CheeryMoya wrote:Oh my god. How could I describe this? It's angst, hopelessness, despair, and resignation all in one package.
I don't know where to begin but it didn't take long for me to get hooked. If I didn't have any interruptions then I would have finished this in one sitting, easily. Evan is a character brimming with personality and it's one that is full of bitter cynicism. I really shouldn't even like the guy but a lot of what he thought made so much sense to me. I found the unique back and forth between his fantasies and realities to be the best thing about the story.
If you weren't reading carefully, you would've thought that Evan was once a great person with a great life who had a great future to look forward to. The part when the "doctor" drops the facts on him was really strong and I could feel myself dropping into despair. And I loved it. The other characters aren't doing much better either and they're about as pathetic as him. It was really interesting to see Evan reflect on everything.
Thank you so much! I'm especially glad that the
"doctor"
transition had that effect... It's definitely exactly what I was going for.
CheeryMoya wrote:
Every little object made him think about something and his commentary was humorous. Honestly, the screenshots you posted don't do the dark humor justice.
Thanks! I realize that the screenshots really don't help, and to be honest I'm having a really hard time knowing exactly what I can do to communicate that it really is a powerful experience. I appreciate that it doesn't look like much at all, and I feel like right now there maybe isn't any way to express what it's about without trying it... I think that's a huge reason that I really do need original art, and some powerful CGs especially that will be as valuable marketing-wise as they are within the context of the actual game.
CheeryMoya wrote:
How I feel about it is pretty complicated because Evan finally achieved peace, but he was on the rooftop and ready to go.
Tweaking the writing there was agonizing, because I definitely wanted to walk that line. It's a relief to know that I did.
CheeryMoya wrote:
And I forget if there was another instance where it popped up, but the phrase "actual sunlight" was only mentioned in reference to someone else. I think the title is referring to how Evan needs to get out of his dark little corner of his mind and live a little, but thinking about it now I'm not sure. Am I thinking in the right direction?
I could say a lot about why I chose this title, but I think the best way to sum it up would be to say that it is meant to be an expression that relates to the pursuit of illusion at the expense of reality. As for why Evan mentions it in reference to someone else instead of himself is, I think, just another way of indicating the blind spots in his self-consciousness.
CheeryMoya wrote:
From a programming standpoint, it wouldn't be easy for you to switch from RPG Maker to something else because that'd mean changing a lot. Plus the limited space adds to hopelessness (did I say that already?). One thing that I found inconvenient though was the lack of rollback and the amount of clicking I had to do all the time. Rollback because I missed some lines my first time around and clicking because you held back the text a lot. It's good for emphasis but you used it in pretty much all the little bits. Is it also possible to have an options menu? I forgot what keys to press in order to enter full screen mode so I had to deal with that D:
I would
love to have a rollback feature... I looked into it when I started and wasn't able to work it out, but I'm a little more adept now as a scripter and I want to revisit it. If it can get done, I'll get it done.
The control reminder in the menu is also a great idea... I think I could just put in a menu item called "Help" that will refresh you on the controls.
Though in the last part of the game, of course, if you click on "Help" it
will not give you any.
CheeryMoya wrote:
You also wanted a response from a female player, and I have to say that Evan did objectify women a little. He wants love and he was involved with someone from work though, but he did feel a bit of guilt. There weren't too many female characters in this story and the focus wasn't on existing interpersonal relationships, only ones he wished he had. Evan doesn't think highly of women but the way you portrayed the ones that did appear wasn't negative. Ugh, words are escaping me right now :C
No, that's great... I want as many people as possible to enjoy the game and be able to identify with Evan without being turned off, but on the other hand I didn't want to sacrifice the integrity of his character to make that possible. As writers, I think we all feel a temptation to do that...
CheeryMoya wrote:
I dunno whether I should comment on the art or music since they are placeholders. I hope your IndieGoGo gets funded and/or this satiates your craving for feedback. If not, I'll try to squeeze out more things I noticed :c I feel like I didn't say enough but typing this is taking longer than it took me to play omg
I'd love to hear anything else you have to say, but I realize that it's not the sort of thing you necessarily play over and over again... Might be interesting a second time at some point in the future, though, knowing everything about it that you now know.
Thank you so much! I hope what you've said will encourage others to check it out as well.
