Well, this is for the individual players to decide, so i like the game allows you to be flexible. Personally i can’t help but find the idea of this sort of “revenge” juvenile, but i am curious to find out what was driving MC’s “friends” for things to play out the way they do. And maybe then decide how to proceed, one way or another.
When I first started writing HSR I made three choice options there, where one would be to total revenge, answers, or just totally ignoring what happened. I removed the last option and I also changed some of the things written to kinda force the players to go down the revenge mindset, since it just makes it easier to write that way. When I originally stopped writing it was because I just couldn’t vibe with the non-revenge route at all. The “get answers” one I get, but the “I don’t care I just want to go back because plot reasons” made me pull my hair wondering how that would even work.
Even though the narrator keeps talking about the revenge, I feel like the choices give you the option to just be a decent person that isn’t trying to do anything bad, yet (besides recruiting the allies, where you kinda hint you’re going for revenge). Right now it’s more of a “befriend and find out their secrets” simulator rather than a flat out revenge story. I feel like I’ve built up the “coming back for revenge” thing just to have an excuse for our MC to come back to their old town and confront them again.
Revealing your identity will be an option that you will have once you’ve reached a certain level of friendship with the characters. Depending on who you confess to, you can either have everyone in the school find out your secret, or the person will keep your secret and will want to talk to you about what happened. Also, confessing to some characters can also end in an early bad end, since I want to make it clear that some of these guys are still horrible and they will ruin your life a second time if you’re not careful.
This is the vibe I’m trying to go for. I’ve built up the edgy revenge persona because that’s what makes the most sense for coming back. But yeah, maybe I’ll work on wording chapter 2 better to make it also just feel like you’re going back for answers, if that’s what you chose.
Anyway, maybe the vibe will be different once you actually start hanging out with the targets or the old friends and see the interactions with them. I’ve added this to my to do list haha: Make “get answers” motivation make more sense
Well I guess in US this kind of thing is juvenile. But then the bulies what they did is also juvenile. I mean I think you can file a case and sue them or something. Where I come from there is nothing like juvenile (unless ofcourse murder is involved). Government or police in most asian countries don’t care unless murder is involved ( for juvenile crime), anything else is just treated as children’s mistakes. But bullying is something I don’t think is justifieble and if bullies don’t think about what harm they do . Why do you? I mean you are wasting time earning money , changing name, disguising yourself for what . To ask them " why did you do it?" . That could have been done much more easily by just asking Daniel or Olivia simply. The only reason to go back is revenge and I stand by my thought. If they can get away with ruining your life because their fathers are rich now so can you. The plot is much better suited in revenge than anything else that you comeup just to be a goody two shoe. I mean this is a game, fiction no need to good . We have to behave good in real life try to be a bit bad in fiction. I won’t say you shouldn’t play the ask why route . But I think to atleast try one revenge play through . Maybe you will like it. If you don’t I guess you are just to pure of a soul. (Piece of advice :To get into revenge mood think of yourself as the mc and try to feel their pain).
Of course, but then they literally were adolescents, not even teens at 11 year old. So when you have MC not only nursing that grudge for 7+ years, but now trying to be all REVENGE MOTHERFUCKERS for what stupid kids did when they were stupid kids is like… ehh. You do you, but i feel like if that got out then MC would just get laughed at all over again, except this time for being so obsessive.
And you’re right, this could be much easier resolved simply asking your ex-friends why they’ve thrown MC under the bus like that. But then like, half of all stories written ever have the plot that holds up only on characters’ inability to communicate like reasonable adults should (unless, sometimes literally, held at gun point) so it’s not really a strike against this one, not any more than all the others.
Well the bullies uploaded the video online 5 years later that is why the mc is doing all this millions of people watched that video.If the bullies never did that Mc wouldn’t even start thinking about all this revenge.So if anything it’s only been 2 years since they uploaded the video of the deed.
Well, it was more of it going viral when it was very much just one of them posting it for couple of his friends, and the fad died out in a month… but fair enough.
I dunno, I feel like engineering an entire scheme to Carrie the MC to the point of getting two friends to manipulate them, getting a teacher in on it, and outright drawing blood from them with the crown throw goes beyond “just kids doing kid things.” And now we know that some of them are still exactly the same and want to ruin MC even all these years later.
Well they do say revenge is a dish best served cold.I don’t want to ruin those who have changed for the better. But I do think a few of them need to be taken down. Olivia is still bullied by them even after doing their bidding . If they are not evil I don’t know who is ? Once they realize how hurtful this type of behaviour is they will never do that to anyone.
Also I don’t think anybody would laugh at the mc because either they will be grateful that he took down the bullies or will be afraid of him. I don’t know why you are even trying to justify such bullying and internet shaming.
I’m not trying to justify it, it’s just something i don’t personally get incensed over in this particular scenario. I also think that maybe MC should first approach his dad and ask why the f.ck he’s been tolerating a ring of bullies who terrorize the school he’s principal of, and pressure him to do this work.
I am curious about the father’s current situation. Is he possibly involved with another family or is he still a bachelor? It is common in politics for individuals to cultivate a familial image, as it humanizes the politician and underscores the importance of family values in shaping public perception. Thus, one wonders if he has already established a new family, or if he intends to incorporate the MC into a portrayal of familial harmony when he goes into politics.
Additionally, I am interested in whether MCs who join the baseball team and demonstrate proficiency in the sport (maybe even becoming a star player if you have high stats) will unlock scenes or events involving the father. It appears that the father has a vested interest in the baseball team, at least from what I’ve witnessed in the demo so far.
Weekly Update
Hello, people! Here’s another weekly update, and this time we’ve got changes to the demo! There are quite a few things I’ve added to the old chapters, including showing all the hidden choices that players with 3rd father as a mentor can use, improved character customization by adding height choices, more eye colors, and the ability to change your name after the transition.
When it comes to chapter 4, I’ve reached 8k words, which is close to what chapter 1 has in total. I’ve completely finished the first random event in the game, added a scene where Marcus and Angela report on their progress through week one, and we prepare for the most amazing thing ever: your first party! Right now I haven’t actually started work on writing the party itself, as I’m writing some choices for what you could bring to the party to impress everyone there. There’s also a cameo from Helen, for the ones who remember her, so that’s going to be fun.
Anyway, I’m glad with the event system I’ve created and will likely add a special, mandatory event almost every week, like this party, to just keep everything more coherent. Sorry it’s nothing too interesting, I’ll likely have a bigger update next week once I finish the party event haha. I hope you like all the upgrades to chapters 1 and 2 and thank you all very much for all the support and let’s see how this all will go!
Edit: It seems you all know Helen because none of you could see the other plans to recruit Burt… Now you have two other ways to recruit him, which should have been available from the start… thanks @fsix
Seems there is a little bug in chapter 2:
relevant part of the script
*fake_choice
#Let's get this weirdo to do my dirty business.
#He will regret ever touching a camera in his life...
#Anything to get my revenge.
Now that you're set on this course, you need a plan of attack.
You could hire an amateur actress to help you get to him. You can message him, saying she's your client and that she wants to do a photo shoot. Of course, at his house, the only condition being that you'd have to be there too. That way, while she distracts him, you can find something incriminating there.
You could also make a fake account of an attractive girl and invite him to do a photo shoot somewhere far from his house. Then, you can stealthily enter his home and search for something useful. Obviously, this is a crime but... it's a crime only if someone catches you, right?
Another thing could be hiring him to do some normal photos and then inviting him to go with you to eat. There, you can try and steal his phone. Maybe you can find some embarrassing messages or pictures. There would be a slight problem if he has a code but, how hard could it be to crack?
So, what's your plan?
*choice
#The actress plan.
*goto actress_plan
#The fake account plan.
*goto account_plan
#The phone-stealing plan.
*goto phone_plan
Because the whole part after the choice is indented, the choice of plan only comes up if the player selects the last option. Any other option will jump to actress_plan
automatically.
I do love a good revenge has to be brutal though to make it all worth it.
I love it! I will take revenge to all of them mwahahahhahaha
I agree too the MC shouldve went for revenge years ago, 7 years later is time enough to let go of what happened. Not saying the mc should forgive or forget but let it go.
I mean that’s subjective. Plus telling someone who’s been bullied that they should just let it go can be pretty insensitive.
Anyway I don’t really see why this discussion is a thing. It’s a revenge story, people have the right to choose that option without having other people tell them it’s morally wrong to do so.
True but this is a forum to discuss what we think and thats just my opinion of the MC, doesnt mean your choice is wrong or right.
I mean the thing is they kinda did “let it go” but didnt somebody post the video years later(making it go viral) and thats what casued eveything to escalate?
Also something like what those kids did to the mc, mentally/physically f-ing with somebody like that is forever imo.
Weekly Update
Hello, fellow revenge enthusiasts! I’m here with another update, after I’ve finally realized how most of the chapters will look like and what their general length will be. This past week I’ve been battling ideas of how long each chapter should be. I originally wanted chapter 4 to end around the Winter Break, but then I realized that this would mean the chapter would be around something like 300k words. So, now, I’ve decided that each chapter will last a month in-game, allowing you to likely save more often in the real game (cause from what I know official Hosted Games can only save between chapters), and also not feel like the chapters never end.
This means that chapter 4 will be out much faster than I initially envisioned, as I am now getting close to finishing the first major event of the game. Judging by my general speed, I think the chapter should be done in 1 month, give or take. This 4th chapter will revolve around the mighty homecoming dance, with a chance to start the romance path with at least one target. The chapter is now up to 12k words, which means I have been keeping a very average pace of 4k words a week haha. I’ve mentioned the major event I’m working on, the homecoming party organized by one of our targets in the first week of school, and it’s going to be full of choices and potential drama, so I’m trying to make sure that I don’t leave anything out of it.
I’ve also done an update to chapter 2, adding a clothing choice (I’ve already added it a few days ago by accident, so some of you may have witnessed it). This choice will often appear throughout the game, as I would like players to be able to choose the clothes they are wearing for each event in the game. Right now it’s very barebones, with just some style choices. If you have suggestions and would like to help out, make sure to tell me your ideas!
Speaking of Chapter 2, a question: currently, the game automatically selects the club MC joins based on what their primary skill is (the one with value of 50) But each tryout sequence also has a path for MC with lower skill level. So… it seems that it’d be possible to also join another club that MC has some limited skill for (i.e. what they’ve picked up during their preparation)
So, is the ability to join a different club than the one MC has the most affinity for something that can be done later, or it’s something that was dropped and you’re always going to be railroaded into the club based on the primary skill, or maybe something else…?
edit: also, about the phone-stealing route when recruiting Bart:
Relevant script
*label confront2_burt_phone
You put the phone on the table and wait a few seconds for Burt to come out.
//...
*choice
#I [i]have[/i] to make him my pawn! Otherwise, why have I fought so much for it?
#Of course, let's get this done.
*set burt_ally 1
*set Burt 20
You make a fake account a few days later, after you feel like it's been enough time for him to not think it's you who's messaging him, and send him the screenshots you took.
After letting him try to threaten you with the police, you start asking him what his mother would think of these photos. After a bit of back and forth, were he acts like he can actually do something about the situation, Burt gives in.
You tell him you'll contact him in the future with an assignment. Until then, he's free to live his life.
That was a nicely executed plan! Let's hope he can't piece you and this blackmailer together.
*goto after_burt
*label caught_burt_phone
You try to do something but, by some miracle, you hear Burt getting out of the bathroom.
This variant of the scene has a bug: the code is only executed for the second option, meaning the first option will jump instead to the next scene, which has you get caught by Burt.
Also, this bit only has the anonymous blackmail MC performs afterwards, while other cases allow actual choice between revealing yourself as his blackmailer or not. Not sure if it’s intentional, but mentioning just in case.