Rhyme or Reason (Romantic Comedy)

[Maegalkarven]

Oh, I definitely love it! So cool, dreamy, full of music and teen spirit game!!) And Peter is awesome, really. Thanks for such nice vn and good luck with future works!

[notimportantprs]

I played through the game a few days ago and got all endings Even though it was short, I really liked it! Your art is very unique and the character designs as well as the menus (those panels with the music notes? Awesome!) added to the slice-of-life feel of the game.

As for the characters, I liked Peter and Karen the most. Karen is just an awesome friend and Peter, well... He has his own kind of charm, lol.

At many points in the game, though, I wished you could've given the characters more of a background. There's so much that I wanted to know by the end of the game! Like, what happened between Nancy and Candles (forgot her real name hehe^^), and especially more about Rhyme's situation at home. I get that it's probably meant to add to the slice-of-life feel of the story, but there were moments when I honestly didn't know what answer to pick because I didn't know Rhyme as a protagonist well enough. Even though she seems pretty opinionated, she didn't feel like a real, fleshed-out person to me because I hardly knew anything about her.

The second thing is - I really, *really* hate Nancy. This isn't a criticism of your writing or anything - to the contrary, she's very well written for the kind of character she's supposed to be - but I just really hate people like her. So, this is just me venting here, you're free to write it off as nonsense. XD At numerous points in the game I found myself literally cringing at her treatment of Rhyme. It's great that she has such a positive mentality of "people want to help you if they can", but how about actually treating these people like decent human beings? I got so angry when she just left Rhyme behind when that guy with the electrical guitar showed up. Like, seriously? Just a moment ago she was all "Join my band, Rhyme!" and the moment a problem showed up (meaning - Rhyme not having an e-guitar), she drops her like a hot potato! Wow. And then all the other things she did, like - leaving Rhyme alone in a foreign city, calling her to help with the flyers but implying that she was her last resort, making her feel unwelcome when they were choosing songs to play at the concert, and that "lukewarm welcome" when Rhyme actually does end up joining the band. Like, wow, how about showing some gratitude??
I'm probably overreacting, but this hit pretty close to home for me. I've had a lot of experience with people like her. They don't mean to be mean, they're not bad people per se. But even if someone isn't a bad person in general, they can still be bad *for you*. And the few nice things Nancy has done just don't make up for the way she makes Rhyme feel most of the time. I've learned the hard way that people like that will screw you up over time and you either have to cut them out of your life completely, or you treat them as good acquintances and don't form an emotional bond with them. Otherwise, it's just you who will be hurt in the end.
On the one hand, I really couldn't understand why Rhyme clung to Nancy so much in the game - especially in her romantic path, it felt really forced. On the other hand, I could. Nancy is a very strong character - in that she's radiant, she has drive, she has charisma. Having such a person's attention on you can feel really, really great, and being their friend can make you feel like a stronger person yourself. Still, no matter how awesome that person seems, if they don't treat you like you deserve to be treated, then they're just not worth it. If they make you feel bad, drop them. It's that simple.

On the third, mutant hand, I'm taking a fictional character way too seriously. XD It just resonated with me very strongly, and also, it felt like Rhyme's actions were encouraging this harmful way of thinking, so I just couldn't keep quiet about it. Sorry for blabbering on and on about it, and you have my admiration if you've actually read to the end of this.

[AleYrA]

Y've got a somewhat stupid question: Is Rhyme a girl? Or a guy? Because Y think it isn't specified anywhere and while playing Y really, really thought Rhyme was a boy, Y don't know why. So Y'm curious.

Loved the game!, in any case. Congratulations Your art has music on it: it's like if you had painted sounds and created a drawn song for every character and for every place that appears in the game. Y really loved how you got to play music with colours and how you mixed music and pictures to make a game in which everything had some kind of rhyme. Y don't know: Y really felt alive while Y was playing. Maybe it was because the atmosphere was so brilliant and vibrant it almost seemed as if you could touch the characters with your fingers. Instead of colours, they looked like if they were made of something else, of another material. It's really incredible you're able to change with your art the material of a screen, you know? Because you don't draw with colours: you draw with silk, or with cotton, or with wood, or... Or with light, don't know. Y think Y'm not making any sense, sorry :'')

Anyway, please, keep the good job. Y'm looking forward to Hierfania 2, as much as Y'm waiting for any other work you've got on mind.



By the way, Peter was my favourite character. Of course ^^

[ludeshka]

(...) I really, *really* hate Nancy. This isn't a criticism of your writing or anything - to the contrary, she's very well written for the kind of character she's supposed to be - but I just really hate people like her. So, this is just me venting here, you're free to write it off as nonsense. XD At numerous points in the game I found myself literally cringing at her treatment of Rhyme (...)

You care!! I love you!!!
(Ok, no, I don't love-love you, don't run away, come back, I'm not a creeper!)
Your message made me very happy. I don't want to answer it like I know better, I want to give an alternative view of the things that happened?
Like, Nancy is not the most sensitive person ever, but Rhyme is coming from a big rejection, so it's natural for Rhyme to feel rejected, even if that's not what the other person intended. (Like, the "last resort" comment when they go put up the posters? Nancy meant for it to be "I have to do this, so why don't we do this together?" but Rhyme saw it as "So you call me because there's literally nobody else around?"
It's a case of a person being very insecure, and another being rather careless.
You might have noticed that even when they do end up together, Rhyme can't know if it will last at all. It's not supposed to be a love to last through the ages, but it's a love that will make them both happy, even after it's over. That's what I had in mind.
A memory with a sweet aftertaste.

Heh, I don't want to sound like I'm excusing myself. Just, I didn't aim for it to be dysfunctional, or hurtful. Just weird kids who like each other a lot.
I might be a writer who's not suited to write romance at all.

Y've got a somewhat stupid question: Is Rhyme a girl? Or a guy? Because Y think it isn't specified anywhere and while playing Y really, really thought Rhyme was a boy, Y don't know why. So Y'm curious.

Thank you, so so much for your nice words.

As for Rhyme's gender...I have my own opinion, of course (I mean, I wrote the game?) but I wanted to see what people thought. If you think Rhyme's a boy, then Rhyme's a boy. I don't think it hurts the story too much not to know for sure. Or at least, I hope so? ;D
Again, thank you so much for your nice words. Between yourself and notimportantprs you brightened my day.

[Aviala]

I really loved the game! Got ending 6/6. I'll definitely play the other routes later on!