re Education. You can make a topic on Re Education's itch.io page and the hat will verify it.

The hat strongly suggests that if you want to download this game, get it from itch.io, that way there's no malware.

You should ask for the game developer role!

 

[Purplehat Productions]

You should ask for the game developer role!

The hat's not sure how to do that here. It just found out about this forum.

 

[Finsit]

Purplehat Productions
Hey, good job, it is a very good surprise.

The heavy atmosphere is on point heavy, true, and depressing at time.
It is well paced with decent use of narrative ellipsis.
The character design, well maybe they are a bit to damaged, nothing off-putting, it is well built, but there is a definite lack of contrast as they all have quite bad backgrounds so while it works with the heavy tone it doesn't offer any foil.

Anyway, respect. PM me if you need help on something.

 

[Purplehat Productions]

Purplehat Productions
Hey, good job, it is a very good surprise.

The heavy atmosphere is on point heavy, true, and depressing at time.
It is well paced with decent use of narrative ellipsis.
The character design, well maybe they are a bit to damaged, nothing off-putting, it is well built, but there is a definite lack of contrast as they all have quite bad backgrounds so while it works with the heavy tone it doesn't offer any foil.

Anyway, respect. PM me if you need help on something.

Thank you.

The biggest thing that the hat needs is to make the graphics... which only it can do because it knows what it wants.

As for the character's being damaged. Well... isn't everybody? In any case you've only met 3 characters, and one of them Zach never got to know before he had Rachel put the helmet on her.

But there is a hint there. Kylie mentions how she contrasts Rachel. In a yet to be created path, this will be explored in more detail.

 

[Jeevant]

The hat's not sure how to do that here

Open a ticket here

 

[tempboi7]

That was a joy to play.

You made a perfect game for those that just want the fetish regardless of feelings and then another half of the game is devoted to those that like the fetish but want to be decent.

Spoiler: Comments on the endings and possible suggestions for Rachel?

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If you want me to gush about specific character traits of each person, I would love to. Or even the exploration on our society's psychological toll on the individual.

 

[Rosen King]

Spoiler, spoiler, spoiler!

Sorry, I figured something explained in the prologue didn't count as a spoiler. I tagged my previous post, but now your quote of my post is untagged, lol.

 

[Purplehat Productions]

Sorry, I figured something explained in the prologue didn't count as a spoiler. I tagged my previous post, but now your quote of my post is untagged, lol.

Eh no worries. You're fine.

That was a joy to play.

You made a perfect game for those that just want the fetish regardless of feelings and then another half of the game is devoted to those that like the fetish but want to be decent.

<snip>

If you want me to gush about specific character traits of each person, I would love to. Or even the exploration on our society's psychological toll on the individual.

Well there's still a lot to go. The picture of who Rachel is, is not complete yet.

And sure, go ahead.

 

[tempboi7]

Order of likeability
Chloe
Chris
Kylie
Rachel-Zach


Order of Complexity
Zach
Chloe
Rachel
Chris
Kylie

Spoiler: In-depth character exploration

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I am also reluctant to say this since you pulled off the story well, but there is technically a way to have a Rachel or Kylie path viable in the good route. I don't want to get into it without permission since you may not want talk about it.

 

[dannykayeuk]

When I try to save I get an error. Both types of save.

 

[Purplehat Productions]

Order of likeability
Chloe
Chris
Kylie
Rachel-Zach


Order of Complexity
Zach
Chloe
Rachel
Chris
Kylie

<snip>

That is a very interesting and well thought out analysis. Not going to say what you got right or wrong as the hat doesn't want to box itself into just one reason for why Character X did Y

Humans being the way they are, they can have many reasons for doing something, including reasons they're not consciously aware of.

The hat will say that since you took the time and effort to provide that detailed character analysis, it means the hat must be doing something right!

 

[tempboi7]

The hat will say that since you took the time and effort to provide that detailed character analysis, it means the hat must be doing something right!

You're right. now have your first like.

When I try to save I get an error. Both types of save.

Does your system match the game you downloaded? traditionally win64
Your download also may have gotten corrupted so maybe try a different means? I used the itch.io one, since they are a bit safer than the links offered on f95zone for new games.

 

[Novadrone]

I didn't know that the first choice was the one that determined the route, so I ended up playing the non-mind control route first. It was a bit of a trip, and more than a bit personal. I saw a bit of myself in both Zach and Chris, and I'm not sure if I want to play the evil route. I did play the brainwash route, and actually liked how it carried the same tone as the good route, alibit with less therapy involved. I can see how the people browsing a porn piracy site may be a wee bit disappointed though.

I started with the

Spoiler: Chloe Truth Ending

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There's another possible path that I could see.

Spoiler: When Rachel asks for hypnosis ideas .

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One thing I'd suggest is adding a crisis hotline number to the top of the credits. Hypnohub, a Mind Control themed imageboard, has

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pinned to the top of their forum, and has the number for various self help services. This game has the potential for a lot of self reflection for the player, at least on the good route, but most of us won't have a Rachel that is willing to hear us out and help.

Sorry, I figured something explained in the prologue didn't count as a spoiler. I tagged my previous post, but now your quote of my post is untagged, lol.

It's not explained in the prologue in the non-brainwash route. It happens in chapter 1.

EDIT: Added some thoughts after playing the brainwash route.

 

[tempboi7]

I started with the

Spoiler: Chloe Truth Ending

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I raised similar issues regarding the chloe path. I felt like we reached the climax at the end only for it to abruptly stop there. To be fair I believe the game is intended to expand upon all the routes at a later date. We both agree on the issue with Rachel though, which both hurts yet is such a good character development.

There's another possible path that I could see.

Spoiler: When Rachel asks for hypnosis ideas .

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This is actually how I thought the Kylie path would go in the good route along with showing his issues with dominant-abusive women with the domme in training. Essentially the path deals with his trauma by showing a domme/switch (depending on if the bad route submissive portions are canon to her personality) who empathizes with him similar to how he empathisize with Chloe in the current good route. Rachel route would be a mix of traits from both Kylie-Chloe that is meant more to develop Rachel's issues after having "solved" his issues. Think neutral route where there is no romance confirmed beyond the two agreeing to help with both their issues with the help of their two friends.

One thing I'd suggest is adding a crisis hotline number to the top of the credits. Hypnohub, a Mind Control themed imageboard, has

You must be registered to see the links

pinned to the top of their forum

Yes, this definitely needs to be added to the game wherever possible. It would at least start players reaching out to friends which I found helps more than psychologists. My opinion may differ as reaching out to someone who is not a psychologist is my recommendation, since I had a friend who nearly had his life ruined by the advice from several psychologists before he finally found a doctor that could help him. Hotlines might fair better than them as the majority of those people are trained to provide real help for your situation. It's up to hat on how to handle it.

 

[Purplehat Productions]

Well, the hat has a disclaimer at the beginning that clearly states the game deals with uncomfortable aspects of adulthood.

The hat is torn on the idea of adding a crisis number, because that's trying to assume the mindset of the player, and while the hat has sat atop many heads, it cannot read your mind.


Also there's the fear that adding a crisis number would make someone do the opposite...
It's really not something the hat is comfortable doing. That said, help is available.


As for the abruptness of the Chloe endings, here's the thing:

That hour or however long it took for you to reach the ending took about 3 months to develop, and the hat is the only one working on this.

So, some compromises have to be made.

There are also other paths that will feature Chloe. Consider the hypnosis path to be a "training wheels" path. Easy to "win" but your options have been limited by hypnosis.

There will be a path where Zach does not get hypnotized, if and when the hat can get to it.

 

[Novadrone]

I raised similar issues regarding the chloe path. I felt like we reached the climax at the end only for it to abruptly stop there. To be fair I believe the game is intended to expand upon all the routes at a later date. We both agree on the issue with Rachel though, which both hurts yet is such a good character development.

There is actually a route where what I described essentially happens.

Spoiler: Truth or Dare

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Yes, this definitely needs to be added to the game wherever possible. It would at least start players reaching out to friends which I found helps more than psychologists. My opinion may differ as reaching out to someone who is not a psychologist is my recommendation, since I had a friend who nearly had his life ruined by the advice from several psychologists before he finally found a doctor that could help him. Hotlines might fair better than them as the majority of those people are trained to provide real help for your situation. It's up to hat on how to handle it.

Well, the hat has a disclaimer at the beginning that clearly states the game deals with uncomfortable aspects of adulthood.

The hat is torn on the idea of adding a crisis number, because that's trying to assume the mindset of the player, and while the hat has sat atop many heads, it cannot read your mind.


Also there's the fear that adding a crisis number would make someone do the opposite...
It's really not something the hat is comfortable doing. That said, help is available.

I can understand that, especially if you've never used these lines yourself. I'm just imagining that some people don't have anyone to reach out to, since porn is a pretty hard topic to bring up with people close to you. They may also think that they need to be completely desperate to even consider calling a hotline, when that isn't the case at all. You don't have to be on the edge of a bridge or rooftop before getting help.

I suppose where I'm coming from here is that some players may go into the game for the MC fetish, but may end up questioning their own lifestyle decisions in the process instead. I can't speak for anyone else, but a lot of Zach's habits lined up with my own, and that made me second guess how I spend my time.

 

[tempboi7]

There is actually a route where what I described essentially happens.

Spoiler: Truth or Dare

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Yeah I played it, which is why I mentioned it in my character gush.

That hour or however long it took for you to reach the ending took about 3 months to develop, and the hat is the only one working on this.

I am also aware of this and I am not pressuring the time crunch. I am actually working with another developer and it's been several months and we still have not been able to make a suitable build after a few setbacks. Take your time and enjoy your work.

 

[Purplehat Productions]

I can understand that, especially if you've never used these lines yourself. I'm just imagining that some people don't have anyone to reach out to, since porn is a pretty hard topic to bring up with people close to you. They may also think that they need to be completely desperate to even consider calling a hotline, when that isn't the case at all. You don't have to be on the edge of a bridge or rooftop before getting help.

I suppose where I'm coming from here is that some players may go into the game for the MC fetish, but may end up questioning their own lifestyle decisions in the process instead. I can't speak for anyone else, but a lot of Zach's habits lined up with my own, and that made me second guess how I spend my time.

The hat has had a night to mull this over.

Look for a message from the hat in the next version.

Right now the hat needs to go negotiate with its 3D renderer regarding how much grass it can make.

 

[skeropo]

Definitely continue this please, I love the idea of control being able to shift back and forth depending on your decisions, barely seen any games like that