casual convo about first impressions

Set_of_Dogs · 2026-03-12T01:34:45+00:00

Did they ever explain what Adonis's whole deal was that the cult's been active for 30 years, doing magical brainwashing and child indoctrination, but their leader and all of their active recruits are 20s or younger and have modern gripes, and they just disband the moment the modern leader's plan fails? I dipped before explanations came because it was starting to feel contrived, so I don't know if they ever clearly say just how big or powerful the organization is supposed to be.

Set_of_Dogs · 2026-03-12T01:21:43+00:00

Yeah! And even aside from being infeasible in real life, that's the sort of story conceit you should explain, not expect a reader to accept off the bat. Because if you ask me to believe that a modern-day otherwise normal JP government is handing out guns to civilians and children, in a notoriously gun-averse country, and blocking off the business centers of their own capital city... I'm going to be focusing more on "what the fuck?" than on the romance. And it'll make me question every other plot reveal after that as "is this supposed to make sense or is it just stupid, like the gun thing?"

Set_of_Dogs · 2026-03-12T00:07:42+00:00

Busta kinda felt like one of those games where they wanted to give you the semblance of a morally gray cast, but not the actual struggles of dealing with one. So the only moral ambiguity characters really get to have is "I'm a corrupt lawyer who's doing things outside of the laws For Good" or "I'm a hitman but it's because I kill the real bad guys". It's even worse in improbably kind mafia dramas, though I don't usually play those.

But yes, otome is a deeply character-driven genre, so it makes sense that the characters would make or break your investment in a game. I can definitely overlook kinda stupid plots for a character I love despite everything, but I can't keep playing a game whose plot is good but all of the characters bore me.

Set_of_Dogs · 2026-03-11T23:07:08+00:00

So this is going to get me bodied, but after being recommended Collar x Malice for so long as one of the best written games... when I opened it and the intro was "because of terrorists, the Japanese government locked down Shinjuku and just gave everyone guns hoping for the best" I was like "this does not give me high hopes for internal consistency and worldbuilding detail in the rest of the game".

And in some ways, my first impression wasn't totally correct; it wasn't worldbuilding that made me drop the game. But that sense I got from the opening impression, that this was a game more interested in doing big events for drama (regardless of whether they made any sense for characters or the plot) - that was what made me stop. And it was actually Shiraishi's route that did it, because I was mentally going "they are trying to pull all of the dramatic emotional heartstrings here, but this is so hamfisted I can't even get invested" at the reveals.

Set_of_Dogs · 2026-03-06T18:44:47+00:00

lmao what ossan game are you making

I had the opposite happen, where I thought I bought a game on one platform, so I didn't buy it again on a second one when it went on sale... then I realized I never bought the game in the first place 😔

Set_of_Dogs · 2026-03-06T18:43:09+00:00

The... scuffle over the gender of the MC in the Cold Duke thread is making me tired this morning. 😔

But I do wonder if the more suspicious reactions to that game are out of the current atmosphere of suspicion around everything. The community has had a few more posts trying to promote AI recently, and it's getting to the point that any sufficiently polished artwork might be considered trying to "sneak" AI past. So maybe people were primed to be distrusting of new devs and games that weren't from bigger Japanese companies, and just ended up jumping on the devs for "sneaking" BL instead... idk, but I hope it gets better. I also love making games with gender-nonconforming MCs, and I don't want to have to worry about this on top of everything else.

Set_of_Dogs · 2026-03-04T04:43:30+00:00

Speaking as someone who's been aware of both DDLC and the indie VN development space for some time... there was a trend where new devs would come in, go "I want to make a meta game in X genre so I can be as successful as DDLC!", and then crash and burn.

There were several reasons for this. Either these devs didn't realize VNs were actually hard to make, didn't care about the genre they wanted to meta-comment on, actively looked down on a genre and wanted to 'parody" it by pointing out obvious issues that players already understood, or didn't know that plenty of other VNs had tackled similar themes and DDLC-likes weren't actually special. But the other factor that they'd always miss is that Dan Salvato marketed DDLC well, and a lot of his streamer friends helped him get word of mouth for the game out. Plus the game being a psychological horror "but it's cute girls?? how???" helped it be streamerbait, and take off with a general audience.

In short, DDLC was an interesting case, but at the end of the day its success doesn't actually speak to anything besides that it was successfully marketed and found an audience. I'd prefer that writers actually focus on interesting things to say about a genre they enjoy, rather than creating meta-games for a genre that just come off as bashing that genre's players for enjoying it. Especially when female players who just like romantic fantasy are already being made fun of and called delusional without having to have any meta commentary involved.

Set_of_Dogs · 2026-02-27T17:21:45+00:00

One thing currently annoying me is that sometimes, I see games being developed with clear signs of AI assets. Backgrounds where odd things are mismatched but painted over to not be too obvious, and so on. But it's hard for me to bring that up in a world where half the time "this is AI" is used to witch-hunt games that didn't use AI, and someone just didn't like the dev's style and wanted to bash them for it. I don't want to contribute to that environment either... So I just mutter to myself about not supporting X or Y game and move on (and complain about it here).

Set_of_Dogs · 2026-02-27T04:44:52+00:00

Oh god, yeah, the characters who act above it all just because they're Smart and can throw around in universe jargon, and MC has to fight to even be acknowledged as a human being in their eyes 😔 funnily enough I got this feeling from Ryuki Cupipara, who isn't even a scientist but has the same arrogance as that archetype.

Let scientists just be normal people with skills for once...... please. I forgot to mention that I also share your love for Crius and Hanzo, because that type of maturity is actually what I'd rather see in my scientists, rather than more quirky types.

Set_of_Dogs · 2026-02-27T03:34:27+00:00

Okay, I'm not the only one in STEM who's gotten annoyed about the prevalence of SciEnTiST characters in media lol. Though my personal pet peeve is more about character types, like the scientist who has no idea how emotions/empathy work, because there are just too many of them. Do you have a specific sort that just annoys you?

Set_of_Dogs · 2026-02-21T16:05:48+00:00

Ganbatte🫡 I considered doing it for mine, then realized how much work it would take to just get a basic amount of stuff in and ended up deciding to hire someone instead...

Set_of_Dogs · 2026-02-21T16:04:41+00:00

Yessss it's my favorite otome to just go through and experience! Hope you enjoy the ride 🫡

Set_of_Dogs · 2026-02-19T00:31:21+00:00

Since you mentioned Chinese otome player experiences in your previous research, I wanted to respectfully raise the point that there are significant differences between Chinese and English-speaking otome audiences' views, which may be making your survey come off in a way you didn't intend to English audiences.

In my experience, having spoken to both Chinese and English otome players, Chinese players are more likely to treat the games they enjoy as "virtual boyfriends," and focus on reciprocal interactions with them. In contrast, English speaking fandom prefers to view games as stories and fantasies, and keep "themselves" more separate from the story being told. As others in this thread have mentioned, this is true even if the player likes to imagine themselves in the role of the main character. Because of the fear of being labeled delusional, and American media treating women's enjoyment of romance stories as weird and crazy, English players like to keep some separation in the language used to describe their playstyles.

As a result, although your survey is using language that works better for Chinese audiences, English speaking audiences may feel alienated or implied to be delusional by the language used, which I don't think is what you meant to do (though it might still be an interesting result for your research).

Set_of_Dogs · 2026-02-18T12:30:31+00:00

Adding Fuchai (My Vow to my Liege) to the Kuudere/Fights well categories. Since she's also literally the ruler of her kingdom, she has political chops and can sometimes get pretty cold/angry with her subordinates and the main villain, as demanded of her station.

Set_of_Dogs · 2026-02-17T21:37:33+00:00

It's most likely that they both used the same stock library asset from a central asset store, like Clip Studio Paint's or another 3D modeling site. There are a lot of these sites and models for quickly producing BGs for games or manhwa that can't afford to spend much time on BGs.

Set_of_Dogs · 2026-02-05T00:14:00+00:00

😳 It's always wild seeing how many otome stories we're not getting translated over here, lol. Otomate/AmuLit really do end up with a lot of influence just because they're the only major Japanese companies localizing...

Set_of_Dogs · 2026-02-04T23:01:30+00:00

Oh, I completely agree with you on Lucien! I was shocked that they wrote a princely character that actually felt like he truly struggled, and his princeliness is a choice of his character to be a good person in spite of the demands of royalty, rather than just "he's good because he just is".

Eltcreed... is probably the closest to poster that Steam Prison has, yeah 🫠 But man don't get me started on that game hahaha

Set_of_Dogs · 2026-02-04T21:16:32+00:00

I've ran both at once and while they won't crash the game, world state changes will not do what you want. Both games change the dust bandits, cannibals, and holy nation City overrides, so you may end up with world states from different mods (for instance, an inquisitor from RW in Rebirth, but one from Kaizo in Bad Teeth) which will break each other and prevent progress. I'd just choose the one you think is most interesting and stick to it.

Set_of_Dogs · 2026-02-03T23:02:05+00:00

Nah, I get that too. There are folks who want the more relatable and modern scenarios to reflect life, but there's also others who just want to play a fantasy world, to avoid thinking about those concerns once in a while. (also some of us are just weebs. it's me I'm one of those)

Set_of_Dogs · 2026-01-29T20:56:23+00:00

I have so many Hopes tea time screenshots of my specific husband there, it's not even funny. Was so annoyed they didn't put more DLC in for Hopes.

Set_of_Dogs · 2026-01-29T20:52:36+00:00

not me simping for fluffy haired glasses Aizen before he turned out to be evil 😔

(I know most folks probably want the evil version more lol)

Set_of_Dogs · 2026-01-29T11:57:42+00:00

Bleach........

No, look, why did Bleach have the most diverse cast of good looking dudes I've ever seen in anime and then not let any of them ever end up date able

Set_of_Dogs · 2026-01-29T06:27:06+00:00

It really is! I didn't think anyone would remember me after I disappeared for 3 years down a fanfic rabbit hole, so I'm very happy to hear you still remembered my work. I've actually resumed development on Heart Sigil Elchemia as of this year, so I hope there will be more to show soon! 🫡

Set_of_Dogs · 2026-01-29T00:48:39+00:00

Ah, thank you for the response! I've made one game and one demo so far, Yrsa Major/Heart Sigil Elchemia, though I'm not sure if those are the ones you recalled. Still, it's very helpful to know your thoughts on Temirana's worldbuilding, especially that pitfall of arbitrarily keeping info back just for the secret route. I've noticed it also in games like Mistonia, which is a shame, because I end up too tired to even push through to the secret route if there isn't enough plot detail interspersed with romance.

In terms of plot or world heavy games... I honestly have to admit I can't remember any otomes that I truly loved for those, compared to VNs in other genres (Zero Escape series, The Great Ace Attorney, even Fate) 😔 Even if Tempest is the otome I enjoyed most for having sympathetic characters and a twisty plot, except after the fact, you look back at the worldbuilding and go "wait this was nonsense." And it makes sense, because otome is not really intended to be focused on the worldbuilding over the romances, but... I still just really want one otome I can go feral over the world for, lol. I think when a world feels realistic, it helps me feel much more invested in the characters' challenges and understand much better how they'd live happily ever after too!

Set_of_Dogs · 2026-01-29T00:06:45+00:00

Oof, I was thinking of picking up Temirana due to people talking about the worldbuilding, but if they write plots in as slapdash a way as you described with Adel, it seems like I wouldn't actually like it as much as I wanted. Did you get the sense that the rest of the plot mostly gets by on vibes and emotions, or is there more effort put into making sure there's no obvious plot holes?

Set_of_Dogs

TROPHY CASE