Not many decisions but still an amazing game ! Love how there is a scene with Megan and Melissa from Acting Lessons LOL
- Thread starter 7767
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- Jul 10, 2018
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Well, I was keen to check this game out after hearing of it first via the mention in "Acting Lessons". Given that strong connection, I can't help but compare the two games a bit, even though they are actually quite different in style.
First thing you notice is that the quality of the renders is much higher generally in RtP than in AL, which is a very good thing, given that the weakest part of AL was definitely the relatively poor model posing and rendering.
Now certainly you're going to see some very familiar content in the game - that damned clothes boutique that seems to be obligatory to every game for just one. Some of that though is pleasant cross-over, such as the lakeside home, and the Battle of the Bands venue.
Overall, the visuals are very good, with good quality renders of good quality models and well thought-out scene designs.
There's a lot of clever little moments of humour in breaking the 4th wall, other than the obvious one with the wink. Some are simply in the narrative thoughts, as many games do, but the appearance of several cross-over characters from Acting Lessons is also a direct nod from the game to the player. Of course, you might wish to have never seen Mrs. Pearson in lingerie, but that's still an easter egg for the player of both games.
I can't help but feel like RtP is the mirrored opposite of Acting Lessons in a way. In this game, the visuals are strong, the story is fine, but the dialogue and characters are weak. That's pretty much the exact reversal of Acting Lessons. I actually think the underlying plot of RtP is better, but it's very ambitious, and might be a little too much so.
Most of the character's interactions with females feel so contrived, false, and unreal. Now, I get it is supposed to illustrate the power of a certain effect, but it still comes across more like the scene was written by an adolescent virgin who mid-wank is trying to think up a scenario, however contrived and preposterous. It needs more depth and texture than just repeating "Oh my, I can't resist his smell and massive cock" in scene after scene after scene.
If you enjoyed Acting Lessons, then I think you'll also enjoy the cross-overs and the shared universe aspects of this game.
However, as I said at the start, despite all the cross-overs, they are very different games. Also, if you are the kind of player who loved Acting Lessons because you love such great characters, with depth and great dialogue, and found that was enough to carry the relatively poor graphics - well, this game is it's opposite. In Retrieving the Past, the characters may have backstories, but they don't deliver them with any real sense of depth, and have no real sense of character. The graphics are carrying the poor characters and dialogue in RtP.
Ultimately, enjoyed a playthrough, and found the plot engaging enough that I'll be interested in further updates. But it is telling that the most touching moment in the story was seeing Liam crowd-surfing again, and he didn't get a single line of dialogue.
First thing you notice is that the quality of the renders is much higher generally in RtP than in AL, which is a very good thing, given that the weakest part of AL was definitely the relatively poor model posing and rendering.
Now certainly you're going to see some very familiar content in the game - that damned clothes boutique that seems to be obligatory to every game for just one. Some of that though is pleasant cross-over, such as the lakeside home, and the Battle of the Bands venue.
Overall, the visuals are very good, with good quality renders of good quality models and well thought-out scene designs.
There's a lot of clever little moments of humour in breaking the 4th wall, other than the obvious one with the wink. Some are simply in the narrative thoughts, as many games do, but the appearance of several cross-over characters from Acting Lessons is also a direct nod from the game to the player. Of course, you might wish to have never seen Mrs. Pearson in lingerie, but that's still an easter egg for the player of both games.
I can't help but feel like RtP is the mirrored opposite of Acting Lessons in a way. In this game, the visuals are strong, the story is fine, but the dialogue and characters are weak. That's pretty much the exact reversal of Acting Lessons. I actually think the underlying plot of RtP is better, but it's very ambitious, and might be a little too much so.
Most of the character's interactions with females feel so contrived, false, and unreal. Now, I get it is supposed to illustrate the power of a certain effect, but it still comes across more like the scene was written by an adolescent virgin who mid-wank is trying to think up a scenario, however contrived and preposterous. It needs more depth and texture than just repeating "Oh my, I can't resist his smell and massive cock" in scene after scene after scene.
If you enjoyed Acting Lessons, then I think you'll also enjoy the cross-overs and the shared universe aspects of this game.
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Ultimately, enjoyed a playthrough, and found the plot engaging enough that I'll be interested in further updates. But it is telling that the most touching moment in the story was seeing Liam crowd-surfing again, and he didn't get a single line of dialogue.
Right...
For those who'd like to know.
I don't quit unless i'm dead. PERIOD
In 2009 I had a motorcycle accident and crushed my left shoulder and broke both tim/fib in my left leg and other injuries. Three months later with help of a crutch I'm on a motorcycle again. My wife wasn't happy but I'm not quitting.
So there you have that...
Then I am a romantic... you can make up your mind about what that means for the game.
I love women and actually hate rape/molesting/domination it's not a fetish for me and NTR as it was done to me (NTR that is.)
You gals/guys have seen me post on here many times. F95 is a pirate site and I make a game... erm... I am grateful to this site in so many ways. I love my patreons too... but patreons are voluntary. It's people feel strongly about what I am doing and love to support via money. I AM SO FCK grateful you have no idea. I am a patron of many devs myself.
I have a full time job. I make more money with my full time job than patreon BUT i have dreams and plans and life is tough so every bit of money helps my wife and me. It's why I am so grateful to my patreons and i am sure many devs feel the same way. IF you can't support via patreon, then that is just cool with me. Enjoy the game.
I am making this game... for you guys. Yes its fucking corney but I am. Ill want to tell a story I have in me and then hopefully you guys pull it apart and disect it and give criticism that can enhance the game. Will i take all of it and use it? No as I still have my vision but I will use some idea's/advice, for sure. Bring in Philly and DocPink. Kudos to them. Speaking of Doc I owe him so much... so much.
When i approached him with the crossover idea he was open minded and gracious enough to see the potential in it and I believe we have done a first ever thing here. Before DocPink I have approached another dev but he declined which is cool.
Actually RTP is a serious game and I love putting in silly moments but I am really pushing to evoke some emotions from ya'll on a serious front.
As for RTP, shit is going to get real.. Episode 2 I'm putting things on it's head. The fast pace of the game/romance especially had to be done to progress the story. I'm not doing a Milfy City/Timestamp type game those are brilliant in their own style. But next is Chapter 5 with it's own story.
I hope I've answered some burning questions and hope you guys dissect the game and start theorizing at some stage as that is what I am trying to evoke from you guys/gals, the players. To give you a game you like to play.
With that long winded soppy shit.. I'll drop the mic
EDIT: So bad of me... My team which is such a help.
Recently DocPink but he's focus on AL.
***DparX, Mannitt, Munkey and MisterF91
Then i have to thank Ignatz and UncleVT/N7***
.:Lataz:.
For those who'd like to know.
I don't quit unless i'm dead. PERIOD
In 2009 I had a motorcycle accident and crushed my left shoulder and broke both tim/fib in my left leg and other injuries. Three months later with help of a crutch I'm on a motorcycle again. My wife wasn't happy but I'm not quitting.
So there you have that...
Then I am a romantic... you can make up your mind about what that means for the game.
I love women and actually hate rape/molesting/domination it's not a fetish for me and NTR as it was done to me (NTR that is.)
You gals/guys have seen me post on here many times. F95 is a pirate site and I make a game... erm... I am grateful to this site in so many ways. I love my patreons too... but patreons are voluntary. It's people feel strongly about what I am doing and love to support via money. I AM SO FCK grateful you have no idea. I am a patron of many devs myself.
I have a full time job. I make more money with my full time job than patreon BUT i have dreams and plans and life is tough so every bit of money helps my wife and me. It's why I am so grateful to my patreons and i am sure many devs feel the same way. IF you can't support via patreon, then that is just cool with me. Enjoy the game.
I am making this game... for you guys. Yes its fucking corney but I am. Ill want to tell a story I have in me and then hopefully you guys pull it apart and disect it and give criticism that can enhance the game. Will i take all of it and use it? No as I still have my vision but I will use some idea's/advice, for sure. Bring in Philly and DocPink. Kudos to them. Speaking of Doc I owe him so much... so much.
When i approached him with the crossover idea he was open minded and gracious enough to see the potential in it and I believe we have done a first ever thing here. Before DocPink I have approached another dev but he declined which is cool.
Actually RTP is a serious game and I love putting in silly moments but I am really pushing to evoke some emotions from ya'll on a serious front.
As for RTP, shit is going to get real.. Episode 2 I'm putting things on it's head. The fast pace of the game/romance especially had to be done to progress the story. I'm not doing a Milfy City/Timestamp type game those are brilliant in their own style. But next is Chapter 5 with it's own story.
I hope I've answered some burning questions and hope you guys dissect the game and start theorizing at some stage as that is what I am trying to evoke from you guys/gals, the players. To give you a game you like to play.
With that long winded soppy shit.. I'll drop the mic
EDIT: So bad of me... My team which is such a help.
Recently DocPink but he's focus on AL.
***DparX, Mannitt, Munkey and MisterF91
Then i have to thank Ignatz and UncleVT/N7***
.:Lataz:.
- Oct 10, 2017
- 7,250
- 19,676
I say.. you deserve a cookie for this, Mr.Dramatic. 
ancakeMix:ancakeMix:ancakeMix:
ancakeMix:ancakeMix:ancakeMix:
- Jul 10, 2018
- 913
- 2,402
<applause>
In the spirit of constructive criticism, ideas and advice... I think the single biggest place for improvement right now is giving the character's more depth and 'soul'. Especially since those connections with Acting Lessons bring you players with higher than average expectations in that regard.
The simplest and most effective advice I can give for that is to say remember the old saw "Show, don't tell". One line of inner monologue about feelings doesn't convey much. But showing the MC buying flowers, or making an apologetic phone call, conveys a lot.
My best advice to you, and any other storyteller, is to watch some TV ads when they come on. Really watch them, with a critical eye, to study how the best professionals (because writing and directing ads is a very competitive business, given an average TV ad campaign costs tens of millions of dollars and you don't invest all that and then blow it by hiring a crap writer and director) go about showing so much story in just 30 seconds. Advertising is where they use every trick in the book (and they invented the book) on how to in one single scene tell a story that can tug the emotions, and convey a strong enough identity of character in to 'hook' a specific demographic.
Think of how movies and ads use single scenes of only a few seconds to add a lot of depth to a character, and help the audience understand them better.
Think how just one tiny scene of the MC at his lakeside home, drinking too much beer while alone looking over the water might convey things like how lonely he is inside, or how parts of his past haunt him. Think of how a scene like the MC throwing a ball back to kids playing basketball on a streetside court or in the park might be used to highlight his unusual physical attributes of speed and strength in a meaningful "shown, not told" kind of way.
Just like in real life situations, it's often the little things, the incidental things, that attract us most to someone. In games and stories, it's the same thing, where those little scenes are what really connect us to the character.
Hope that's helpful, at least as food for thought.
- May 22, 2018
- 15
- 13
Every update includes all chapters
Are the first three chapters available? Sorry if this has been asked repeatedly.
- May 22, 2018
- 15
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- May 29, 2018
- 5,767
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Everytime I check this game after an update and see that "linear" tag I get a tear in my eye. :FeelsBadMan:
- May 10, 2018
- 9,497
- 26,513
- Jan 18, 2018
- 336
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- Jul 10, 2018
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Truth is that your choices result in different scenes in several places, so in some ways it's really no more linear than about half the games that claim to have multiple paths yet still end up following the same overall story. Just a little more honest and modest, perhaps.
I get the feeling that MrKnobb wants to first focus on getting the whole story developed and out there, and could then add branching paths later if there is enough support and demand. He said in an earlier reply that what motivates his development is having a story to tell...
- Jul 19, 2017
- 1,899
- 4,043
Well they do like their hooded figures... in a few years we'll right in the middle of the Lessonverse. At some point we find out that Liam's is the 10th clone in the Darius project... Jonas will take the serum that Jenkins is on and set out on a quest for revenge, against the supervillain WifeBeater. Jensen will have a full cybernetic penis that shoots laser beams. Then they all team up to fight a world-ending threat.
- Jul 10, 2018
- 913
- 2,402
Oh no, because of that bathroom scene at the Battle of the Bands event there's no way it isn't a crossover, as we see the exact same scene from the two different storylines. Sorry, but that made it a cross-over.
(Loved that gem by the way, and a brilliant bit of collaboration from Doc and MrKnobb to make it happen. Absolutely unique)
- Jan 21, 2018
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