VN Ren'Py Abandoned Unraveling August [v0.3.04] [AugustEsoterica]

[johnmnf692]

i wasn't aware of the drama on the "disastrous" v0.3 release was. people has expectations, yes. but i enjoyed it. i don't mind the whole blackmail topic, but i kinda agree that August can arguably handle everything better. yes, MC goes into the meeting with Akira intending to blackmail her in return, and yes he lost his upper hand. justifiable? probably. can it turn worse? more ways than not. is the MC becoming a simp? arguably. to me, it makes me wonder what his next plan is knowing that he essentially blew his chances of blackmailing Akira yet still had fun with the whole thing and i find it hilarious, particularly the lick scene. despite all the shit thrown at her, Akira's pretty cute tbh.

And him not listening to the player base, especially paying ones is something i commonly find with devs, and is very annoying. while he can retract into his mancave, it certainly does not help the game that he keeps silent with the whole thing. he can just not deal with the comments belittling him, just focus on the constructive ones, and essentially be more active in communicating. does he need to listen? probably. does he need to implement the suggestions? not necessarily. but it helps him understand his player base and what they want to see in the game. but in the end, he has full rein on the direction of his game and what he wants it to be.

i have to admit the game was great, very promising with good renders to boot. but August still needs to get his shit together. this whole shebang should be a wake-up call for him to essentially start caring more about the game and the players. shame that it got tagged as abandoned regardless of the current status. will move it to the abandoned pile for now, will probably come back for possible future updates.

Personally, I wasn't a big fan of the blackmail because it wasn't implemented in the best way initially, it made the MC look a bit dumb and weak. However, I really enjoyed the MC's ability to playfully interact with Akira, despite the fact that she blackmailed him. In my opinion, the dynamic between Akira and the MC is actually quite interesting and unique because of how lighthearted it was, even though they're somewhat adversarial as well. The hand licking scene is basically a perfect encapsulation of this. I think this works because Akira doesn't come off as a genuinely bad person or as someone who actually wants to hurt the MC. She's just willing to do what it takes to achieve her goals and she takes advantage of her leverage over the MC, but doesn't do so maliciously.

 

[Lerd0]

 

[bobdillan]

What baffles me is this:

People constantly shit on the game, but hang around. Effectively kill the game (or the devs passion for making it), then act defensively instead of just leaving, ignoring the thread and game and finding something they actually like. It's a very torturous cycle that continuously hurt the game. Maybe that's what they want? To bury it? Seems malicious to me.

It's not everyone's cup of tea, and that's fair - just move on and find something that is. It's that simple.

And I'll not defend the dev, cause I agree that the lack of communication was a definite problem. Maybe he's just not someone that has what it takes to interact with the audience directly - which is fine, several people are like that. In that case, recruiting someone to act as a form of community manager would've been very beneficial.

Now the game has gotten the abandoned tag. Is it really? Idk, but I hope not. But if it is, know that the unreasonable people constantly overreacting and shitting on the game bear the majority of the blame for it. They'll act defensively and pathetically react with angry emojis, but it is what it is.

It's just regrettable because this was so much fun, with so much potential. "This is why we can't have nice things".

Well...

Think about it.

If someone shits on something, but sticks around, what does that mean?

Spoiler: It means they care about it, and want it to not be shit.


Part of being a dev, is reading between the lines, taking the criticism out of the giving shit.

People are being emotional because they care, and they feel wronged and possibly betrayed because they got spat in the face for caring at all. (dev may not have intended that, but it's the outcome).

If you're eating a cake, and suddenly it goes from delicious to tasting like shit, would you not complain? and wish it was only delicious?
Well that's probably their experience with this game, hence their reaction.

And honestly... if you can't do that... probably shouldn't be a dev, because it only gets worse as you get more popular. Only way around it, is to release a complete game, and have a decent synopsis, it'll still happen, but there's been less time for them to get emotionally invested, since they play it across a day, and not across months or years. (not saying this dev can't btw, speaking generally here).


Just my 2 cents, disregard at your convenience.

 

[Ka1tzer]

Well...

Think about it.

If someone shits on something, but sticks around, what does that mean?

Spoiler: It means they care about it, and want it to not be shit.


Part of being a dev, is reading between the lines, taking the criticism out of the giving shit.

People are being emotional because they care, and they feel wronged and possibly betrayed because they got spat in the face for caring at all. (dev may not have intended that, but it's the outcome).

If you're eating a cake, and suddenly it goes from delicious to tasting like shit, would you not complain? and wish it was only delicious?
Well that's probably their experience with this game, hence their reaction.

And honestly... if you can't do that... probably shouldn't be a dev, because it only gets worse as you get more popular. Only way around it, is to release a complete game, and have a decent synopsis, it'll still happen, but there's been less time for them to get emotionally invested, since they play it across a day, and not across months or years. (not saying this dev can't btw, speaking generally here).


Just my 2 cents, disregard at your convenience.

Why people do it is clear as day - there's emotional investment.

But the point is, what exactly the ppl shitting on it are trying to accomplish, and how? The removal of the content they dislike and a complete rework of the narrative and characters involved? For something that has been a small inkling of what "power games" constitute?

Bit unreasonable, don't you think? Cause all kinds of power games and powerplays tend to revolve around "leverage", and it does fit the world of UA. We've all seen Akira's father interacting with the elf ambassador and seeing hints at how the negotiations work, and Akira is also a part of this world, proficient in that.

Plus, look at the logic: "people are shitting on the game because they expect the game to not be shit." What. The. Fuck.

I have not seen even 1, not a SINGLE constructive piece of criticism. Just a lot of wailing and no one offering solutions that'd actually make them happy outside of "all is shit, rework everything". They are not watching the thread and shitting on the game to "make it better", they are shitting on it because the game is not what they wanted it to be in their heads - it's just not your thing.

Many words to simply say "Oh, it could've been THIS!!". It could, but it's not. It is what it is, some people didn't like it and are now throwing tantrums.

At that point, you're asking for a new game, not this one. And at this point, you're better served searching for that new game that appeases you rather than harass the dev.

Criticism is fine and it's part of anything and everything. But if you actually want the thing you're criticizing to be better, you offer constructive criticism, not just shit on it. That doesn't help anyone or anything.

 

[bobdillan]

Why people do it is clear as day - there's emotional investment.

But the point is, what exactly the ppl shitting on it are trying to accomplish, and how? The removal of the content they dislike and a complete rework of the narrative and characters involved? For something that has been a small inkling of what "power games" constitute?

Bit unreasonable, don't you think? Cause all kinds of power games and powerplays tend to revolve around "leverage", and it does fit the world of UA. We've all seen Akira's father interacting with the elf ambassador and seeing hints at how the negotiations work, and Akira is also a part of this world, proficient in that.

Plus, look at the logic: "people are shitting on the game because they expect the game to not be shit." What. The. Fuck.

I have not seen even 1, not a SINGLE constructive piece of criticism. Just a lot of wailing and no one offering solutions that'd actually make them happy outside of "all is shit, rework everything". They are not watching the thread and shitting on the game to "make it better", they are shitting on it because the game is not what they wanted it to be in their heads - it's just not your thing.

Many words to simply say "Oh, it could've been THIS!!". It could, but it's not. It is what it is, some people didn't like it and are now throwing tantrums.

At that point, you're asking for a new game, not this one. And at this point, you're better served searching for that new game that appeases you rather than harass the dev.

Criticism is fine and it's part of anything and everything. But if you actually want the thing you're criticizing to be better, you offer constructive criticism, not just shit on it. That doesn't help anyone or anything.

People are emotional by nature, so purely constructive criticism outside of actual play testers is just not practical.

Also... yeah, if the story is legit shit, it should be fixed and changed... it happens all the time. (not saying that this one is btw, treat a lot of what I say as "generally speaking", since i have not actually played this game, but it has my interest

Nothing is perfect the first iteration, the idea that you can reiterate over what is already there to improve it, is honestly a dumb one, and just ego imho.

Being an artist/writer/dev etc. a golden rule is "Don't be afraid to kill your babies." the point being, don't treat any idea, concept, or creation like it's too good not to be destroyed for the sake of improvement, it's how you get better and have a better end product.

Spoiler: Spoiler'd to reduce clutter.

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I think that's enough wall of text for one reply.

 

[Ka1tzer]

People are emotional by nature, so purely constructive criticism outside of actual play testers is just not practical.

Also... yeah, if the story is legit shit, it should be fixed and changed... it happens all the time. (not saying that this one is btw, treat a lot of what I say as "generally speaking", since i have not actually played this game, but it has my interest

Nothing is perfect the first iteration, the idea that you can reiterate over what is already there to improve it, is honestly a dumb one, and just ego imho.

Being an artist/writer/dev etc. a golden rule is "Don't be afraid to kill your babies." the point being, don't treat any idea, concept, or creation like it's too good not to be destroyed for the sake of improvement, it's how you get better and have a better end product.

Spoiler: Spoiler'd to reduce clutter.

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

I think that's enough wall of text for one reply.

Actually agree with a lot of what you said. I'll stress my point in this way: everything about Akira (the whole blackmail thing revolves around her, and the emotionally charged posts and comments are 90% about her and the "blackmail" event) is absolutely and completely consistent - it's just not what some players like/wanted and they made an absolute giant stink over it that got blown WAY out of proportion, to the point that it pretty much killed the game - or at least the dev's passion for making it.

There's nothing inconsistent about it, it was simply a mismatch of expectations that a portion of the game's audience had. That's it.

There are other factors in regards to the situation spiraling, one of which was the dev going hermit-mode in a way that we aren't even sure if the game's still being worked on or not - we get some folks that claim to be close to the dev and regularly checking on him that he's still working on it, but it's been so long without anything official that it's not unreasonable for one to be doubtful.

Main point here being that the game isn't perfect, but is also nowhere near close to a "killing the baby" point - that's the issue that was debated back then and that recently resurfaced after the game got slapped with the "abandoned" tag: it's a nuclear reaction to something that, when considering everything in the context presented, is really not a big deal at all.

It's not surprise ntr / rape / questionable, unsavory or dodgy LI backstory, not crazy Deus Ex Machina's being pulled out of void's ass, nothing like that. It was a character presented in a context, then acting within the boundaries of expectation of said context and some people not liking it and turning it into a huge stink.

The game doesn't have a lot of content, but what's in there is pretty good. Not perfect (and I myself have criticized the game constructively in the past, and maintain what I said before) but pretty good. If you haven't played the game yet, give it a try. Better than to speculate over what's being debated in the forums.

In the end though, there's a good chance that all of us talking here is moot. If the game has indeed been abandoned, then all of this is wasted effort on everyone's part. Then again, it's been said it hasn't been, and i hope that's the case.

Regardless, if nothing else, it serves as a good case point for how things can spiral downwards even if it's extremely well received initially.

 

[Tayorica]

like i said, your opinions are valid and i won't take away your entitlement, human rights and all. but at the state that the game's currently in, the shit it receives is too much. it's turning from a discussion thread into a customer service thread. if you are shitting on the game and are still watching the thread like a hawk in hopes to better it, then do better. even if impractical, offer constructive comments and suggestions in hopes August will read it, not go on a tirade. if the chances are he won't even read it, you still lose nothing. but hey, it's better that way, right? this concerns everyone here, both players and dev. you guys probably want the best for the game, but constantly berating a currently small portion of an already small game is not helping. come on people, be better.

 

[bobdillan]

Actually agree with a lot of what you said. I'll stress my point in this way: everything about Akira (the whole blackmail thing revolves around her, and the emotionally charged posts and comments are 90% about her and the "blackmail" event) is absolutely and completely consistent - it's just not what some players like/wanted and they made an absolute giant stink over it that got blown WAY out of proportion, to the point that it pretty much killed the game - or at least the dev's passion for making it.

There's nothing inconsistent about it, it was simply a mismatch of expectations that a portion of the game's audience had. That's it.

There are other factors in regards to the situation spiraling, one of which was the dev going hermit-mode in a way that we aren't even sure if the game's still being worked on or not - we get some folks that claim to be close to the dev and regularly checking on him that he's still working on it, but it's been so long without anything official that it's not unreasonable for one to be doubtful.

Main point here being that the game isn't perfect, but is also nowhere near close to a "killing the baby" point - that's the issue that was debated back then and that recently resurfaced after the game got slapped with the "abandoned" tag: it's a nuclear reaction to something that, when considering everything in the context presented, is really not a big deal at all.

It's not surprise ntr / rape / questionable, unsavory or dodgy LI backstory, not crazy Deus Ex Machina's being pulled out of void's ass, nothing like that. It was a character presented in a context, then acting within the boundaries of expectation of said context and some people not liking it and turning it into a huge stink.

The game doesn't have a lot of content, but what's in there is pretty good. Not perfect (and I myself have criticized the game constructively in the past, and maintain what I said before) but pretty good. If you haven't played the game yet, give it a try. Better than to speculate over what's being debated in the forums.

In the end though, there's a good chance that all of us talking here is moot. If the game has indeed been abandoned, then all of this is wasted effort on everyone's part. Then again, it's been said it hasn't been, and i hope that's the case.

Regardless, if nothing else, it serves as a good case point for how things can spiral downwards even if it's extremely well received initially.

From what I read, it seemed that the larger issue was the lack of control the player had in response to that. (i.e. not being able to steamroll the bitch and put her in her place kinda thing).

Still an interesting discussion.

This comment is short because not really much to add, since what I would add would probably just be the same thing but different words/semantics.

 

[camube]

everything about Akira is absolutely and completely consistent

There's nothing inconsistent about it, it was simply a mismatch of expectations that a portion of the game's audience had. That's it.

It was a character presented in a context, then acting within the boundaries of expectation of said context

The game doesn't have a lot of content, but what's in there is pretty good.

What you wrote that i quoted here is exactly how I feel about Unraveling August. The game's writing and characterization is good in the sense that it's consistent. And there aren't that many AVN games out there with in-world consistency like this. Of the games I've played, I'd put Unraveling August to be up there. Not perfect (especially some beginning part), but it's really good.

So I wasn't really aware what was wrong with update 3.

There are other factors in regards to the situation spiraling, one of which was the dev going hermit-mode in a way that we aren't even sure if the game's still being worked on or not - we get some folks that claim to be close to the dev and regularly checking on him that he's still working on it, but it's been so long without anything official that it's not unreasonable for one to be doubtful.

On the topic of the dev is still working on this or not, i was actually a patron some months ago, and i message the dev on patreon and they replied. This is already long after Update 3 was out. So while I'm not a patron today, I was not aware at all before coming to this thread that the dev is speculated to have abandoned the game.

At the time I was a patreon, they aren't posting regularly to patreon, that is true but there are other devs out there that doesn't do post regularly on patreon either but turned out still working on their game and released an update afterward. Hopesgaming off the top of my head.

Maybe they do abandoned this, maybe they haven't, I hope they haven't. If it's made on DAZ, I would lean towards they still working on the game because the game can be listed on Steam afterward.

But since this game is Honey Select there is a chance they do abandon it because Honey Select games would rely far more on patreon because there is 0 chance it can be listed on Steam

 

[608xperience]

abandoned? well, too bad, this game could be a good replacement for eternum which people brainlessly hype about...

It's not abandoned.

 

[RexGenocide]

It's not abandoned.

proof?

 

[bobdickgus]

proof?

Possibly the games dev saying the game is not abandoned.... also the dev is not Braindrop so them saying it holds more weight.

 

[Dessolos]

I forget I think this might be one of those devs that communicates more in discord so that also could be why it's not abandoned even tho it has the tag

 

[TheMarquis]

Should I remove the project from my shortlist or is it still active?

 

[Dessolos]

Should I remove the project from my shortlist or is it still active?

up to you it just got the tag recently and I heard the dev hasn't really dropped the game apparently he is around in discord or something. I personally give games 6 months - 1 year after the tag before I give up all hope depending on the game and dev

 

[608xperience]

August was discussing the state of affairs in the staff channel on the Discord server just 12 hours ago. Current status boils down to him essentially not making as much progress as he'd like, but he's enjoying the process and carrying on.

 

[Rivin]

but he's enjoying the process and carrying on.

That's good to hear because this game is hot and I'm not too nitpicky on story

 

[Reniere]

August was discussing the state of affairs in the staff channel on the Discord server just 12 hours ago. Current status boils down to him essentially not making as much progress as he'd like, but he's enjoying the process and carrying on.

Please elaborate

"By carrying on" do you mean forgetting the remake of that update that people didnt like or continuing with the new rewrite that?

 

[Nironan]

Please elaborate

"By carrying on" do you mean forgetting the remake of that update that people didnt like or continuing with the new rewrite that?

I may have read that wrong but how about: none of these? There was already a statement about the update quite some time ago and that there wont be a redo. Someone also did make post on what August can/should an pointed out that he at least shouldnt stay silent, ignoring that too.
Sure there might be changes of heart and such. But as long as there are no indications, I wouldnt bet on it. The state of affairs seems more on the state of the next update (and may the ever ongoing topic of his silence in general). So where do you take the change of heart from?
EDIT: To be precise back then it sounded as the story was intentional meaning story depended. But there was no clear mention. I mean just saying things done in a way because it will matter latter alone isnt rly a spoiler. I guess we will just know in the end.

 

[608xperience]

Please elaborate

"By carrying on" do you mean forgetting the remake of that update that people didnt like or continuing with the new rewrite that?

There was never an update of 0.3 in the works. Whoever told you there was got that very wrong. Any "reworking" only took place with changing the 0.4 chapter because he didn't like where it was going.