Gotomomi postmortem

[AvB]

@jepflast:
Thanks again for the accolades.

I think if you had made all the exits obvious at all times, this game would have easily made the top 5.

I vainly came to the same conclusion around half-way through the comp. I figured I shouldn’t change this mistake at so late a date and face the punishment instead. The post-comp release is another story, of course.

On the other hand, outside of the Comp, I would consider not listing any exits in bold. It’s a wonderfully long, difficult thinker, and I could see it doing well in the future if you emphasize that.

And there you go and introduce new variables into the equation. This way I won’t get anywhere [emote];)[/emote]

[jepflast]

@AvB

@jepflast:And there you go and introduce new variables into the equation. This way I won’t get anywhere [emote];)[/emote]

Yeah, it’s a tough call. Maybe you can help me with a similar decision when I do my postmortem.

[AvB]

@craiglocke

AvB, is there a way to win without buying or selling anything, just using conversation?

Kei won’t hire you if you don’t wear the boiler suit and the boots, so you’re going to have to buy those. You can make enough money for that at the fish factory.

You can go back to wearing the yukata after you’ve started your job and give away your newly acquired apparel to someone in need, though.

Other than that, I don’t think you need to buy or sell anything, strictly speaking.

This would force you to do the labyrinth without a flashlight.

But you still won’t get away without making and spending some money.

You can definitely get away without dealing drugs.

[AvB]

@Merlin Fisher

If you get caught selling drugs in the rave club, and the redhead kicks you out, how are you supposed to finish the game?

You can sell your drugs to passers-by in the streets. You may want to watch out for the police while doing so.

I love playing specific PCs, but it’s disappointing when I don’t get to learn much about my character. I’d really like to know more about Ayako (if that is even her name; it wasn’t mentioned until several minutes of play had elapsed, and when she told someone her name I couldn’t figure out whether it was her real name or a fake name). Why she’s running away from home, especially dressed like that. And how she came to know 4 or 5 languages at the age of what, 15?

As CMG already pointed out, some people just are this polyglot and well dressed. A (relatively small) number of true cosmopolitans exists even in Japan. If you want to speak a bunch of languages eventually, it’s generally best to start early.

It’s a widespread opinion that a story is best if all loose ends get tied up, but I don’t agree. I believe it’s better to leave some things to the imagination of the reader. This is especially true if the narrative is part of a game. This is the reason why Gotomomi might feel more like a place than a story. In a game, the story must emerge from the gameplay of each individual player, and, as such, can only be constructed beforehand to a very limited degree. It is therefore better (again, in my personal opinion) not to hem in the player any more than is strictly neccessary for characterisation, even if the PC is quite specific.