Well, I finally played this game for a little while, and I have mixed feelings...
The whole revenge thing really isn't working for me. What happened to Maho's crush? Where did it go? She used to really like him, but now, just because he can't remember who she is- even though it's been a long time- she wants to make him suffer. Her love must've not been very strong if it turned to hate so easily. It seems to be showing how selfish and self-centered love can be sometimes. Which, I suppose can be quite true with high school age people... ... I think I just gained a little more understanding as to why Mikey prefers games outside of the high school setting... It just seems so immature. And it makes me not like Maho. But, I'm in a bit of a dilemma... I'd like to think that if I was really nice to Maho, that she'd forgive me and stop seeking revenge (foolish idealistic me!!), but things don't seem to be going that way, and I can just imagine me falling for her, and then being dumped in the end, satisfying her childish desire for vengeance. And I really don't want that. Then again, being broken hearted at the end might not be such a bad ending, if the hero can act decently about it- or in other words, doesn't turn bitter and angry, hating Maho. But I can just imagine the main character acting just like Maho, and transforming his love into hate and anger- effectively giving myself the attributes that I hate about Maho. When true love is broken, it turns to despair and sorrow. Only shallow selfish love will turn to hatred and anger when it is broken.
So, I really don't know how I should play. But, it is giving me a lot of things to think about, which helps to make it a good game, I suppose.
I think this game is helping me realize some flaws I have in writing my own script. I think I tend to make all characters very moral, mature, and logical. But in reality, people are far from perfect. People make stupid decisions sometimes, and do stupid things. People act illogically sometimes, especially when deep emotions are involved. In my analytical mind, there needs to be a driving force, a motivation, behind every action. But in fact, things just happen haphazardly sometimes.
I think another problem I have is trying to arrive at a resolution too quickly. When I see a problem, I'd like to resolve it right away. I was watching R.O.D. yesterday, and the main characters encountered a large, very depressing problem. I kept wanting someone to say just the right thing that would solve the problem, but instead, they struggled through misery for a while, before they arrived at the perfect resolution. This had a lot stronger effect than it would have had, had the problem been solved immediately. Moral of the story: Sometimes you have to let you characters suffer for a while... I guess...
DoL was nice, but DoL didn't make me *like* (let alone love) any of the characters. I loved Mio from Private Nurse (even got her ending on my first playthrough) - that was emotional. This wasn't.