Again Agashi,
+ an apology for the lack of transparency
+ an official cancellation of the project
+ a beta of what's done with a digital artbook of unused and unfinished assets/plot points for the people who gave you money
-would cost you nothing. You could even go back to your Tumblr and indulge fans about the "what ifs" when it came to your characters. Or go back to doing tiny projects on your own time. Or go back into hiding again. Who cares.
The only reason why some are getting impatient is because you not only raised money for this, but are not communicative. Purposefully so, since you very recently privated your Steam. There are other games on this platform that have taken eons to finish or have gone on unannounced hiatuses, but no one cares because they're working for free and on their own time.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
ilurk
Recent community posts
There is a link on their page to a Google Docs form for anonymous feedback. Feel free to use it and seek out others for future games you play. You seem to be getting heated over people replying to you and yet continue to make your opinions open for public response.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ The irony of how sensitive you are. I imagine you wouldn't be happy if a developer were to respond to you with your attitude.
Self-criticism means nothing if you don't take steps to change. You're coddling yourself by acting like this behavior's normal.
You sure sound like one of those "brutally honest" people that pull this kind of BS more for the brutality than the honesty. And for someone so critical of others you're making a real effort to look the other way from critique towards you.
Also, "I apologize for this behavior that I will deliberately continue" is a complete non-apology. You aren't sorry.
Needlessly snarky, yes. Also,
"And HOW would she even know if Vincent is right that without her ability to amplify powers, none of them would even look at her? She doesn't know any of them and since meeting her they've all thrown themselves at her, so how can she know the dude is right?"
"Also they're so ridiculously inappropriate with her, like all of them, shamelessly so that the fact she could not suspect SOMETHING is going on, falling for it, and still tryna be like the typical, clueless, innocent anime MC who is totally oblivious to everyone's advances really just doesn't work out."
These two statements contradict each other. Is she an idiot for thinking they her or is she an idiot for believing they might not like her?
From what I played there were multiple opportunities to rebuff or criticize the guys.
With Ian specifically I remember you can be bored of his long-windedness, openly suspicious that he's doing so on purpose, or angry because you're sure he's doing it on purpose. Or civil, because maybe he's actually going somewhere with his rambling.
I also remember having the choice to not humor most of the advances because I already had a guy in mind. And apparently we'll be getting more ways to react.
I think the love trope works well due to it preventing them from swarming her like a bunch of piranhas. Because they tried exactly that. And now that she's aware just want something from her, it's no longer viable to just be the one that flatters her the most.
If it were something tangible like her "eat her heart" or "take her virginity" then I wouldn't put it past them to turn into absolute animals to be the one that gets it from her whether she consents or not.
Even if it were something intangible like "she knows where (special item) is" or "she can sense the presence of Altids" then they could easily threaten to throw her to the wolves, starve her, or harm her if she doesn't help.
Getting her to genuinely love them is the one thing they can't force, and their shortcut of tricking her into falling in love is gone now that Vincent spilled the beans.
I'd say that the "none of them would even look at her" comment sounded believable from Vincent at the time BECAUSE of how inappropriate and suspiciously forward they were all being. It's at least one of the only things she's been hearing that makes the most sense, since Ian had been making absolutely none. It can't be chalked up as a quansie thing either, since Cass wasn't acting a fool. Nor Ian or Vincent.
Ha, I went in blindly without reading the synopsis and got caught off guard by the tonal shift... oof, that was good!
I thought this would be going in the direction of a standard harem fanservice fest, but my expectations were subverted entirely. My impressions of Vincent switched too- he's a doll. <3
I will be contrarian here and say that I adore love interest options that are terrible, wicked, selfish, manipulative people (Dead Wishes, Demonheart, Boyfriend to Death, Till Death Do Us Part).
The "true love" plot device works really well because it contrasts with how underhanded and deceitful the guys come off. They can't just rip her to bits or force themselves on her to get what they want, but actually have to both help her survive and earn her genuine favor. Especially now that she sees through the BS.
Though I do hope that the MC will have the option in the full game to be just as use-y and cruel herself.
My favorites are Mark and Victor and Ian ~
Oh my god. That was so good?
Sho wasn't my initial favorite of the lineup but I love this universe too much to have waited for the other routes. And when the branch off story hit and new layers of his character started forming I wasn't ready to get as absorbed in the plot as I was. Like, wow- I'm hyped for all and every one of them releasing regardless of who they are. Your writing's ace.
Hunter's officially first place in my heart but I feel like going through the routes will be a constant line of "yep you're the new best now i love you"
To be honest I feel this project had garnered one of the most patient fan bases. Even if the developer were scared to post until recently they'd likely be met with minimal hostility. And even if that hostility came there would be others jumping to their defense as they do here in this little discussion forum.
I remember they've been online before on Lemmasoft within the past month or two. They're blatantly ignoring this project and scam or not it's really shady and disrespectful that they won't even make a one or two sentence post.
Any warnings about potential struggles with personal issues or commitment should have been put in the risk section of the KS.
I doubt they will return any money but their reputation under the name they are using (Lee Almonte/Agashi) is done for. They've ruined trust not by failing to finish the project, but due to their lack of transparency.
"Is a creator legally obligated to fulfill the promises of their project?
Yes. Kickstarter's Terms of Use require creators to fulfill all rewards of their project or refund any backer whose reward they do not or cannot fulfill. "
Most aren't legally persecuted unless it's a large heap of money and there's evidence of scamming and funds not being used for the product. If the backers take things in their own hands it'd be considered a civil case.
In most cases the creator is just outed as irresponsible and biting off more than they can chew. Those who give the occasional vague post every other century or never post at all because they don't want to admit failure are the ones seen as scummy.
Reputation takes a hit either way.
Yeah, look at the backer comments in the KS and they're completely in the dark. It's been two years since this was supposed to be finished.
Agashi likely was only online the other day because they were notified of activity in the QC lemma thread. Which surprise, surprise, was someone else wondering what the radio silence is about.
There's time to lurk but not type a sentence or two of how much script is left?
[edit] It's better to be certain you're working at a snail's pace than wonder if you've abandoned this project entirely.
Also better to not blatently ignore the people who funded your project.
IMO my sympathy's saved for the backers stuck in limbo. You have individuals that invested $300, $500, $1000 for this game that should have been done nearly 2 years ago.
The wait had been smoother when the release was shifted from Dec '17 to Mar '18. The dev had been making monthly updates with pictures of progress and utilized their Tumblr to keep fan engagement high. This is already taking forever but the constant ghosting and radio silence makes time just stop because there is nothing to anticipate. Go to the Kickstarter comments and you see backers having to pull teeth for any communication.
There are pretty much no choice-based VN type games to bide my time now since it's such a niche market and I've played them all. Especially since Telltale just shut down due to their own terrible management.
I'd like to support people like Agashi who make these games but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ you've got projects like this that are unreliable with zero transparency. They'll get my money when they release a tangible product.
