vent post abt TS fans on reddit (ch 1 spoilers mentioned)
So obviously now that chapter 1 preview is out, there’s a bit more discussion about the content within it and people’s opinions on it. It’s allowed that people can have thoughts and feelings on it - ch 1 preview is a form of media that’s meant to be engaged with.
But what really has me stewing is the fact that some people on Reddit said they were going to email the developers and express their concerns. Some of the comments on patreon had a similar feeling or were overtly this way.
If you’re a fan of the game, I’d hope you want it to come out. And let’s just look at it practically - if the developers make 2-6% progress on writing each month, voice lines are fully recorded for some routes, and art is established for later on in the story, it’s just absolutely crazy to ask for or expect major overhauls of what we’ve seen in chapter 1. Visual novels are like trees anyway - altering chapter 1 in significant ways would send cascading edits throughout their entire work thus far, even to the point of impacting later CGs and re-recording voice lines. The devs have spent months editing and writing the chapters. I can say that ofc it’s reasonable there are changes that people might prefer or wish for - I think that’s natural for any game. But just because people want a change doesn’t mean it should be made or is practical for it to be made.
Also, a common critique is about the pacing. IMO, part of why the pacing might be faster is that literally the scope of the plot is a lot larger than plenty of other otome/amare games. The devs planned to have 5 chapters for each character. Think logically about the path each character is on.
Vere is escaping the Senobium at night through shadow form (?) and has been plotting how to leave the Senobium for like 100 years. Kuras is strong enough to raze the city to the ground and like, shatter heaven. Ais is being overtaken by a god (?) who may try and seize control over the city. Mhin’s been investigating the shroud and traveling through time(?). Leander’s being himself. LIKE. The game isn’t going to be a slow burn romance where it takes a long time to hold hands because things need to get moving to reach a satisfying conclusion on these plot points in only 5 chapters. The characters need to fall in love with mc, have a personally and possibly world shattering conflict, and then resolve it. We can’t waste time blushing while peering at each other from beneath our lashes.
ALSO, 4/5, possibly 5 out of 5 characters are fairly sexual people. Ais, Leander and Vere all go without saying. But even Mhin has hooked up with Leander for example, and Kuras has dated plenty in the past. MC is absolutely thrilled to have someone they can touch without fear of irrevocably damaging them - and they can touch plenty of the LIs. if we go canonically, it doesn’t make that much sense to me for the physicality of the relationship to lag behind that much. Maybe it’s not what YOU would do, but the Touchstarved devs have a vision for the MC and the game as a whole - and importantly, many constraints that they’re working under.
I don’t think the devs are faultless or something, but it’s like. 1) be realistic about what changes can be made at this point 2) understand that we have a much more narrow view of the characters and the plot 3) the devs are working very hard to create something that both fans would enjoy and represents their artistic vision, and it doesn’t feel that appreciated to me.
Sure, there are changes that I would make if I was an editor for the game. And I think that probably the devs should announce a second delay, because following the percentage progress, I don’t think they’re on track to release this this year unless things start progressing faster.
But like emailing the devs about your issues with the game and requesting specific changes just feels so entitled to me idk. Ppl reading this might say - “it’s not entitled, I paid money so they should create the product that I want.” ok, but it’s not a personalized, made-to-order meal. If you read a book or watch a movie and don’t like it, it’s inappropriate to go to the creator and demand they make changes until you approve, even though u bought the novel or paid a ticket.
Also there’s risk inherent to backing smth on kickstarter - the game not coming out at all, totally shifting in direction, etc. paying money there literally is just like “I want these creators to be able to attempt this idea.” IMO, if someone going to be very specific and nitpicky about execution, they’re not the type of person who should be backing things in advance. If they care that specifically about the end product, they should wait for it to actually exist and make sure it meets their various standards before spending anything. Unless you’re paying for the backing tiers where you are allowed to help shape the game, your money only entitles you to receive the product that is created.
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dailybridgerton
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