|
Let's Play Roommates from He-, er, College!  Simply put, it's a visual novel in a college setting made by Winter Wolves. You can follow the life of Max, an up and coming rock star seeking to launch his band, or Anne, a shy, timid bookworm that is trying to break out of her shell and make friends during their first year at college. They have been assigned to the Latin House where they will be living for the next year. Their roommates are Dominic, Sally, Isabella and Rakesh which Max and Anne can romance (they can also romance each other). If you gain enough points and stats with the person you want to be with, you will have a special ending with him or her. I will go into the details later when it becomes eligible. Why are you playing this and why should I care? Good question! I've played several other visual novels in the past but I could never really get into them because they're either incomplete, strange or just plain boring. Roommates was the only visual novel that actually caught - and kept - my attention throughout the entire novel. The characters are actually very likable and believable, and I couldn't help but fall in love with every single one of them. The humor also helps. I hope you guys will also enjoy this visual novel as much as I did. You can view the trailer here.  There are 6 major characters in the visual novel. We're going to start with two you can pick at the start of the game: Anne and Max. Note that the spoiled parts are additional information revealed through the story, so skip over those if you do not want to be spoiled.  Anne Sexual Orientation: Player-determined Dateable by: Max She's shy and timid, but a very intelligent bookworm that came to college to further her education and try to break out of her shell to make friends. She seems to be particularly interested in fantasy and detective novels. An excellent role player once she gets into it. Used to play video games in the past. Didn't declare her major at the start, but eventually majored in Library Science.  Max Sexual Orientation: Player-determined Dateable by: Anne He doesn't really care about education. He's just at college to get away from his parents, earn money through part-time jobs to be free from his parents and promote his pop rock band, Back Alley Flash. He likes to party and get drunk. Really good with the guitar. Not as good in role playing, but he's improving. Is studying Music. Latin House Roommates  Dominic Sexual Orientation: Straight Dateable by: Anne only Dominic is the uptight RA of the Latin House. He always tries to make sure that the house is run properly and by the rules. However, he does not really seem to follow up on his threats of actually reporting his residents so his housemates tend to not take him seriously. Works as a teacher's assistant. Studying Physics. Likes to play MMO's and video games in his spare time.  Sally Sexual Orientation: Straight Dateable by: Max only Do you love animals and vegetarians? Then you're in the right place, Sally is the one for you. She's a very cheery and perky girl, and will do anything (and I do mean ANYTHING) to help animals. She's very easy to get along with as long as she's calm and relaxed. She also loves to meditate. Works at a local vegetable farm. Attending college to study Political Science. Currently taking care of Vegemite. May have a thing for Memphis, Max's bandmate. Confirmed to be together on Week 21 if you are not actively pursuing her as Max.  Isabella Sexual Orientation: Pansexual Dateable by: Anne and Max She's a very forward and flirty girl, and she's not afraid to show it. She's also a very stern woman and doesn't need anyone to back her up as she can easily defend herself. However, she does have her delicate moments and must be carefully approached if you do not want to be on her bad side. Loves to party as well. Works at Lingua Franca, a campus cafe. Currently has a boyfriend, Chad, but their relationship is a bit shaky. Finally ended their relationship on Week 14. Especially good at role playing in the sexy variety. Attending college to become a teacher. Also studied drama and dancing as her hobbies.  Rakesh Sexual Orientation: Bisexual Dateable by: Anne and Max Rakesh is the resident artist. He likes to take an orthodox approach to doing his artwork, and it shows in his art pieces. He's a bit naive when it comes to American traditions as he comes from cross the sea, and can be a bit absent minded. Even after all of that, he's still a very genuine person. Does not seem to take exercising (at least jogging) seriously. Does not seem to have a job. May be likely Hindi. Good at role playing. Currently studying to become a doctor due to his parents' wishes, but really wants to be an artist instead. You can check out their "Suitability Reports" here to learn a little more about them during their interviews. Secondary Characters  Marvin Sexual Orientation: Likely Straight First met at the party on Week 1 by Anne, outside in the quad by Max in Week 2. Seems to be a nice guy, although much is unknown about him other than he may be a brown noser. May like to party. May be a non-drinker or a light drinker, as he didn't seem to be drunk when Anne first met him. May be likely straight since he was interested in Anne at the party. Name is finally revealed on Week 15 during the Prisoner's Dilemma event. Also revealed to be the Dean's son, or at least a relative. Revealed to possibly be a stage manager during Max - Isabella's route. According to a tweet from Kinotu, a writer for Roommates, Marvin is not an actual character. Here's the tweet: Kinotu posted:Marvin is a generic student, he isn't actually a character. Inside Joke: every person who works at jobs with you is his brother. That would explain why Marvin hasn't made a lot of appearances compared to other characters in the novel.  Carmen Sexual Orientation: Likely Straight First met at the busking event on Week 2 by Anne and in Professor Tasque's office on Week 5 as Max. Seems to be a very perky and cheerful girl. May or may not love music. Likely straight since she called Max cute, but it may just be a play. Appears to have slight crush on Max. She is a classmate of Anne, and might be slightly competitive with Anne when it comes to grades.  Chad Sexual Orientation: Straight First met at the busking event on Week 2 by Anne and at Lingua Franca on Week 3 by Max. Seems to be a... stereotypical jock type, since he's huge and plays football. Likely straight as his girlfriend is Isabella, and he has hit on Anne at Lingua Franca at one point. A bit of a sexist pig. His relationship with Isabella is a bit shaky. Isabella ended their relationship on Week 14 when Chad tried to bring another woman into the relationship for a potential threesome.  Butch Sexual Orientation: Undetermined First met at the Halloween event on Week 4 by Anne and Max. May be a stereotypical nerd due to his small suture and iconic swirly glasses. Seems to like roleplaying. A part of Alpha Theta Rho, a fraternity. Revealed to be named Butch in Week 10, but he hates that name and would rather be called by his middle name, Terrence. Likely studying science.  Roxanne Sexual Orientation: Undetermined First met at the Halloween event on Week 4 by Anne and Max. Seems a bit cold and serious, but may like roleplaying and art, as she knew Rakesh, regularly goes to the Art Store and plays Tabletop RPGs. Seems to be a bit rude and looks down upon people that is not smart or smarter than her, but if you treat her nicely she will do you right.  Vegemite Sexual Orientation: ... First met outside the Latin House on Week 5 by Anne and Max. Found by Sally while wandering the streets. Likely abandoned with no name until Sally named him. Is a male puppy. Is currently living at the Latin House, being taken care by Sally.  Professor Tasque Sexual Orientation: Undetermined First meet on Week 5 by Anne and Max in his office. A teacher of Anne and Carmen, as he knew them personally and likes them as students (Max is an exception, it seems like). Seems to be very nice and intelligent. He teaches Sociology. He is the only tenured professor at Liberty, and he seems to like abusing his position for entertainment.  Memphis Sexual Orientation: Likely Straight First met on Week 6 by Anne at Lingua Franca, introduced by Sally. First met at Gaz's Bar on Week 4 by Max. Memphis may or may not be his real name. A bandmate of Max. May be good with the guitar as well, as he carries around a guitar case. A great lyricist as well. May have a thing for Sally - confirmed to be together on Week 21 on any route other than Max - Sally. A bit of a flirt, but he knows when to keep it in check.  Professor Merriweather Sexual Orientation: Undetermined First met in class on Week 10 by Anne and Max. Not as bad as Professor Tasque, because she is not tenured. Teaches Anatomy. Likely also has a degree in Law, but she may have just been sarcastic. Smitty Works at Lingua Franca as a prep cook. Smitty may or may not be his real name. Takes his job seriously. Tara Was Marvin's partner during the Prisoner's Dilemma subplot. Betrayed Marvin to get an easy A. As a result, Marvin failed the course. Jared He partners up with whoever you do not partner up with during the Prisoner's Dilemma event. The results is based on the RNG. Jovia Sally's friend. Not much is known about her, but she is likely also a vegan and loves animals as they are friends. Gaz Owner of a bar where Max performs at. Allows Max and his band to practice and perform at his bar as long as he doesn't have anyone bigger booked. Rebecca One of Max's bandmates. Works the drums. Her real name is Rebecca, but the gang calls her Slim on account of her always wearing a hoodie. Has a boyfriend that is much larger than her, but seems to know how to treat her right. Jerry One of Max's bandmates. He plays the keyboard. He tends to be bad with being on time. An excellent make up artist. There are other secondary characters and they will come up in the story during certain choices. I will introduce them very briefly when they show up.  It will be a SSLP. I'm not going to take a screenshot of every message; just when it's appropriate, funny or gives you a choice. I will transcribe the conversations to save time. I am playing the iPad version which has IAP's. Which I will not touch. I will have people vote at choices before continuing on. After Anne and Max's playthroughs are done, I will show the remaining routes through a "pruned" version. That means if the event does not involve the date target at all that you can increase your relationship with, I will exclude it to save time. Many of the events are the same in the novel regardless of who you date, after all. In events that does, I will just jump ahead to the choice that increases their relationship with with Anne or Max along with a brief synopsis about the event. If there are any unique events pertaining to the date target you are pursuing, I will fully transcribe it. That includes all Dates, Spring Break, Final Romance scenes and the Epilogue as they are all unique to each character. With that said and done, let's begin.  Shall we start with... Max?  Or Anne? Anne has won the vote, 6 to Max's 3, so we will be playing as Anne first.   Please click on the banners above to be taken directly to the table of contents if you wish to read Anne's or Max's playthroughs as they are long and exceeds the 50,000 word limit per post by quite a   Thanks Grimwit!  Saw this at work and I just had to take a picture of it. The fabric that was on the bolt was actually very beautiful - it had roses on it. Sketchie fucked around with this message at 19:29 on Dec 25, 2014 |
#
?
Apr 23, 2014 05:30
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 25, 2024 01:23 |
|
|
Let's pick Anne. Max is not long for college.
|
|
#
?
Apr 23, 2014 06:25
|
|
|
Max can probably get some album covers out of Rakesh.
|
|
#
?
Apr 23, 2014 06:30
|
|
|
SSNeoman posted:Let's pick Anne. Max is not long for college.
|
|
#
?
Apr 23, 2014 06:33
|
|
|
Sketchie posted:Who shall Anne date? I wanna meet all of our potential candidates in the story before I decide  ...or is this one of those VNs where you have to know from the start who your soulmate will be?
|
|
#
?
Apr 23, 2014 06:56
|
|
|
I don't really associate with either of them. But Max seems like the most fun of the two. Pre-emptive let's be a dick to Sally!
|
|
#
?
Apr 23, 2014 07:42
|
|
|
Max Rakesh He's either high as hell, drawn badly or really dreamy 
|
|
#
?
Apr 23, 2014 08:24
|
|
|
SSNeoman posted:I wanna meet all of our potential candidates in the story before I decide You will meet everyone on the first day anyway. You can decide who you want Max/Anne to date, although at this point Max - Rakesh seems to be winning (Oh boy...) with two votes.
|
|
#
?
Apr 23, 2014 15:24
|
|
|
So how long until this turns into cartoon porn?
|
|
#
?
Apr 23, 2014 15:30
|
|
|
anilEhilated posted:So how long until this turns into cartoon porn?
|
|
#
?
Apr 23, 2014 15:34
|
|
|
Okay, what does sexual orientation "any" mean when there already is a "pansexual"? 
|
|
#
?
Apr 23, 2014 16:09
|
|
|
supermikhail posted:Okay, what does sexual orientation "any" mean when there already is a "pansexual"? That's why I put their sexual orientation as "Any". Do you have a better word/suggestion for it?
|
|
#
?
Apr 23, 2014 16:22
|
|
|
SSNeoman posted:Let's pick Anne. Max is not long for college. This made me laugh out loud so I'll vote for Anne too.
|
|
#
?
Apr 23, 2014 16:25
|
|
|
Actually, when I think about it, asking you guys for a date target when they haven't even been formally introduced in the VN is a bit premature, so I will hold off that vote for now. I will just require the vote of whoever you want to start with: Max or Anne. You can still keep your votes, however. At the current tally we have: Max: 3 Anne: 2 I shall keep the votes open until 2 PM EST, when I will formally start the LP. I have adjusted the original post to reflect this.
|
|
#
?
Apr 23, 2014 16:43
|
|
|
I vote Anne
|
|
#
?
Apr 23, 2014 16:58
|
|
|
Anne, and hello Isabella~
|
|
#
?
Apr 23, 2014 17:10
|
|
|
Wait, you're saying Winter Wolves actually made something good? Stopped clocks and all that, I suppose. Anyway, count me in for Anne.
|
|
#
?
Apr 23, 2014 18:39
|
|
|
I'm going to close the vote a little early since Anne has a good lead and I doubt Max would overtake her in the next few minutes anyway. Stay tuned for the first part! It's going to be huge, since it's the first day after all.
|
|
#
?
Apr 23, 2014 18:58
|
|
|
Sketchie posted:That's why I put their sexual orientation as "Any". Do you have a better word/suggestion for it? "Player-determined", perhaps?
|
|
#
?
Apr 23, 2014 19:11
|
|
|
Sillyman posted:"Player-determined", perhaps? Anyway, about the update, it's taking a LOT longer than I thought since the first day is very long - I may have to split it up into 2 or even 3 parts. I just have one more scene to go through and then will have to explain a gameplay mechanic before we can finally vote on who we want Anne to date.
|
|
#
?
Apr 23, 2014 20:13
|
|
|
Anne: First Day(s) of Education, Part 1 Due to popular vote, we will be playing as Anne! Let's begin!  Oh, before we do, this visual novel actually has a difficulty mode! It has Easy, Normal and Hard. It only affects building your skills, which I will cover later when it becomes relevant. Simply put, the harder the difficulty is, the harder it will be to build skills - and you need to reach a certain threshold to have a special ending. This game is actually quite brutal due to the skill requirements - and essentially forces you to buy IAP to increase your skills if you go down that Normal/Hard route. We're not going to be doing that, so we're going to do it on Easy difficulty.  You may have noticed the status bar at the bottom of the screen. Load, Save and Options are pretty self-explanatory. It allows you to Load, Save or adjust game Options. You can even adjust the game difficulty. Stats brings up a new menu that will be very important and should be checked frequently.  It shows your relationships with 5 of your fellow residents. Under their profile is their relationship meter towards you. Everyone starts at zero, and depending on what you say or do with them will increase, or in some cases, cause it to actually drop. To get the Spring Break Romance Scene, you need to get to 100 relationship before the Spring Break. You only have a limited number of chances to increase someone's relationship, and you WILL need all of them if you want to get his/her relationship to 100 in time. If you miss even ONCE, or you cause their relationship to drop at any point, you will not get the romance scene with him/her. This is where save scumming comes in handy. It's cheesy and cheap, but... Since we're playing as Anne, it is not possible to have a relationship with Sally, even though you can increase her relationship towards you. Skill requirements is also another requirement you need to meet before the Spring Break if you want to have a Spring Break Romance Scene with that person. I will go into more detail about it later when it becomes relevant. Anyway, back to the LP!  Oh, and also absolutely soul-shakingly terrifying... the population of my hometown is around 5000. Until now, the farthest I've been from home is ten miles, and that was to stay with my grandparents while our house was getting fumigated. I have a hard time looking strangers in the eye, let alone talking to them. You may wonder what a shy small-town girl like me is doing at Liberty University, the third-largest school in the state. I'm starting to wonder that myself. I thought I wanted to get out of my comfort zone, but this might be too much. As I walk down the street I feel like everyone is staring at me. Okay, deep breaths. Smile naturally when you make eye contact. It's only a short distance to the place I'll be staying for the rest of the year. This is the Latin House, where Anne will be staying for the year. It's a little more expensive, but most of my tuition is covered through scholarships anyway and dorm living sounds loud and chaotic, the opposite of what I want. I think it'll be worth the investment. A cute, well-dressed young man stands at the door of house, holding a bundle of papers in his hand. This must be my RA. Deep breaths! Y-yes. My name is Dominic, I'm the RA for Latin House. H-hi. I'm Anne... Come on in and have a seat. I'll start the orientation in a few minutes. Um, thank you... I'm trying not to think about how often I'm looking at the floor. Just another thing to work on this year. I'm about to step inside, when-WHAM   Whoops, sorry!She keeps running into the house.  He gives me a look of concern and holds out his hand. I am so sorry, that was incredibly rude of her. Are you all right? Can you stand? I think so... I take his hand and try to stand up. I didn't twist my ankle, but that still kind of hurt. I'm having a hard time thinking of anything that would have justified running that fast, let alone not having time to stop and apologize. I... is everyone in the house like this? He hesitates. Well, everyone has their... eccentricities, but they're not all like Isabella, I swear. I would have quit this gig ages ago if they were. Hee. He gives me a reassuring smile. I want to make sure everyone here has a good living experience. So if anything's bothering you, just come talk to me. T-thank you. Again. I'm glad that there's at least one person here I can talk to. Dominic seems very kind. The first floor is huge. I can immediately see an overiszed couch facing a nice big screen TV. There's also some kind of breakfast nook with a big table, and an area with several bookshelves surrounding a bunch of comfortable looking chairs. I sit on the couch and take a book out of my purse. I love books of all flavors. At the moment, I've got a rather promising fantasy novel to start. Tall, handsome, bad-boy vibe. The kind of boy my parents always warned me to stay away from, despite not actually having someone like him in a 70 mile radius. Even when they're standing next to each other, he and Dominic seem like they're from parallel worlds. 'Sup? I'm Max. ...Anne... Just as I thought, it's hard to look him in the eye. At least I maintained eye contact for a moment. Hey, no need to be so shy! Anyone sitting he- Ahem! Why don't you take a seat over there?Dominic points to the opposite end of the couch. What, I can't sit next to her? It's better that you both have more space. Bull. You just wanna have her to yourse-Dominic slams a packet of papers in front of Max with surprising force. Here are the house rules. He walks over to me and hands me a packet as well, more delicately. I guess Max just irritates him. Let's go over them together. Anne, would you like to start? O...okay. 1. There shall be no consumption, storage, or sale of alcoholic beverages or illegal drugs in the housing area, nor shall any underage person be in the housing area while under the influence of the aforementioned substances. Students found in violation of this regulation are subject to dismissal from the housing area and remittance on unused rent under the terms of the contract. 2. There shall be no pets housed in or around the building. That's too bad, a hamster might have been nice. Oh well, I should probably concentrate on school anyway. I'll go next. 3. The sidewalk, entries, and stairwells of this building shall not be obstructed or used for any other purpose than for entering and exiting the respective areas of the house. 4. No student shall interfere in any matter with any portion of the heating and lighting apparatus or fire protection equipment in or about the house. There will be no flammable materials or explosives stored in or about the housing area. Blatantly causing fire hazards? They only put rules in after someone's done something dumb... I'm really having second thoughts about this place. Now Max. Now Max what? Read the next two. Read the next two what? ...read the next two rules, please. Well, since you asked so nice. 5. Students shall not play musical equipment or instruments at such hours and at such volume as to disturb other students in the dormitories. Well, that's good. I hate when my sleep schedule gets interrupted. 6. There will be no firearms or weapons permitted in or about the housing area. Ha ha, very funny. Read it properly. Hey man, I'm just reading what's on the paper. I read rule number 6. Oh wow. That is actually kind of amusing. ...I'll be right back. ISABELLAAAAAAA!Dominic drops everything and tears up the stairs with the speed of an angry bull. Isabella? As in the Isabella that bumped into me earlier? She may have been rude, but I can't help but admire the sheer audacity it must have taken to edit the rules sheet right under Dominic's nose. I wish I could be half as fearless as that. Dominic left so fast he dropped our keys. Max stands up and tosses me mine; I just manage to catch it! Welp, I'm gonna bring in my gear and then tour the rest of the place. You coming? We've now reached our first choice! Do we explore with Max, or do we just walk around by ourselves? Even though I would take a vote here on which choice to make, I will have to take this one myself because of how the affection system works and how we have not voted on who Anne will be dating. For this one, we're going to Explore with Max. Well, I did want to be more social. At the same time, I have no idea why he'd want me to come along when we're complete strangers. ...why me? I was just thinking it'd be easier if I introduced you to everyone, 'cuz you seem kinda shy. ...really? What? I'm a nice guy! I can't help but laugh, though I immediately feel bad about it. Luckily Max is grinning so I don't think I really hurt his feelings. Ok, I'll choose to believe you. Huh? I mean... I'll come with you. Our first relationship increase in the game! If we decided to wander on our own, Max's relationship will not increase, and if we voted on Max whose Anne would be dating, he would only cap out at 95 relationship which will screw us over at the end. Remember, you need EVERY opportunity to increase your relationship, and if you miss even ONCE you lose! He shoots me a gratified grin. That's the spirit! Come meet me at my room once you're done unpacking, alright? All right. I bring my luggage up to my room. All of my clothes, old notebooks, old scrapbooks, a microwave, my favorite tea mug, my favorite tea, my favorite tea strainer, an ironing board, my sewing machine, my sewing kit, my bin of yarn and knitting needles... ...the pillows I made in sixth grade, the needlepoint I made in seventh grade, pictures of my grandparents, parents and extended family, my laptop, my cell phone, chargers for my laptop and cell phone, and my fifty favorite books.Holy hell Anne. Max saunters into my room. I must have taken longer to unpack than I thought. Wow, restraint's not really your thing, is it? ...I suppose I might have overdone it a little... Ah, it's fine, if one of those 'hoarding' shows comes by, I'll know which room to send them to. Hey, it's not that bad! Kidding! Kidding! You ready? Sure, let's go.
Sketchie fucked around with this message at 20:14 on May 12, 2014 |
|
#
?
Apr 23, 2014 21:24
|
|
|
Anne: First Day(s) of Education, Part 2 There's a sweet smell and some soft, ambient music coming from the room next to mine. I wonder who lives here? I knock lightly on the door. No response. C'mon, give it a little more force. But... Look, we don't have all day. You can blame me if they get pissed. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I take a deep breath and give the door a louder knock. H-hello? What is this, the Sanctuary House for Intensely Attractive People? If so, what am I doing here? I'm beginning to feel somewhat insecure about my appearance, to say the least. Ohmygosh, I'm so sorry! Was I disturbing you? Pfft, my Gran's music's louder than that! No offense. The name's Max, just moved in today. This here's Anne. ...n-nice to meet you... Ohhh, you must be my new neighbors! I was wondering if anyone was living in those empty rooms! I'm Sally! I just moved in this past Friday. It is so nice to meet you! Um, thank you... ...is that incense? Oh, this is just for meditation purposes! The energy here is so hectic that I feel like there needs to be something tranquil to balance it out. Energy? ...energy? Energy! You know, things like auras? The spiritual forces connecting everything in this world? Why if there's too much of one kind of energy, then- Rakesh, get in here!Sally winces. Everything ripples outwards from there. I'm going to keep meditating. You're welcome to join me, if you like! No thank you. Maybe some other time... Sitting in a smoke-filled room with a complete stranger- even one who seems perfectly nice- is still far outside my comfort zone. Ok! I'll see you at dinner! She waves cheerfully before shutting the door. Max shrugs as the door closes. He looks towards the yelling noises and shrugs again, he gestures for me to take the lead. A few steps later I turn my head and he's nowhere to be seen... Hmmph. Well, I've come too close now, I can hear them loudly talking anyway. It sounds like this will be interesting. I walk further down the hall, following the sound of Isabella's outrage. The door to what I can only assume is her room is half-open. I go inside to see what the commotion's about. I hope the two of them don't fight. I've barely been here an hour. I'd hate to find out I've made a terrible mistake in living arrangements. Maybe it's not too late to get reassigned... Yet another good-looker through; he looks as though he came straight off the cover of a romance novel. I can't believe you painted all over my dance pole! Or he's an exotic dancer and this house is secretly a strip club. What have I gotten myself into? I am sorry. Do you not like the colors? It has nothing to do with the colors! I can't exercise with all this fresh paint on here! But it looks more vibrant, yes? No! ... Well, maybe a little, but I'm still mad because you should have asked before you went off and used my things in your art project! You wouldn't want me to take all your paintbrushes and tape them together to make a dance pole, would you?The guy thinks for a moment, then shakes his head. I would not mind if you did that. And there's the problem. There's such a thing as private proper- Rakesh messed with my exercise pole! So I see. And? You're the RA, why don't you talk to him about it? Oh, I'd love to, Isabella, but I'm afraid that overregulating things here would make me too much of an iron-fisted dictator. Seriously? I'm always serious. How else would I crush rebellions? Ugh, whatever. I'm going to take a shower. Don't let karma hit you on the way out. He spots me out the corner of his eye. Oh, Anne! I'm sorry about earlier, I shouldn't have left halfway through orientation. Did you find your way around okay? Oh, definitely. Please don't worry about it. Let me know if you need any help unpacking. I'd like to make it up to you somehow. I don't, but... do you know where I could donate some things? I brought way too much...Yes you did, Anne. Yes you did. Of course. I know there are some clothes and book swaps on campus, just have to look up when and where they are... I've never had a guy go so out of his way for me, though I'm sure it's just him doing his job as an RA. Um, hi... At least I was louder this time, if not by much. He turns to me and presses his hands together in what I can only assume is a respectful gesture. Namaste. You are new, yes?Wait, what's Namaste? Let me check... quote:Namaste, sometimes expressed as Namaskar or Namaskaram, is a customary greeting when individuals meet and a farewell when they part. It is a form of greeting commonly found among people of South Asia, in some Southeast Asian countries, and diaspora from these regions. Namaste is spoken with a slight bow and hands pressed together, palms touching and fingers pointing upwards, thumbs close to the chest. This gesture is called Añjali Mudrā or Pranamasana. In Hinduism it means "I bow to the divine in you." Ahh, so it's a respectful greeting. It shows that Rakesh is likely from South/Southeast Asia. Probably even Hindi. Interesting! Y-yes. My name is Anne. I am Rakesh. It is good to meet you, Anne. Thank you. ...do you always... I have no idea how to phrase it tactfully.Rakesh tilts his head. Greet roommates? Have paint on? Oh! No, no, I do not paint other people's belongings. ...Most of the time. ...most of the time? Have you ever had an idea so strong, it takes over your thoughts? When I am inspired like that, everything is a canvas. I see. I see I may have to invest in a lock for my door. I'm trying to figure out how to tactfully ask Rakesh to leave my things alone when my stomach growls. I try not to let it show, but suddenly I'm very aware of the smell of food coming from the kitchen. Ah, it is time for dinner. Who's cooking? Usually it's me, but today it is Sally's turn. ...is she a bad chef? No, very good. She is just... she does not cook with any meat or milk products. Not even butter. 'Vegan'? Yes, vegan. Back home, there was no such thing as 'vegan', let alone 'vegetarian'. Meat, potatoes, convenience store food, maybe some Chinese takeout if we wanted to be particularly fancy. I wonder what a vegan meal looks like? I walk back downstairs and into the kitchen. It looks like she's cooking some kind of... patty? Hello again! Dinner will be ready in just a few minutes. Oh, okay. ...what are you making? Oh, nothing too fancy! I know that most of the people here are omnivores, so I'm making some good old fashioned burgers and hot dogs. Burgers and hot dogs? But wouldn't those have- Veggie burgers and soy dogs! Oh. They look and taste just like the real thing! You won't be able to tell the difference. She flashes me a smile so bright that I couldn't possibly doubt her sincerity. I suppose I'll take your word for it. Um, is there anything I can do to help? Oh no, I'm all covered here! You just have a seat and don't worry about a thing! O-okay. Over on the couch, Dominic seems to be giving Rakesh a half-hearted lecture on property rights. Rakesh smiles and nods, but I get the feeling it's not going to stick. I don't see Max yet, but I do hear what sounds like an electric guitar riff from upstairs.CRASH What was that? Hey, is dinner ready yet?Isabella comes down the stairs, fresh from the shower. By which I mean she's wearing nothing but a towel. Oh, is little Dominic getting all hot and bothered? At least the guy upstairs appreciated the view. She looks me over. And this girl too. Aren't you the one I bumped into earlier? I... um... Oh god. Why am I blushing? Enough! Isabella, put some clothes on. It's a towel! I'm breaking neither house rules nor public decency laws. Face it, honey. In a war of escalation, I always win. We'll see about- Dinner is served!Sally bustles out, carrying so many platters it's a wonder she hasn't fallen over. Burgers and hot dogs here, buns here, sweet potato fries and condiments over here! Enjoy! Whoo-ee, I'm starved!Max comes downstairs, limping a little. ...are you okay? Oh yeah, I'm fine! Just dropped my guitar, no biggie. He winks at Isabella. Maybe I just shouldn't ask. We all dig in. ... ... The texture is... interesting. But once you get past that, the taste is okay. Not something I would go out of my way to eat, but okay. I reluctantly agree... You big babies! You've barely had a bite each. Oh yeah? If you like it so much how come your plate's nothing but fries? I'll have some later! I'm just... bracing myself!Rakesh pushes his plate aside. Thank you for the meal, I am full. I just love Sally's pout here. No, no, they're right. I must not have gotten a good brand! I'll just have to do better next time.She claps her hands. Dominic, make that three pizzas, one with no cheese! It'll be my treat this time. And so it came to pass that my first meal on-campus was delivery. Almost everyone in the house is incredibly lively. Even Sally, despite her whole meditation thing. But even in the midst of all these strong personalities, I don't feel uncomfortable. Maybe this will work out for the best.
Sketchie fucked around with this message at 20:14 on May 12, 2014 |
|
#
?
Apr 23, 2014 21:27
|
|
|
Anne: First Day(s) of Education, Part 3 The strangest thing about it is, it always happens just before I have to get up. I bolt upright and look to my left. Ohno. Ohnoohnohno. 10:28. I have two minutes to get to class! I flit around my room in a frenzy. Socks, where are my socks? There's my bookbag, but where are my notebooks? Are they under the yarn? Wait, no! I put them under my bed because there wasn't enough space! Ahhh! I finally find everything I need, put on my nice jacket, and race downstairs. I've never done well without breakfast, but can I afford to waste time on toast? I should really get- I spot someone standing stock-still in front of one of the common room walls. Is that... Rakesh? I suppose he must not have any morning classes. Rakesh's normally sleepy gaze has sharpened, laser-like onto some point on the wall. It's a little intimidating. I haven't seen anyone with such preternatural focus since my uncle's last hunting trip. Um... are you- Shh!He frowns.  ...it's a blank wall. Decoration? Life. There is no movement, no beautiful play of color, not even the cobweb of a lonely spider. Only starkness. It begs me to hatch its potential. But how? I'm sure this is all very fascinating, but I need to go! I start for the door. Wait! I have it! Anne, we must find a hacksaw. We will carve loveliness into this barren tundra. Please, I have to get t- ...are you suggesting that we saw through the wall?Rakesh pauses, then gives a decisive nod. Yes. It is the only way. Oh my god. This is what he meant when he mentioned getting taken over by inspiration. I didn't think it was this bad. I am so, so late, and I shouldn't miss my first class. But what if he really does go through with it? This is a choice that can increase Rakesh's relationship with Anne, but since we haven't voted on who to date yet, I will take this one and Supervise Rakesh so we don't screw ourselves over later if we decide for Anne to date Rakesh. I have to stop him. The structural integrity of our house is at stake. Um... M-maybe you're... maybe you're going about this the wrong way. ... He gives me a deep and expectant look. Don't panic! Don't panic! Just make something up. What if instead of carving into the wall, we um, made a relief to pop out of the wall? Like an Egyptian frieze. We could... use paper mache. And mix paint in with the glue for color? That is... That is brilliant. You are a visionary, Anne-ji! Ji?Had to look this one up. I've heard of -chan, -kun, -sensei and some others, but -ji? quote:The traditional Hindi honorific is the suffix -ji. For example, M.K. Gandhi (the Mahatma) was often referred to as Gandhi-ji. (Hindi, like many languages, distinguishes between pronouns for persons older in age or status. Such a person is referred as aap; a person of same status is called tum (both translating as "you" in English, but similar in principle to the vous/tu distinction in French or the usted/tu distinction in Spanish). A similar distinction exists for third person pronouns. When honorifics are attached in Hindi, the verb matches the plural case.) ...so Rakesh considers Anne to be... older? Am I missing something here? At least we can assume that Rakesh is likely Hindi. Ah, that's right! You don't have that here. I am working on being more westernized; to fit in here I want to belong in my new home. Just as a frieze belongs on that wall! Let us leave no paper untouched! L-let's not go that far... We've gained our first relationship points with Rakesh. While playing as Anne in the Prologue, the only relationship increases you can get are from Max and Rakesh, so we're in the clear for the rest of the day. Finally, lunchtime! I feel accomplished for having redirected Rakesh's creative impulses towards something worth a little less in property-damage, yet apprehensive that I missed both my morning classes in the process. The sacrifices I make for art. I'll just have to e-mail my professors for the syllabus later. At least I don't have any afternoon classes. College allows for a lot more free time than high school, all in all. Unfortunately, my scholarships aren't going to cover much more than school, books and board. If I want to be anything other than a crazy hermit, I think it's in my best interest to find a job. I think I'll check out my options after I get something to eat. I decide to grab a bite at the cafe on campus. I didn't pay for a meal plan, so there's no point in going to the cafeteria when the cafe food's probably better. Hey, welcome to Lingua Franca- If it isn't the cutie I bumped into earlier. We do have a habit of running into each other, huh? ...cutie? You're adorable! I could have a lot of fun corrupting you. I'm just kidding. You're so fun to tease! Anne, right? Um, yes. You look hungry. How would you like a meatball sub? That sounds good. All right then! One meatball sub, coming right up. Thanks. Um... how much? Anne, Anne, Anne! What kind of housemate would I be to make you pay for lunch on your first day of school? You can have it gratis. Just don't tell my manager, okay? T-thank you. Isabella winks at me and goes back behind the counter to assemble my sandwich. She's much nicer than first impressions led me to believe. I wouldn't mind working here with her. The meatball sub is perfectly wrapped. I suppose she's been working here for a while. E-excuse me. Hmm? Do you... would you happen to know where I would be able to find work? Work? There are all kinds of jobs available on campus. Heck, I started at the cafeteria my freshman year... I mean, it's one of the worst jobs on campus... High pressure, fast paced and the people are crazy. The only good thing about it is even a monkey could do it. Most of the jobs open to freshmen are like that though. If you want to get in on something worth your while, you need to show your skills or they won't even look at you twice. For instance, this job. You'd think all you need to do is look good in a uniform, but people come in with crazy orders all the time. You need to be Spontaneous enough to adapt to the customers. Like if they want marinara sauce on their meatball sub and we don't have it, fast-talk 'em into settling for ketchup, that kind of thing. I think most of the jobs on-campus and in town get posted online. You can look up the qualifications too. All right. ...how do I get qualifications? Umm... both? I'd like to know my options, I guess. Okay! Now, you'll probably be spending most of your time during the day at classes learning. And since "How to be a better short order chef" hasn't been a class since this school was a technical college, you're going to have to look for things to do. Just working a job is going to make you better at working that sort of thing. Working at the book store will get you more Organized for example. It's slower, but you'll make money while you do it. That said, if you check the local blog site you can find all kinds of things to do outside of school. Since you're my roommate, if you ask nice I might clue you in on some things to do around town as well. Pretty please? Well since you asked so nicely! There's a club downtown with a pretty decently low cover charge. And the rock-climbing facility is great for the Active climber if you'd like to try that. It's pretty fun. They're relatively cheap too. Not only you can have some fun, but if you pay attention, you'll pick up on some good tips on how to do better at jobs. It's faster, but it also tends to cost money. Once you get skilled enough, you can start applying for some of the advanced jobs. You can ask Isabella to repeat what she said but there's no point as I've already transcribed the conversation above and asking her to repeat will not result in any relationship gains, so we'll just Thank her and be on our merry way. Thank you, Isabella. Hey, don't worry about it. Come back anytime, little Anne. I'd be happy to show you the ropes. Gameplay Mechanic Time! This is a very lengthy explanation of a very important gameplay mechanic in the game, so please bear with me and be patient. This is your weekly plan while you are at college. It tells you the Week you are in (there are 21 weeks in the game, and we start on the first week, obviously). The arrow next to the Week simply allows you to start the plan you have for the week. The undo arrow next to it will take everything off your schedule so you can replan it. Grades - Determines your grade in college. You can increase your grades by either Studying or Attending Classes. You're going to want to aim for AT LEAST 250 Grade by the end of the game if you actually want to see the ending - although if you're dating Anne or Dominic, you want at least 500 Grade by the end of the game. If you only really care about the CGI's, they can be safely ignored. Isabella, Rakesh, Sally and Max doesn't really care about Grades, but you'd be missing out on the ending if you neglect your studies. It's really up to you. Attending Classes and Studying can be ditched if you need more Energy by Rolling in Bed, Taking a Nap or Sleep Early since you can study in the afternoon and evening. Money - This is how much money you have. There are several activities in the evening that costs Money such as going to the Pub, Yoga Class, Wall Climbing, See a Play, Play Tabletop RPG or Play Chess. Isabella tells us that they give the biggest stat gains but costs money. You can gain money by doing jobs in the afternoon such as Art Store Clerk, Bookstore Clerk, Database Entry, Cafeteria Clerk, Clean the Park and Football Waterboy. They all increase your skills, but not as much as the evening activities. Energy - Pretty much everything you do except for Roll in Bed, Take a Nap and Sleep Early will drain your energy. If your energy gets too low, you will start to get less stat gains and money from your activities so it's a good idea to try to keep it as high as possible. Note that you will always get 10 of your energy back at the end of the day from sleeping. Oh, and that little Cheat button? That leads you to the IAP store. You can buy +100 to any stat (including Grades) or add $100 to your budget for just 99 cents each. Yeah. No. You can also Save and Load. No need to go further into that. You can only schedule one activity for each phase of the day: Morning, Afternoon and Evening. Many activities are only available on certain days as well. For example, you won't be able to Wall Climb on Tuesdays, but you can on Mondays. Morning Activities: Attend Class - 0 Money, -5 Energy, +3 Grades. Roll in Bed - 0 Money, +5 Energy. Afternoon Activities: Take a Nap - 0 Money, +5 Energy. Art Store Clerk - +10 Money, -10 Energy, +3 Creative. Only available on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Bookstore Clerk - +10 Money, -10 Energy, +3 Organized. Only available on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Data Entry - +10 Money, -10 Energy, +3 Rational. Only available on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Cafeteria Clerk - +10 Money, -10 Energy, +3 Spontaneous. Only available on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Clean the Park - +10 Money, -10 Energy, +3 Reflective. Only available on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Football Waterboy - +10 Money, -10 Energy, +3 Active. Only available on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Study - 0 Money, -5 Energy, +5 Grades. Evening Activities: Sleep Early - 0 Money, +5 Energy. Pub - -15 Money, -5 Energy, +6 Spontaneous. Only available on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Yoga Class - -15 Money, -5 Energy, +6 Reflective. Only available on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Wall Climbing - -15 Money, -5 Energy, +6 Active. Only available on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Can also be done on Sunday afternoons. See a Play - -15 Money, -5 Energy, +6 Creative. Only available on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Play Tabletop RPG - -15 Money, -5 Energy, +6 Organized. Only available on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Can also be done on Sunday afternoons. Play Chess - -15 Money, -5 Energy, +6 Rational. Only available on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Can also be done on Sunday afternoons. Study - 0 Money, -5 Energy, +5 Grades. As you can see, evening activities will give you more skill gains (actually double) than working and takes away less energy, but it takes up quite a bit of money. You'd need to work twice to have enough money to do an evening activity. Although from a mathematical point, if you work for 6 days you'd have enough money to treat yourself to an extra evening activity - and you should. Again, the skill requirements are actually quite brutal and you need to gain skills as much as you can. Stats will allow you to bring up your relationship panel. Let's bring it up again, shall we? We need to go into more detail about it anyway.  As you can see, our relationship gain with Max and Rakesh are now recorded - they are both at 5/100. That's... not much, but it's a start. But attaining 100 relationship is not enough - you will need to also meet the skill requirement. Each character has his/her own requirements for you to be able to have a special scene with. Isabella - Requires 150 Spontaneous and 100 Active. Dominic - Requires 150 Rational and 100 Organized. Rakesh - Requires 150 Reflective and 100 Creative. Max - Requires 150 Creative and 100 Reflective. Sally - Requires 150 Active and 100 Sponantenous. But since we're playing as Anne, it is not possible to develop a relationship with her. If you're gunning for a certain character, it's a good idea to go for activities that increases that skill the character requires. For example, there's no point in going to the Pub or be a Cafeteria Clerk if you're trying to date Max as none of the activities will increase the skills you need. Now, the biggest question is... who do you want Anne to date? I will do the weekly plan myself to save time. Sketchie fucked around with this message at 04:22 on May 27, 2014 |
|
#
?
Apr 23, 2014 21:29
|
|
|
Let's go with Max since from first impressions he's the only person who actually acts like a normal human being would. Also, is there any reason to get high Grades? Brony Hunter fucked around with this message at 21:42 on Apr 23, 2014 |
|
#
?
Apr 23, 2014 21:38
|
|
|
Phew! That was a LONG first day. The rest of the events are, thankfully, not that long - except for the special ones, anyway, but that's to be expected. Thank you for your patience folks!
|
|
#
?
Apr 23, 2014 21:43
|
|
|
So this is a good game? Can Anne date nobody? They all seem horrible and she is pretty awful herself. If not, she should go for Max.
|
|
#
?
Apr 23, 2014 22:05
|
|
|
I'd like to see how things go with Isabella.
|
|
#
?
Apr 23, 2014 22:11
|
|
|
Rakesh is the most interesting so far.
|
|
#
?
Apr 23, 2014 23:47
|
|
|
Rakesh and Max. Why limit ourselves? Especially when they both require the same stats; even if it's not possible to get 150 in two stats, we still have until we've raised both to 100 before we have to decide. And if there's one thing I remember from college, it's that any major life decisions should be put off until at least the end of freshman year.
|
|
|
#
?
Apr 24, 2014 00:17
|
|
|
The Sandman posted:Rakesh and Max. Why limit ourselves? Especially when they both require the same stats; even if it's not possible to get 150 in two stats, we still have until we've raised both to 100 before we have to decide. Simply put, pick one character and stick with it. You don't really have a lot of wiggle room (if at all) in this visual novel.
|
|
#
?
Apr 24, 2014 00:40
|
|
|
Isabella.
|
|
#
?
Apr 24, 2014 01:26
|
|
Sketchie posted:While it's possible to get enough stats to satisfy two people at once (such as Rakesh and Max, since they both require Creative and Reflective but different amounts), it is impossible to get 100 affection with both of them as there will be events where you can increase Rakesh OR Max's affection. Well if that's the way it works, then (without spoiling why this is the case) whichever of them would be likely to piss off Anne's parents more.
|
|
|
#
?
Apr 24, 2014 01:48
|
|
|
Ahahaha, it actually has a cash store? An honest-for-serious cash store? Please tell me I've somehow read the text wrongly, otherwise I've found new depths to which Winter Wolves would sink In any case, let's go for maximum neckbeard (because this is a WW game after all): pursue Isabella and her constantly 'sexy' pose. As the sole all right guy, it's best we keep Max out of the crossfire. Sketchie posted:Simply put, pick one character and stick with it. You don't really have a lot of wiggle room (if at all) in this visual novel. Which I find surprising, to be honest- from the WW games I've played they seem to make you choose only at the last minute.
|
|
#
?
Apr 24, 2014 02:19
|
|
|
CommissarMega posted:Ahahaha, it actually has a cash store? An honest-for-serious cash store? Please tell me I've somehow read the text wrongly, otherwise I've found new depths to which Winter Wolves would sink I haven't played any other WW novels, but in this one it's different from what you claim the others are like. You need to gun for the person you want right off the bat because of the way how the affection system works.
|
|
#
?
Apr 24, 2014 02:46
|
|
|
Isabella She sounds like a pretty option while Max seems like a runner-up. He didn't make the cut because "pop-rock" sounds like some Nickelback poo poo to me.
Seraphic Neoman fucked around with this message at 03:01 on Apr 24, 2014 |
|
#
?
Apr 24, 2014 02:58
|
|
|
Isabella
|
|
#
?
Apr 24, 2014 03:01
|
|
|
Sketchie posted:Yes. It has a cash store. They're calling it "Cheat". At least I can give them points for honesty, because it IS cheating. And you also have to give them credit for charging people for it- that takes some balls. Sketchie posted:I haven't played any other WW novels, but in this one it's different from what you claim the others are like. You need to gun for the person you want right off the bat because of the way how the affection system works. And that's a problem, at least for me, because it makes you gun for a character before you know the faintest thing about them. For all I know Dominic might have a secret 'goats in maid dresses' fetish, but he obviously wouldn't broadcast that out the gate. The way Roommates seems to work is that it's telling you to pick immediately based on nothing but looks- maybe I'm just too much of a *~hopeless romantic~*, but that seems a decision of lust, not love. Now, if getting good Grades was a victory option, then things would be better, but if you're right, then studying (which is what you're supposed to do in college, and a better fit for Anne's character) is totally useless and locks out anyone who wants to get to know everyone better. Now maybe Roommates is just giving me a bad first impression, but from what I've seen it seems to have made as many baffling bad decisions as Planet Stronghold and Loren: The Amazon Princess did, decisions that could have been easily avoided if someone had given a bit of thought to their games' writing and systems. Mind you, anyone  as much as I am about anime dating games is probably mental, so take with a grain of salt 
|
|
#
?
Apr 24, 2014 03:03
|
|
|
At this point, the tally of the votes is the following: Isabella with 5 votes. Max with 4 votes. Rakesh with 1 vote. The Sandman posted:Well if that's the way it works, then (without spoiling why this is the case) whichever of them would be likely to piss off Anne's parents more. It's a close race between Isabella and Max, and the vote isn't even finished yet! This should be interesting.
|
|
#
?
Apr 24, 2014 03:15
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 25, 2024 01:23 |
|
|
Isabella looks like a suitable trainwreck, let's go with that.
|
|
#
?
Apr 24, 2014 04:17
|
|
