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Franzinyte2 years ago

Apologies as well for the ramble :P I tried to be vague with the spoilers also.

Okay, if I had known what your story was about, I would've checked it sooner! The initial choice where you need to gather context is a pretty neat idea. I wanted to like the computer terminal UI, and while I understand it was due to lack of time, it quickly became annoying (especially on 2nd reading). Other than that, I think a simple loading screen when deploying/deleting would give the proper gravitas to your final decision.

The funny thing is: I actually guessed what the hidden option is without realizing what the clues were! (It couldn't be this, so what if I try this one? It was my first guess on the proper screen too—although I kinda fumbled a bit with the ask questions menu trying to figure it out.) So… that probably ruined the experience for me. I did look through the entries again because it felt like I cheated, but yeah looking back I did overthink the clues.

…Which unfortunately made the ending kinda fall flat for me. I mean, it was a hidden ending, so I guess I was expecting a twist that would reframe the whole choice, but it just made the choice easier. I also don't get why it needs to be hidden in the first place?

That said, I like the MC a lot (I also had a bit of experience with someone like them), but the sudden fast pace and focus on the virus near the end kinda took away from the story a little. I would've liked an additional entry that showed the MC's feelings and condition near the end—I was interested to know more about the MC's backstory, like their kids and earlier relationship with Fel.

I had a few more suggestions about the ending but it felt unwarranted so I took them out. Overall I liked it, but I guess I kinda ruined the experience for myself. Whoops. :3 Anyway, cheers!

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yousayrandy2 years ago(+1)

Thank you so much for playing and your honest feedback.

It was a HUGE HUGE HUGE risk doing the "hidden ending" in the way that I did. I knew there was a chance someone would stumble upon it, but to me, I found that to be a risk worth taking. If you've ever played "Her Story," there was a very similar risk that the player could figure it out within seconds, and that actually happened to me. MY experience was worse as a result, but the experience as a whole I felt had more depth, and to me, that's worth alienating a few players. That sounds harsh, but that's where I landed.

As for the CONTENT of the hidden ending, yes. That was a struggle. That was something I knew I wanted based on the theme, but getting my point across and making it land was very difficult with the time constraints. I wish I could have done it better, but I'm still of the mind that the hidden choice is meaningful to the character's arc, and "different" based on the context of where he started. I agree it could have been done better.

You need not apologize for hating the UI. As someone that was very intimately aware of what the story was, even I find it annoying to navigate. The reason I did it this way is because the engine is actually very customizable. Each one of those screens has the potential for a different sound, different text speed, different text noise, different background noise, and so on. It was so customizable, but as the story took shape, it didn't make sense to use any of those features, so it ended up being more of a hindrance making sure the stuff was identical from screen to screen. By the time everything was in place, proofreading took priority over code/UI, so the "instant text" thing had to be scrapped.

Everything you said is completely valid. The game is the game, no matter what conditions they were made in or the reasons were as to why it was made that way, and your experience is no less valid than another. If it fell flat for you, that's a fault of the game, not the player. I appreciate your honest response. Thank you so much for playing!

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