[Edited]
Edit: After stepping away from the PC for a bit, I've decided I'm just gonna take a couple days off and come back refreshed. As I said in Azra El Crackhead's reply, it's just a bit of the noise getting to me is all. Probably should've held off on posting something like this until I took a step back and thought about it. But it is what it is. Thanks for all the messages and comments.
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I really, really mean it when I say I didn't want to do this again.
I'm really enjoying making VNs, being allowed to explore my creativity. I've enjoyed making We Were Just Kids thus far. But from square one, all I've heard repeatedly is "tOo bAd iTss mULtiple pr0tAg0nist", "the story's too jumpy".
It's literally mentioned at least once or twice on each page. I don't know if it's recency bias, but I'm not seeing other VNs/projects getting pegged every other post with complaints of it. Shit, if I knew the complaining would've been as bad as NTR, I would've outright avoided it. I figured multiple protagonists would've made the story easier to tell. The supporters/Patreons of this project are honestly what's been keeping it going thus far.
For every one person that likes the VN, I'm getting 7 saying it'd be better with one protagonist. I've been trying to be patient about it, really. I really have. I don't want to ditch another project. Feels like I'm screwing people over, and I'm not into that shit.
But the reality is that it's starting to eat at me a bit. Seeing that every post or comment just takes the fun out of it for me. I kept pushing through thinking those who weren't into it would quiet down, but man. I get that some won't like it. I do. I'm not that sensitive, but just feels like every other person is poking at it at this point and its finally starting to peel away at my attitude outside of this. It's supposed to be fun, no?
Trust me, I'm hardly thin-skinned. I'm a pretty patient person, but it's just starting to feel like what's the point? Kinda feels like no matter how good this VN becomes, that "multiple protagonist" shtick is going to follow it. I'm super appreciative of the 28-ish (last I checked) people supporting this project through Patreon and SS. Wouldn't blame 'em if they dropped off after this post, though.
I'm honestly not sure where I stand at this point with We Were Just Kids. I enjoy making it, but it's just starting to feel draining at this point. I'm doing this for fun, but not having any. Like I said above, what's the point? It's not the lack of support. It's being tired of hearing the same thing over and over and over and over.
I'm not sure what's going to happen yet, nor am I sure of what I'm going to do, but I just thought I should put this out there for the sake of transparency. For the sake of those supporting. For those who enjoy what's been done so far. I'll be sure to keep you updated.
- MissFortune.
Comments (6)
I understand where you are coming from. There's plenty of people on F95 who seem to think games should include every tag they like, exclude every tag they dislike, have weekly updates, and be over 50 hours in length by version 0.3. That must be tiring as a creator. At the end of the day, yours is the only opinion that matters. Without you, there's no game. I, for one, love the complex, multi-POV narrative we've seen so far. It's pretty unique as far as I'm aware! And while even I have favourites, I think all characters are adding valuable perspectives and stories to the game. Looking forward to what comes next :)
New to your Patreon but I have been following the VN since its debut on F95. As a daily poster over there, I can tell you that it's a hot mess. There is a large mix of people. Uneducated, highly educated, native English speakers and many others who do not speak English as a primary language, legal age, and many who are barely teens. The list goes on. It can be difficult to tell sometimes who is doing the talking. The majority of the people complaining about multiple protagonists pop in, leave a one-sentence comment of ignorance, and then are gone. This doesn't mean that there is no value to the comment. Weighting comments appropriately can be a chore. But in no way should you take the negative "hate" comments as important or valuable. Your work has meaning to many people, not the least of which is you. The story will continue to have meaning as long as you believe in it. I hope that you can use F95 for what it is worth: beta testing with a large pool and a source of future support. I believe in your work and that is why I am here. I believe you will continue to see your support grow. Keep doing what you enjoy doing. The people that matter will continue to support you.
I know how you feel dude, believe me I've wanted to stop making RTP and now AE a good few times. Sad part is I like doing it , but the monetary support has become vital. Also it's about "self"... Getting support is amazing, but then you look at some other games that you know is not on same quality level as your own game and those games / stories absolutely kills it in support you wonder to yourself. I'm totally surprise your support is so low as your game definitely has the potential for more support.
A few comments: First, it's a great story, and if it's a story that you want to tell, then you should just keep telling it. Despite a few people making loud negative comments, a lot of other people think WWJK is a top tier game. Second, if you really are not enjoying telling it anymore, then you've got to do what makes you happy. Third, don't make any emotional decisions, take some time to really think about whether you're willing to abandon a project you've invested so much in. Fourth, I don't think the multiple protag tag is an auto-game killer, despite some of the comments suggesting it is. For example, MarcialART is creating a game (Innocence or Money), which I haven't played, but it has the multiple protagonist tag and 964 patrons. I have no idea how he/she has so many patrons, but just pointing out that it's not an auto-kill.
That's exactly what it was. An emotional post. Just let the noise get to me a bit. As I said in the edit above, I probably should've just slept on it before posting it. But what's been posted has been posted, I suppose. Not gonna delete it now. I'm not usually as impulsive/emotional as above post would imply. Just that the balloon sort of popped, so to speak. Will likely just not doing anything related to WWJK for a day or three and come back to it fresher. Thanks. :)
I like your VN as is! You tell an excellent story