trinian
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Reign of Jess Retrospective
🕑 Added 2024-06-20 00:25:33 +0000 UTC
Hi, all. I know that public posts have been a bit sparse of late, this was down to a series of things making unreasonable demands on my time, not least the rush to get Chapter Six done and out. Real life is currently still on the busy side, but I'm hoping to get a bit more regular with these as summer progresses. (Or winter, if you're in the Southern Hemisphere...)
But anyway, today I'll be doing the traditional outro on the recently-released content, and then next time, we'll focus on what's ahead. Because this is the end of a major arc, I'll also be discussing the Reign of Jess story as a whole and welcome all comments and criticism below. Needless to say that if you haven't played Chapter Six yet, you should definitely stop reading now and go and play it first, as today's piece contains a discussion of major plot twists in the chapter and the ending. Don't worry, the poll at the bottom will run for a whole week.
The Reign of Jess is a story that has been in my mind (and partly on my computer) for nearly four years. One of the first things I wanted to do after I had this insane idea to make a game with a repeating school day and an immersive story and world was have my brand spanking new villainess Jessica blackmail and dominate the heroine. It was always the case that part one would be the day at school in which Missy is punished relentlessly, then in part 2, we'd assume control of Abbie and head for Fivaviana where she'd get mixed up with Scarlett and eventually find the solution in the Oblidar pills. When the scale of what I wanted to do with Fivaviana became apparent, I split part 2 into parts 2 and 3.
I opted for an ending that puts everything back to as close to normal as possible, so that I can continue the story into Act 2 without it wildly diverging and every new update after this taking a year to make! Many of you would have preferred that Jess had won so that you could remain her slave forever, while just as many would have liked this story not to have been told at all so that you didn't have to be her slave for three chapters.
There's no squaring this circle. Not without putting in insanely diverging branching paths that would require huge amounts of time to add relatively small amounts of content anyway. It can be mitigated to a degree - some on the subby side have suggested a bad ending in which Jess wins and it's game over - this is possible, and along with some of the other scenes that I didn't have time to make, such as more fun with the bad girls, I can always go back and add them in later, while really the only option for those of you looking to play a dominant Missy would be for Chapters 4, 5 and 6 to be skipped entirely. I've floated this possibility before on forums and people have largely thought it was a bad solution.
However, while the solution I did choose - a drug that erases memories - may seem a little contrived (at least it didn't all turn out to be a dream,) it does have the shining virtue of allowing me to have told a story with high stakes and seemingly-life-changing events and then afterwards have everyone go back to school the next day none the wiser. More on this below.
Why Abbie?
It's been noted that setting up the whole thing with Jess dominating Missy then instead playing as Abbie while all that goes on elsewhere was an interesting choice for a sex game, (Abbie also acknowledges this in-game with a fourth wall break,) but bear with me here. If you'd spent the whole time with Missy... what would you actually do? What sort of gameplay would there have been for me to put in? At best, you'd have spend your time walking around Jess's house in what amounted to a scene finder that would have been quite short. This way, we still got to see all the terrible things Jess did to Missy while playing a full adventure with Abbie.
It would have been nice to have had time to add a second scene will all four bad girls, but again, there were already so many scenes in Chapter Six that time became a factor, and also once the Scarlett's base sequence started, I didn't want to pull the player away from it and break immersion. And once Abbie was back out into the big wide world in her birthday suit, there was plenty of humiliation going on on-screen anyway.
Why the reset?
This is the part I was the least sure about in terms of the reaction. As expected, some people hated it, but most seem to at least see the need for it. If I'd had this idea later in development, I could perhaps have made it the final chapters with the player getting to determine the outcome, with it ending in anything from Missy remaining Jess's toy forever to Jess being expelled and sent to an obedience school as Miss Paris described.
The fact is that I actually have something even more dramatic planned for later in the game, so it's as well that it worked out the way it did. ^^
It should be obvious why I went the way I did - the mindwipe enables me to now slide effortlessly back into the school in Act 2 with most characters thinking that little has changed. No one who knew what was happening remembers it and no one who remembers it knew what was really happening. Except Missy, if you decided to flush the pill, as about 3/4 of my supporters did!
Finally, I've left myself writing space in two ways, one of which was easy to miss: Firstly the obvious: we know that victims of Oblidar can regain their memories, as evidenced by Scarlett, and second, which you could have missed if you chose to have Emily help you get back to the ferry instead of Tina, is that two women you can overhear talking at the docks say that no one was found at the slaver base and Scarlett has disappeared. I won't bother pretending this is the last we'll see of her. She'll be back.
Why Fivaviana?
But wait, Trinian, couldn't you have done everything you wanted to do in this story by opening up a new area of Sapphory City instead of making a whole new town? Well... maybe, but going to another city was cool! Plus it allowed me to do things like have Abbie wander around naked without it affecting things back home. The idea to add Emily in came late on in development, but was something I was very pleased with and gave us a great ending to Chapter Five.
The big choice
I know that some of you don't like making choices without having an idea where they'll lead, and this one probably brought you out in hives, but this is a choice-based game after all, and there had to be some consequences after it was over. Remember though that there are no right or wrong choices, and you should always play Missy as you see fit, then find out how badly things go for her as a result!
All we know so far is that whether or not Missy remembers what Jess did to her is likely to have an effect on Jess's upcoming relationship quest (now that we're into Act 2, this will become an option for my School Council and Noblewoman tier supporters.) Exactly how it affects your relationship with Jess remains to be seen.
Jess and Miss Paris's character development
In the Chapter Five retrospective, I discussed the impact that this story has had on the characters of Jessica and Miss Paris, a subject on which some players have offered strong opinions. What I of course couldn't say at the time was "hey, it's fine! Everyone's memory is getting wiped anyway, I've got a big old undo coming, so I can make things as extreme as I want without breaking anything permanently. Chill!"
But... yeah, what I just said. We as players have had a look into the darkest recesses of Jess's psyche, and seen what she would do with unchecked power - behave like a member of the nobility - but none of the characters know it happened. Miss Paris is back on top and has no memory of her humiliation and Jess is back to being a sulky schoolgirl brat who's biggest powerplay is making you act as a footrest for her if she wins at volleyball (though as things ramp up in Act 2 this will change...)
And of course, in Act 2, you'll be able to get into both of their panties ^^
Anyway, please take a moment to fill out the customary customer satisfaction survey, please choose as many options as you like.
Have a great week!
Trinian
Comments
Mysterious Girl
Did someone say more humiliation scenes for Miss Paris?? I'm in. Also yeah, a 'game over' where Jesse wins was sorely missed (especially given there was a game over where Scarlett wins).
Mysterious Girl
I agree, I prefer bratty Missy (not necessarily domme or rebel, but at least defiant). It was very strange how Missy just gave up and went totally spineless when 'the player' wasn't around. Apparently she derives her entire backbone from the player?
Mysterious Girl
I think it was too long, but only considering it was in a random town with one-off characters. I don't think you strictly have to 'stick to school' but I think you should at least 'stick to town.' I agree there was no way to 'square the circle,' but in my opinion the mistake was putting the story into a place where you felt like it HAD to be rolled back or nothing could continue.
denthad
my only gripe with the reign of jess was not allowing misty to fight back at all even after abbie had left. im not a fan of having the character ive played to act a certain way, completely 180 and act the complete opposite. if we were still allowed to make choices for misty, mine would have made jess's life a living hell, biting, kicking, pulling hair. even if it means she ended up blood and broken by the end. the way i was playing misty was someone who even if she went down, she went down fighting the entire way. overall i didnt mind it because i got to have my revenge on jess in a rather brutal fashion, but i still feel like jess deserved to suffer more. i would have made misty's revenge a hell of a lot darker and more brutal. All this to say, Pls give us more options for Evil Dom/Rebel misty, i cant be the only one who likes to play dom.
Jacob Freeland
Also, this isn't related to the chapter, but this seems as good a place to suggest it as any: I think it would be a fun little detail if a Missy who doesn't take the blue pill could keep the slave collar that Jess bought for her and wear it as a sort of trophy. It could be an equipment item that gives a smallish defense bonus, since HP is really just morale, and now Missy can always say to herself in a fight: "I survived Jess's torture, and this is nothing compared to that!"
Jacob Freeland
I felt like there were too many sex scenes in chapter five. Every time I accomplished something, I was pulled back to another, and it got to the point where I was thinking, "This is tedious, I just want to get on with my mission!" On the other hand, chapter six could have comfortably fit another one, maybe two. Chapter six is definitely closer to the right amount though, IMO.
rhys
id like to clarify why I clicked the reign of Jess was largely a bad thing I don't mean I didnt enjoy Jess doming Missy its the opposite I clicked it because I was hopping to spend more time with jess and Missy in other words I wish part's two and three were more like part one so if it remains the case that im the only one who has clicked largely bad that is the reason why
mitch
I really liked chapter six. Despite the fact I prefer to play as a dominant Missy I do not mind seeing her being dominated. Especially if we can get revenge :-) I was not a big fan of the mind-wipe mechanic it felt very convenient and far-fetched and made the whole saga feel like it had little weight behind it. however, I do understand its reason for existence. So I am not too mad about it I just hope going forward there are better ways to end chapters. However, I would definitely like to see more choices. I guess that is why I prefer the side content over the main content because it feels like you have more control over what happens and can actually make a difference. I understand that significant choices may be a little pull off but more smaller choices in our approach of the chapters would be great. Overall I do like the way this game is going and am very excited for Act 2 and everything else you have planned. Keep up the good work!
Trinian
Don't worry, I've seen where trying to please all the people all the time leads, and I have my clear red lines around my creative vision ^^
Frank Baum
I highly appreciate your efforts to listen to your supporters and taking everybody's feedback into consideration. But I also think that you should stay the course of your overall concepts in order to keep the story and the game consistent. For me, it is clear that you have to keep the alternative scenarios limited. And if you need to introduce some sort of "forget everything" drug to recollect different strands then go ahead with it whether it is popular or not. I hope there is still lots to come in this game and that you will continue on the project as you have done so far. As much as I like you to respond to the input of the supporters, I hope you will keep a good eye on what is feasible from your perspective such that you don't end up in an explosion of different scenarios that cannot be handled at all.
Iztari
I think the issue here is that unlike Missy, who can be bad or good base on how we control her, Abbie is good. An example of this is after defeating Scarlett you can try to get Abbie to have fun with her unconscious body and she rejects the idea.
Iztari
"The fact is that I actually have something even more dramatic planned for later in the game" This makes me really excited for the future of the game. Also really excited for the possibility of seeing Scarlett come back, hopefully this might mean more humiliation scenes for Miss Paris. For overall feedback on the update itself I'll leave it again that my only complaints are more of the selfish kind. Wanting more scenes with the bad girls, longer more elaborate game over scenes, and a Jess wins game over scene, but none of this were really needed is just me greedily wanting more. It is nice to hear that some of those are not off the table for future updates down the line. Really excited for Act II.
JD
Mentioned this before, but since this post is more relevant, I'll say it again. For me, it's not just that there were no choices, but that there were a lot of places where there could have been choices. Everyone Abbie helped seemed like there should have been an "easy option" bad outcome where instead of helping the innocent person, we help the "bad guy" to get the same outcome a faster way, at the cost of a bad outcome for the people involved. Examples are: Tell the governess aide at the slave auction the person is a rebel, get the information we wanted from her instead as a reward, and a bad ending for the slave and guard, instead of running around doing a long quest. Tell the noble at the bar about the woman hiding in the backroom instead of helping the hiding woman get rid of her, getting information from her instead. Lie to the woman in the stocks about helping her to get the information, then immediately putting the gag back in.
J P
yeah it was good stuff. I liked the concept of small bad ends. maybe where you could play for a bit of a loop after. I def don't hate the idea of darker.
Ariel Herrera M
I love it, and for that the chapter I feel too short, but if the game continues like this chapter goes for good road.
NobaraAdict
I think it could have been slightly darker. But it was still amazing
