VN Ren'Py Summer's Gone [S1 Steam + DLC] [Oceanlab]

[soprano31]

Bro, just the similarity of the models doesn't mean anything at all, otherwise Bella and Katie could be twins.
View attachment 3290715

The ideal incestuous threesome for Vidal,
His first true love,and the most dominant love for whom he completely forgets everyone from before and since !!
For this sizzling love orgy he drops his code of being monogamous immediately..

 

[NSFW_idol_games]

Wow! This looks pretty cool!

 

[Doomyk]

Sasha doesn't have Summer's complexion, birthmarks (on her face under her eye and the corner of her mouth), or freckles, and has very different eyebrows.

I wouldn't focus too much on moles or hair color. Cosmetics or hair dye can easily be misleading. So I wouldn't be too surprised if Summer is alive and Nika saw her, he just didn't recognize her.

 

[SlowGoesSlow]

Summer is clearly Nika in a wig and he’s just trying to recover from a severe manic episode. While people who knew him growing up/loved ones are trying to help him recover and ease back into normal society.

 

[BobTheDuck]

I wouldn't focus too much on moles or hair color. Cosmetics or hair dye can easily be misleading. So I wouldn't be too surprised if Summer is alive and Nika saw her, he just didn't recognize her.

Oh I know, but if it's heavy foundation concealer etc, her face would melt during training/sports, and after the shower. And why would she conceal her birthmarks but not the scar? Easier for her to have had plastic surgery and lazer treatment... and it's starting to become way, way too complicated to explain render by render why she removed the birthmarks but kept her scar. If she needed to change appearance and go under a new identity, such as witness protection, they'd be moving her away from where people know her, where she can't accidentally break her cover. ANd her voice would be the same.

Also, Sasha's antagonism in the book club would imply she doesn't know him like Summer did. Until there's a good logical explantion of how and why, it's a theory without much basis.

 

[Zane Truesdale]

Kinda tricky to read "Zane" and remember it's not about me

 

[Doomyk]

Oh I know, but if it's heavy foundation concealer etc, her face would melt during training/sports, and after the shower. And why would she conceal her birthmarks but not the scar? Easier for her to have had plastic surgery and lazer treatment... and it's starting to become way, way too complicated to explain render by render why she removed the birthmarks but kept her scar. If she needed to change appearance and go under a new identity, such as witness protection, they'd be moving her away from where people know her, where she can't accidentally break her cover. ANd her voice would be the same.

Also, Sasha's antagonism in the book club would imply she doesn't know him like Summer did. Until there's a good logical explantion of how and why, it's a theory without much basis.

Oh,i didn't mean that Sasha=Summer. As far as I know, even Dev personally confirmed that this is not true. I meant that theoretically, if Summer is alive, then we could already see her, simply because of her hair color/lack of moles we didn't think much about it.

 

[BobTheDuck]

Oh,i didn't mean that Sasha=Summer. As far as I know, even Dev personally confirmed that this is not true. I meant that theoretically, if Summer is alive, then we could already see her, simply because of her hair color/lack of moles we didn't think much about it.

That was what I thought as well - Ocean had squashed that theory, can't remember when or where I read that. Someone else was claiming it earlier, and I was just pointing out it makes no sense for someone to conceal birthmarks while leaving a scar unconcealed. If it's vanity, you'd hide all blemishes, if it was to create an alternate identity, you'd still be found out by your voice, habits, and the things that you share knowledge of by accident.

If Summer was in witness protection (as one random option) they wouldn't enroll her in a college with Nia, Nika and Nami. She wouldn't be hanging around the same city as Elsa either, too many ways for her identity to be discovered. If she's altered her appearance and makes a reappearance,, the big question I'd have is why wasn't she in touch with Elsa (who didn't try to avoid Nika but made sure it was him, so there's no conspiracy of her hiding things from Nika).

So yeah, not convinced. Maybe she's Desiree; after all she has the hair dye and grown up Princess Leia buns.

I personally think the drama of Summer returning would make be a terrible plot development, weakening the story: without her Nika has to face the uncertainty and lack of closure, he has to decide whether to follow his feelings or remain stuck on one idea. With Summer returning, he just has to chose a LI, and it becomes like 90% of the games here. Leaving Summer's fate unsolved/uncertain is probably one of the wisest things Ocean can do to keep people engaged, otherwise it just becomes another episode of waifu wars.

 

[White cat6]

I personally think the drama of Summer returning would make be a terrible plot development, weakening the story: without her Nika has to face the uncertainty and lack of closure, he has to decide whether to follow his feelings or remain stuck on one idea. With Summer returning, he just has to chose a LI, and it becomes like 90% of the games here. Leaving Summer's fate unsolved/uncertain is probably one of the wisest things Ocean can do to keep people engaged, otherwise it just becomes another episode of waifu wars.

You can think whatever you want. But Summer's role is no less important in the game than Nick himself. Can you imagine WIAB without Leah? Same thing with SG without Summer. Summer has been in the game from the very beginning. And to your disappointment, the plot of the game is not that Nick should fuck as many women as possible. Think about what the plot is about ))

 

[BobTheDuck]

You can think whatever you want. But Summer's role is no less important in the game than Nick himself. Can you imagine WIAB without Leah? Same thing with SG without Summer. Summer has been in the game from the very beginning. And to your disappointment, the plot of the game is not that Nick should fuck as many women as possible. Think about what the plot is about ))

You misunderstand me - I am not interested in a harem style game, I am very interested in the plot. I believe if Summer returns it will make the plot boring. It can be done well, but the 'blast from the past' throwing all Nika's choices to the wind is a very boring, cheap and obvious way way to develop the plot. It's Ocean's story though, and so far he hasn't been boring me. The plot is about Nika learning to overcome grief and get on with his life, as well as help the people he cares about get over their traumas. Summer reappearing adds drama, but Nika doesn't have to move on then, his life just paused. A story about people moving forward away from their past, of their own will is far more interesting.

 

[sorco2003]

You misunderstand me - I am not interested in a harem style game, I am very interested in the plot. I believe if Summer returns it will make the plot boring. It can be done well, but the 'blast from the past' throwing all Nika's choices to the wind is a very boring, cheap and obvious way way to develop the plot. It's Ocean's story though, and so far he hasn't been boring me. The plot is about Nika learning to overcome grief and get on with his life, as well as help the people he cares about get over their traumas. Summer reappearing adds drama, but Nika doesn't have to move on then, his life just paused. A story about people moving forward away from their past, of their own will is far more interesting.

This is an interesting debate, and while I have a position taken, I would like to add brain food.
We can consider Summer as Chekhov's Gun or as a McGuffin. And both positions have their valid points, personally, seeing the amount of clichés, prototypical developments and anime axioms scattered here and there, I'm inclined to think Summer is a Chekhov`s gun.
But, at the same time, I agree that it would be very valuable to the story if she were only a McGuffin.

 

[BobTheDuck]

This is an interesting debate, and while I have a position taken, I would like to add brain food.
We can consider Summer as Chekhov's Gun or as a McGuffin. And both positions have their valid points, personally, seeing the amount of clichés, prototypical developments and anime axioms scattered here and there, I'm inclined to think Summer is a Chekhov`s gun.
But, at the same time, I agree that it would be very valuable to the story if she were only a McGuffin.

My position is less of a Macguffin and more of a Keyser Söze, something essential but never what it seems or even revealed to be true. Same sort of device as whatever is in the briefcase in Pulp Fiction (although that is more of an elevated Macguffin). She's certainly more than the prophecy in Oedipus Rex.

My reasoning why I don't think she'll make a reappearance:

- as mentioned, it weakens the main development of Nika as a character. Rather than owning his trauma and learning to overcome himself/be at peace with himself, all his validation becomes externalised into the presence of Summer. Sure there may be more drama to her reappearance, but it's a very unsatisfying resolution to his underlying issues, and less character development.

- The tension of her not being resolved is something every single player (well those who care about the story anyway) wants to solve. Keeping the suspense and mystery strengthens the turmoil, and evokes our inner PI. This is also a cheap device, but more effective than a cat fight between Bella, Summer, Nami etc. with Nika as the prize.

-The ensuing cat fight (even if just simmering) would make this just like hundreds of other college AVN's. No thanks. I hope for a game where the main character isn't immediately fought over, and doesn't automatically get a free pass with every LI. It's already too much like that. Mila at least refuses to go out with him if he's already going out with someone. There will be enough chances (too many) for cat fights without Summer reappearing to stake her claim, and there is no need to invoke Summer to instigate them. So it would be a waste of her character. It then devolves into just another dating sim that started with promise.

- Ocean had a third game planned with a female protagonist. Maybe the story from Summer's point of view? I'm thinking of branching narratives in a David Mitchell/Ghostwritten kinda way, where one story leads to the next, but it jumps across rather than being a direct continuation. Complete speculation from my part, but it'd be pretty effective. ie SG has the same characters from WiaB, but they're no longer center stage - their dramas occur in the background now. Even though they'll have a major effect, we'll see the story from Nika's perspective of what is important, not from Leia's or Katie's etc.

In the end, it's Ocean's story to tell, and if he's planned it I'll just hope he avoids the obvious tropes.

 

[sorco2003]

My position is less of a Macguffin and more of a Keyser Söze, something essential but never what it seems or even revealed to be true. Same sort of device as whatever is in the briefcase in Pulp Fiction (although that is more of an elevated Macguffin). She's certainly more than the prophecy in Oedipus Rex.

My reasoning why I don't think she'll make a reappearance:

- as mentioned, it weakens the main development of Nika as a character. Rather than owning his trauma and learning to overcome himself/be at peace with himself, all his validation becomes externalised into the presence of Summer. Sure there may be more drama to her reappearance, but it's a very unsatisfying resolution to his underlying issues, and less character development.

- The tension of her not being resolved is something every single player (well those who care about the story anyway) wants to solve. Keeping the suspense and mystery strengthens the turmoil, and evokes our inner PI. This is also a cheap device, but more effective than a cat fight between Bella, Summer, Nami etc. with Nika as the prize.

-The ensuing cat fight (even if just simmering) would make this just like hundreds of other college AVN's. No thanks. I hope for a game where the main character isn't immediately fought over, and doesn't automatically get a free pass with every LI. It's already too much like that. Mila at least refuses to go out with him if he's already going out with someone. There will be enough chances (too many) for cat fights without Summer reappearing to stake her claim, and there is no need to invoke Summer to instigate them. So it would be a waste of her character. It then devolves into just another dating sim that started with promise.

- Ocean had a third game planned with a female protagonist. Maybe the story from Summer's point of view? I'm thinking of branching narratives in a David Mitchell/Ghostwritten kinda way, where one story leads to the next, but it jumps across rather than being a direct continuation. Complete speculation from my part, but it'd be pretty effective. ie SG has the same characters from WiaB, but they're no longer center stage - their dramas occur in the background now. Even though they'll have a major effect, we'll see the story from Nika's perspective of what is important, not from Leia's or Katie's etc.

In the end, it's Ocean's story to tell, and if he's planned it I'll just hope he avoids the obvious tropes.

In general it seems to me a good exposition, I have some notes to make.

- To show that he was cured, nothing better than to confront him with the person who caused the trauma. It is a possible direction. Or maybe to show that you can't overcome certain traumas.
- Everything about fights and stuff seems out of the question to me, the possibilities are there, even without Summer coming back, the scenarios are possible, but it would be rare but not unusual. As much as Ocean pursues maturity on a narrative level, the characters are still teenagers, and there's nothing more natural and realistic than teenage fights for the sake of it.
- Whether or not Ocean has another game planned (according to what I have read all that is ruled out, at least the one with a female protagonist for sure) should not be taken into consideration, since it is just an idea that may or may not exist.

 

[crabsinthekitchen]

You misunderstand me - I am not interested in a harem style game, I am very interested in the plot. I believe if Summer returns it will make the plot boring. It can be done well, but the 'blast from the past' throwing all Nika's choices to the wind is a very boring, cheap and obvious way way to develop the plot. It's Ocean's story though, and so far he hasn't been boring me. The plot is about Nika learning to overcome grief and get on with his life, as well as help the people he cares about get over their traumas. Summer reappearing adds drama, but Nika doesn't have to move on then, his life just paused. A story about people moving forward away from their past, of their own will is far more interesting.

what if she returns but not as LI? I just really want her to return before he completely moves on. The drama should be glorious, like when you borrow money from a mob to pay for a surgery that lets you walk again after spending a decade in a wheelchair but as soon as you walk out of the hospital the mobsters break your kneecaps for being late with your payment

 

[Maviarab]

what if she returns but not as LI? I just really want her to return before he completely moves on. The drama should be glorious, like when you borrow money from a mob to pay for a surgery that lets you walk again after spending a decade in a wheelchair but as soon as you walk out of the hospital the mobsters break your kneecaps for being late with your payment

That's....oddly specific crabs...

 

[BobTheDuck]

In general it seems to me a good exposition, I have some notes to make.

- To show that he was cured, nothing better than to confront him with the person who caused the trauma. It is a possible direction. Or maybe to show that you can't overcome certain traumas.
- Everything about fights and stuff seems out of the question to me, the possibilities are there, even without Summer coming back, the scenarios are possible, but it would be rare but not unusual. As much as Ocean pursues maturity on a narrative level, the characters are still teenagers, and there's nothing more natural and realistic than teenage fights for the sake of it.
- Whether or not Ocean has another game planned (according to what I have read all that is ruled out, at least the one with a female protagonist for sure) should not be taken into consideration, since it is just an idea that may or may not exist.

Good points - the first one is the biggest question, as we still don't know what happened. It's enough to make Elsa sad when she's reminded of it. I highly doubt that Summer is living in Bowser's castle waiting for the right moment to come out though. There's a reason Elsa is sad, even if it's because she can't tell Nika what she knows. The only possibilities I can think of where Nika saw her one more time after the cabin are 1) she's dead, but then he'd have closure and wouldn't be seeking Emilio's skills/information, and Nika's bigger trauma is tied to the cabin and the last time he touched her, rather than the last time he saw her 2) she's in witness protection, because no one seems to know what happened, but no one's talking about missing people.

If Summer's absence is for some form of external reason like that, she'd only reappear once the threat to her is over. So I guess it's possible for that to happen, but it had better be a really good reason rather than going off to Thailand to find herself.

- the teenager dramas will be there already yes, so we don't need Summer to instigate any of it. That'd just prolong those cycles and waste renders with no real story or plot development. We've already got the chance for too many awkward teenage fights. TO be meaningful to the story, I hope they're like bad endings, you piss people off and you get ostracised. I can imagine that with people like Sasha, you'll have fewer chances to fix things if you screw up.

- Even if he's (wisely) not thinking about it until he gets these first two almost completed, I doubt he's completely abandoned the ideas, they're just too far away to make meaningful decisions on. He can still end SG with the pieces in place for #3, I'm guessing he'll know well before he gets to the end of SG's development whether we wants to go that far or not. Certainly not a today question, but I'd say it's still got an impact on what decision he makes plot wise, to leave SG open ended or have a grand finale. My favourite novelist wrote 6 books in 6 years, then returned to conclude the story with another 4 books after a 20 year break. Book 6 felt like a genuine ending though. It's hard to let characters go when you've lived inside their heads for so long.

what if she returns but not as LI? I just really want her to return before he completely moves on. The drama should be glorious, like when you borrow money from a mob to pay for a surgery that lets you walk again after spending a decade in a wheelchair but as soon as you walk out of the hospital the mobsters break your kneecaps for being late with your payment

100% plausible ...and really brutal after the next 25 odd chapters SG would no longer be taking a lighter path then I guess, and Ocean would be our torturer...

 

[John972]

This is an interesting debate, and while I have a position taken, I would like to add brain food.
We can consider Summer as Chekhov's Gun or as a McGuffin. And both positions have their valid points, personally, seeing the amount of clichés, prototypical developments and anime axioms scattered here and there, I'm inclined to think Summer is a Chekhov`s gun.
But, at the same time, I agree that it would be very valuable to the story if she were only a McGuffin.

My position is less of a Macguffin and more of a Keyser Söze, something essential but never what it seems or even revealed to be true. Same sort of device as whatever is in the briefcase in Pulp Fiction (although that is more of an elevated Macguffin). She's certainly more than the prophecy in Oedipus Rex.

My reasoning why I don't think she'll make a reappearance:

- as mentioned, it weakens the main development of Nika as a character. Rather than owning his trauma and learning to overcome himself/be at peace with himself, all his validation becomes externalised into the presence of Summer. Sure there may be more drama to her reappearance, but it's a very unsatisfying resolution to his underlying issues, and less character development.

- The tension of her not being resolved is something every single player (well those who care about the story anyway) wants to solve. Keeping the suspense and mystery strengthens the turmoil, and evokes our inner PI. This is also a cheap device, but more effective than a cat fight between Bella, Summer, Nami etc. with Nika as the prize.

-The ensuing cat fight (even if just simmering) would make this just like hundreds of other college AVN's. No thanks. I hope for a game where the main character isn't immediately fought over, and doesn't automatically get a free pass with every LI. It's already too much like that. Mila at least refuses to go out with him if he's already going out with someone. There will be enough chances (too many) for cat fights without Summer reappearing to stake her claim, and there is no need to invoke Summer to instigate them. So it would be a waste of her character. It then devolves into just another dating sim that started with promise.

- Ocean had a third game planned with a female protagonist. Maybe the story from Summer's point of view? I'm thinking of branching narratives in a David Mitchell/Ghostwritten kinda way, where one story leads to the next, but it jumps across rather than being a direct continuation. Complete speculation from my part, but it'd be pretty effective. ie SG has the same characters from WiaB, but they're no longer center stage - their dramas occur in the background now. Even though they'll have a major effect, we'll see the story from Nika's perspective of what is important, not from Leia's or Katie's etc.

In the end, it's Ocean's story to tell, and if he's planned it I'll just hope he avoids the obvious tropes.

I think Summer (the person) can be both Chekhov's Gun AND a McGuffin. Obviously, the MC's healing is a central theme in the AVN, and Summer's "going" is the trigger for the trauma needing healed (McGuffin). However, for the AVN player, there should be some eventual revelation about what actually happened to Summer and why (Chekhov's Gun). With this revelation (one that incidentially allows the MC to resolve his inner trauma and move on), it doesn't matter if Summer is alive, missing, or dead. If Summer's alive then it doesn't matter if the MC ever meets her again.

Who knows what Ocean has planned. If, for example, Summer was absconded by her disapproving parents, I think it would be fine for her to make an appearance at the end of the AVN, once the MC has healed. Such a liaison could simply be Summer and her boyfriend casually running into the MC and his LI. They exchange a few healing words, say farewell, and move on... If Summer's dead, perhaps the MC could visit her grave for a final goodbye...

 

[Penfold Mole]

This is an interesting debate, and while I have a position taken, I would like to add brain food.
We can consider Summer as Chekhov's Gun or as a McGuffin. And both positions have their valid points, personally, seeing the amount of clichés, prototypical developments and anime axioms scattered here and there, I'm inclined to think Summer is a Chekhov`s gun.
But, at the same time, I agree that it would be very valuable to the story if she were only a McGuffin.

In case Summer really is Chekhov's Gun or one of the many in this story, the important question is, did it already bang? I mean, was Summer's disappearance the bang or not? Or will it make more than one bang? So the actual question remains open and it won't help us in any way.

Maybe less is more and there's no need for more bangs from this particular gun?

 

[sorco2003]

In case Summer really is Chekhov's Gun or one of the many in this story, the important question is, did it already bang? I mean, was Summer's disappearance the bang or not? Or will it make more than one bang? So the actual question remains open and it won't help us in any way.

Maybe less is more and there's no need for more bangs from this particular gun?

More bangs, more happiness...

 

[burbero]

Also, Sasha's antagonism in the book club would imply she doesn't know him like Summer did. Until there's a good logical explantion of how and why, it's a theory without much basis.

Speaking of Sasha's book club feud. Why do you think he acted that way? He didn't like Nika's presence from the first moment.