This game is beautiful and so satisfying to play! I can't wait to see the full version, good luck to the whole team!
Sorry if my English is average, I am French.
Edit :We can refuse to take the bill now! Awesome ! I haven't played in a while but I'm glad to see that the option has been put. A friendly child would not ask for money to be friends with another child.
This game makes me so happy, it fills me with a lot of joy! I play this game for serotonin! Please keep up the good work, I can't wait to play the full game! I'm looking foward to it! <333
this game is amazing! the art style is really nice and clean (it's so refined n neat hahah) and i really like the story! looking forward to the full game eventually!
I finish the Demo let me say i am very exited. All these customization options OH how you spoil me :3, This is such a lovely and cute game. GB Path you always put out such great games! I can’t wait till the release <3
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. How dare you make this so cute. Can I just tell you how absolutely in LOVE I am with the new second step event? The moms, the teasing, the descriptions and how you feel about yourself, COVE. All the Cove. I have literally never been this enamored with a visual novel character before. I'm sure my friend is absolutely sick of me going on about this game and sending her screenshots... But I don't care! I am so hyped for the full release!
Haha, thank you so much! It's great to hear you're still enjoying the game + Cove and that you want to share it with your friend. We'll keep working hard to get it all done.
Oh! I do have one question I spaced asking! Have you considered anything with tattoos? Like, an extra scene where the MC and/or Cove as adults go to get tattoos as a dare or spontaneous decision or even like, the option to have it said the MC was thinking about it for a while. Or like, they're teens and they get on the topic of conversation and there's the option of saying you think tattoos are hot and if you're in love/have a crush on Cove that might influence him to get one for the next step? I don't know. Sorry for rambling. I just think tattoos are aesthetically pleasing and was curious because I know tattoos are something people sometimes think about when it comes to finally being able to make your own choices once you become an adult and your parents can't stop you.
Cove can have a tattoo in Step 4 and the player can also have chosen to have gotten tattoos or not ^^. But I'm afraid it's not really a scene that happens, just a thing you can decide to have gotten at some point. Maybe tattoos could casually come up in a conversation somewhere, but I can't say for sure if it'll end up being a real topic of discussion or not right now.
If you choose to be vegetarian/vegan then in food scenes alterations pop up to mention that the options are vegetarian/vegan versions of the foods rather than the meat/animal product versions (as in, it's not cow milk you're picking but instead the "milk" is soy or nut based or what have you). If you didn't see that than that'd be a bug. But you're right that this is just a game where it's up to you to make choices. If someone wants to name their MC "fake-name3" or something silly, they can. We wouldn't wanna take away the option to decide your own name because some players might choose to do something weird with that decision. Same for choices. You can use the options that are there to make a defined, consistent character or you can use the wide range of options to make an MC who behaves in wildly inconsistent ways. That has to be left up to players to decide, otherwise the game becomes far more restrictive.
Hi! I love this game so so much. I was only in the middle of it when i had to get a new computer because my old one broke. It's downloading on this computer atm, but will i be able to load my save log on here or is it stuck on that computer?
I'm really glad you love it ^^! If you have the Itch.io App and an account on that, maybe it's possible to transfer info from one computer to another? But I'm not sure. And if you're just redownloading the file straight it won't be able to have your old info in it. We did just release an update to the demo today and old save files don't work in the new version. So starting from scratch might be for the best no matter what.
I'm glad you like it! Unfortunately, IOS devices are harder to develop for. It can work on Android tablets/phones and of course laptops/computers, but nothing made by Apple. Maybe someday we can make that happen c:
I played a lot of romance VN's (only romance in fact) And this one is really good it's simple and chill, the customization make it more easy to relate to the MC. The story and characters are so cuuute !
Wish you luck for the next steps of this game, i'll look forward to it !
I love how you have the liberty of not only choosing your interactions but your thoughts and I think its really cool. ᕙ(`▿´)ᕗ I cant wait to watch the game progress. This game is super impressive and really fun! The art is amazing, good job. ✿
This is the most choices I've ever had in a visual novel! If you're looking to really have your own character personality and really influence the main love interest, then this is the game for you! I love it!!! (Also fr though can we just appreciate Derek being some serious eye candy lolol)
This is literally one of the best visual novels I've played yet, and it isn't even finished yet!
I personally really like the feature of Cove's traits being based off of your choices. I also am aaaaaalllllwaaaaays a sucker for character customization.
I'm super duper excited for the full game, and I'm glad to have found this game overall. You guys have done a lot of work on this, and it shows. Thank you for creating this project and all the work you've done with it!!
I also suggest, if it's possible, to display previously shown messages differently, like by using different background color. So it would be possible to quickly determine if it's possible to skip the message or not.
I noticed that the game is very peaceful and life in it is easy. In My Humble Opinion the game needs more drama and hardships.
I added that tag! I didn't realize Itch had Slice-of-Life as an option.
Our Life is made to be a relaxing experience at a time when real life is so stressful and upsetting . That's what people appreciate about it. Adding hardship into OL would essentially ruin the game, aha. It'd be like making Animal Crossing a more harsh experience. You might want to look into our prior visual novel project, Lake of Voices. That one is all about hard times.
Okay, I understand. =) The game is supposed to be cute and wholesome. But please, be aware that there exists the flip side of the coin. Due to this requirement I can't f*ck up life of my avatar, no matter how hard I try (and I tried). And it makes me, as a player, feel powerless, that all my choices don't matter, that this game is fundamentally a kinetic novel, that tag "meaningful choices" isn't suitable for the game. I feel demotivated to give the game second playthrough, knowing that my choices will make too little of difference.
I heard that in philosophy of religion (or was it theology?) there is thought that the fall of man happened because Adam and Eve were given free will, making them able to do a wrong thing. It caused them to fall short of perfection needed to stay in paradise. As the God(s) of game universe you brought the main character of the game back into paradise, but you also had to took their freedom of will as entrance fee.
I'm sorry, I'm really not sure how to try talking to you about this. I'm feeling confused. It's so easy/frequent to influence the game that almost no two playthroughs are likely going to be exactly the same. It's not at all kinetic. Yes, the many alterations are fun and pleasant rather than only some being good and some being bad, but that doesn't make them pointless choices- they're still fun and pleasant. That is the point. This game simply isn't gonna punish players for creating the unique, highly customized life that they want to live. It's not a game where you have to guess at which choice is correct and have something unpleasant happen to your MC if you pick the wrong answer. People who want to ruin everything will instead have their plans ruined, and I'm sorry that's the case for you. But again, this is a VN with a similar vibe to Animal Crossing, not GTA, haha. The choices are there to let people have a nice time and fit the world to their own personality that doesn't have to be the same as anybody else and to be rewarded for being whoever they want to be. That is meaningful to a lot of players. If you don't think that's true, please read the comments of other people on this page.
It's totally understandable if you don't want to play a wholesome life VN. As I said, there's always Lake of Voices. But no matter what, wholesome VNs and wholesome life sims and wholesome media experiences in general do get to exist for those who want them.
Also, I don't get what this has to do with religion, I don't know what to say about it ^^;
"It's so easy/frequent to influence the game that almost no two playthroughs are likely going to be exactly the same."
Yes, but as far as I can tell plotwise the result is still the same. Imagine that there is kinetic VN game in detective genre. Now suppose the developer gave the player ability to customize what the detective drinks, coffee or cocoa, and what color of the tie that they wear, black or dark-blue, thus allowing for more of self-expression of the player. Will the game stop being kinetic? From point of view of my understanding of what kinetic novel is - no. I understand kinetic novels to be visual novels where the player can't influence the plot, even temporarily. Let's me emphasize the ending doesn't need to change for non-kinetic novel. Consider this alternative: the player is given a choice somethere in mentioned above hypothetical detective game that either will lead to folllowing a false lead or following the right lead. If they follow the false lead, then the criminals will have time to track down and muder the key witness, thus leading to a substory where the detective does much more of research and deduction to compensate for missing info. If they follow the right lead, then it will lead to adrenaline-filled substory about race against time, where the detective will rush to reach the key witness before the criminals and then transport them into a safe place in one piece. Will it still be a kinetic novel? Not from my perspective because the player can get two different plots, based on if they follow the right or the false lead, although both plots have the same ending (the criminals get caught).
"Yes, the many alterations are fun and pleasant rather than only some being good and some being bad, but that doesn't make them pointless choices- they're still fun and pleasant"
I'm afraid you misunderstood me here. I don't believe that choices are meaningful only if some of them are good and some of them are bad. Far from it. For me choices are meaningful only if they can influece the plot, even temporarily. Whatever whey would bring good or bad consequences is another question. You seems to interpret "meaningful choices" differently, as any choices that let the player to express themselves.
"This game simply isn't gonna punish players for creating the unique, highly customized life that they want to live."
Ah, I see your game design philosophy now. Your taget audience are people who value choices as way of self-expression and who, at the same time, like wholesome gameplay. You give them choices that are inconsequent plot-wise and ending-wise, but that allow them to express themselves. (The pinnacle of this approach is main character appearance customization screen. It's not only inconsequental plot-wise, the player literally can't see results of this customization for 99.99% of the game) People who mainly value choices as a tool for ends different from self-expression (like me. Seems like I just wasn't your target audience, pure and simple!) will likely feel like they have many choices that don't matter, thus not willing to make them in the first place. Also, they wouldn't mind to get some narrative setback for their choice, while self-expressionists would feel punished for their self-expression, even if this affected neither plot nor the ending.
"People who want to ruin everything will instead have their plans ruined, and I'm sorry that's the case for you."
Just clarification, I tried to ruin everything not because I wanted to make the main character suffer, but because it's the easy and sure way to test how consequent choices are. It's far easier to break status-quo by making a bad choice rather than making a good choice.
"If you don't think that's true, please read the comments of other people on this page. "
When I commented about your "Meaningful choices" tag I didn't imply some kind of objective meaninglessness. I meant that this tag is a lie for me personally. I simply don't value self-expression enough for incosequent choices to be meaningful to me. But again, I'm not a part of your target audience.
I appreciate the detailed explanation of what you meant! I had misunderstood and thought the problem was not being able to have bad conclusions happen. In that case, I would say Our Life does have those types choices that you're talking about. Not all the time, but not never either. If you play the game once you won't have seen all there is to see. The game requires multiple playthroughs to get all the content is has. It's not only aesthetic tweaks, though there are many of those too.
It's just in Our Life the impacts you control are based on the MC's and love interest's developed personalities, relationships, interests, and chosen activities, rather than plotlines. Such as choosing between getting a scene where you call a friend at home vs. getting a scene where you hang out at the beach, or choosing to tell the neighbor boy about his dad paying you to be his friend vs. keeping that a secret, or whether you have a crush on him vs. just thinking of him as a friend, or if you decide to panic and get frantic vs. simply remaining calm after losing something important, etc. All those have long changes on what you end up seeing and you'd have to play again, making different choices, to see the other side. And there are multiple ending scenes, but those are also based on the relationships and interests.
With that said, I'm not trying to change your mind about playing the game. I just wanted to answer your comment with what you had originally been talking about. I know that not everyone has fun with ways OL can be changed, that's understandable. Thank you for commenting!
Usually I prefer to wait for full game, but this one got my attention a few months ago. So I’ve got too curious and downloaded demo. One of the best experience I had so far. Can’t wait for complete version. I can say for sure that it’ll be a great game! For now I wish productivity and lots of inspiration for team!
Thank you very much! We're feeling quite motivated right now and will keep doing our best to get everything together for the release. We appreciate the support :D
This made my day!! <3 I really enjoyed it. The idea of knowing our own character and the others since a young age is awesome, being able to see them change and knowing more things about them on each stage made me fall more in love with the story, also how we can built the personality of our character <3 I appreciate how long the demo is c: Can't wait for the full game, great job!!
Omgggg i just finished playing the demo and I have to say (and this isn't even me exagerating) this is probably one of the best dating sims I've played, it's so nice to establish the different types of relationships and the characters just feel so real and are so well written and the art is so endearing and the soundtrack is so heartwarming. I'm excited for November 2nd!!<3<3<3
Our other games are pretty different from Our Life, haha. But I hope you'll find something you like. And yeah, the game will be free with optional paid DLC!
This. Is. ADORABLE! To be honest, I've seen this game a few times while searching for visual novels to play, but I never got around to play it until now! And I'm glad I did! Cove was definitely so cute :3 And I adore all of the interactions, not just between him, but also the protagonist with the other people around.
I love how everything was written so well done, and that you can freely choose who you want to be! I can't wait for the full release! <3 :D
Thank you so much! I appreciate you giving it a try and I'm happy you ended up enjoying it. We'll do our best to make the finished version worth the wait ^^
I really liked the demo. I usually don't like visual novels but this game was amazing. The only question I have is there going to be more love interests or not?
I loved the demo of this so much i've replayed it aloott i'm excited for the full release cove is so adorable and i love how you made the indifference so crush thing I've never seen a game with one like that i'm planning on buying dlcs (when they are out) i hope everything is going well thank you for making amazing games. (no i'm not shoving it in my friends faces)
It's really wonderful that you liked the demo so much and that it felt worth replaying. I appreciate you wanting to support it and sharing it with your friends. That's nice of you <3
I just joined your patreon! i was so happy to try the patreon demo it was well worth it i made an account just for this ahah i really love this game way too much and my birthday is on november 4th im so excited for the 2nd i stayed up playing the demo >< you guys haven't even finished it and it's already this good!
Thank you so much for the support :D! It's fantastic to hear you thought the Patreon build was also really fun. We're trying our best to have the future events live up to the expectations set by the demo. And that's cool your birthday is almost the same as Cove's (November 2nd).
This game is so precious, and so well done. I absolutely love the story and the characters. I cannot tell you how many times I've played the demo, just because it's so enchanting. The work you're doing is wonderful. I am so extremely excited for the full game to come out. I just want to kiss Cove's face, he's so cute and awkward and adorkable. There was just something I was curious about. Is there going to be a mention of how the moms came to have Lizzie and the MC? Like, how they were adopted or something? It won't take away if there's not, it was something I was curious about. Keep up the good work! I can't wait for November!
Thank you <3!! I'm so happy you're having a good time with the demo.
You'll definitely have chances to smooch the baby boy once the game is finished. And there will be an event that goes over how the family came together. The scene is already available through the Patreon build. But it'll also be there in the free base game when that's released this November.
Oooooooo. I am excited! I wish I could help out your Patreon, but I'll have to wait until the full version comes out. When it does, I do plan to buy the DLCs, though!
I finished the demo a couple days ago and have been thinking about it nonstop since, so I thought I'd comment. This game is so beautifully made and it's not even finished yet! I felt so immersed in the story, and I was just filled with so much love and nostalgia. I finished the demo and was SO satisfied! It was just the right amount of game play that left me wanting more. I check the GBPatch socials and this page every day for updates, I'm so excited for the full release! I think, from what I have played, that this game is top tier. Art is perfection, story and customizations are immaculate. I have nothing bad to say. As someone who loves romance and otome style games, I HIGHLY recommend everyone play this. To the creators: thank you for being so dedicated to this game and to your community. I am so excited for the full release, and I am so excited to see what the future holds for your gaming creations!!!
Thank you so much for such wonderful praise! It's really nice to know it was a nice time for you. That's what we're striving for and we'll keep trying with the rest of the game.
And the next update for the demo should be right around August 1st! Hopefully it'll be just a good a time as the current stuff is.
Okay I haven't finished the demo yet but OMG its so good! The storyline, the art, the character design, the voices! I can NOT wait for the full release!
okay so i literally made an account just so i can say how much i LOVE this game. ive been waiting for the game to release for ages and im so happy with it so far! i love the art and the game itself is so fun! i have waited SO long for a game that lets you customize your own character. this is one of the best visual novel games i have played! the story line is perfect so far and i have NOTHING negative to say about it. i cant stress how much i love it. i cant wait for the full game to release.
This game has the most immersive and inclusive system I have ever seen, from the customization of how you look and how even Cove looks down to the questions other characters can ask in game and the diverse amount of ways you can answer, catering to the individual personalities of whoever might be playing! It really is an awe inducing sight and the gameplay is just as adorable and makes you feel like you really are living out your life within this game world and I commend the team for so meticulously crafting it! The story so far has been quite touching without lacking in emotional complexity. It was a bit of a shocker we get to manipulate Cove's feelings as well but having that be an option just adds to the all-inclusiveness. Another thing I adore is the diversity and essentially how open-minded the cast are no matter what kind of character you choose to be! I wish I could fit all my feelings about this game in a single comment but I can't seem to express how great of an idea this was and how amazing it is to feel to be in the generation that gets to experience it. I can't buy or contribute anything as I am too young but in the future, I am excited to lend my support to the development of this project! I wish you all the best of luck!
Oh wow, thank you for such a nice comment <3! It's super encouraging to hear you like what we're going for. We'll try our best to make it worth all the support!
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Thank you! I'm really happy you enjoyed it and appreciate the new options, haha. And your English is really good :D
Cute game, definitely thinking about becoming a patreon.
Thank you! If you do become a patron, I hope it's a good time for you c:
This game makes me so happy, it fills me with a lot of joy! I play this game for serotonin! Please keep up the good work, I can't wait to play the full game! I'm looking foward to it! <333
Aw, that's really nice of you to say! We're happy it makes you happy :D
No problem, like I said, keep up the good work! You're doing amazing! :D!!!
Thank you <3 <3
Just tried it and i love it so far!! Can't wait to play the full game, great work <3
Thank you ^^!!
this game is amazing! the art style is really nice and clean (it's so refined n neat hahah) and i really like the story! looking forward to the full game eventually!
Thank you very much ^^. That's nice of you to say!
Bro Your game is fucking awsome I HAVE PLAYED IT TWICE NOW AND IT STILL ROCKS much love (i didn't know that I had caps on but still much love)
Only twice? I think I've played it close to a dozen times at this point... :P
Yeah, it's a great game. Very much looking forward to to full thing in a few months!
Thanks c:. That's really wonderful to hear.
Haha, thank you! I'm really glad you had a good time and that it was worth playing through twice :D
I finish the Demo let me say i am very exited. All these customization options OH how you spoil me :3, This is such a lovely and cute game. GB Path you always put out such great games! I can’t wait till the release <3
Aw, thank you very much ^^!
this game and the purest form of perfection, I liked every part of it
Aw, thank you so much!
Ahhhhhhh, this game is so cute!!!! I can't wait for its release this fall. Im really looking forward to it.
Thank you! We're happy you're looking forward to it.
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. How dare you make this so cute. Can I just tell you how absolutely in LOVE I am with the new second step event? The moms, the teasing, the descriptions and how you feel about yourself, COVE. All the Cove. I have literally never been this enamored with a visual novel character before. I'm sure my friend is absolutely sick of me going on about this game and sending her screenshots... But I don't care! I am so hyped for the full release!
Haha, thank you so much! It's great to hear you're still enjoying the game + Cove and that you want to share it with your friend. We'll keep working hard to get it all done.
Oh! I do have one question I spaced asking! Have you considered anything with tattoos? Like, an extra scene where the MC and/or Cove as adults go to get tattoos as a dare or spontaneous decision or even like, the option to have it said the MC was thinking about it for a while. Or like, they're teens and they get on the topic of conversation and there's the option of saying you think tattoos are hot and if you're in love/have a crush on Cove that might influence him to get one for the next step? I don't know. Sorry for rambling. I just think tattoos are aesthetically pleasing and was curious because I know tattoos are something people sometimes think about when it comes to finally being able to make your own choices once you become an adult and your parents can't stop you.
Cove can have a tattoo in Step 4 and the player can also have chosen to have gotten tattoos or not ^^. But I'm afraid it's not really a scene that happens, just a thing you can decide to have gotten at some point. Maybe tattoos could casually come up in a conversation somewhere, but I can't say for sure if it'll end up being a real topic of discussion or not right now.
That's really all I can ask for. Thank you for taking the time to answer my ramblings!
No problem! Thank you for giving the game a try c:
I can be a vegan who drinks milk huh? Haha. I guess choices are mostly my own to make.
If you choose to be vegetarian/vegan then in food scenes alterations pop up to mention that the options are vegetarian/vegan versions of the foods rather than the meat/animal product versions (as in, it's not cow milk you're picking but instead the "milk" is soy or nut based or what have you). If you didn't see that than that'd be a bug. But you're right that this is just a game where it's up to you to make choices. If someone wants to name their MC "fake-name3" or something silly, they can. We wouldn't wanna take away the option to decide your own name because some players might choose to do something weird with that decision. Same for choices. You can use the options that are there to make a defined, consistent character or you can use the wide range of options to make an MC who behaves in wildly inconsistent ways. That has to be left up to players to decide, otherwise the game becomes far more restrictive.
YAY AN UPDATE!!!! Thank you creators! This game is gold <3
Thank you! I hope you'll like the new stuff C:
How dare you tease me with an acknowledgement of mutual attraction and STILL not offer an option to kiss the boy? :P
In all seriousness, I do kinda understand why ('first kiss' should be a special occurrence, I think), but still! They're too adorable!
Haha, yeah, it's gonna be a very special scene when the option finally does appear ;).
Well, now I'm hyped for it. Which probably means you're saving that for the full release, rather than releasing it for the demo, aren't you? :P
I'm afraid so. But hopefully it'll be worth the wait!
Hi! I love this game so so much. I was only in the middle of it when i had to get a new computer because my old one broke. It's downloading on this computer atm, but will i be able to load my save log on here or is it stuck on that computer?
I'm really glad you love it ^^! If you have the Itch.io App and an account on that, maybe it's possible to transfer info from one computer to another? But I'm not sure. And if you're just redownloading the file straight it won't be able to have your old info in it. We did just release an update to the demo today and old save files don't work in the new version. So starting from scratch might be for the best no matter what.
Thanks! I already did, and I finished it omg its so cute. I can't wait for whenever a full version comes out (no pressure). <3
That's wonderful! I'm so happy you had a good time.
sooo the update was for android version and not final event in step 2???
We updated all build versions of the demo and just announced the demo update!
I love this game so much. I play it on my laptop, but I’m wondering if it’s possible to play this on my iPad Pro?
I'm glad you like it! Unfortunately, IOS devices are harder to develop for. It can work on Android tablets/phones and of course laptops/computers, but nothing made by Apple. Maybe someday we can make that happen c:
Thank you for replying. That’s unfortunate but I will still be buying the dlcs for my laptop. Thanks for looking into it, though. :)
Thank you for understanding ^^!
Not a big deal if not, but can teenage/adult cove wear glasses? He's so cute with them but I haven't seen any pics with them on in stage 3/4 :<
He can! Cove has multiple potential glasses he can wear in Steps 3 and 4. Here's one screenshot set we posted on social media with glasses on the boy-
https://gb-patch.tumblr.com/post/190881450001/bless-his-heart-and-my-condolences...
Yay! I can't believe I missed this he's so cute <3
I'm glad you liked it c:
I played a lot of romance VN's (only romance in fact) And this one is really good it's simple and chill, the customization make it more easy to relate to the MC. The story and characters are so cuuute !
Wish you luck for the next steps of this game, i'll look forward to it !
Thank you ^^!
I love how you have the liberty of not only choosing your interactions but your thoughts and I think its really cool. ᕙ(`▿´)ᕗ I cant wait to watch the game progress. This game is super impressive and really fun! The art is amazing, good job. ✿
Thank you very much! It's nice you enjoy those features :D
This is the most choices I've ever had in a visual novel! If you're looking to really have your own character personality and really influence the main love interest, then this is the game for you! I love it!!! (Also fr though can we just appreciate Derek being some serious eye candy lolol)
Thanks, haha! It's nice to people know people appreciate the game's features (and Derek).
This is literally one of the best visual novels I've played yet, and it isn't even finished yet!
I personally really like the feature of Cove's traits being based off of your choices. I also am aaaaaalllllwaaaaays a sucker for character customization.
I'm super duper excited for the full game, and I'm glad to have found this game overall. You guys have done a lot of work on this, and it shows. Thank you for creating this project and all the work you've done with it!!
Thank you very much! We're happy to hear you like how it's coming together ^^.
Please, consider adding "Slice of life" tag.
I also suggest, if it's possible, to display previously shown messages differently, like by using different background color. So it would be possible to quickly determine if it's possible to skip the message or not.
I noticed that the game is very peaceful and life in it is easy. In My Humble Opinion the game needs more drama and hardships.
I added that tag! I didn't realize Itch had Slice-of-Life as an option.
Our Life is made to be a relaxing experience at a time when real life is so stressful and upsetting . That's what people appreciate about it. Adding hardship into OL would essentially ruin the game, aha. It'd be like making Animal Crossing a more harsh experience. You might want to look into our prior visual novel project, Lake of Voices. That one is all about hard times.
Okay, I understand. =) The game is supposed to be cute and wholesome. But please, be aware that there exists the flip side of the coin. Due to this requirement I can't f*ck up life of my avatar, no matter how hard I try (and I tried). And it makes me, as a player, feel powerless, that all my choices don't matter, that this game is fundamentally a kinetic novel, that tag "meaningful choices" isn't suitable for the game. I feel demotivated to give the game second playthrough, knowing that my choices will make too little of difference.
I heard that in philosophy of religion (or was it theology?) there is thought that the fall of man happened because Adam and Eve were given free will, making them able to do a wrong thing. It caused them to fall short of perfection needed to stay in paradise. As the God(s) of game universe you brought the main character of the game back into paradise, but you also had to took their freedom of will as entrance fee.
I'm sorry, I'm really not sure how to try talking to you about this. I'm feeling confused. It's so easy/frequent to influence the game that almost no two playthroughs are likely going to be exactly the same. It's not at all kinetic. Yes, the many alterations are fun and pleasant rather than only some being good and some being bad, but that doesn't make them pointless choices- they're still fun and pleasant. That is the point. This game simply isn't gonna punish players for creating the unique, highly customized life that they want to live. It's not a game where you have to guess at which choice is correct and have something unpleasant happen to your MC if you pick the wrong answer. People who want to ruin everything will instead have their plans ruined, and I'm sorry that's the case for you. But again, this is a VN with a similar vibe to Animal Crossing, not GTA, haha. The choices are there to let people have a nice time and fit the world to their own personality that doesn't have to be the same as anybody else and to be rewarded for being whoever they want to be. That is meaningful to a lot of players. If you don't think that's true, please read the comments of other people on this page.
It's totally understandable if you don't want to play a wholesome life VN. As I said, there's always Lake of Voices. But no matter what, wholesome VNs and wholesome life sims and wholesome media experiences in general do get to exist for those who want them.
Also, I don't get what this has to do with religion, I don't know what to say about it ^^;
"It's so easy/frequent to influence the game that almost no two playthroughs are likely going to be exactly the same."
Yes, but as far as I can tell plotwise the result is still the same. Imagine that there is kinetic VN game in detective genre. Now suppose the developer gave the player ability to customize what the detective drinks, coffee or cocoa, and what color of the tie that they wear, black or dark-blue, thus allowing for more of self-expression of the player. Will the game stop being kinetic? From point of view of my understanding of what kinetic novel is - no. I understand kinetic novels to be visual novels where the player can't influence the plot, even temporarily. Let's me emphasize the ending doesn't need to change for non-kinetic novel. Consider this alternative: the player is given a choice somethere in mentioned above hypothetical detective game that either will lead to folllowing a false lead or following the right lead. If they follow the false lead, then the criminals will have time to track down and muder the key witness, thus leading to a substory where the detective does much more of research and deduction to compensate for missing info. If they follow the right lead, then it will lead to adrenaline-filled substory about race against time, where the detective will rush to reach the key witness before the criminals and then transport them into a safe place in one piece. Will it still be a kinetic novel? Not from my perspective because the player can get two different plots, based on if they follow the right or the false lead, although both plots have the same ending (the criminals get caught).
"Yes, the many alterations are fun and pleasant rather than only some being good and some being bad, but that doesn't make them pointless choices- they're still fun and pleasant"
I'm afraid you misunderstood me here. I don't believe that choices are meaningful only if some of them are good and some of them are bad. Far from it. For me choices are meaningful only if they can influece the plot, even temporarily. Whatever whey would bring good or bad consequences is another question. You seems to interpret "meaningful choices" differently, as any choices that let the player to express themselves.
"This game simply isn't gonna punish players for creating the unique, highly customized life that they want to live."
Ah, I see your game design philosophy now. Your taget audience are people who value choices as way of self-expression and who, at the same time, like wholesome gameplay. You give them choices that are inconsequent plot-wise and ending-wise, but that allow them to express themselves. (The pinnacle of this approach is main character appearance customization screen. It's not only inconsequental plot-wise, the player literally can't see results of this customization for 99.99% of the game) People who mainly value choices as a tool for ends different from self-expression (like me. Seems like I just wasn't your target audience, pure and simple!) will likely feel like they have many choices that don't matter, thus not willing to make them in the first place. Also, they wouldn't mind to get some narrative setback for their choice, while self-expressionists would feel punished for their self-expression, even if this affected neither plot nor the ending.
"People who want to ruin everything will instead have their plans ruined, and I'm sorry that's the case for you."
Just clarification, I tried to ruin everything not because I wanted to make the main character suffer, but because it's the easy and sure way to test how consequent choices are. It's far easier to break status-quo by making a bad choice rather than making a good choice.
"If you don't think that's true, please read the comments of other people on this page. "
When I commented about your "Meaningful choices" tag I didn't imply some kind of objective meaninglessness. I meant that this tag is a lie for me personally. I simply don't value self-expression enough for incosequent choices to be meaningful to me. But again, I'm not a part of your target audience.
Have a nice day!
I appreciate the detailed explanation of what you meant! I had misunderstood and thought the problem was not being able to have bad conclusions happen. In that case, I would say Our Life does have those types choices that you're talking about. Not all the time, but not never either. If you play the game once you won't have seen all there is to see. The game requires multiple playthroughs to get all the content is has. It's not only aesthetic tweaks, though there are many of those too.
It's just in Our Life the impacts you control are based on the MC's and love interest's developed personalities, relationships, interests, and chosen activities, rather than plotlines. Such as choosing between getting a scene where you call a friend at home vs. getting a scene where you hang out at the beach, or choosing to tell the neighbor boy about his dad paying you to be his friend vs. keeping that a secret, or whether you have a crush on him vs. just thinking of him as a friend, or if you decide to panic and get frantic vs. simply remaining calm after losing something important, etc. All those have long changes on what you end up seeing and you'd have to play again, making different choices, to see the other side. And there are multiple ending scenes, but those are also based on the relationships and interests.
With that said, I'm not trying to change your mind about playing the game. I just wanted to answer your comment with what you had originally been talking about. I know that not everyone has fun with ways OL can be changed, that's understandable. Thank you for commenting!
Usually I prefer to wait for full game, but this one got my attention a few months ago. So I’ve got too curious and downloaded demo. One of the best experience I had so far. Can’t wait for complete version. I can say for sure that it’ll be a great game! For now I wish productivity and lots of inspiration for team!
Thank you very much! We're feeling quite motivated right now and will keep doing our best to get everything together for the release. We appreciate the support :D
This made my day!! <3 I really enjoyed it. The idea of knowing our own character and the others since a young age is awesome, being able to see them change and knowing more things about them on each stage made me fall more in love with the story, also how we can built the personality of our character <3 I appreciate how long the demo is c: Can't wait for the full game, great job!!
That's fantastic! I'm really happy you enjoyed the features and thank you very much for the kind comment ^^
Omgggg i just finished playing the demo and I have to say (and this isn't even me exagerating) this is probably one of the best dating sims I've played, it's so nice to establish the different types of relationships and the characters just feel so real and are so well written and the art is so endearing and the soundtrack is so heartwarming. I'm excited for November 2nd!!<3<3<3
Thank you!! I'm so glad you're enjoying the features and characters and all that. We'll try our best to make the game worth the wait :D
So this game will be out before the end of the year? I loved the demo!!
Yep! It's coming out November 2nd. I'm glad you like it.
I'm looking into your other games now! I'm so surprised it's going to be free, but a paid version with DLC?
Our other games are pretty different from Our Life, haha. But I hope you'll find something you like. And yeah, the game will be free with optional paid DLC!
I'm excited! I will definitely be getting the DLC to show my support :' )
Thank you :D
This. Is. ADORABLE! To be honest, I've seen this game a few times while searching for visual novels to play, but I never got around to play it until now! And I'm glad I did! Cove was definitely so cute :3 And I adore all of the interactions, not just between him, but also the protagonist with the other people around.
I love how everything was written so well done, and that you can freely choose who you want to be! I can't wait for the full release! <3 :D
Thank you so much! I appreciate you giving it a try and I'm happy you ended up enjoying it. We'll do our best to make the finished version worth the wait ^^
this game is so beautifully well made! i can tell lots of care & hard work went into this- cant wait for the full release! ^^
Thank you very much <3
I really liked the demo. I usually don't like visual novels but this game was amazing. The only question I have is there going to be more love interests or not?
I'm happy you liked the demo! There will be three LIs in total; Cove, Derek, and Baxter (who isn't in the demo).
I loved the demo of this so much i've replayed it aloott i'm excited for the full release cove is so adorable and i love how you made the indifference so crush thing I've never seen a game with one like that i'm planning on buying dlcs (when they are out) i hope everything is going well thank you for making amazing games. (no i'm not shoving it in my friends faces)
(yes i am how can i not show off a cute baby) <3
Thank you ^^!!
It's really wonderful that you liked the demo so much and that it felt worth replaying. I appreciate you wanting to support it and sharing it with your friends. That's nice of you <3
I just joined your patreon! i was so happy to try the patreon demo it was well worth it i made an account just for this ahah i really love this game way too much and my birthday is on november 4th im so excited for the 2nd i stayed up playing the demo >< you guys haven't even finished it and it's already this good!
Thank you so much for the support :D! It's fantastic to hear you thought the Patreon build was also really fun. We're trying our best to have the future events live up to the expectations set by the demo. And that's cool your birthday is almost the same as Cove's (November 2nd).
This game is so precious, and so well done. I absolutely love the story and the characters. I cannot tell you how many times I've played the demo, just because it's so enchanting. The work you're doing is wonderful. I am so extremely excited for the full game to come out. I just want to kiss Cove's face, he's so cute and awkward and adorkable. There was just something I was curious about. Is there going to be a mention of how the moms came to have Lizzie and the MC? Like, how they were adopted or something? It won't take away if there's not, it was something I was curious about. Keep up the good work! I can't wait for November!
Thank you <3!! I'm so happy you're having a good time with the demo.
You'll definitely have chances to smooch the baby boy once the game is finished. And there will be an event that goes over how the family came together. The scene is already available through the Patreon build. But it'll also be there in the free base game when that's released this November.
Oooooooo. I am excited! I wish I could help out your Patreon, but I'll have to wait until the full version comes out. When it does, I do plan to buy the DLCs, though!
Thank you for wanting to support the game by getting the DLCs! I really appreciate that <3
Probably the most thoughtful and well put-together romance games I have ever played. Everything is beautiful and gentle and realistic.
Thank you ;v;. That's so sweet of you to say. We're trying our best to make it feel natural.
I finished the demo a couple days ago and have been thinking about it nonstop since, so I thought I'd comment. This game is so beautifully made and it's not even finished yet! I felt so immersed in the story, and I was just filled with so much love and nostalgia. I finished the demo and was SO satisfied! It was just the right amount of game play that left me wanting more. I check the GBPatch socials and this page every day for updates, I'm so excited for the full release! I think, from what I have played, that this game is top tier. Art is perfection, story and customizations are immaculate. I have nothing bad to say. As someone who loves romance and otome style games, I HIGHLY recommend everyone play this. To the creators: thank you for being so dedicated to this game and to your community. I am so excited for the full release, and I am so excited to see what the future holds for your gaming creations!!!
Thank you so much for such wonderful praise! It's really nice to know it was a nice time for you. That's what we're striving for and we'll keep trying with the rest of the game.
And the next update for the demo should be right around August 1st! Hopefully it'll be just a good a time as the current stuff is.
Okay I haven't finished the demo yet but OMG its so good! The storyline, the art, the character design, the voices! I can NOT wait for the full release!
Thank you :D! I hope you'll end up enjoying the rest of the demo and the full game just as much.
okay so i literally made an account just so i can say how much i LOVE this game. ive been waiting for the game to release for ages and im so happy with it so far! i love the art and the game itself is so fun! i have waited SO long for a game that lets you customize your own character. this is one of the best visual novel games i have played! the story line is perfect so far and i have NOTHING negative to say about it. i cant stress how much i love it. i cant wait for the full game to release.
Thank you ;v;! That's sweet of you to go to the trouble in order to leave us a nice message. I'm so glad you liked the demo.
This game has the most immersive and inclusive system I have ever seen, from the customization of how you look and how even Cove looks down to the questions other characters can ask in game and the diverse amount of ways you can answer, catering to the individual personalities of whoever might be playing! It really is an awe inducing sight and the gameplay is just as adorable and makes you feel like you really are living out your life within this game world and I commend the team for so meticulously crafting it! The story so far has been quite touching without lacking in emotional complexity. It was a bit of a shocker we get to manipulate Cove's feelings as well but having that be an option just adds to the all-inclusiveness. Another thing I adore is the diversity and essentially how open-minded the cast are no matter what kind of character you choose to be! I wish I could fit all my feelings about this game in a single comment but I can't seem to express how great of an idea this was and how amazing it is to feel to be in the generation that gets to experience it. I can't buy or contribute anything as I am too young but in the future, I am excited to lend my support to the development of this project! I wish you all the best of luck!
Oh wow, thank you for such a nice comment <3! It's super encouraging to hear you like what we're going for. We'll try our best to make it worth all the support!
I am so so so in love with this game! I can't wait for the full game to be released!!
Thank you <3!!
Thank you :D! I'm so glad you're looking forward to it.
I love this game and will gladly support this project keep up the good work! <333
Thank you so much ;v;!