Only recently heard of "Our Wonderland" about about 2 days ago, but MAN--I feel spoiled being able to binge all of Arc 1 to Arc 5 1/2 within those 2 same days. Cause, that's how f*cking engrossing the whole storyline and cast of characters is!!!
And the fact that there's newer features like a helpful CG Gallery and title-detailed save files makes me feel extra spoiled-rotten, compared to the fans who played this game since its early beginnings (lmao). 100% COMPLETION GET!!!
That said, this whole story portrays and explores upon a lot of LGBTQIA+ and mental/emotional health themes that I WISH a lot more stories did with such sensitivity and nuance. Just feels so nice to be "seen", you know? Personally, a mixture of Gidget's + Iggy's + Genzou's issues hit me really hard--but also, felt damn cathartic watching some other character articulate these similar experiences for me, on-screen.
I also enjoy the depth and details that go into characters that you seemingly dismiss as purely dislikable or treat as "purely heroic" on the surface. (In my case, I like getting my expectations subverted when getting to learn more about Orlam--who I initially wrote-off as some jerk-ass incel, but have grown to like; and Genzou, whom I still like, but still hold accountable for going overboard sometimes).
Everybody in this cast got their share of personal traits, strengths, and flaws; all of which feels real, well-developed, and not just "tacked on" to earn Social Cool points or whatever. Instead, whatever traits they possess--to me, they just feel organic, natural to the circumstances they found themselves born in and just really nails home the complexity of human beings and human relationships. (Iggy...I feel you HARD on making senses of human relationships and How to Socialize 101).
Hell, I like the fact that all of these people hold backgrounds and lifestyles that feels delightfully down-to-earth? Like, nobody here has flashy "romanticized" jobs that you'd find in some mainstream dramas--but rather, jobs and emotional preoccupations of the unglamorous day-to-day. How most humans (read: us, peasants) got to cope and live amongst the daily grind, yanno? Everybody here got their own issues, all of which are too real and relatable, esp. depending on who your parents are (ugh... Gidget and Orlam, I've seen that sort sh*t in my life and with other friends' parents. SMDH.).
These characters--despite their silly names (lmao... IGNATIUS, I'M SORRY BRO)--all feel like somebody I'd meet from just off the street, yanno?
All of the arcs tore out my heart in some way...all of the deaths were delightfully mortifying and delightfully creative...all of the wonderful irony, double-meanings, and eyebrow-raising implications (Orlam's Arc was chock full of those--ugh, his poor rabbit T_T)...all of Genzou's creativity in swears and metaphors also win a gold star in my book... and NGL, I just love the interactions (especially all of Genzou & Iggy's, but eyyyy what can I sayyyyyy~).
Don't mind me, I'll just be here in my corner, with a swooning-dopey expression like Gidget does in some of their scenes (I see what shout-out reference you did there~ lmao).
Man, I wish I can be more concise & articulate on why I love this game--rabid, almost mouth-frothing so--and what makes it's so unique and immersive for me, especially having spent so long with the characters (across multiple timelines in fact, lmao). But yeah, I'll be rocking back-and-forth happily in my chair--awaiting the Part II whenever it comes out--cause no matter the length of the wait, Our Wonderland has just that kind of storyline and cast that sticks with you. Of just being too memorable to forget.
(Definitely can see myself replaying this whole game, just to spend time revisiting/"hanging out" with the characters--almost as if they were my own friends or something, lmao.)
But anyway, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR PUTTING SO MUCH TIME, EFFORT, DETAIL, AND ATTENTION INTO THIS GAME!!!
Your effort really shows!!! Just keep doing you!!! Whatever the heck you're doing writing-wise, me likey!!! (*A*)
[P.S: And thank freaking god there's spin-off games to "Our Wonderland", such as "Our Fantastic Wonderland", cause all of these characters deserve a freakin' comfort break from their main storyline (lmao). Me too honestly...I just want them all to be happy if possible. ;____; ]
Same! I just hope they all have a happy ending at the end of the story. With no injury! Whether mental or physical... For me, I'm too upset to see Genzou dies so miserable in all four Arcs, especially the Arc 4... He only got his sight back in the wonderland, then it was taken away from him, with such violence way. Such violence.🥺
For reals -- I hope all the characters come out (relatively) unscathed and happy too. Some probably will need further therapy after this whole experience, but hopefully they'll have each other as support too. T__T
And yea, Genzou exemplifies the true Ride and Die.
NGL, I can appreciate from a writer's standpoint the amount of creativity/irony that went into some of Genzou's Death/Pain CGs (ahahaha, OF COURSE YOU WOULD REMOVE HIS EYES, ORLAM, BUT OF COURSE) but damn... I feel you, cut this poor man a break!!! ;__;
I guess it does balances out in that Genzou gets a LOT of comforting/deep interactions with Iggy (<3), if that's any good karma meant for him...lmao. (Poor guy needs it.)
HELP THIS IS SUCH A LONG COMMENT LAKDJFLAKDF I AM WEEPING AND MELTING INTO A PILE OF GOO????????? 🥺💦
Firstly just thank you so much for taking the time to write all this up??? My heart is squishing! And secondly thank you so much for playing the game to begin with!! I'm so happy that you ended up liking it so much ahhhHHHHH lkajldskfa 😭💕
LMAO IT'S TRUE THE MOST RECENT UPDATE DID BRING ABOUT SOME NICE QOL TYPE STUFF I FEEL A BIT ASHAMED WASN'T THERE EARLIER. I will probably continue to do a few other QOL things as well before it's completely done. I actually would like to finally do a bit more with the GUI for instance....... it's a bit... default in places... and now that I've learned more about how to edit and work with the GUI a lot better, I'd like to polish it up a bit lakdjfasd
"this whole story portrays and explores upon a lot of LGBTQIA+ and mental/emotional health themes that I WISH a lot more stories did with such sensitivity and nuance" --> HELP THIS IS TOO HIGH OF PRAISE LKJKAFD I am really glad you think so though. Many of the... things... that happen in the game are based wholly or in part on a lot of my own experiences and feelings and attempt to work through stuff about myself. So it really means a lot and touches me greatly to hear that others can also relate to it and feel some catharsis 😭 The more I worked on the game, the more personal it became to me, and the more each of the characters became a different sort of reflection about parts of myself (that I then proceeded to promptly twist in on itself and weep a thousand tears as it broke me into infinite tiny pieces again and again and again LOL). I always just hope people will be able to relate to at least one of the characters!! Or perhaps at least understand them I guess, even if not being able to personally relate.
"I also enjoy the depth and details that go into characters that you seemingly dismiss as purely dislikable or treat as "purely heroic" on the surface." --> I REALLY WANTED TO GO HARD INTO THIS SO THANK YOU??? Like. I wanted to (and hoped I'd be able to) create characters that felt very human and gray because all humans are complicated and gray and there's literally no one out there that will ever be perfect or never do anything bad or never make you want to rip your hair out of your head sometimes kdjfadsaf
"Orlam--who I initially wrote-off as some jerk-ass incel" --> I AM SOBBING??????
"(Iggy...I feel you HARD on making senses of human relationships and How to Socialize 101)" --> It is truly an impenetrable enigma sometimes... 💦
"These characters--despite their silly names (lmao... IGNATIUS, I'M SORRY BRO)" --> I JUST CHOKED.
"--all feel like somebody I'd meet from just off the street, yanno? " --> And them immediately teared up because this is very sweet HELPPP.
"all of the wonderful irony, double-meanings" --> I REALLY HOPE PEOPLE ARE ABLE TO GET SOME OF THE VARIOUS THINGS I WAS TRYING TO DO WITH... WITH STUFF........ I NEVER KNOW. (also other stuff that I had zero idea I was even doing apparently and people pointed out to me later...........)
"all of Genzou's creativity in swears and metaphors also win a gold star in my book" --> THIS PLEASES ME.
" mouth-frothing" --> MOUTH-FROTHING 😭
"(Definitely can see myself replaying this whole game, just to spend time revisiting/"hanging out" with the characters--almost as if they were my own friends or something, lmao.) " --> My heart just imploded??? I have no words....... 🥺💕
"I just want them all to be happy if possible. ;____; " --> GOD me too....
GUHHHH I'M A WIBBLING MESS.
This was absolutely too much and too sweet and too stabbing directly into my heart lakdjfas I'm really so so overjoyed that you like the chars and their stories so much. I-I WILL KEEP WORKING HARD 😭I really want the finale to be work it for everyone and to live up to everything that's come before it, so I feel like I'm putting double the effort into making everything as good as I possibly can for the last bits... BUT ALSO I'M VERY NERVOUS AND ANXIOUS ABOUT IT AND JUST HOPE PEOPLE WILL LIKE THE CONCLUSION.
Thank you again for this wonderful little message that just really brightened my day and brought (plentiful) tears to my eyes!! 🥰
Yay, I'm glad my comment was uplifting to you (text-dump wall that it was). Thank you for liking my ESSAY of a comment, lmaoooo~
I know you're working hard on the game, but I also just hope you're having fun with your characters as well!!! From what I've played, it sure feels like you're allowing yourself to have fun (SUPER IMPORTANT TO KEEP SIGHT OF!!!)--and that same passion/devotion shines through in the gameplay. Players easily catch onto that; it's just infectious passion, yanno?
And yeah, I can see how creators understandably feel nervous on how their audiences might perceive the ending(s) of their story. That extra mental energy is definite gasoline for the creativity tank, ya?
This is just my two cents SO TAKE IT WITH A GRAIN OF SALT, but since you're the one who knows your characters best, I'm sure you'll discover the conclusions for each character that feels the most "truest"/"right" for their personal journey.
If you just continue on with your knack for good & consistent characterization, the majority of readers will come out ultimately satisfied.
Sometimes worrying about people's negative feelings about an ending is besides the point, anyway; especially if a character's series of (ahem, BAD) choices & cause-effect development logically foreshadows/lead them up to their tragic ending (eg. famous Greek/Shakspearian plays like "Oedipus Rex" and "Hamlet").
While I know there's RL people's feelings about the ending to consider, focusing more on the characters' feelings on how far they come + where they end up is the higher priority, IMO.
Given what I played from your games thus far, you've given me a lot of material to where I can say that, I trust you as a storyteller. I trust that you care enough about each of these characters' unique journeys and honoring who they were, who they are, and who they may become. Unlike some TV shows, where they pull a total ass-pull of an ending just to "shock" against audience's predictions, despite zero prior characterization or plot-foreshadow leading up to it. 🙄
To me, you possess good balance between knowing when to keep consistent characterization VS. show psychological/circumstantial nuances that go against a character's usual behavior patterns. The fact that you drew parts of it from your own personal experience, just shows your alchemic ability to transmute your raw unique experience into material that illuminates the humanity within all of us.
It's definitely vulnerable and difficult to find ways to organize all of those rampant emotions & thoughts into something as concrete as a game, but hell--you managed to!! And you even invited others (us, players) along for the fun, wild brain ride!!! Thanks for giving players like me, such a rewarding emotional experience (and lovely memories) revolving around such an awesome cast of characters.
"I also just hope you're having fun with your characters as well!!!" --> I definitely am!! Tbh the chars are the major reason why I'm still chugging away after all this time and why I'm still so motivated to keep working each and every day on it lakdjfasd I normally am not super great at actually finishing larger projects that I start out to but the chars and this story overtook me to the point where it's been the largest part of my life for the last...... gosh almost two years now 💦
"I trust you as a storyteller." --> THANK YOU????? That honestly means a lot and gives me a lot of confidence lakdjfas This story has already grown so much larger than I ever expected it to when I first started out, and the characters, too. I know where I'm headed with them in my head for the finale -- I just hope I can actually make it work when it comes to writing and directing it LOL And I want players who've been along for the ride to feel like the ending is deserved ig 💦
"The fact that you drew parts of it from your own personal experience, just shows your alchemic ability to transmute your raw unique experience into material that illuminates the humanity within all of us." --> THIS IS TOO MUCH?????? YOU ARE FLAYING ME WITH YOUR WORDS LKASJDFLASKDF
"Thanks for giving players like me, such a rewarding emotional experience (and lovely memories) revolving around such an awesome cast of characters. " --> YOU ARE SO WELCOME. It fills me with joy every day to be able to share something that's so meaningful to me and have people enjoy it so much (despite also making me feel a bit embarrassed LOL).
Thank you so much for all your words of encouragement!! I've been pretty up and down lately due to general mental health stuff so honestly this means so much and is really giving me a lot of joy and feels right now. Thank you for taking the time to leave such a wonderful and sweet comment!! 😭💕