Stories that left you disappointed for a reason

[yourstalkeroutside]

Seems like the thousand of us is back with a rewrite. Honestly, I could not complete it. It has a more defined MC and honestly don’t like it. The crying and such is a turn off for my enjoyment. Feels more forced.

Plus, godmode is the only reason I enjoyed it, was the brainless power fantasy I crave sometimes. And even though the demo does not get far it feels nerfed. Now I have to wait years just to get back to where we were I bet. The sad reality of WIPs, rewrite hell.

It's a whole bunch of nothing. If anything it's worse than the original because it strips player choice away in favour of a false complexity that just makes me wish that they had decided to write a novel instead. I liked the original choices where I could play as a poor but popular orphan rather than being forced into the shoes of an entitled, bratty child.

 

[Emtastic]

It's a whole bunch of nothing. If anything it's worse than the original because it strips player choice away in favour of a false complexity that just makes me wish that they had decided to write a novel instead. I liked the original choices where I could play as a poor but popular orphan rather than being forced into the shoes of an entitled, bratty child.

Also nodding in agreement to all this. It just feels like a novel. I can't choose my character's background, how they react, how they feel. I can't even choose most of what they do other than some very broad, easy branches. I am forced to blubber about my family. And, ignoring that some people just don't like their family, since we've gotten no real introduction to these people, why am I supposed to care, as a reader? I get wanting a driving motivation for a protag, but this feels so... limiting for character building to make "you" a spoiled rich brat who looooooves their family so much they're going to helplessly cry about things. Being able to choose "hello?" "helloooo?" and "helloooooooo????" (exaggerating, but not much) as options isn't, uh, very gripping.

Just write a novel. If this wasn't meant to be MY character, this might be interesting. But as it is, if you dont even want to write flavor-text versions of branches, this feels rather... eh.

 

[God]

Also nodding in agreement to all this. It just feels like a novel. I can't choose my character's background, how they react, how they feel. I can't even choose most of what they do other than some very broad, easy branches. I am forced to blubber about my family. And, ignoring that some people just don't like their family, since we've gotten no real introduction to these people, why am I supposed to care, as a reader? I get wanting a driving motivation for a protag, but this feels so... limiting for character building to make "you" a spoiled rich brat who looooooves their family so much they're going to helplessly cry about things. Being able to choose "hello?" "helloooo?" and "helloooooooo????" (exaggerating, but not much) as options isn't, uh, very gripping.

Just write a novel. If this wasn't meant to be MY character, this might be interesting. But as it is, if you dont even want to write flavor-text versions of branches, this feels rather... eh.

You just described my feelings. The texting part made me stop playing. Just because how cringe it was to me. The three choices were, hello??? Please???? Please I’ll do anything??? Like wth is this.

IFs lose me when they try to tell me how to feel. The first version did a good job to me making me pissed about Ari. This version is too much, just shoving the family down your throat. Less is more in this case.

 

[100Poems]

God of Chaos. It just released.

Human corruption and to an extent obsession. One could write a whole story about how 'the machine' is bad but the actual reasons behind it are given next to no thought. You'll have a story filled with people worshipping technology and efficiency, but the conclusion always ends with the technology is bad and not that the way we use it is bad. I find it a cop out because it puts the blame elsewhere instead of blaming ourselves. It's annoying reading these types of stories because it's usually written by people who have never lived anywhere rural or spent time in nature longer than a day trip so they have rose-coloured glasses about the realities of nature and how life was 'back then' when the truth is everything but. They have never carried a bucket of water from a stream or hand washed more than one item but they romantise it.

In God of Chaos You learn that the guy who killed you is the one running the machine that's running humanity, this gets very little screen time before he dies and humanity is set back to basically nothing. From the very beginning of the story, you get 'everything about this is bad and should be destroyed' there's little world building (though I have given up on getting decent world building in an IF these days) just an endless sermon. Even the route that is closest to 'technology and nature can coexist' basically ends like you didn't make that choice.

If you don't go in with the mindset that 'cities and technology is bad' then you will not enjoy the story because that's all the story is about.

I don't mind myself. I do hate stories like these though. The only purpose it serves is to stroke the authors ego and sense of morality rather than tell a story or even impart a message properly. Basically, I hate when things lack nuisance and this particular issue gets a lot of black and white thinking from 'grass always greener' syndrome.

Besides, there's a massive difference between 'I believe that this is better but recognise that certain things benefit me' and 'I believe this is better and everything that isn't that is bad, and I refuse to recognise the ways it benefits me because I solely look at the negatives and this is what I know.' The latter is annoying as hell to deal with.

Ohh i understand now, yeah that makes sense, it definitely does get a little annoying when things are simplified like that

Thanks for going into more depth with it!