#eldervinefields

[kiaradoesart]

Experiencing some artists’ block so I returned to this half-serious pet project; I was considering having a go at modding the Sims 3 horse mesh. All the tweaks are subtle (so hopefully it’ll still work with existing mods) but they still make quite a difference! Next is to re-rig and weight paint it.

[rainbowravioli]

dokurochrome

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angryfishtrap replied to your post: what…happened?...

i mean, it is a staple of visual novel type things to have at least one really bad ending. But I haven’t played it I’ll admit

eldervinefields replied to your post :what...happened? what did the team of dream daddy...

It’s a comment on the dating sim mindset maybe? Like we would probably be less likely to try it on with a married person in RL, cause we’d think about other stuff other than our own wants for them more? ? Idk

I’ll break it down on why I’m upset. Promise I’ll try to be brief. 

First, I’ve played my fair share of dating sims, I know the cliches. Just like I knew not to sleep with Robert on the first night because that’s a rookie mistake and characters who proposition you like that always lock you out of their good ending if you accept (for some reason). The other characters all have a good and bad ending. Robert’s bad ending/route is particularly awful, but he still gets a good ending. It’s not the traditional “happily ever after”, but it still feels sincere and complete and is an actual happy ending for the character. 

Thing is, this was not marketed as just a regular dating sim. This was marketed as being really fluffy, carefree and light hearted. The dev team assured everyone that they were really concerned about giving the gay community a game with good representation where everyone could get a happy ending. Hell, they are still doing it post release (x). 

Joseph being a religious gay/bi character in a failing marriage meant a lot to many people who were hoping for positive representation, to see a storyline that potentially dealt with things like heteronormativity, with helping Joseph come to terms with his sexuality while keeping his faith, with making a decision to try for a better life for himself and his family (because his marriage is toxic and hurting everyone involved).

So they create a character that resonated with a lot of people, put him front and center in a dating sim game they specifically marketed as happy and carefree, then turn around and say he’s only there to make the player feel bad. I don’t know a single person who was hoping to be Joseph’s affair. You can be his affair in one of the endings and that’s not what people want. His route is really well written and really sweet up until the ending where the devs decide to punish you for picking him and guilt trip you. 

They could have made his route be about the MC helping him realize he’s not happy, but that he could be, with no cheating involved. They could have given him an ending where Joseph realizes he has feelings for you, Joseph and Mary realize that their relationship is hurting both of them, they decide to get a divorce for the good of everyone and Joseph doesn’t even get together with the MC for the time being because he needs time to sort out his feelings. Similar to Robert’s ending. But no, instead you get “Haha you homewrecker! Think about the morality of playing dating sims you horrible person!” 

Which is another thing, this is what the devs have to say about playing dating sims in general - “Saying exactly what somebody wants to hear until they kiss you is what a sociopath does.” Why are you going to make a dating sim if you apparently don’t even like the concept or the people who play them? That just feels like a slap in the face. 

Joseph and Mary were handled terribly and Joseph’s story was a huge missed opportunity and I’m very sad and disappointed.