VN Ren'Py Turning the Page [v0.26.0 Patreon] [Azienda]

4.20 star(s) 60 Votes
Discussion Reviews (60)
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Adolfo

Active Member
Jun 5, 2017
623
2,200
Y.Gromov said:
Zack blackmails Sophia! Manipulation of his behavior in front of director Briks. This is exactly what blackmail is!
Yes, this is not "hard" blackmail, but it fits well into story - student life.
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You are right. It is a type of blackmail, indirect blackmail. Blackmail is produced by the use of a situation, not by the power relationship the blackmailer has with the blackmailed. If we dispense with Zach as a handsome boy and younger than the teacher, who theoretically has a situation of power, and look at the characters and their interrelationship blackmail is very clear. It happens in the business and artistic world.

For example, a film production needs a certain middle-aged actor (he is not going to be handsome) and the director of the casting agency, who has a lot of money at stake and the prestige of the agency, sends a beautiful and very effective assistant, with a promising career, to get the actor to participate in the production. The actor tells her he will think about it and if she wants to go out to dinner, she declines the invitation. The assistant comes back and the boss tells her that the actor is needed, to do what she has to do, that the agency's business and her own promotion (or that of her boyfriend, husband, father...) depend on it. Of course, the actor knows or suspects that he is needed and that the consequences of not participating in the production will fall on the assistant, and the director of the agency suspects what the actor is asking for, or simply does not suspect it and does not care, he just wants results. This is blackmail. NTR idea.

In this story the main element of blackmail is the director, who pressures the teachers so that Zach does not stop playing. But the evolution of the pressure is peculiar, one of the successes of this story because of the paradox it raises. The story begins because the couple of teachers do not want to give a pass to the basketball player because they consider it unethical. But the story takes a turn that leads to Sophie's behavior that could be anything but ethical. The principal goes from demanding a passing grade for the two, to demanding that Sophie do whatever it takes to get Zach to play, and that if she doesn't get it Felix's promotion won't happen. Moreover, the director more than likely knows what Zach wants and is getting, and Zach knows what the director's reaction is and who he is attacking when he doesn't play. This is blackmail.
 
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drowsy

Member
Nov 23, 2017
380
620
Adolfo said:
In this story the main element of blackmail is the director, who pressures the teachers so that Zach does not stop playing. But the evolution of the pressure is peculiar, one of the successes of this story because of the paradox it raises. The story begins because the couple of teachers do not want to give a pass to the basketball player because they consider it unethical. But the story takes a turn that leads to Sophie's behavior that could be anything but ethical. The principal goes from demanding a passing grade for the two, to demanding that Sophie do whatever it takes to get Zach to play, and that if she doesn't get it Felix's promotion won't happen. Moreover, the director more than likely knows what Zach wants and is getting, and Zach knows what the director's reaction is and who he is attacking when he doesn't play. This is blackmail.
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A counterargument would be that blackmail requires there to be a lot to lose. In the most typical case, there is a threat of violence or loss of livelihood if the victim doesn't comply with the blackmailer. So it's like the carrot or the stick (positive or negative incentive for action): blackmail is about negative incentive. A blackmailer makes someone do something to avoid the bad thing he is threatening to do. Here, on the other hand, it's not clear that the incentive is entirely negative. If I remember the details right, it's more positive: if you continue to do these things, your husband will get a promotion. That said, there's also a threat of both the teachers being fired by the principal if they don't stay on Zack's good side, so it's not black or white.

There's also the question of intent. I think so far in the game, although Zack is aware of the negative consequences for the teachers if he doesn't show up to games, that's not just something he uses as a threat. Again if I remember the details right, the very reason he is (mostly) showing up to the games, at this point, is as part of an agreement with Sophie. If the teachers (Sophie at least) hadn't pressed him on it at all, he wouldn't have showed up to the games, or so he claims. So who is blackmailing who? I don't actually think Sophie should be taken as blackmailing Zack, but it just goes to show that it's not a very black and white case.
 
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badabingbadaboom

badabingbadaboom

Newbie
Sep 2, 2017
25
26
drowsy said:
Not when what you're talking about is obviously a man, and it is an important point that it is a man. Obviously legibility then dictates that you specify that you're talking about a man as opposed to a group or some random, unknown woman/man. Similarly, instead of saying "the animal", as in "I fed the animal", people say "my dog", as in "I fed my dog".
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English changes, stop being an asshole
 
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desmosome

Conversation Conqueror
Sep 5, 2018
6,182
14,224
Sorry if it's been answered before, but are the different POVs mutually exclusive? Is there no omniscient perspective that shows you everything?
 
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drowsy

Member
Nov 23, 2017
380
620
desmosome said:
Sorry if it's been answered before, but are the different POVs mutually exclusive? Is there no omniscient perspective that shows you everything?
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Correct, the two POVs are mutually exclusive. They do share many scenes, but the writing is always from their respective first-person perspectives.
 
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lkjhgfdfghjkl

Member
Jul 1, 2021
180
292
Having a self-contained corruption route is worth more than an omniscient one imo. Fairly straightforward to switch manually
 
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desmosome

Conversation Conqueror
Sep 5, 2018
6,182
14,224
drowsy said:
Correct, the two POVs are mutually exclusive. They do share many scenes, but the writing is always from their respective first-person perspectives.
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Follow up question then. Is the mystery NTR able to stand on its own as a fap worthy route? Or do you think its purpose is limited to setting up for the overall experience when you eventually view the female perspective?

I find that mystery NTR by itself is usually quite lacking in the payoff department because of the obvious limitations in viewable scenes. They really have to pull out all the tricks to make it work. Pics/videos that MC doesn't recognize as the wife. Phone calls while she is getting banged. Poking head out of the curtains. All the tropes like that lol.

Also, if there are choices later on... how will the dev pull it off if the two sides are not part of the same continuity?
 
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mzer0

mzer0

Member
Nov 21, 2018
289
1,178
XerxesM_ said:
is the cg preview uploaded on patreon, different from the preview uploaded on discord?
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No

Edit: Well, the most recent one is the same. People on the 'Exclusive Peek tier' get an additional CG preview.
 
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desmosome

Conversation Conqueror
Sep 5, 2018
6,182
14,224
Azienda said:
Hey everyone,

As I’m sure most of you are aware, our latest update was leaked last month. Seeing as we are making adult content on the internet, we knew this would be an eventuality. However, one thing we were not prepared for was how devastating this would be for our bottom line. Of course we always expect new Patreon pledges to drop with time after a release, but the effect that the leak had was pronounced and undeniable. The leak dropped only 12 hours after our initial release and almost instantly our new pledges dropped to almost zero and have been significantly below average ever since. Overall growth in December and January has been very low and we are in a worse place financially than we were a month ago.

We really like it when people read our VNs. We like when people enjoy our work. We also understand that times are tough all over and not everybody can afford to support us. We get this. This is one of the main reasons we have always released all of our content for free after a certain period. It’s a thing we would love to continue doing.

However, creating Turning the Page with consistent, monthly updates is no easy task and is a full-time job for multiple people. Speaking frankly, with the money we are currently making, it is not a sustainable thing. It is simply not enough to make ends meet for all three of us. To get to this point, we have dug into our savings and cut back on some necessities in the hope that this may one day provide enough to sustain us.

Looking at the historic trends of our earnings, it does seem like we could get to the point of sustainability within the next year. However, to be frank, the margins are very tight right now and to say every little bit counts is a bit of an understatement. If our earnings growth continues to get damaged by leaks, the reality is that our financial situation may not stabilize in time and we may be forced to stop development on Turning the Page and seek other employment.

We really did not want to write this post, as we all know how things can be on the internet sometimes, however we truly find ourselves without an alternative. We are not a AAA game studio. We are a very tiny operation just trying to cover our costs of living, and we currently aren’t even successful at that. So please know that when our game gets leaked prematurely, particularly in the first week after release and especially on the first day, it has really significant material consequences on our livelihoods and endangers the development of Turning the Page altogether.

On the flip side, every dollar that does get pledged really is appreciated and helps us in real, tangible ways. As such, we want to give a special thanks to all our fans who have supported us since our return. Seeing the passion you’ve had for this project has been very heartwarming and inspiring. More than anything, we really want to do right by you and finish what we started.

Azienda
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Dang I didn't realize quite how much risk was involved in creating Azienda. It makes sense. The work rate is unrealistically fast for the amount of content and the quality every update.

When the first game dropped in a completed state, it was a surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one. It was almost unheard of in the western scene. And for a dev that truly gets NTR to grace us with that out of the blue...

Obviously, getting that game to a completed state without any patreon presence means that it came out of your own pockets. If the world always rewarded quality work, you should have recouped everything and been off to the races. Unfortunately, patreon success is really hard to predict. Some of the shittiest games manage to be a minor success while amazing devs making pocket change.

One thing is certain though. The games don't always manage speak for itself. Community engagement, different platforms, cross-promotions, and praying to the hentai gods. Every bit helps.

As for this site... it's always just gonna be a double edged sword. You do get a lot of exposure, but pirates are gonna pirate. Nothing you can really do about it.

It would be a sad day indeed if Azienda ever hangs up their hat.
 
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4.20 star(s) 60 Votes