Nothing I have said was out of line, nor was I complaining. I just said, personally, that my enthusiasm is dampened for a VN that only releases at most once per year, no matter how high quality, and I suspect most fans aren't willing to either wait 15-20 years nor pay $5 to $10 or more a month for 180 to 240 months for Summer's Gone to be completed. If others are happy to do so, that is great for them. I have applauded Oceanslab a number of times, in this very thread, so I think he does great work, and if he was consistent or reasonable in his release frequency, Summer's Gone would be up there with the top games here. But in my opinion, one short section of game-play, released as an update per year, is not successful game development, no matter how high quality it is.
Also, if you have read Oceanlab's many posts here, you can see that hardware is not the major reason that he only releases one update per year. Instead, he cites personal motivation, day to day enthusiasm for the project, and other things he rather do with his time each day. Fair enough. I applaud Oceanlab's honesty. That is more than I see from many devs here.
I think you are influenced by your fandom for Summer's Gone to see anything else as comparable. Just like fans of (pick any pop singer), who think that nobody else can compare. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but to say that none of the 6 games I mentioned are even in the same category? That is quite an exaggeration. Perhaps you are thinking of render quality and overall polish. However, as far as quality of the story, the sophistication of the characters, and complexity and realism of the dialog, they are very much in the same category.
But, I want to be fair and open-minded. Since you are a writer, and make the claim that the writing of Summer's Gone is head and shoulders above all other games here, and in its own category of greatness, with the possible exception of 2 other games you mentioned, please go ahead and quote a section of text from Summer's Gone and let us all judge. What section of text or dialog impresses you the most for its sophistication? I would like to see what strikes you so much, and we can all judge for ourselves and see if your point stands.
