what do you think of courtier route discourse?
Hi bestie welcome to Me Getting Canceled 2021
So look. The reason people like the courtiers isn't because they're interesting characters, it's because they are non characters. They are empty shells, with no backstory, motivations, or complexity to speak of. They are absolutely perfect for a small portion of fans of the game to project ideas or concepts onto. That's why some people love them. That's why they have a following. You can do anything with a blank canvas, turn it into whatever you want—that is their appeal. We get a sprite, we get a very vague sense of attitude, and that's all—Volta is cute, Vulgora is angry, Valerius is the culmination of every repressed subby bitch's dream degradation fantasy wrapped in pretty packaging. There is, fundamentally, no substance, so they can be anything the fans want them to be.
And that is why NH knows courtier routes will never be successful.
No matter how they develop the courtiers, fans would never be happy. They would always be divided and angry over whatever direction the devs took with their characters. The fandom has changed significantly from what it was during the main 3 routes into a shitstorm of "discourse" and arguing. There's nothing but arguing left because all the most talented OG creators have been bullied out of the fandom by the Fandom Elites™. The devs see this and they know this. They know all courtier routes would do is create more fuckin arguing. Likeable courtiers? They're too watered down! Extra evil details? Deliberate misrepresentation of vulnerable fans that feel represented by the courtiers! Redemption arc? Missed opportunity to explore their villainous intentions! Dark and evil plot? Missed opportunity to explore a redemption arc! Past tales about their backstories? Too unrelated to the LIs! New interactions with the LIs? Too pandering and not stand-alone enough! It would never. Fuckin. End.
Look. Courtier routes are, honestly, not a marketable concept. NH is a business. They made this game to make money. Courtier routes will not make them money, because the courtiers are not marketable. They're just not. The cost of paying a storyboard team and animators and all this other shit would not be eclipsed by the profits brought in by courtier routes, not even close to the profit margin companies care about. It's not gonna happen, and that's fine. They can't make money off of arguing. They can't sell keychains of characters whose essence is seen as ruined by half the people that would be interested in buying them in the first place.
It's never gonna happen. Nor should it. The courtiers should never get routes. All anyone would do is bitch about how the devs didn't do the most with the opportunities presented by the courtiers. Call me hateful and salty all you want, but it's the gods honest truth. Now let the bitchfest begin 👏