Sucks I can’t roleplay myself because of the gender lock
But luckily I’m a versatile roleplayer
Pulls out my “that time my roleplay group had us all genderswap” goggles
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Ok THIS was amazing. Like I honestly loved it lol.
I got to be the evil woman I always knew I could be. Thank you.
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This post completely made my day. Thank you for reading!
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“would you like to throw this other human under the bus”
Uhaha, don’t mind if I do 
But really you’re a great writer. Now I’mma have to check out your book.
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A really good story with lots of branching ends. you did great.
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This game isn’t meant to be a romance? But I got such a sweet ending with Richard >< <3
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You are much too kind! If you want to check out the novel, btw, there’s a link to download it for free at the top of the thread.
Thank you so much for checking it out!
Lol I assume you’re referring to the one where he thinks about killing you the whole time? 
Yeah, depending on your relationship stats with Rich, I admit that ending pushes it a little. 
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Nahnahnah Thursday I’mma buy it. I do not feel comfortable at all reading it for free unless it was a small “first couple chapters”.
My mom’s trying to be a writer so I know the effort y’all put into it lol.
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UUUUGH HOW IS EVERYONE HERE SO GREAT?!?!? Thank you 
That is awesome! I wish her the very best in her endeavors 
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Do I even want to know?
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It’s exactly what it sounds like, Charles (more known as lettuce boi) loves lettuce for some unknown reasons
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GOD did you have to use such an evocative picture
why is that literally Charles
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I may have to switch the cover art…
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I’m just like waiting patiently for an update… -continuous internal screaming intensifies- But I love this though IT’S JUST SO AMAZING AND IT’S SO FREAKING HARD TO WAIT PATIENTLY FOR CH 11
My favorite ending so far is the one where you get turned into a vampire and kill your boyfriend because I’m just evil that way, but I really want to see the BFF’s and Certifiable Badass endings, and then the fifth (and seventh? Is there a seventh?) death because those aren’t in the epilogue menu yet…
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OMG this post totally made my afternoon. Thank you SO MUCH for reading!
I definitely owe a status update, so here goes:
I had to put Donor on hold for a couple of months after the last chapter release due to another large project at work, but I’m finally back to cranking on the final installment. Unfortunately, it’ll probably take another two or three weeks to complete. Soooo many different universes 
The last two deaths are coming up (these still aren’t accurately reflected in the achievements) 1. Paul bleeds you to death in the diner. 2. Pyrrhic Victory: Talk (or trick or seduce) Paul into biting you after you’ve ingested the silver powder.
Thanks so much for bearing with me - I’ll have something out by mid-April at the latest!
PS - And thanks for letting me know which epilogue was your favorite! I’ve been really concerned about whether the endings are satisfying, so that was great info 
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For some reason, you seem to understand the way many of our minds work – I wouldn’t worry about how effective your writing is. 
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Aww, thanks for that.
You just wouldn’t believe how many drafts I go through with some of these… 
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Okay, so first playthrough thoughts! I’ll try to organize these the best I can but apologies in advance if it’s all over the place.
The pacing is great - as a whole, but also between each choice. Not once did I feel like the narrative pieces between each segment went on too long or lacked substance. I felt like my time as a reader/player was respected as there was no fluff or dragging prose. I also felt like the writing style and quality was incredibly consistent - in some works, I feel like I could tell the author’s heart wasn’t quite invested in the route I happen to choose, but I didn’t experience that here.
I personally loved the mini games and haven’t seen anything quite like it before. Huge fan, really enjoyed the ones I came across and just overall I really enjoyed the meters as a game mechanic and a method of storytelling and progression. Fantastic.
I think the personality traits were effective and reflected really well within the narrative. Again, going back to tone and consistency - really nailed it for Lenore, I felt like my input was respected and these aspects were woven in a satisfying way. I know that character creation/customization often goes deeper in many other games around here, but I feel like Donor is a great example of how [comparatively] limited character customization parameters doesn’t necessarily mean the player has to feel like they’re relinquishing input or control on the narrative.
The inclusion of Xanax really interested me. I really enjoyed how this was part of the narrative and how it effected various choices, depending on dosages, and just overall a different dynamic that drove the story and character forward in ways I didn’t expect or anticipate.
I do have some thoughts/curiosities regarding the Xanax. Blurred below: content warning: drug use, and abuse, addiction; spoiler warning.
Full disclosure: I am not unfamiliar with Xanax and its recreational effects, and though I’ve not been addicted to it or any benzodiazepine, I couldn’t help but wonder just how HIGH of a tolerance Lenore had and if she had peaches, footballs, bars or what. I figured she might have a bottle of the .5mg pills, the lowest dose IIRC, based on her response to Rich about 10 not being enough to kill Charles, because holy hell that’d be quite the dose for someone with no tolerance, as well as how many she popped at any given point in time.
Due to my own experience with Xanax, I erred on the side of caution when choosing Lenore’s dosages because I was floored by the first set of options, with the highest being 8 IIRC? That would put most out on their ass, even with a tolerance - though, again, I don’t know how an addiction to benzos affects this VS just a recreational tolerance.
I have yet to do another run with a more liberal Xanax intake, and I will go in curious about if/when Lenore’s memory may be affected by her dose, as that’s another side effect I’ve experienced when taking too much - either a spotty memory or, once before, a total black out. Likewise, I will be curious to see if the amount she takes + the alcohol will be problematic - that’s often a deadly combination.
In fact, when Rich was discussing his plan with Lenore to OD Charles using her Xanax, one of my first thoughts was if a cocktail of alcohol and Xanax would be an option to create, particularly since I’d put my bet on that working with a higher success rate than Xanax alone, though I suppose Paul would be able to smell the alcohol on Charles, so Rich would know better than to suggest it? And since he nixed the idea of Aspirin, mixing the Xanax with an opiate painkiller would also be off the table of sly options, I suspect? Given that Percocet was mentioned once in the beginning, I assume Lenore may also know that this is a euphoric but also very-potentially-deadly combination?
Lastly, a quick comment on withdraw: I feel like you handled this well, without it being over-the-top or, conversely, too downplayed for the story. I also didn’t feel like there was a judgement or moral compass being pointed during this scene. Never once did your writing imply that she somehow “deserved” the pain and horror of withdraw because she’s an addict, nor did you hide the realities of it [i.e. the seizure] and I appreciate that.
I digress! Point being, as you can likely infer, this element to the story was both unexpected and I very much look forward to playing through again to explore this aspect alone.
I loved the no permadeath feature with the ability to go back. However, a potential bug: I got the A Rare Vintage ending, and when I clicked on the option to go back before the universe split, I was taken to Rich and Charles’ fight and because I had no silver, I could only watch and thus had no options to change the path; I feel like this ought to take me back to the scene where there’s the option to file down the watch?
And lastly, my thoughts on this ending: well done! While I was reading it, my thoughts were all over the place - in a good way - something akin to ‘hm, I’m suspicious - wait, friends? - oh, wait - wait - OH’. It really reinforced your dedication to characterization and, again, consistency while also having character development. Just really fantastic writing. Bravo, bravo!
I’m sure I’ll be back after more playthroughs because not only do I enjoy your writing, storytelling, world building, and game mechanics, but I’m inspired by your work. Donor has been a really great experience as a reader and as a writer, so thank you for sharing this and I so look forward to seeing more of your work.
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OMG @sidewinderviper WOW. THANK YOU.
I’m totally blown away by this post. UGH but why did I have to get it while I’m at work??!?!? I’m dying to respond to your Xanax thoughts/questions in particular, gonna try to carve out some time this afternoon.
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First, thanks so much for pointing out the bug in chapter 10 - I’ll get that fixed!
And second, thanks for your feedback on the “Rare Vintage” epilogue - that was one of my favorites to write 
. FYI, if you ever want to view the other endings (the ones I’ve finished, that is), you can always get to them via the stats screen “View Epilogues” option.
Now let’s talk Xanax! 
Summary
Full disclosure of my own: While I wouldn’t say I’ve ever been addicted to Xanax, as someone with crippling OCD I know what it’s like to be dependent on the drug. And I know firsthand how awful it is to go off cold turkey.
Xanax Dose:
I did quite a bit of research on Xanax tolerance/dependence when writing the novel, and (according to the message boards I’ve lurked in) it doesn’t appear uncommon for heavy users to take upwards of 20 mg a day. With that in mind, Lenore uses 1mg pills in the story, with the highest dose she takes at once being 8mg. Usually, the “pop-a-Xanax” option appears at times of crisis, so the amounts offered are almost always higher than what I imagine to be Lenore’s standard dosage. Yes, the character would almost certainly appear loopy/tired to Paul and Richard on these amounts, but I don’t draw much attention to this because she’d likely be unaware of her behavior.
Lenore’s memory would also be a disaster, but that’s probably a desirable side-effect, given the circumstances. And to play this up, I’ve worded some Xanax options listed as “Yes, this is more than I usually take, but I don’t want to remember anything that happens this evening.”
Xanax and Alcohol:
There’s no doubt in my mind that the amount of Xanax and alcohol that the MC consumes in chapter 1 would kill the average person. But she has a very high tolerance for the drug, and this is her perfect universe, so…
Xanax Overdose
Believe it or not, it’s extraordinarily difficult to overdose on Xanax alone. The vast majority of deaths come from mixing it with alcohol (see above, and here: https://deserthopetreatment.com/xanax-treatment/lethal-dose/). So the biggest flaw in Richard’s plan is the assumption that any amount of Lenore’s pills would be enough to kill Charles.
As you mentioned earlier, alcohol or Percoset (although I’m assuming she’s taken that pill by this point in the story) would probably do the trick, but that isn’t something that occurs to Richard or the MC. And that’s a shame because Lenore gets pretty wasted during the turning process; she’d probably mask the scent of alcohol as well… And now that I’m thinking about it, maybe I’ll make that an available suggestion for the MC in the bathtub/plotting scene (perhaps as a reward for perfectly balanced logic/creativity?).
Again, HUGE thanks for taking the time to give me such detailed feedback. Please reach out if you have any other thoughts/comments/concerns!
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