I know that was necessary for the plot and further unexpected turns, but never ever I wanted to punch anyone in the face so much as the MC at the beginning of the story lol
My villian, my dear, I love you ❤️
Many thanks for creating such an amazing character, I want to hug him and give him the whole world. Hope in the full release I can do that hehe
Other characters also are... something 🫢
This comment took me out FHJGSJGFS! As the writer, I strongly urge you to hold off on punching Sev for now XD
I got a few comments during EpyksLion's playthrough, and it hit me that 'Stupid MC Syndrome' was happening IRL. Two main critiques: 'Why didn’t Sev use a bigger weapon to kill the pixies?' Valid, but she can only conjure stuff she's familiar with, plus I wanted it tied to her medical background (instead of just saying 'Hey, she studies medicine and has trauma from her overbearing parents' LOL). I'll make that clearer in a future patch.
Another one was that she ignored the red flags and went with the pixies. First, we needed more MC-pixie interactions without our villain. Second, one pixie's power affects Sev’s behavior, but maybe that clue was too buried. I'll work on highlighting that better too.
Those were the big ones, but let me know if you think of other reasons why MC was so punchable. If it’s not a 'rewrite the whole story' thing, we can tweak it for the full release! The MC gets smarter post-route selection, but the initial naivety annoyed a lot of people, lol. Love to implement the feedback tho ^^
On a positive note, I’m thrilled you loved our villain! Seeing players enjoy his character means a lot, especially since he's been the spoiled baby in development XD Highest CG count and even an extra ending—bias, who? Please.
BTW, do you like any of the other pixie characters? I'd love to hear your thoughts on them too.
I'm glad I could make you laugh and thank you for listening to your audience!
As for the MC... probably for me the reason to feel this way about them is that their behavior was not entirely logical. I'll explain why. Of course they are scared and shocked, so their reaction to the villain is quite understandable, but at the same time they behave quite rudely towards a person who did nothing bad to them and is simply offering help. But when you listen to what the MC says, it feels like they kicking a puppy. Moreover, Sev is a doctor, so besides being wary, they should have curiosity, logic, and a desire to understand. But they don't want to listen to the villain... well, yes, Sev asks two questions, but it seems that they already set themselves against everything villain says. Why tho? Especially since Sev had "seen" the villain before and in the dream he showed nothing but warmth, sadness, and tenderness. So aren't they simply interested in understanding how their dream is connected to what's happening? Why do they see this particular person? However, they're not given much time alone, so maybe they will be able to talk more in the future.
However, when six (six!) complete strangers appear in front of the MC, they're like... yeah, this is definitely much better than the single person who hasn't shown any aggression and already promised to help get me home. Pfff. Well, I mean, even if just think about it, it’s much easier to run away from 1 person than from 6 if things get messy, no? And they all call the villain, well... a "villain" heh, but some of the "heroes" are noticeably sarcastic towards the MC! And like, I wouldn't follow a person who mocks me with words, calling me "stupid". I wouldn't follow a whole crowd of strange, unfamiliar people. Considering that the villain literally begs not to do it, I would be curious about the reason why he says that. The pixies call him a "villain", but why should I believe them? So far, he hasn't done anything bad to Sev. Or at least, like you said, make it more clear that the MC's consciousness is being manipulated. Because for now it seems that Sev is just emm extremely naive and was easily tricked by the beautiful appearance.
I understand that Sev is a separate personality, and not a "player", but it is still a game, so more choices would be nice.
You know about "choices without a choice"? It's an option in games where you give the player the illusion of choice, but it doesn't affect the game's main story line. It may affect the characters' relationships with each other or with the main character, but it will not affect the plot in any way. The most obvious example is the moment when the protagonist decides who to go with. This is the perfect moment to add the possibility of "illusion".
You give the players two options. The first is to go with pixies. Nothing changes here, but the player chooses this option themself, so they will not have the feeling that it was forced or chosen for them by someone else.
The second is to choose the villain. However! The illusion is that when the MC makes this decision, manipulative pixie will increase his magic, the villain will notice this and in order to protect, the same attack scene will happen again. Something like "thank you very much, but he already offered to help me, so... oh, weird, why I'm so dizzy right now."
In this case, MC can also stop the villain (in the same manner), because he clearly fell into a state of affect and it would be impossible to stop him with just words. In this case, you let the players choose who they want, but the plot will still force MC to intervene anyway, and the pixies took advantage of this.
In games, it is very important to give players the control, especially when making important decisions, even if it ends up being just an illusory choice^^
Well, regarding the pixies, I won't describe my feelings for each character so that it doesn't become a spoiler, but they are interesting, they clearly represent exactly what they are supposed to. I'm a fan of horror date sim VNs, so I would gladly surrender myself into the hands of dangerous crazy obsessively possessive yanderes, but in this case the villain completely captured my heart.
Oh wow, thank you for the detailed feedback, RinRan! I really appreciate you taking the time to write this constructive criticism.
We originally planned for each choice to have a score system to impact the story and unlock different routes, but due to delays and asset preparation issues, we didn't finish it in time for the jam. Illusionary choices were extra and not prioritized, but since we've passed the deadline, we can add some for player satisfaction without altering the storyline too much.
Regarding Sev, her situation is tricky because of multiple factors. Sev's naivety comes from her sheltered upbringing, causing her to reject Shyloh's warmth due to unfamiliarity and being overwhelmed. Her choice of villains is triggered by the choking scene with Helios. We can reduce red flags from the pixies and introduce a relevant story twist sooner to balance perceptions.
All in all, I'm going to try my best to address the stuff you mentioned. Some aspects are a little set in stone since changing them would mean altering someone's character or the story plot significantly, but others are easier to adjust ^^
I'm really glad to hear that you're curious about the other villains as well! I'm planning to introduce some twists to explore their backstories and what led them to become who they are. I hope you'll enjoy these additions and find them to be an engaging experience!
