All interesting points. And all points that vary in their ability to be addressed. This is giving me a lot a think about now.

And Addit, I need to stress that I'm not after popularity or anything of the like. Just some design feedback, which you've given. Changing your user title like that is actually pretty embarrassing, so maybe you could dial that back a little? Ahahaha...

Now for your post.

author=Addit
But on a more serious front, I’ve been following this game and this series for a long time now. I remember playing the original “Sacred Earth: Bonds” WAYYYYYYYYY back on Gaming World many, many moons ago and I was just…wowed by all that pretty, pretty custom artwork and edited sprites; it just was amazing back then. And there was Gunnar. AND THEN THERE WAS GUNNAR! Although this isn’t my favorite RM game in the world, since I’m not a big fan of “dungeon crawlers” in general, *bIeh* I still had some fun with this one and some memories to take back from it. (yes, bad pun)

Ugh, Sacred Earth: Bonds. That game continues to haunt me, but apparently I seem to have done things right with it since people continue to laud it as good despite it's...innumerable and embarrassing number of flaws. It's a strange phenomenon to me really.

author=Addit
1.) No / Lack Of Hype For This Project

Other than the “Release Something Day Demo,” there hasn’t been that much new information about this game in quite some time. And although you do have that blogsite you often post updates on, it really doesn’t seem like there is much new information coming in. You need to hype that shit up, sister! Maybe not as much as some of the other, more spammable hype machine games around here *cough* *cough* but it would be nice to receive some additional information once and awhile on this game.

Ah, right. hype. It's been so long and I've grown so out of touch and unenthusiastic with the RPG Maker community as a whole. And while I used to be a regular, I seem to have lost my will to keep hold of that activity and keep oiling up the 'hype machine' like I've been so accustomed to in the past.

Maybe I'm just old now. Hah.

author=Addit
2.) Nobody Knows Who You Are Anymore!

I rarely see you here anymore. If you swung by once and awhile, other people would look at your profile page and go like, “Oh, yeah. I remember her. She made that game with that “blue haired” freak and that extremely long ass dungeon that is so frustrating to explore. I WANNA GO PLAY THAT GAME AGAIN!!!” I know you’re busy, but you gotta “comingle” like you used to do back then. On Gaming World, you were a regular just like me at the time. Now, nobody knows who you are anymore. (well except for the usual suspects)

I think this goes hand in hand with the above section, so I'll leave this alone.

author=Addit
3.) This Game’s Old News

I know that “Memory” is a separate entry – but let’s face it, this game is old news, now. Everybody has already played either one of the many different versions for this series, so there isn’t that much left to hold on to now.

I don't get this one. Bonds and Memory are two different games with two different plots as you have said above. All that remains is the cast plus some new additions. There hasn't been anything else I've put out beside these two that touches on SE, unless you're an olllllld oldie from back in 04-05. But I won't go into that era and the projects associated with it. For everyone's sake, heh.

author=Addit
4.) Confusing, Confusing Mechanics

WHY IS THIS GAME SO BLOODY HARD!? Maybe it isn’t as difficult for everybody else, but I just never seem to stand a chance against anyone in these newer games of yours. Grrrrrrrrrr…!!!

I think this is a case in which the mechanics need to be explained better. But I firmly believe it's not that hard. ...I just need to get it across. That's up to me now. It's not your fault, it's mine.

author=Addit
5.) Changes, Changes, Changes

To be honest, I personally thought that you should have stayed with the original entry to this series; I thought it was great. There really wasn’t any reason to go fix or change anything or even do a sort of “side story” to it all; just concentrate on doing another game in the series altogether. You were on the right track by doing “Sacred Earth Bonds 2” after finishing up the first one, which looked pretty promising. And even though it was a sequel to the original, it still had enough “uniqueness” about it to be rather inciting. But then you cancelled that and did “this” game in its place.

And then…what the hell happened to Gunnar, man!? He used to be the rational fuzzball that made me fell in love with him because of his “cowardness”. And then you introduced him to Ryan Braun’s secret stash and made him all mucho-like. You basically killed him with once false swoop of the pen.

Well, in regards to the first section, Memory happened because I didn't tell the story I wanted to tell in Bonds. It was like a small anecdote. Incomplete, and very shoddy. Yet, in my journey to tell the actual story, I seem to have lost all the charm that made Bonds...Bonds. I really have no idea what to do about this anymore.

In regards to your second section, I don't understand. Gunnar hasn't changed much. He's still careful, cautious, and ever long suffering. He's no macho. He's not exploding with heroic energy, or fighting off armies of dragons by himself. He's...Gunnar.

I'm not actually upset, but please; tell me how I killed Gunnar, because from my eyes, I'm writing him as he has been. Unless becoming the leading man has made him different somehow.

Phew, all that said, thanks for your input, even if you haven't actually played the game, haha!

And then...

author=Archeia_Nessiah
1. Instead of using backgrounds that are from random pixiv artists, I think you should utilize your tilesets instead to emphasize your game's setting for the cutscenes. It does make it ridiculously jarring when I see Mir's stronghold like some wooden cottage with Japanese-unrelated text to it, etc.

Yeah, this is a problem. It started out as 'this looks like a good placeholder' let me use this for now...which turned into whole pile of BGs that aren't mine. It's generally bred out of the desire to prune away mapping and dungeon exploration and cutting down on sprite events whenever possible, but it's a design angle that isn't really all that savory when the work isn't mine.

I need to figure out what to do about this.

author=Archeia_Nessiah
2. I am still 50-50 about the node system. But that now is a personal choice.

I'm generally of the opinion that the node system is an interesting one. I'm sure people are more used to running around with sprites and such, which makes it harder to sell, but I think it works better under a 'visual novel' type approach.

But I have to ask then; what would make it better?

author=Archeia_Nessiah
3. The tutorial overload at the intro, why not just use pictures instead of explaining everything as bullet points or something

I thought of doing this already. It's just a matter of when I'll buckle down and implement it. I'll definitely have to try it soon though. Pictures and visuals of what will happen instead of just text seems to be the way to go.

author=Archeia_Nessiah
4. I do admit that I liked Gunnar better because he was a coward, now he feels too Kyon-like. It was nice to have a leading lady with twintails and then have the cowardly brother actually have potential and steal the spotlight. But I'm guessing by now that doesn't matter since you have far gone with the game's story.

Now this I continue fail to understand even to this day.

I never believed that I was writing Gunnar any differently than I had been. He's not suddenly a brave hero running off to take on the most dangerous of foes with the wind at his back. He's still just as careful and long suffering as he has been. And Veili is just as impulsive and rude as she has been. It's just that their protagonist roles have been switched.

Does the change of their protagonist roles somehow change the lens in which they're viewed? Because I really continue to fail to see it. And it's driving me up a wall now. Have I lost touch with my characters?

I'm very worried now.

author=Archeia_Nessiah
5. I didn't like that intro where the text and then the two characters on the bridge. The presentation for that one is just way off.

And I'm apparently never going to get the intro right. I think that at this point, the best bet would be to throw away all manner of foreshadowing and just jump right into present day. I've made three intros now, at three different periods of the project's development, and all three of them have failed.

Which brings up an interesting question; does there /need/ to be an intro? Or can diving straight into present day without any foreshadowing or past/future event literary devices be considered enough of an intro to move on with?

-------------------------------------

ALL OF THAT SAID HOWEVER

I both of these posts have given me a ton of food for thought.

I think that in the end, I may just have to go and play Bonds again myself and find out just what it is that I lost so mysteriously in the years passed.

It'll be a good learning experience, despite how much I loathe the game.