- Apr 27, 2018
- 27
- 118
speaking as someone who also gets heavily immersed in these fictitious worlds as a means of escapism, i really appreciate when games incorporate some level of realism, even if the plot is the most convoluted shit ever. to me, realism keeps the 4th wall behind my eyes as opposed to in front of me at all times, it helps with my immersion. in a story where everything is too good to be true, where conflict is lacking and everything is perfect, the plot tends to lack any real direction; conflict resolution is fundamental to most expository works.
i think the first game that got me to appreciate realism was being a dik (same dev), it pushed me to take responsibility for my actions and break the habit of outcome manipulation, no longer choosing the decisions that lead to the outcome i wanted, but instead, choosing the decisions i'd truly make, then and there. i believe that's because a lotta the decisions in the game are reactive as opposed to proactive. things happen that are out of your control and you choose how to approach these problems, and at times when you make choices that cause problems for yourself later, you're pushed to resolve them, as opposed to undoing them. this way, the ups and downs of life are translated to the plot and i'm way more invested in the events that transpire cus i don't feel invincible, the decisions feel meaningful; i haven't escaped the bitter/sweet struggle of life but i've escaped the struggles of mine so mission accomplished yk? at least the problems encountered in these works of fiction are often easier to manage.
management games tend to be a bit less linear but usually have less of an impactful plot, though gameplay wise, feels a lot more free. i get what you mean about a lotta AVNs using these unavoidable tragedies for what feels like shock value and nothing else, honestly i feel that same way about a lotta them too, usually japanese stuff tbh. eventually you just get desensitized to it and its either boring or it genuinely pisses you tf off cus yk it exists for that sole reason, breaking your immersion entirely. some events could be easily avoided and others could've been prevented with the player's input, instead of relying on the protagonist's scripted personality. its realistic in the sense that you don't have control over everything and things don't always go your way, but unrealistic at the same time cus you know shit would've still gone differently had the conflict/characters made any amount of sense lol
i've never gotten the appeal of the whole rape/broken/corruption/ntr stuff either, i'm not a cuck, that's not a world i wanna escape to and i had the same issue with THAT scene in THIS game. like mom...no
but wrt this game, i have more than a few nitpicky issues with it. i think the LACK of realism in that scene is what ruined it for me. our protagonist, being aware of the power of the amulet, REALISTICALLY would've never given it up so easily and would be in more of a rushed panic after finding it on the floor in front the door to his mother's room. had me like "bro we ALL know what happened if you don't hurry tf up you fucking dumbass. who tf wrote you to think like this?" and poof, immersion gone. suffice to say, i wasn't too pleased w it. i prefer my protags at least half as braindead as that.
