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

[Nurikabe]

I have seen phone/social media apps done really well in very few VNs. Whether done well or horribly, I feel that they are mostly time wasters (like real life). Yes, they can be used to relay a lot of information (depth) and plot reveals without working hard on the story. They can show aspects of a character's personality that would otherwise have to come out in exposition. But mostly, it requires the attention to be drawn from the story and action to focus on using a phone app. I personally do not enjoy that.

VNs can be a neat way to illustrate real life and dramatically demonstrate aspects of pop culture. But they can also be an escape from that. Like having an MC that we all wish we could be. The guy who walks in the room and, despite being damaged or broken, has women dropping their panties without blinking an eye. That can be overdone and over-the-top. But there is a fantastical aspect of it that most of us wish we could have at least once in our lives (or a flashback to a memory of the one time it was like that). Escape from the reality of the political warfare of dating. Or escape from the social media flood that can be smothering.

My questions regarding adding phone apps are does it add critical functions to the story? Does it enhance the story? Or does it serve as a time suck and just fill in gaps that hide where the story should be taking place?

 

[Razrback16]

Love your post Nurikabe but I will say in defense of the phone that I feel like it does add some realism and value since, even IRL, we all use phones when communicating with friends, potential dates, etc. I think in Being A DIK the phone is done pretty well. In Race of Life the phone isn't quite as well implemented, but I like it - it can add quick communication bits that don't take long to relay event info, etc. or a quick note to someone, be it a friend or LI, and also give the player a choice to text a potential LI if desired to ask her out on a date or say 'i miss you', etc. stuff like that which can be tied in to triggers for certain events, or to add or remove points with an LI, etc.

 

[VicLex22]

Interesting, because I already see her as a poisonous character, and that's why I think she'll be on social media. She's a gossip (we see her first gossiping) and loves putting people in awkward situations, and seems to be really into herself. I don't see that preventing her from having a major role, just that she is the kind of person I would think uses social media extensively - admittedly, every playthrough I end up kissing Bella, so I haven't seen the alternative scenes

Kate's character was created with only one purpose - a trap for MC on Bella's ideal path. Kate dreams of taking revenge on Bella for the beating at school (and maybe not only the beating) and for this she wants to use MC. Her goal is to seduce MC and then dump him and tell everyone to hurt Bella (Ocean has already spoiled this in discord). If MC is not in Bella's path, then Kate will not show interest in MC, we will see this in the final scene of Ch3.5 if we don't kiss Bella.

 

[yossa999]

Kate's character was created with only one purpose - a trap for MC on Bella's ideal path. Kate dreams of taking revenge on Bella for the beating at school (and maybe not only the beating) and for this she wants to use MC. Her goal is to seduce MC and then dump him and tell everyone to hurt Bella (Ocean has already spoiled this in discord).

Damn reaction limit. Sounds reasonable. It's a shame though, Mila mentioned that she knew Kate from school and they were and are kind of friends.

If MC is not in Bella's path, then Kate will not show interest in MC, we will see this in the final scene of Ch3.5 if we don't kiss Bella.

You mean when she ignored the MC by sitting right on his face while wearing a skirt?

 

[PaxHadrian17]

Interesting, because I already see her as a poisonous character, and that's why I think she'll be on social media. She's a gossip (we see her first gossiping) and loves putting people in awkward situations, and seems to be really into herself. I don't see that preventing her from having a major role, just that she is the kind of person I would think uses social media extensively - admittedly, every playthrough I end up kissing Bella, so I haven't seen the alternative scenes

I've played both the kiss and not kiss Bella routes.

The locker room plays out Very differently - no Bella comes to the rescue.

Spoiler: Locked up in girls locker room

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While you are waiting for the CH 5 Beta to drop, I Highly recommend going to an old save and trying the no kiss Bella route.

The ripples of this will hit the school next week and I believe that a certain Nasty reporter will become more involved...

Cheers!!

 

[VicLex22]

It's very simple
If you are in Bella's puth but you don't kiss her, then other girls will save you. And here there will be 2 options that I had in mind: 1. If you are on Bella's puth, then Kate will ask for a kiss in exchange for a key, 2. if you are not on Bella's puth, then Kate will not ask for a kiss.

 

[PaxHadrian17]

It's very simple
If you are in Bella's puth but you don't kiss her, then other girls will save you. And here there will be 2 options that I had in mind: 1. If you are on Bella's puth, then Kate will ask for a kiss in exchange for a key, 2. if you are not on Bella's puth, then Kate will not ask for a kiss.

I've only seen two variations on the locker room scene:

If you are on Bella's path (you kissed) - Bella saves you, unlocks the cuffs and there is a minor dust up with Kate & the twins after you are freed from the cuffs.

If you are not on Bella's path (no kiss) - you turn down Kate's offer of a kiss for the key and get to slam her a bit more later in the scene. I go into more detail in the post just above yours.

Cheers!!

 

[VicLex22]

I've only seen two variations on the locker room scene:

If you are on Bella's path (you kissed) - Bella saves you, unlocks the cuffs and there is a minor dust up with Kate & the twins after you are freed from the cuffs.

If you are not on Bella's path (no kiss) - you turn down Kate's offer of a kiss for the key and get to slam her a bit more later in the scene. I go into more detail in the post just above yours.

Cheers!!

Congratulations to you bro, in both cases you are on Bella's puth
Bella's puth begins before kissing her.
If you're not in Bella's puth, then Kate won't ask you for a kiss.

 

[Nurikabe]

I've played both the kiss and not kiss Bella routes.

The locker room plays out Very differently - no Bella comes to the rescue.

Spoiler: Locked up in girls locker room

You don't have permission to view the spoiler content. Log in or register now.

While you are waiting for the CH 5 Beta to drop, I Highly recommend going to an old save and trying the no kiss Bella route.

The ripples of this will hit the school next week and I believe that a certain Nasty reporter will become more involved...

Cheers!!

Damn! Haven't seen that path. Everything looks great right up to that last shot. Then it looks like a dick-cutting party sent to lynch him! Nora, the redhead, and the chick in the sports bra on the left look like they might want to have a personal conversation, however! They all get a thumbs up from me. Time to fire it up and play that route! Grassy ass!

 

[yossa999]

It's very simple
If you are in Bella's puth but you don't kiss her, then other girls will save you. And here there will be 2 options that I had in mind: 1. If you are on Bella's puth, then Kate will ask for a kiss in exchange for a key, 2. if you are not on Bella's puth, then Kate will not ask for a kiss.

Not exactly. I'm embarassed to admit, but this is the first game in which I dug into the code in search of spoilers. So under the spoiler this goes.

Spoiler: Bella's path

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Congratulations to you bro, in both cases you are on Bella's puth
Bella's puth begins before kissing her.
If you're not in Bella's puth, then Kate won't ask you for a kiss.

Oops, I saw your answer to Pax after I posted this. It seems we were saying the same thing, just in slightly different words.

 

[BobTheDuck]

I've played both the kiss and not kiss Bella routes.

The locker room plays out Very differently - no Bella comes to the rescue.

Spoiler: Locked up in girls locker room

You don't have permission to view the spoiler content. Log in or register now.

While you are waiting for the CH 5 Beta to drop, I Highly recommend going to an old save and trying the no kiss Bella route.

The ripples of this will hit the school next week and I believe that a certain Nasty reporter will become more involved...

Cheers!!

I guess somehow I can manage to avoid Bella ...once My choices seem to follow the same general path every update that I have to restart. I guess that's one thing with ocean's games, is that choices do actually open different options; most games have a choice, and the result is basically the same scene while Ocean actually creates parts that might never get seen by some players.

 

[VicLex22]

And if Bella trusts you, then Kate asks for a kiss in exchange for the key. So it seems like it's true that this blonde bitch (yet another blonde bitch ) wants to hurt Bella more than to make out with the weird "emo" dude.

That's exactly what I was trying to say.
Kate is a minor character who plays a role in Bella's path and she will never be a LI, as soon as she fulfills her goal (hurting Bella), if you allow this, she will immediately lose interest in you. The ocean has already confirmed this in discord.

 

[Deleted member 728308]

is there any sex yet?

 

[MF_DOOM]

is there any sex yet?

At this rate, this game is going to be PG-13

 

[bASKOU]

Impressive game ! The story is very well implemented, enjoy the interaction between the MC and each girl. A very well storey driven VN with impressive renders and the carater design is sublime.

Didn't know I would stick to a game like that, after I am a lazy lad so this MOD make it even better

Keep the impressive work, I see some people complaining about the long time for the game to get updated, but when you see the results... The reward deserve our patience.

 

[MIkedante]

At this rate, this game is going to be PG-13

I don't think so... So many naked pics

 

[Penfold Mole]

is there any sex yet?

If sex scenes are your only interest in VN's, then

 

[MF_DOOM]

I am afraid this is the closest thing to a sex scene as we are going to get from this game:

 

[PaxHadrian17]

Congratulations to you bro, in both cases you are on Bella's puth
Bella's puth begins before kissing her.
If you're not in Bella's puth, then Kate won't ask you for a kiss.

That's cool - there is a third variation on the locker room scene - always good to know!

Cheers!

 

[PaxHadrian17]

Not exactly. I'm embarassed to admit, but this is the first game in which I dug into the code in search of spoilers. So under the spoiler this goes.

Spoiler: Bella's path

You don't have permission to view the spoiler content. Log in or register now.

Oops, I saw your answer to Pax after I posted this. It seems we were saying the same thing, just in slightly different words.

Thanks for the extra information! I never looked under the hood at the code so, when there was no Bella Kiss and no Bella showing up at the end of CH 4.5, I took that to be the MC was no longer on the Bella path.

This says that the Bella path has at least one earlier on/off switch, at least as it impacts events, post Bella kiss choice.

We still don't know the full consequences of no Bella kiss, but that mystery will have to wait to be solved until Season 2.

Ocean is telling an even deeper story than I realized - with more path possibilities to keep track of.

Cheers!!