Hey illuminate001, I tried out the demo a few days ago and really enjoyed it! I sent you a message via your Tumblr page but I'm not sure if you got it, so I thought I'd ask a few questions about the game, if you don't mind. First I'll fill out your questionnaire though.
QUESTIONS:
1. Playability/Interest: How does your 1st impression of LMA (before playing demo) compare to how you felt after completing it?
As soon as I saw the game's trailer on Tumblr I was immediately intrigued. I love mysteries, and I love BL/Bara games, so this was right up my alley. I'm not huge into horror stuff, but I do enjoy thrillers like 999, VLR, DanganRonpa, etc, and to see a game in that vein with a strong gay theme was really exciting.
After playing the demo, I wanted to keep going! There were a few issues that I was curious about, hence me sending you a message on Tumblr, but I'll get to those after. Overall though, I found it to be very enjoyable.
2. Writing/Story: Enjoyed pace of dialog in relation to the story or did you find story developments happening too quickly?
The scene with everyone meeting up in the foyer was a bit drawn out I thought, but with the size of the cast, it was understandable. Alternatively, the pace of the first puzzle room was a bit jarring in contrast, though I imagine that was intentional.
3. Predictability: Where do you think this story is going?
I have a few ideas about the general direction of the game, but I think there's a lot of potential to shake things up. The conceit of being a "top", "bottom", or "versatile" introduces wrinkles that I'm sure will be exciting.
4. Playability/Interest: Does the explicit sexual content turn you off from experiencing this VN?
I'm all for the explicit sexual content. The more the merrier I'd say. Even though I'm not a horror junkie, even I know that these types of tense situations in fiction also promote more visceral acts between the participants. Adult gay sexual content in gaming is something I support 100%.
5. Predictability: Do you think the killer is blatantly obvious? Who do you think it is?
I don't think anyone can say something is blatantly obvious without knowing the whole story. Are there parts of the game that I think point towards certain people? Sure. But until it's all said and done, there's always room for surprises.
As for who I'm currently suspecting...
My top three suspects are Bart, Earl and Lars. Bart because of his contempt for the more vapid sides of the gay community, which seems to be a theme of this game. Earl for similar reasons. Lars is a bit too perfect, though I'm also secretly hoping he's still alive, as his death didn't seem totally convincing, and selfishly because I'd like to see more of him in the game.
6. Do you have a favorite guy so far and why so?
Bart, Vince and Lars are my favorite. Aesthetically because I love bara, and also because I like their personalities. Pierce and Earl are cool too.
And now I have a few comments/questions if that's alright.
First off, like a few other posters here, I was immediately struck by Adam's line about Earl near the beginning. It was very off putting, and left a bit of a sour feeling in my stomach. Then as I continued to play the game, it seemed to me that were not exactly supposed to be relating with Adam, at least not to the same degree as a standard protagonist, as he is obviously a very flawed individual. I was glad to hear you say that we're supposed to be upset by Adam's reaction toward Earl, as I think a lot of players would be immediately upset by that part of the game without any sort of context. My question regarding this is, will Adam's biases be directly addressed in the game? Of course I know you don't want to give away the plot, but I was just hoping for a bit of clarification on that.
Secondly, as for the puzzle aspects of the game, I was just wondering about the format of that portion of the game in general. Will all the puzzles be text based? Or will there be any sort of environmental interaction going forward?
And lastly, I was just wondering who all is responsible for the various aspects of the game. On your site it says Soulsoft is a one person company, so am I correct to assume all the artwork and music was also provided by you?
Thanks for reading all this. I actually have a blog on Tumblr that focuses on gay content in gaming, and I'd like to feature this game in the future there if you'd be alright with that. Cheers!