Post by AliceRiddle in Recent update

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Hello! I hope this is a good place to type in my thoughts about the recent update, because I've just finished playing it and I am full of feels and don't know what to do with them 😭 so, Imma just pour them here, if you do not mind me hijacking the thread, hahaha.

First off, I just wanted to say that I was so happy when I received the notification of an update for this game. I terribly missed the story, missed the characters, and I missed seeing the devs ❤️ glad to see it back on my itchio feed page!

Secondly, I have to say, this update was a lot more emotionally overwhelming than I anticipated it to be, lol. And I can assure you, I mean it in the best way possible :). I am a fan of the emotional damage well written angst can bring. The update went above and beyond my expectations. My heart honestly aches for Nor and Esha for what they have been through; and considering their predicament of the time, ( forced to experience the death of a parent at young ages, forced to abandon everything they knew to fend for themselves in foreign lands, then being bombarded by all the negative cultural expectations, experiencing racism while also experiencing the peer pressure to submit to a foreign culture's gender stereotypes while simultaneously being judged as peculiar/weird if they didn't;;; these are all very real problems we still have to face in our world, and I'm so glad that they are addressed in an omegaverse universe. I've long since waited for a serious take on this than just a stoy filled with senseless and dubious smut). Taking all that into consideration, I personally did not find it that much of a surprise that the twins' relationships developed the way it did. I do, however, appreciate that the narrative treated as a serious and devastating subject rather than as something that's just "hot". So yeah, my hat off to you, devs, for portraying it in a tastefully tragic way, both in writing and in the art.

Thirdly, I have to admit, I am not the biggest fan of poly relationships ( not because I dislike them, but more like I've yet to come across one that's depicted in a good/interesting enough way for me to bother ), but I do share unknownpersonirl's thoughts about it possibly becoming a thing in Nor's route. From how I see things, such a relationship dynamic between the trio could potentially solve a lot of the internal issues the twins had/still have. Plus, I definitely want to see more of Aura interacting with Esha 😭 I do not want for Esha to feel left apart or be jealous of Aura. As a reader I care for him too ( like seriously, he sure made an impression on me when he single-handedly confronted Oscar and his bs. I was left in awe, just staring at the screen in admiration!)

So in conclusion, I feel they ( Esha and Aura) could reach a mutual understanding, and see each other as companions, and maybe romantic love could flourish from it. This way, Nor can take care of both of them, without provoking guilt or jealousy if Esha also grows fond of Aura. 😢 Devs, please do not break my heart with the future update...😭

Ps. I also wanted to add how cute and healthy the interactions between the two professors are. Just when I thought I couldn't respect Prof. Di Chiaro more :) . So glad to see adults behaving like decent human beings and not like wolves in sheep's clothing.

Aedian Glair2 years ago(+1)

Hiii! This is Aedian. Since your reply was posted in a topic that wasn't created by us, itch didn't show us a notification of it T_T;; That's why my reply is so late, we've only seen it now! Sorry for that.

First of all, thank you SO much for the awesome, long comment. It makes us beyond happy to read such in-depth thoughts because we really do try to convey/portray specific issues and emotions in this game, and to see that it's all understood means that we're succeeding. I know exactly what you mean about Nor and Esha. It was my goal to do their complicated relationship justice instead of presenting them as a token fetish incest couple. I'm trying to understand every character and treat them like human beings, so they have their unique emotions, reactions and goals, to the point that sometimes it feels like the story is writing itself, not the other way around :)

You've described Nor and Esha's story and journey beautifully and spot-on. I'm saving your comment somewhere to never lose it! <3

I also agree about poly relationships. I've never been a fan, and since both me and Glair are very romantic people, we believe in forming a pair for life and being beautiful together forever like swans ;D But, in this case, there might be an exception - but only because of the dynamics that Nor, Esha and Aura are working towards. In their case, it might work. Who knows?:)

I love the professors as well! I've actually had a lot planned for the two of them, but since this game is growing out of proportion and we're in deep trouble financially because of it (we really had no idea when we started that it's a lot for two people to make a HUGE game from start to finish and make a living out of it, haha), I think I might need to keep it shorter than I wanted :< It's a little frustrating, because there's just so many ideas and concepts in my head. This way or another, I'll try my best with what we have, as always:)

Thank you so, so much again! Much love, your comment was beyond lovely.

AliceRiddle2 years ago(+1)

Oh no, it's me who should apologize! I've been on itchio for years and wasn't aware that devs aren't notified unless it's for a direct thread made by them. I'll make sure that my next post will be in the Game Discussion thread 😉

I'm always happy to praise good storytelling that manages to evoke an/multiple emotion(s) from me! The decision to show Nor and Esha's story from Nor's perspective was so worth it, despite how much more effort you had to put into it ( for the extra art sprites, cgs , backgrounds, music and coding everything). But I think it paid off extremely well; it felt more intimate to witness their story from one of their perspectives, and the culmination packed quite the emotional punch, not only for Aura but also for the reader. Again, great characters, great writing :).

Ah, my fellow romantics❤️. Just to be clear, I'll accept any ending where the trio ends up happy, even if it's not in a romantic poly. The only requirement, that I have, is that the chars achieve the happiness and stability/safety they deserve. (😭And they deserve lots of it)

I don't envy the work you devs put into a project this ambitious; cuts and edits are inevitably going to occur during the development process. The two professors' story is already hinted at in the story, even if the full development will occur off screen to us; the foundation has already been laid, the ship has already sailed ;> so don't worry about the prospect of "shortening it", when we get glimpses of the development.
Perhaps, later on, you can release a booklet ( with writing and art) that expands/fills in the details of their story as paid dlc content? I've seen other devs do it, thought I would offer it as a suggestion here :)

Cheers, darlings ✨🤗
Thank you for engaging with your fans like this!

Aedian Glair2 years ago(+1)

Glair here, thank you for your kind praise :) The story is far from over so we're hoping to deliver a lot more of these emotion packed 'punches' ;) We're truly elated that our approach to writing and character depth is met with such a warm welcome.

I'm sure there's going to be an ending that will grant your wish :) We're not putting Aura through all these trials to keep him in despair forever, but getting the best ending isn't going to be too easy for him either 😈

It's a lot of work for sure. By the time we complete Mannequin Academy we'll probably feel quite happy to change the setting for a bit, although your suggestion with DLC is a good one and we'll definitely consider if expanding the story should be handled with a sequel or a DLC package.

There's an even bigger update in the works and June is going to be a happy month for Mannequin Academy ;)

Thanks again for chatting with us. Honestly, getting excited discussing our games is what keeps us extra motivated and passionate about this undertaking and your comment adds a lot to that!

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