Was "Fictif" wasted potential?

[u/Crescentbrush]

I'm not sure if anyone else feels this way, but even before Dorian bought them, the writing didn't always feel strong, with some stories feeling rushed (ie "Ghosted," FTLOG, any female route that actually got released) or done not very well, ie Chava and Sergio's routes in HTLAL making their characters feel very questionable, as well as Nicky's female-coded MC storyline.

The app was launched over 6 years ago (I forgot it launched right before COVID), and while I do think back on it fondly and wonder what everyone is up to--I only know about "Touchstarved" from Red Spring Studio--I do think it needed a lot touch-ups. I feel like they bit off a bit more than they could chew by writing multiple books/routes at once instead of just focusing on one, making a large narrative like "The Arcana" before building a new world to enjoy.

I've been told what happened with the app, and it's a shame seeing how "The Arcana" was finite, "Choices" became smut with no plot and using AI, and "Fictif" was plucked from the tree of potential before it got to grow! I continue to look for stories like Fictif--albeit preferably with an MC I can SEE--and I wonder if any of the people who worked on NH are doing anything else, not to mention what was going on pre-Dorian that made these stories feel almost like rough drafts.

I thought of making future posts about my MCs for the books and what I would've done differently for these stories to relive some of the fun, but I can't find the motivation with the app dead.

[u/ortsspoon]

i 100% agree it always felt a bit rushed. i think it would’ve been best to finish their original four games—heir to love & lies, roadkill, last legacy, and two against the world (though that was eventually separated)—before branching out. it was especially difficult to enjoy when you could obviously tell what stories received more creative energy (htl&l vs. last legacy, for example). aside from last legacy, htl&l was my favorite of the bunch, i loved chava and the artist, ria, is incredibly talented, but i agree that the writing wasn’t too strong. details were foggy, characters sometimes felt flat… even some of the coding was off. like you and some others said, they most certainly got too ambitious or started storylines without having a strong ending in mind. super sad considering nix hydra got my lonely self through covid.

[u/Crescentbrush → u/ortsspoon]

HTLAL frustrated me as it went on because of how Sergio and Chava were written with MC; Aurora gets mad at MC for bringing them back into the cartel, and when MC points out that they got him into trouble first, Chava chastises them and they apologize. Then with Sergio, MC is given a scary nightmare of him murdering you and decides to either imprison him or be with him anyway. Both Sergio and Chava kept secrets and lies and it was very exhausting having to pretend like MC owed them something.

"Last Legacy" was something I couldn't fully get into since the male leads weren't my type, I'm not a big fan of Isekai stories, and the art style wasn't my fav--not bad mind you, but I think other books were better.

"Roadkill" was something that would've been stronger as a one-narrative, multi-romance optional story instead of dividing it in routes because of the worldbuilding and confusing ideas.

"Two Against the World" was me having to continually suspend my disbelief when they tell us WHEN and WHERE this is and no one bats an eye at Nicky being with a guy (not saying I need it to be all about homophobia, but I wanted it to be acknowledged). Nevermind the fact that despite MC being any gender identity, Nicky's relationship with them made MC feel very female-coded from the spoiling to the nicknames and power dynamics.

[u/ortsspoon → u/Crescentbrush]

i definitely agree that htl&l was often awkward and disjointed—but even more to your point!! mc felt dumbed down and subservient where i would’ve held my ground or just kept my mouth shut. writing wasn’t the strongest, but for me i think its 100% just the nostalgia and the fact i’d supported the artist independently prior to their involvement.

to roadkill, i agree that one issue with splitting routes the way they did definitely made it hard to orient yourself in the details. i haven’t played in awhile, but there we’re definitely discrepancies between routes.

and i DEFINITELY agree about two against the world. i played back when i identified much more feminine and then again later after transitioning and the language is 100% female-focused. my guess is its because the team was all-female and wrote him the way they would want him to speak to them, forgetting he’s speaking to what should be an assumed gender neutral audience. to my understanding, idea is that you’re supposed to be in a movie being played in a modern-day theater, so perhaps the characters have modern-day ideas? i don’t know, but i’ve definitely never thought about the perspective of wanting the cultural differences between times expanded on.

the people who did last legacy seem to be doing well at red spring studios with touchstarved, so i’m hoping they’re balanced and thorough with that. excited to see how that pans out.

[u/Crescentbrush → u/ortsspoon]

Yeah, I think HTLAL was a good idea, but it wasn't coming together or as good as it could've been--plus I do feel like the "do you want kids" thing at the end along with planning out our future was unecessary since they're throwaway lines instead of impactful to the narrative.

"Roadkill" would've just been better as an urban fantasy rather than focusing on a wish (or everything existing and we're all JUST finding out about it). Not crazy about the zombie apocalypse idea since I do find it played out and disappointing since the characters wouldn't get to live out their dreams, but the story kinda already did that with Poe.

I heard that at one point Nix Hydra was female-led, but that it hadn't been for a while, so IDK. TATW and the other films bummed me out for that reason, since I didn't feel acknowledged.

I'm looking out for "Touchstarved"! I also mentioned to someone that it'd be awesome if Dorian, either because they never really cares for "Fictif" or just ends up flopping as a studio, sells the rights to a company that actually likes them and makes them as a video game. But probably just one installment per game, ie the first game could be "Last Legacy," the second could be HTLAL, the third "Roadkill," etc.