Ren'Py The Headmaster [Mykock's Manor Ch.3] [Altos and Herdone]

[ccxvidonaferens]

It's a really great position to be in. Going into the update cycle with so much work done means that there are a lot less unknowns about my workload and it's taken away a lot of the stress I usually feel at this point.

This really should say fewer, I believe. Tsk tsk, off to the Headmasters office with you Altos.

 

[Gato21]

As much as I hate to say it, I think Zoe should be introduced after the end of Chapter 2. You should be feeling at a high point with the girls' grades improving from finishing quests, meeting or close to meeting Ruth's demands, also the fundraiser is over, providing a nice demarcation story-wise, and bam! Zoe throws the proverbial wrench in the works, jeopardizing everything. Rather than being a nuisance, the threat should be existential. I suppose that could also work with her introduced early, but laying low until Chapter 3.

 

[T_Abraxas]

As much as I hate to say it, I think Zoe should be introduced after the end of Chapter 2. You should be feeling at a high point with the girls' grades improving from finishing quests, meeting or close to meeting Ruth's demands, also the fundraiser is over, providing a nice demarcation story-wise, and bam! Zoe throws the proverbial wrench in the works, jeopardizing everything. Rather than being a nuisance, the threat should be existential. I suppose that could also work with her introduced early, but laying low until Chapter 3.

Fully agree. Feels like too much at once to bring her out now. I was hoping to feel like things were at a natural point of completion for the chapter first as well.

 

[Living In A Lewd World]

As much as I hate to say it, I think Zoe should be introduced after the end of Chapter 2. You should be feeling at a high point with the girls' grades improving from finishing quests, meeting or close to meeting Ruth's demands, also the fundraiser is over, providing a nice demarcation story-wise, and bam! Zoe throws the proverbial wrench in the works, jeopardizing everything. Rather than being a nuisance, the threat should be existential. I suppose that could also work with her introduced early, but laying low until Chapter 3.

I personally disagree here rather. If one thinks the game as a story in a 3-act-structure (

You must be registered to see the links

), one could see the end of chapter 2 as mid point of the story. The introduction of Zoe and a possible cliff-hanger with an event, in which Zoe can show her impact to its fullest would make this in my eyes perfect.

But I must confess, that the impact and possibility of this outcome will depend on what Zoe will finally be. I hope that Zoe's rather a manipulative person who can also see the weaknesses of the students and use them to her own advantage than one that is acting herself. Thus the headmaster should not be able to punish her initially, because there is no evidence, that she is behind anything, basically a mirror of his own personality. Under this circumstances, this scenario would work very well. But I'm not sure, what she will actual plan is.

To make this nevertheless positive, one could let behind the headmaster initially thinking but gradually smiling, when he acknowledges a hypothesis about the key to Zoe's teaching but not show what it is to the player at the end of chapter 2. Zoe's weakness should be slowly revealed to the player in chapter 3, when the headmaster gets more and more evidence for his hypothesis about Zoe and starts to set traps.

 

[Pervertx]

I personally disagree here rather. If one thinks the game as a story in a 3-act-structure (

You must be registered to see the links

), one could see the end of chapter 2 as mid point of the story. The introduction of Zoe and a possible cliff-hanger with an event, in which Zoe can show her impact to its fullest would make this in my eyes perfect.

But I must confess, that the impact and possibility of this outcome will depend on what Zoe will finally be. I hope that Zoe's rather a manipulative person who can also see the weaknesses of the students and use them to her own advantage than one that is acting herself. Thus the headmaster should not be able to punish her initially, because there is no evidence, that she is behind anything, basically a mirror of his own personality. Under this circumstances, this scenario would work very well. But I'm not sure, what she will actual plan is.

To make this nevertheless positive, one could let behind the headmaster initially thinking but gradually smiling, when he acknowledges a hypothesis about the key to Zoe's teaching but not show what it is to the player at the end of chapter 2. Zoe's weakness should be slowly revealed to the player in chapter 3, when the headmaster gets more and more evidence for his hypothesis about Zoe and starts to set traps.

Zoe will be the Thanos of HeadMaster! Being able to manipulate all the girls back into their old habits through deception and lies!
As I've said, the writing of this game is surprisingly good. The sex scenes almost ruin it.
(Girl has an epiphany through what's actually a very touching moment.)
HM: "Quick, Sally! We need to fuck her so the lesson will sink in!"
Sally: "Are...are you sure that's how these kinds of things work?"
HM: "Dammit Sally, I'm a professional! Do you think I WANT to have sex with these hot, young, troubled, and naive girls?"
Sally: "Of course, you're right, Headmaster."

 

[ccxvidonaferens]

If one thinks the game as a story in a 3-act-structure

Has Altos confirmed that he his using a 3-act-structure? There is also such a thing as a five act structure which sort of breaks down as;

Act 1:- Introduction. Introduces the world and characters of the story including backstory and set up of the elements of the main plot. Usually approx 10% of the story.
Act 2:- Rising Movement. Continues movement of the story towards the climax, deepening the complications of the story and enlarging the plot. In addition all characters should be introduced before the end of act 2. Usually approx 35-45% of the story.
Act 3:- Climax. The climax of the story is often misperceived as dramatic, when really it is a point where the characters reflect on their choices or fate and then act, for either better or worse. Usually about 5-15% of the story.
Act 4:- Falling Action. Continues movement of the story towards the denouement and is often the turning point of fortunes of the protagonist. In the falling action, everything that was going well for the protagonist starts to go badly, in the case of a tragedy. Or in the case of a comedy, everything that was going badly starts to go well. Should also contain 'The Force of Final Suspense' which should occur just before the denouement and give some final doubt as to the final outcome. Usually approx 25-30% of the story.
Act 5:- Denouement. This is the final pay off of the plot where all the things that have been building up occur all at once and all the loose ends get tied up. Usually less than 10% of the story.

This sort of structure is used quite extensively within Shakespeare and also I recall an interview J M Straczynski gave regarding Babylon 5 following this sort of structure.

 

[Gato21]

I personally disagree here rather. If one thinks the game as a story in a 3-act-structure (

You must be registered to see the links

), one could see the end of chapter 2 as mid point of the story. The introduction of Zoe and a possible cliff-hanger with an event, in which Zoe can show her impact to its fullest would make this in my eyes perfect.

But I must confess, that the impact and possibility of this outcome will depend on what Zoe will finally be. I hope that Zoe's rather a manipulative person who can also see the weaknesses of the students and use them to her own advantage than one that is acting herself. Thus the headmaster should not be able to punish her initially, because there is no evidence, that she is behind anything, basically a mirror of his own personality. Under this circumstances, this scenario would work very well. But I'm not sure, what she will actual plan is.

To make this nevertheless positive, one could let behind the headmaster initially thinking but gradually smiling, when he acknowledges a hypothesis about the key to Zoe's teaching but not show what it is to the player at the end of chapter 2. Zoe's weakness should be slowly revealed to the player in chapter 3, when the headmaster gets more and more evidence for his hypothesis about Zoe and starts to set traps.

I somewhat disagree with you. Technically, it is the midpoint since there will be a total of four chapters, but the midpoint narratively will be in Chapter 3, whether that is with Zoe or with Mycock and the organization as a result of Zoe. Regardless, it will be the height of conflict and the nadir of the MC's control. Now if you want to use Zoe as a cliffhanger at the end of Chapter 2, fine. I just think we have enough exposition of her character and capabilities that we don't need her to act to build tension. Just the mere introduction is enough of a cliffhanger, but that's my take.

I do strongly agree with you that her attack should always be indirect, with the protag unable to pin anything on her until he has built a network of informants, spies, moles, and enforcers (prefects). Outwardly, she should be a model student, but in the dark, she's exploiting the students weaknesses for her own bidding as a kind of foil to the MC.

Has Altos confirmed that he his using a 3-act-structure? There is also such a thing as a five act structure which sort of breaks down as;

Act 1:- Introduction. Introduces the world and characters of the story including backstory and set up of the elements of the main plot. Usually approx 10% of the story.
Act 2:- Rising Movement. Continues movement of the story towards the climax, deepening the complications of the story and enlarging the plot. In addition all characters should be introduced before the end of act 2. Usually approx 35-45% of the story.
Act 3:- Climax. The climax of the story is often misperceived as dramatic, when really it is a point where the characters reflect on their choices or fate and then act, for either better or worse. Usually about 5-15% of the story.
Act 4:- Falling Action. Continues movement of the story towards the denouement and is often the turning point of fortunes of the protagonist. In the falling action, everything that was going well for the protagonist starts to go badly, in the case of a tragedy. Or in the case of a comedy, everything that was going badly starts to go well. Should also contain 'The Force of Final Suspense' which should occur just before the denouement and give some final doubt as to the final outcome. Usually approx 25-30% of the story.
Act 5:- Denouement. This is the final pay off of the plot where all the things that have been building up occur all at once and all the loose ends get tied up. Usually less than 10% of the story.

This sort of structure is used quite extensively within Shakespeare and also I recall an interview J M Straczynski gave regarding Babylon 5 following this sort of structure.

Edit: Was going to mention that the 3-act wasn't the only game in town, but looks like you beat me to it.

 

[ccxvidonaferens]

Was going to mention that the 3-act wasn't the only game in town, looks like you beat me to it.

I never studied English or Drama at University/College. My starting point was a vague memory of reading the Babylon 5 thing about the 5 act structuresparking a quick bit of research. Are there any other variants?

 

[Gato21]

I never studied English or Drama at University/College. My starting point was a vague memory of reading the Babylon 5 thing about the 5 act structuresparking a quick bit of research. Are there any other variants?

Nether have I, but a cursory glance shows there are many. Freytag's Pyramid, The Hero's Journey, The three-act, Fichtean curve, and seven point story structure to name a few.

 

[ccxvidonaferens]

Nether have I, but a cursory glance shows there are many. Freytag's Pyramid, The Hero's Journey, The three-act, Fichtean curve, and seven point story structure to name a few.

Thanks. More than I realised.

 

[Living In A Lewd World]

I somewhat disagree with you. Technically, it is the midpoint since there will be a total of four chapters, but the midpoint narratively will be in Chapter 3, whether that is with Zoe or with Mycock and the organization as a result of Zoe. Regardless, it will be the height of conflict and the nadir of the MC's control. Now if you want to use Zoe as a cliffhanger at the end of Chapter 2, fine. I just think we have enough exposition of her character and capabilities that we don't need her to act to build tension. Just the mere introduction is enough of a cliffhanger, but that's my take.

I do strongly agree with you that her attack should always be indirect, with the protag unable to pin anything on her until he has built a network of informants, spies, moles, and enforcers (prefects). Outwardly, she should be a model student, but in the dark, she's exploiting the students weaknesses for her own bidding as a kind of foil to the MC.

Edit: Was going to mention that the 3-act wasn't the only game in town, but looks like you beat me to it.

Has Altos confirmed that he his using a 3-act-structure? There is also such a thing as a five act structure which sort of breaks down as;

Act 1:- Introduction. Introduces the world and characters of the story including backstory and set up of the elements of the main plot. Usually approx 10% of the story.
Act 2:- Rising Movement. Continues movement of the story towards the climax, deepening the complications of the story and enlarging the plot. In addition all characters should be introduced before the end of act 2. Usually approx 35-45% of the story.
Act 3:- Climax. The climax of the story is often misperceived as dramatic, when really it is a point where the characters reflect on their choices or fate and then act, for either better or worse. Usually about 5-15% of the story.
Act 4:- Falling Action. Continues movement of the story towards the denouement and is often the turning point of fortunes of the protagonist. In the falling action, everything that was going well for the protagonist starts to go badly, in the case of a tragedy. Or in the case of a comedy, everything that was going badly starts to go well. Should also contain 'The Force of Final Suspense' which should occur just before the denouement and give some final doubt as to the final outcome. Usually approx 25-30% of the story.
Act 5:- Denouement. This is the final pay off of the plot where all the things that have been building up occur all at once and all the loose ends get tied up. Usually less than 10% of the story.

This sort of structure is used quite extensively within Shakespeare and also I recall an interview J M Straczynski gave regarding Babylon 5 following this sort of structure.

I just mentioned 3-act structure as it is the simple to describe, quite abstract, but still helpful to speak about storys.
As far, as I understand, the other concept do mostly explain story structures more in detail and focus partly on different aspects. (The 3-Act structure focuses actually much more on the plot points as story-driving-events than on the acts themself).
E.g.
with the 5-Act-Structure:
Plot Point 1 would come at the end of act 1 and be the event that starts the rising movement.
Mid-point would be climax.
Plot Point 2 maybe still in or at the end of act 4. It is the event, that starts the action, that finally leads to the endgame in act 5.

As far, as I remember, Syd Field, who developed the concept described it as kind of minimal requirements for entertaining storys (especially screenplays), what does not exclude using more detailed concepts that may also focus more on other aspects for writing a story.

I personally don't see a mid-point coming in chapter 3. The last thing, I remember Altos saying is, that the story is currently set for 4 chapters, and that chapter 4 should even be some kind of "freedom chapter", where the headmaster can agitate on the campus quite freely and have fun with the students, what is only end game.
When we have the mid-point still in chapter 3, the rest of the story may feel rushed (or we have a very long chapter 3, what would be also ok) (of course, this game would still be on a much higher story-telling-level than maybe 95% of the rest of the other games here. My benchmark for this game is rather a good movie or a good TV-Show than most of the lewd-game world, so I'm just naggling on high level).

 

[alis959]

compressed version

 

[Boblet]

Maybe it's just me, but I thought the update and plan was disappointing. The naked mole rat thing was not great and ended up being a bloated distraction. (Yes, yes, just my opinion of course, as always). The whole using amy as a training dummy for an army of spankers doesn't grab me either. I do like Claire, and will be glad to wrap up her beef with the twins, but clearly pace is way off. What happened to Nina and Nina's story, for example? (Faye and Nina were acually scheduled for last Fall, now a partial Faye sounds like it might come by NEXT fall...maybe). What happened to Cassandra as the school hostess? The whole spy story thing? A few levels for just those few students does not sound ambitious. What about the new students and others like Nina? Just the "introduction" of Zoe? The mole rat and training dummy things have really taken the game of track. (My opinion only)

Don't get me wrong, the game has been clever and amazing. Kudos for the concept and what has been produced (except the mole rat thing-no kudos for that). But it seems to be dragging now.

 

[TheDevian]

Maybe it's just me, but I thought the update and plan was disappointing. The naked mole rat thing was not great and ended up being a bloated distraction. (Yes, yes, just my opinion of course, as always). The whole using amy as a training dummy for an army of spankers doesn't grab me either. I do like Claire, and will be glad to wrap up her beef with the twins, but clearly pace is way off. What happened to Nina and Nina's story, for example? (Faye and Nina were acually scheduled for last Fall, now a partial Faye sounds like it might come by NEXT fall...maybe). What happened to Cassandra as the school hostess? The whole spy story thing? A few levels for just those few students does not sound ambitious. What about the new students and others like Nina? Just the "introduction" of Zoe? The mole rat and training dummy things have really taken the game of track. (My opinion only)

Don't get me wrong, the game has been clever and amazing. Kudos for the concept and what has been produced (except the mole rat thing-no kudos for that). But it seems to be dragging now.

Personally, I liked the molerat arc, and as for the rest, one thing at a time. You can only do so much at once.

 

[Boblet]

Personally, I liked the molerat arc, and as for the rest, one thing at a time. You can only do so much at once.

And that's fair enough, D. You always have a good perspecive.

 

[jaytee01]

When I attempt to extract this it returns an error:

Path = TheHeadmaster-0.14.3public-pc/renpy/warp.py
Folder = -
Size = 5653
Packed Size = 2311
Modified = 2023-06-09 21:19:04
Created =
Accessed =
Attributes = _ -rw-r--r--
Encrypted = -
Comment =
CRC = 8506BC3A
Method = Deflate
Host OS = Unix
Version = 20
Volume Index = 0

Path = TheHeadmaster-0.14.3public-pc/renpy/webloader.py
Folder = -
Size = 9405
Packed Size = 3398
Modified = 2023-06-09 21:19:04
Created =
Accessed =
Attributes = _ -rw-r--r--
Encrypted = -
Comment =
CRC = 12A14E63
Method = Deflate
Host OS = Unix
Version = 20
Volume Index = 0


Errors: 1
Does anyone know of a fix please??

 

[TheDevian]

When I attempt to extract this it returns an error:
[snip]
Does anyone know of a fix please??

Guessing you did not get the full archive, but it also could be the extractor... What program did you use to extract it?

 

[jaytee01]

Guessing you did not get the full archive, but it also could be the extractor... What program did you use to extract it?

I used engrampa which is usually faultless. The archive (zipped) reports as 6.7GB.

 

[jaytee01]

Guessing you did not get the full archive, but it also could be the extractor... What program did you use to extract it?

hmmn! maybe the question should have been "How to open winzip with engrampa". I just extracted in Windows without any problems...

 

[TheDevian]

hmmn! maybe the question should have been "How to open winzip with engrampa". I just extracted in Windows without any problems...

Never heard of that one, we usually suggest 7zip or winrar. But glad to hear you got it.