Deleted 5 years ago
Eh, I agree with your last point to a certain extent. Visual novel writers should be able to write whatever the heck they want, but not on Kickstarter dime. Though legally the project creator is only beholden to delivering the project, they are expected on a social level to deliver a project that satisfies backers. This is the implicit agreement Kickstarter donors have with project managers when they give them their money. Not doing so incurs social consequences, and depending on the context, these consequences can be justified (i.e. marketing it in Kickstarter as one thing, and delivering it as another).
As to whether RE:H was ever labelled as a romance...I'm not sure? I check otome, dating sim, and romance tags all the time here, so I'm pretty sure that's how I first came across RE:H. Looking at the tags on the product page now though, none of those are there, so...*shrugs* Maybe they changed it or I came across it some other way. If anyone else can chime in on that, I'd appreciate it.
Mmm, I think that particular kickstarter post you brought up is part of the issue here.
It’s a story about you, your power, and your role in the world. The love interests are a part of your story—you don't have to just be a part of theirs.
This bit specifically. A lot of people commenting here felt like they didn't have much power in the story, because most endings ended badly. Which....that feeling isn't technically contradicting that tag line-the story is about you and your power in the the world, but the lack of it rather. However, I feel most probably took it to mean the story was about the empowerment of being a vampire, and maybe the consequences of it. So not being able to at least help your LI or having them go off the deep end for seemingly no reason felt like whiplash.
...I had a bit more here but given that it's a psychoanalysis of the writers (aka people I can't even say I know) it feels inappropriate to say anything. The game is what it is, and I hope it finds the folks out there that'll wholly love it.