Seeing some of the rumours flying around this Infold situation genuinely makes me think that half of the fandom has not played a game before.
Like if the Chinese government has an issue with Love and Deepspace the most logical option would be just to ban it. Like every other game that governments take issue with. I don't see why they would specifically take an issue with Valko and just ban him. Like China has a history of just banning games they don't like, so I don't think they'd take a look at how well the game is doing with the public and take that into thought when dealing with it.
Also as an otome veteran I've seen a bunch of otomes deal with historical happenings and sensitive topics in different ways, whether they be executed well or not. I've never seen a character booted out of a game for controversy. And these are controversies much bigger than what Valko's had alleged against him.
Anyways for a bit more info on banned games and to give you a laugh here's a video Caddicarus made about them. It's really good.
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
â Live Streamingâ Interactive Chatâ Private Showsâ HD Qualityâ Free Actions
Free to watch ⢠No registration required ⢠HD streaming
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
â Live Streamingâ Interactive Chatâ Private Showsâ HD Qualityâ Free Actions
Free to watch ⢠No registration required ⢠HD streaming
So I'll think I'll be stepping away from LADS for good, because this will definitely impact the game and I can't really trust a company who's folded to bullies and caused people to lose jobs.
The app will sit in my phone for a bit until I work up the backbone to delete it.
Ik it's just a game but this will be hard, as I know it will be for others but I'm trying to add a silver lining. Caleb and his release got me through a really awful breakup and while he's his own thing I think my experience with him has always been tied to it but it's been a year and a half. I need to move on. And I'm taking it as a sign to move on.
I'll miss all the characters, I'll miss the community. I really don't know how this is gonna go since I'm basically going cold turkey from Caleb.
Feel free to reach out if you want someone to talk to this about cause yeah it sucks.
Finally got a chance to finish this drawing. First Euren drawing! Design rambles and alternate version below.
Obviously I had to make his braid bigger, and longer. I extend most of the guys hair a little anyway, not even on purpose, but with braids, those tiny ones just don't cut it.
I also simplified the pattern on his collar (?) because the original was complete nonsense. And I didn't know what was going on with the inner sleeve so I just made up what I thought it should be.
And I painted his nails, because why not. Originally I wanted to give him the dead coral (?) pattern from his sword, but it was hard to make out that small and I thought painting each nail a different color was more his personality. It feels childish and whimsical.
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
â Live Streamingâ Interactive Chatâ Private Showsâ HD Qualityâ Free Actions
Free to watch ⢠No registration required ⢠HD streaming
Well, this is beyond disappointing. I almost feel like I should include Valko in every fic just for justice sake but more importantly I'm not going to renew my Aurum Pass bc this has broken my trust in Infold more than anything.
I wasn't even going to main Valko or pull for him, but that doesn't matter, what matters is they've rewarded the behavior of extreme parasocialism and cost people their jobs that would have sustained them for years over this AND disappointed a huge majority of their global audience and showed that they really don't care about us, and for that they don't deserve my money anymore.
Not abandoning the game entirely just yet, but im definitely way more likely to if they do another massive blunder like this because WOW. Wow.
You know I'm upset about this when I've emailed their customer support.
Hey, if THAT side of the fandom can get them to do stuff when they're insulting them, I think I'm fine to send a polite email asking them to reconsider the cancellation.
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
â Live Streamingâ Interactive Chatâ Private Showsâ HD Qualityâ Free Actions
Free to watch ⢠No registration required ⢠HD streaming
A warning, feel free to scroll past this because it's just gonna be pure anger.
Fuck the LADS fandom
This has to be one of the most entitled fandoms I've ever been in.
And I honestly think Infold have shot themselves in the foot because now the other half the fandom is upset.
"we rushed Valko" I EXPECTED HIM A YEAR AGO! The OG release, the Sylus release and the Caleb release were all 6 months apart from each other. Honestly anybody who thinks 6 LIs is too much needs to go and pick up another game. Some of this fandom don't know how good a thing they have and desperately need their eyes opened.
I feel awful but a part of me wants to see the game shut down just so some of you would be forced to face the consequences of the parasocial relationship you've allowed yourself to submerge into.
I also really hate that Infold have caved to the aggressive side of the community, the players that have threatened, insulted and swung slurs at not only them but other players as well.
If you're happy about this cancellation go and get a life.
If you follow me, I'll probably be ignoring LADS for a while and posting more about the ikemen series. I'm definitely running back to play some more Silvio's route and I've been enjoying Sympathy Kiss as well. So if you post about otomes other than LADS (LADS content included is fine) let me know, I'd love to follow some people that post more otome stuff.
Hi friends. I was looking at the reactions to the new version update and also happened upon some infighting/discourse (even found out that people didnât know a thing about evolution, but what else is new).
A question Claire from claireindeepspace on TikTok asked in her video caused neuron activation in my brain and brought back some of the thoughts I had at the beginning of the year related to the home feature, the new feature-related IRL event, the rumor (or leak?) about additional male honorifics, a supposed additional male physical appearance, and the baby sister discourse that happened in Throne of Eros, all in a similar time frame. To me, these are all connected.
But internet, as we all know, has become a weird place and you canât even form a sentence or state an opinion before paragraphs and paragraphs of disclaimers or youâll be eaten alive. Though this time, itâs important for me to state that one thing I will NEVER do is to judge or police the way others engage with the game, or media in general. I genuinely think thereâs nothing inherently wrong with self-inserting/yumeshipping.
Still, we tend to equate critique with judgement and I think pointing out a potential threat is not the same as judging someone by saying âThis is absolutely wrong and youâre a horrible person for doing this.â Iâve actually written about this in a Boys Love manga context last year and step into any fandom or community of your choice, and youâll see the very same discourse recycled, the very same stock lines under the guise of âargumentâ being tweeted day in day out. Nothing new under the sun.
Anyways. Disclaimer over.
My first reaction to seeing the home feature was âWhy?â Of course I get why, but I did question whether it was truly necessary, and Iâm not even mentioning the device storage stuff, after experiencing the feature a bit, the locked second floor and the lack of a kitchen etc. told me that it was only going to expand. My current opinion is while I do enjoy certain interactions like the one with the birthday plushie, the garden or with certain furniture like the swing, I wouldnât be sad if it were to be discontinued tomorrowâŚ
Mayyybe except for when Sylus runs up to MC with that giant body of his because he wants to cuddle with her on the couch.
Look at this chud...
Then came the IRL event where they built a 1:1 scale of the home and attendees could interact with the cosplayers. Not everyone interacted with the cosers as MCs themselves, some simply took photos of the cosers, but mainly, it seemed like the former.
Then came the homophobic fearmongering and pseudo-feminist takes about the gender-related changes. I couldnât locate a trusted source so IDK whether that was a rumor or a leak. Then followed the confirmation from the customer service that all LIs are capital-letter heterosexual. Then I came to notice that shippy art is banned from online communities like Reddit and event contests.
Then came the baby sister discussion. I can only spare an exasperated wow.
Now Claire asks; is the AR Photo thing really the priority here? Did we really need the kitchen with so many additional features that will literally blow up our devices? I personally asked myself so many times; isnât this supposed to be a mobile game?
My two cents is, for the company, yeah. I think it is that important. And everything I mentioned here has something to do with self-inserting.
The reason why I see a potential danger to self-inserting is that, to put it humorously, no one is immune to propaganda. Consume something long and frequent enough, and lines will blur. It will gradually get harder to take a step back and detach yourself, unless you spend conscious and constant effort to remind and ground yourself. Considering weâre leading lonelier lives, working at jobs or living in places that prevent us from being a part of fulfilling communities, forming friendships and romantic partnerships (if youâre allosexual/romantic) that energy, attention, and want will be directed to something soothing, comforting, and that will genuinely give you joy without the eventual discomfort or hurt real interactions have. And companies will use that against you for profit. The more you invest, both emotionally and financially, the harder itâll get to put a distance between you and the game.
So of course the company will implement a home section where you vicariously live a domestic life with your fictional love interest or implement first-person POVs. People are already using gen-AI to make it look like theyâre with their LIs and are feeding a game that they claim to love into a machine, so why not make that available in-game? Of course theyâll spend inconceivable amount of money, PLAYERSâ MONEY mind you, to erect that huge house and hold such an event where you can fake-sleep with your main. Again, Iâm not saying these to be malicious or judgemental, but Iâve spent enough time in fandoms and rolled my eyes enough times to see where these blurred lines can take us and the irreparable damage it can do. Can, because not everyone who self-inserts are like this obviously.
When someone is so emotionally dependent and inserts themselves so deeply and seamlessly, whatever happens to MC or any changes made with regards to her feels like a slight against themselves. This is the very reason why a considerably sized group of players are not able to handle the politically incorrect themes in the game because in their heads, whatâs happening to MC, is happening to themselves. Like, I will not be sharing the tweet because one, I donât want to accidentally direct unwanted attention to them and two, that account was neither the first, nor will be the last person to say such things. But the tweet was about Valko and how creepy it would be if a man like that would appear on your balcony and acted like the way he did. I checked the comments too and the way I let out the longest sigh ever⌠Because thatâs the thing, no one is appearing at your balcony. Or if you main Caleb and find his dynamic with MC compelling, because whether you like it or not them being siblings is canon, this doesnât mean that you secretly want to smooch your brother.
N... no smooches for gege?
Thatâs one of the many reasons why fiction exists. For you to play around with these ideas from a safe distance. And i canât reiterate this enough but the motto âseeing is believingâ, as in thinking people only perceive the surface level information without any secondary associations, or assuming theyâre incapable of layered thinking and understanding metaphors, have no ability to discern whatâs ethical and whatâs not, is the cornerstone of fascist thinking. This is why âriskyâ art is always immediately banned during dictatorial regimes. Please, i kindly urge you to at least watch a video essay on fascist aesthetics and how they come about. It will make so much sense, I promise.
The same goes for changes with regards to gendered honorifics and appearances. Iâm not saying the company wants to introduce a male lead because theyâre all so queer friendly, itâs all LGBT flags left and right at the headquarters. First of all, there must be some sort of demand and moreover, Iâm sure they see an opportunity to capitalize on, especially with how popular BL and danmei are right now. More players mean more immersion, more engagement online, more money spent in-game, on merch, and on IRL events.
However, the arguments I saw against it literally made me lose the already few brain cells I have left. What do you mean LaDS is a safe space for women and introducing a male lead, which is OPTIONAL btw, is threatening that safe space? Itâs so absurd that I donât even know what to say!! As Iâve mentioned, I can only assume but, these people are probably cishet women, and an optional male lead is experienced as a threat to their identities and their connection with the love interests. Not only these arguments are deeply queerfobic, but also extremely harmful to feminist thought because these right-wing ideas are packaged as leftist/feminist rhetoric.
LaDS is a game that offers so much variety to players and everyone has their own reasons and preferences as to why they continue playing. Some primarily enjoy the romance and interactions, hence tough battles/bosses, slow pace in upgrading cards, and intimacy points are probably super frustrating for them. On the other hand, if you enjoy the battle aspect, a super easy Hunter Contest will leave you unsatisfied and as many points out, there will be no meaning left in upgrading your cards. If youâre heavily into lore, youâll be furstrated by the pacing of the release. If youâre into home design, youâre probably jumping with joy. Obviously you can be a bit of everything as well, but Iâm sure you catch my drift. Everyone will have a different opinion on these newly implemented features that will cater to certain people but not the other, so Infold needs to keep a delicate balance, in which they fail spectacularly.
Iâll soon be celebrating my first year, so you can consider me practically a new player, and Iâm -personally- someone who enjoys replaying and revisiting so I have no qualms about the current pace, I actually think itâs a bit too much for me. I main Sylus and Iâm equally frustrated about his missing cards/branches since I even skip promise cards that arenât useful to me build-wise. Btw, did we even get a free login-and-claim Sylus card? I guess Nightglow was like that? Anyways.
But at the same time, I still havenât even thoroughly played the main story yet and Iâd rather they handle the lore with care instead of rushing or explaining everything word for word like they did in Silverwing. From a lore-pacing point, and because I tend to think Iâm in it for the long haul, Iâm personally more or less alright and again, personally, enjoy a slow pace while acknowledging the imbalance between leads. I definitely hear older players and Iâm not invalidating their distate. From a farming point, however, older players, big spenders who max out their companions or build teams for multiple love interests probably breezed through battle stages. And once youâre done, thereâs no other way to pull for the new cards except for opening up your wallet.
I played Tears of Themis for almost 5 years and one of the pitfalls there was that the battle system is extremely simple so you pull the cards solely to experience the story. The levelling up, buffs etc are all so simple and straightforward that you have so much materials left unused. This is excellent for people who are in it for the stories, but not having some type of challenge makes the game dull after a while. The same goes for Nu:Carnival, I think I played that for two years, I got bored of the battles after a while and eventually dropped it.
However, what Tears of Themis got right is the pool and banner system, along with options to farm. At some point they fully separated the leads, and implemented a rule that protects older players where if you pull an SSR card you already own, regardless of its rank, your pull count doesnât reset. Older players all have those standard SSRs, and the new players likely wont, but theyâre still getting a new card of their fave. There are many aspects like this and in my 4-something eyars, I never once needed the monthly pass. The only times I bought individual packages were I had 5-6 pulls till I got the card and I had no other way to farm them. I always skip cosmetic purchases as well, so I paid veeery little money.
Weird and unnecessary tangent aside, because the gameâs immersive side is lucrative and is easier to get the players hooked on, I wonder if the trajectory is shifting towards there. Because the more someoneâs cornered the more thereâs a possibility theyâll start thinking of just paying for that promise card because otherwise they wonât have a new story to experience or a card in that color would benefit their team. Or maybe people are just going through the motions simply out of FOMO. The world operates on FOMO and the next shiny thing to steal your attention.
All this yapping just to say that itâs possible that Infold/PPG are leaning heavily into the immersive side of the game simply because they think itâs more profitable when that unilateral love and devotion a player feels is kept alive through such means.
What do you think about the new update? Let me know in the comments, and if you'd like to listen to me yap while you do other stuff, the video version is here:
This completely hits the nail on the head about how I feel about the update discourse.
Idk if it's because, while I will admit I have a parasocial relationship with Caleb, I do have boundaries I set myself with the game. I don't think I'm cheating on him if I pull for another LI or play a different otome game. He's pixels, a pre-programmed character, not a real person and he will never be able to be a fulfilling substitute for a real relationship. I know I'm not MC, while I enjoy the customisation aspect I do wish that MC had a basic identity like the MCs in other otomes so we can identify her more as a main character.
Or maybe it's also that I play other games and do things in those games or play as characters in those games that are nothing like I am IRL. Like that that's part of the fun of fiction, you can explore topics you wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole irl and do it in a safely contained environment that you can leave at any time.