Philosophy #39 - More Than One

Philosophy #39 - More Than One

I've mentioned before in previous philosophy posts about how I try to balance the realism in the story. I want to ground the narrative in the important parts when it comes to the characters are your relationships with them because I think that's where all of the emotion comes from. I want you to have both empathy and sympathy for the MC and the other characters in the game. I'd like to think that there are character traits, qualities, and backgrounds that you can relate to in a way that you can understand what it feels like.

Whenever I write a scene, I try to write the characters like they're real people. I give them the dialogue of things people actually say. I give them the entire range of emotions because everybody experiences things differently. I consider their backgrounds and what's happened in their life. And I make it a point to make them do or say things that I wouldn't do because I know that everybody is different. Being able to distinguish the characters in their actions, dialogue, and personalities is what makes them more than just characters but people in my eyes.

This balancing act gets tricky though when it comes to the sex. There's a lot of sex and nudity in the game. You're in relationships with multiple girls. This is not a situation that's typical or even realistic. So, when it comes to the sex, I kind of have to throw out the realism in the story out of the window entirely.

That's the tricky part for me. And perhaps I'm taking on a task that simply can't be done. But my goal is to maintain as much of realistic aspects of the game and apply it to the parts that are unrealistic. I want to try to keep them attached, even if it's just by a thread. If I can't do that, I feel like it'll be like two completely different aspects entirely. Maybe that would be a good thing but it's not my goal.

I know that in the world of visual novels, there are so many different viewpoints on this. Some players want realistic relationships full of drama and emotion. They want depth and meaning with the girl they've chosen. They want consequences for their decisions and to actually be forced to pick between one girl or the other. Having their own agency makes it more special when they go down one path and are no longer allowed to go down others.

And then there are other players who don't care about the realism in that aspect. They want every girl. And every girl is going to be just fine with the player having every other girl. Everybody gets along. There's no jealousy. There are no consequences. They can do what they want and have all of the sex they want because they refuse to choose. Just line the girls up and let's have some fun. And why not? It's just a game. In some aspects, this might even be more realistic because the nature of some people is to be in love with more than one person and they want to enjoy themselves.

Without getting too philosophical, I have considered all of the options available when the VN/dating sim genre. I've seen games where there are consequences for picking more than one girl and it all blows up in your face. I've seen games where you're only allowed to go down one path and you're locked out of others. I've seen games where you can pick and choose who you want without any regrets. And I've seen games where you're pretty much forced to go down the one path of just screwing every girl you come across.

When development was nothing more than just ideas floating in my head, I considered these two things. For years, I thought about how it's basically a binary choice. Either there are consequences and you can only have one girl, which is more realistic. Or you can have a full, giant harem which is, for most people, unrealistic.

But, as I mentioned earlier, I want to connect the real and the fiction, even if it's just by a tiny, slim, weak thread. So, what I decided was to just do as much of both as I can. You can pick just one girl and have a true, special romance without anybody else involved. Or you can pick everybody and have the time of your life because it's just a game anyway, so you might as well have fun.

This all comes with a caveat though. I've decided against negative consequences. This is kind of a blow to those of you who are loyal to one person only, since you're limiting yourself when you don't have to because there wouldn't be any punishment otherwise. Instead of negative consequences though, I've decided to reward those who are loyal, even if it's only a small reward. I feel like if you only choose one girl, it should be acknowledged at the very least.

And for those of you who want to pick everybody, you can. However, I have to maintain a string of realism. There will be no full-fledged orgies. There probably won't be any foursomes, fivesomes, or tensomes with every girl sharing you at the same time (I reiterate, 'probably'). You'll be in a meaningful, loving relationship with more than one girl. Just... separately.

This is my compromise and attempt to give everybody something that they want. (For the record, this is what I want as well. I wanted to write a story with a giant harem and a solo path all at the same time.) Perhaps I'm trying to do the impossible. Perhaps in trying to give everybody the option they want, I'll end up giving nobody an option they want. But I think that if I commit to the foundation of both the realism and fiction I've already established, in the end, you'll be happy with where you end up in the story.

Lastly, speaking on multiple partners at the same time. The main issue with this entire thing (speaking on both the realism and fiction in the story) is that it's a logistics problem. These girls have different personalities. They have different experiences with you and your relationships are all different. To have one girl suddenly become lesbian and want you join in with you feels like it's out of left field. I don't think I can finagle a way to get certain girls into bed with you at the same time without them acting out of character.

Of course, I could just throw everything out the window if that's what you all want. I know there are differing opinions on this. Let me know what you think. What combinations of girls do you want to see at the same time? What combinations do you think make sense for a threesome or more? Do you even want more than one partner at a time or do you feel it cheapens your relationship?

As usual, these posts are big walls of text and I tend to ramble. For this in particular, I rambled longer than usual because I know the sex might be the most important part of the game. I've thought about this a lot and I've considered every possible idea that popped into my head. Let me know what you think and what you'd like to see. Tell me about your ideal relationship and how things end up for you at the end of the story.

On Episode 16

Development has been steady. I'm making my way through the renders and cutting into every scene. The episode is slowly taking shape. I'm not certain what the final render count will be because there are certain scenes I'm messing around with. There are also a lot of scenes that are optional depending on who you're romancing, so that's a bigger variable than anything else. But I'm okay and I'm working on the episode like usual. The next progress update with previews probably won't be until January. Admittedly, I do have obligations outside of the game but I'm making as much time for development as I can.

That's all for this week. We're approaching the middle of the month with the holidays just around the corner. I hope you've all had a good month so far. Thanks for hanging out. I'll talk to you later. Take care.

In your main playthrough, what are your plans?