Viewing post in Bitter/Sweet Blythe comments

Not a super-fan of Apartment Nr. 9. The artwork especially.
Tunnel Vision was...eh.... I seem to recall the ending wasn't very good, and I couldn't find a good ending.
I'd say I like Lovestarved, but I'm clearly mixing it up with a different game. There may be more games by the same name out there.
(Or something wrong with my memory. 50/50) Not a superfan of sci fi, but I like neon colors, so I guess I'll check it out.
And I'll check out Limbo Line. It seems a bit mild, but you can't always tell how good a game is just from the warnings.

Yes.... I liked orange Blythe's balloon game. And treat. ^_^
I was just sad you ended up, well, ending the game over it.
I see no reason you wouldn't be able to continue your date. Which are annoying endings.
(If we had seen you dragged away by police-rabbits to the eternal funhouse with padded walls, THAT would make sense it's an ending.
If done right, that would actually have been an ending that seems like a happy one, but with a twisted darkness. Which would be nice.
But the current ending for that part doesn't so much as hint at what happens, which makes it just confusing.
It's one of the dangers with using the Unreliable Narrator style; It COULD have been real with the bunny magic and all that.
We don't know if he has magic or not for real. And that's a good thing, it means you did a good job, but it also means the ending needs a bit more reality breaking through to make the end feel more...final.)
Also... even if she got locked up it doesn't mean the end of Blythe. You cannot cure someone who doesn't want to be cured. That's a psychological fact. If her fantasies are in her head (and they could be) then no amount of medication can block them out.
(Plus Blythe would help her come up with tricks to not take them.)
In many ways it could be an ambiguous ending, that was happy or sad depending on how you view it.
(Kinda like the ending in Kaori Yuki's Boys Next Door.) Which actually makes for a great ending.
And it wouldn't take all that much more writing/drawing to show that type of ending. One scene being dragged away, a second with a tea-party seen from the eyes of a mental worker, where she is happy and talking to Blythe, would say it all.
Tho the runaway option where she sinks into Blythe's fantasy world could easily be added by ending the balloon scene with a choice where Blythe tells her to run as they see some 'evil cats' (or whatever) in police uniforms, and you can choose to run or talk, or succeed or fail at a chase scene. Spawning two endings from one, making the game better with low effort.
(More endings is always good. Just look at Particles of Reality. ^_^ )

If you made it in less than one month, that IS impressive.
I take months just to write a single fanfic chapter. lol
(But that's cuz I'm lazy and playing games instead of writing. ^_^; )

I think Blue's route could be a chance for you to attract those who like the darker side of yandere more tho.
(And/or use him as a medium for the MC's self-hatred. If you can pull off a more manipulative and mentally abusive story.
If done right, that's actually quite attractive to a lot of people --especially when overlaid with the yandere possessiveness. Where he takes care of you, make you rely on him and only him, and the whole story have so many dark rabbit-holes it could go down it's insane.)

I think that if you wanted to go down that path, Blue could push the MC into becoming more of a killer, more isolate, potentially committing suicide to be with him forever, be locked up (not my personal favorite, but some love it), and a whole other slew of Dark endings.

Because Orange contrasts him so much, you'd attract twice the amount of players, but catering to both the lighter and the darker side of the yandere trope.

You do what you want of course, but I think your plan is missing out on some great opportunities with Blue.
And if you need books on manipulation and manipulative men, just ask. I study psychology so I have plenty.

I don't remember if you have a "Warnings" part on your page or not.... but it's smart to have.
If you have separate warnings for the different Blythe's that will help the reader choose better too.

And speaking of choices... what's up with the singing voice choice at the start?
I can't see any difference in which one you choose, nor any impact difference.

Mh... I can recommend you to check out Brandon McNulty on YouTube.
He should have a video about how to properly use the Chekhov's gun technique.
Which should give you the subtle but later on "Ah-hah! I should have known!" moment that you're looking for.
It's tricky to balance subtlety with the reader catching it, because readers are so different.
Some catch your hints right away even when they're subtle, and others just can't see it.
Balance is tricky.
But having a good set of 'warnings' is actually hint enough of what to expect, without actually revealing the story details.
So that can help a lot.

Is there a guide to the game on your page?
It's something most readers appreciate to have access too --especially if they want to see all the endings.
(That, and some kind of achievement tab or the likes that names which endings is unlocked and which is not.)

And feel free to ramble as much as you want. I tend to do it myself too. lol
Especially when it comes to the art of writing. I'm a writer myself, however lazy I am.
It's always fun to talk about with someone as skilled at it as you. ^_^

I really hope you plan to write more on this story once you have the time tho.
I did end up enjoying this game far more than I would have expected.

Melancholy Marionette30 days ago

Fair enough on A9! I have also avoided certain games based on artwork that turned me off, so I totally get it :3

I dunno which ending you got on Tunnel Vision cos there are a few different ones, most of which are pretty dark or gory x3 There is an endings guide for it, but if it wasn't your cup of tea anyhow, that can't be helped, haha.

I know some people seem to get a different project called Touchstarved (I think that's what it's called?) mixed up with Lovestarved x3 Just cos they both have the word ‘starved’ in the title I guess. Lovestarved is basically a Limbo Line spinoff about the world's escort service, Deadly Desires. You don't have to have played Limbo Line for Lovestarved to make sense though and vice versa cos the two stories are mostly unrelated.

With Limbo Line, I guess it depends what sorta stuff you're looking for in a game and what you would consider mild :3 I don't really know what sorta stuff you're looking for.

There are some pretty dark endings, but if a player was looking for something like dark sexual content, for example, it doesn't have that. The mature stuff in there is all non-sexual. There isn't any romance in it either, so it's not like it's a dating sim. There's a yandere in there, but a platonic yandere. (I realise there are also arguments around whether platonic yanderes are even a thing that can exist, but that's a debate I can't even be bothered to have anymore, haha).

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The problem with trying to go in too many directions with that particular ending in Bitter/Sweet though, is that you have to keep the reveal from the ‘true’ ending in mind.

For reference, I might as well be super clear and actually say it here, but I'll do so under spoilers on the off chance someone else reads this x3

Ahoy! There be SPOILERS below!!! x3

So yeah, with the ‘true’ end revealing on the title screen that Blythe is basically an antidepressant medication, it makes it a bit harder to play into certain themes too strongly. Especially when the game was supposed to be an exaggerated parallel of my own experience of being on certain kinds of antidepressants (this is something I think I mentioned in the extras section).

I did want to leave it a little open to interpretation still because I'm not a huge fan of when endings are 100% explained and told as gospel. I find it more fun when there's room to draw your own conclusions and come up with different theories. Which is a big part of why I revealed the whole 'Blythe is an antidepressant' thing as a visual element on the title screen post-'true’ end credits rather than writing it into the story x3

If MC were locked up for murder, those in charge of MC would either increase the dose of medication, which would in turn increase Blythe's influence over MC. Or they could potentially take MC off of the medication, either completely, or to trial them on a different kind of med. If the medication was changed or stopped, Blythe would technically disappear because MC only experiences Blythe as ‘real’ because it's a side effect of the Blythe antidepressant.

Basically, if we take the ‘true’ ending to actually be the truth of how Blythe exists, then Blythe only exists because MC is taking the drug named Blythe.

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Don't hate me here, but I'm gonna have to respectfully disagree that more endings = always good >.< My reasoning: I've played waaaay too many commercial Japanese VNs full of pointless bad ends at this point x3

Now, don't get me wrong, I usually LOVE bad ends! I tend to enjoy them more than good ends, haha. The problem is, a lot of VNs pack tonnes of bad ends in that are sooooo boring. They feel like a complete waste of time because often, they're not bad enough, but even more often, they just don't really do much of anything beyond be an irritating inconvenience to players trying to 100% the game or meet certain conditions to unlock hidden routes/scenarios :(

I'm all for more decent bad ends in games, gimme loads if they're epic bad ends! x3 But more doesn't always necessarily = better. Sometimes more is just a chore >.<

As a side note, I've never played Particles of Reality, and probably never will. It was on my radar at one point, but I remember when I looked it up thinking it's just not really my cup of tea, and my backlog is so huge at this point that I really needed to try and condense it somehow x3

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To be honest, most of my games were made in under 1 month xD ~~Because I'm a game jam addict T_T~~

Bitter/Sweet was made for Yandere Jam, which only lasts a month. So the content that's currently available is basically what I was able to complete within the jam's 1 month time frame :3

Some of my stuff was made even faster though, like The Hostage, which was made in under 1 week for O2A2 jam. That jam is so much fun x3 I really love how all the limitations force you to come up with something you can squeeze in to the restrictions!

Solipsism Reigns is my first (and only) game that I didn't make specifically for a jam. That took a few years from start to finish to complete >.< I was my grandma's carer when I started working on the game though, so I was only getting to spend like 1-2 hours per day on it.

But yeah, I find that writing is the most difficult part of game jams in general because if it's a 1-month jam, you really need to try and have the full story script finished within the first week of the jam if you wanna stand a chance at actually submitting a finished game by the jam deadline >.<

It's fun, buuuut it also means you're kinda forced to think fast and run with a first draft, which is pretty much always gonna mean the writing is weak in places, if not throughout :(

At least you can always update stuff when a jam is over :3 Even that comes with issues though because sometimes, voice actors are happy to play characters for game jam games, but may not want to reprise the same roles later on once the jam is done >.< That means script revisions aren't always possible without recasting. And even if recasting happens, re-cutting, editing, and implementing voice lines that you've already done once is a nightmare to have to go and do a second time cos it's so time-consuming T_T

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As for Blue's route, weeeeell, when I say it's supposed to be mainly spicy fluff, I'm still talking DARK spicy fluff :P Some of what I've written is already sort of along the lines of some of the things you've mentioned :D

What I've got so far is definitely heavy on the manipulation side of things. Somewhat on the abusive side, but in a twisted caring kinda way x3

I've had a tad too many manipulative and abusive men in my actual life, so I'm kinda always conscious of that stuff cos what's fun in fiction isn't always so fun in reality >.<

I don't tend to get triggered by anything, but there are still certain things I avoid writing in fiction because they're things I've actually been through and don't particularly want to write about them in a fantasy kinda way x3

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There is indeed a warnings section on the page, but I adore your idea of having separate warnings/triggers for each version of Blythe :3 I will absolutely make sure to do that when the time comes so that it's extra clear to players what to expect from each, and then they can avoid whatever they might not be into. As you say, it's good to help players choose better :D

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The singing voice choice at the start is literally just to choose whether you want Blythe to have a masculine voice or a feminine voice :3 Whichever you pick determines for both versions of Blythe for the rest of a playthrough.

I've tried to include masculine and feminine voice options for the love interests in as many of my games as possible just to be more inclusive :3 Sometimes the sprites will appear physically different too, but because Blythe is designed to be androgynous, the sprites look the same whichever voice players pick.

It doesn't change anything else about the story because you pick MC's name and pronouns separately. So yeah, it's just a choice for Blythe's voice.

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I do appreciate the YouTube recommendation, but I'd be lying if I said I was actually gonna look the guy up >.< I just really don't like watching stuff on YouTube. I find written articles easier to digest than people speaking. Like if I need an answer for something in the form of a tutorial or whatever, if videos are the only option available, I will just go back to trying to figure out whatever the problem was by myself x3 I dunno if it's cos of my autism or something, but I just can't seem to process information very well in audio/video form >.<

There is a guide on the game page, yeah :3 Well, a link to the guide anyways since I made it in a separate post that I linked back to the page. It's here: https://melancholy-marionette.itch.io/bittersweetblythe/devlog/496221/walkthroug...

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I don't know if I could consider myself a skilled writer, but it means a lot that you would say that :3

I always assume my writing is clumsy >.< Partly cos of always having to run with hastily typed first drafts for game jams, but mainly cos I don't have much faith in anything I do, haha. I still haven't learned how to actually grow some self-esteem x3

Doesn't help that I always feel like an impostor when it comes to everything about game dev since I'm entirely self-taught.

I didn't even really get an education as a kid cos my school couldn't be bothered to teach anything. I only passed my GCSEs by studying textbooks at home. And I never had the opportunity to go to college/university because I was trapped in an abusive relationship and confined in his house. So yeah, I guess I just always feel kinda inadequate and inferior to all the folks out there who have actually had the opportunity to study stuff and get real degrees and experience etc. x3

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I do intend to keep writing for this until I have Blue's route finished anyhow :3 I'm not entirely sure when cos my main focus is finishing Lovestarved before anything else, and then I also have another older project I wanna finish since the script was written years ago >.<

Just not sure what to prioritise after that because I want to get back to working on Darling Duality. That's a really long project though, so maybe I'd be better of finishing Blue Blythe's route before getting into that. Cos once I get working on Darling Duality again, I'll probably be on that for a couple of years or more x3

Sometimes I wish I could clone myself and make my clones work on my projects so I can have some time off to play games xD My clones would probably just wind up murdering me or something though knowing my luck!

Thanks again for all your insight :3 I'm so glad you wound up enjoying this one. Hope you have lots of fun gaming and writing in general :D

Raven25 days ago

Well, I consider a happy ending to be one where you survive and can be with the one you love.
And...y'know... ideally without being trapped in their basement or something. I like my freedom.
(I care less if anyone else survive tho. lol)

Ah. That's probably the game I'm mixing it up with!

I think I've played Limbo Line. It was interesting enough, but nothing overly special.
(Mid-range good I guess.)

If it helps, my current favorite game is The Kid at the Back.
But I also have, like, a list on my profile listing my favorite games. lol

I like dark games with dark endings, but I prefer a more Bonny & Clyde than Romeo and Juliette, if you get what I mean.
And I think the most horrible endings are the ones where you don't get to be with the one you love at all.
(Not a fan of being locked in someone's basement either. Again: Love my freedom.)

And I don't mind mature stuff. Considering one of my favorite authors is Marquis de Sade, I'd say everything that's actually legal to put in a game is pretty tame by my standards. lol

But it's not necessary for a game to be good of course.
Even if I do like NSFW stuff. Or at the very least a hint that it exist without being explicit.

Asexual people exist, but they're far from the norm.
So it seems logical than most yandere's will also have those desires.
Even if the game only hints at it.

I think a yandere could, in theory, be asexual.
But it's a pretty low odds, when you consider the percentage of asexual people in the population as a whole, and the percentage of yandere's in the population as a whole, and the odds of those two traits occur in the same person... it's a very slim chance, but it exist.

I know some people tend to think that obsession isn't love, but they clearly have never studied psychology.
(Romantic love IS obsession. I won't bore you with the details, but that's one reason why people with less to do tend to get more obsessive in love than people with a full life. Obsession grows in empty space. As long as it has a focus.)

Although I suppose I shouldn't speak too loudly on the topic, considering I'm biased.
I understand how the yandere mind works a little TOO intimately.
For all that I wouldn't quite call myself one. Probably.

Why don't you make it so that you have to play the game and get certain endings first, and allow that to unlock other endings?

It's a tricky balance in many games, but I think that because you already have chosen your love-interest, and it doesn't block the other love interest's path, only certain paths for the already chosen one, it should be fine.

And people love to find "secret endings".

If you in addition add something like in Perfect Love, where you make a list of the endings that can be found, and mark the endings found as achievements, lots of people tend to like that.

(I personally love seeing what choices of endings that exist --even just the hint of it in the name--, while other people have a 'gotta catch them all' mentality.)

It'll make the game more enjoyable in the long run, and make people want to actually buy it so they can keep replaying it.

Huh. That's an interesting reason behind it. oO
Never tried those myself, so I have no clue what it would be like.

Yeeeeeah...... I've never read the end credits to anything in my life, so I can see how I'd miss that. ^_^;

But that DOES give you something to work with for other endings tho.
As you said; they could add to it, or subtract from it.
And you control what the doctors and police might do, if they got involved.

Perhaps I should have said 'more well-written endings' is always good. lol
If you've ever played Particles of Reality, you'll see what I mean.
The game is excellent, and it has more endings than I can count. In triple-digits I think.
And those are JUST the bad ways that one game could end.
(It's kinda their gimmic to only have bad endings. Tho I have found a few I personally think is good, but extremely few.)

I do agree with you that pointless endings is, well, pointless.
They need to be well written, and make sense with the rest of the game.
But you strike me as someone who is capable of actually writing well-written endings.

I guess it depends on what you like in games...
Particles of Reality is, admittedly, filled with bad endings.
And SOME characters are really crappy.

But Sebastian is super-sweet. He bends over backwards to please the mc. (Which you can name)
He loves her so much he'd even kill his own twin brother if he thought the guy hurt you.
And he's never-ever harm you if he could help it.
He even hates the thought of locking you up. (But in some rare few ends he might, for your own good. And I agree with him it IS for your own good in those cases.)

Then you have Brandon, who's route you have to download cuz it's so abusive, incestuous, and in general shitty that they're not allowed to post it on Steam. lol

And the other guys are somewhere in between. With a secret love interest revealed after certain endings unlock him.

If you decide to play it; Unlock the "What if" section to find the two only truly good endings in the game. For Sebastian.

If you made the game in less than a month, I am seriously impressed tho.
It takes me about that long to write a single fanfic chapter. lol
(To be fair, I write 5-10k words, and procrastinate like hell. I suck at getting stuff done.)

I get the fun of writing for a competition tho.
You always get some of the most creative stuff done under restrictions.

(I took a photography class once, and since 90% of the class was girls, the theme ended up being "shoes"...much to my despair...
So I ended up with a murder mystery photo-shoot where the only link was a pair of cursed shoes. xD
I also wrote a story for a Lego competition as a kid that ended up to be a horror story, so I guess it's easy to see my interests.... lol)

Time limit constraints is always a pain tho, so I get you.
But when you go back and polish it later you can often make it a whole lot better.
Which is nice. ^_^

Ah, yeah. I know a lot of people have those trigger things...

I can't say I really understand that personally, but I have to admit that I am the kind of person who vamoshes if it gets too heavy.
(Which mostly translates into: I think my bf might actually kill me. Which has happened.
But everything up to that point, I don't really mind, sooo.... I don't claim to be normal.)

But I get that you don't want to use your own trauma for fantasy worlds.
I can imagine it's not what you want when you aim for something fun.

....I guess having the sound on would have helped... Welp. ^_^;
Good to know it has a function at least. lol

You can always try reading "Save the Cat Writes a Novel", or maybe the screenplay version is better for game creation?
It's very good at least.

And maybe Stephen King's "On Writing", but he's more geared towards professional career writing paired with tips all around than the easy-to-follow recipe in Save the Cat.

Nothing wrong with being self-taught. Many great artists are.
(Many billionaires too, for that matter. Tho they are rarely artists. lol)

I think your game has pretty good writing.
It's on the line with a dark and twisted version of a children's book.
(Perhaps not quite Roman Dirge's 'Leonore', but not too far from it.)

Oh, PLEASE go back to working on Darling Duality! ^_^
Unless I'm mixing it up with something, I love a certain blue-skinned twin.
(Or whatever you'd call it.)

But I also really want to see Blue Blythe....

If it helps, I think I dropped out of high school about 4 times. lol
Mostly because I kept changing my mind about what I wanted to educate myself to be, and my country had different schools for different work-related classes.
(And I also got put in art school because I apparently am 'creative', and my mom couldn't be bothered to actually ask if I wanted that, the first time around.)

Education isn't everything. And these days, it's not worth anything at all unless you plan for a career in a line of work that require it.
(Like psychologist or doctor or lawyer.)

Maybe 20 or 50 years ago school was important, but not today.

Artists can easily be self-educated, and the best ones often are.

Haha. Well, sadly your clones wouldn't actually be you tho.
But on the bright side you could always raise them to be super-smart by forcing them to study in exchange for your affection and manipulate them into obedient little workers from they're babies. ^_^
....not unlike raising children in general.

(Although I am not sure how smart it is to take advice from a self-proclaimed villain like me. lol)

I look forward to see the updates for your games at any rate, when they come out. ^_^