i agree with you regarding the writing,it's difficult write a good story and they are falling short in that area. Daman seems to be working on all their recent stuff and it is kinda worrying if they don't have anyone else besides Iksanabot,the LWT writer. Not that i dislike Daman and his stuff,i appreciate him taking on multiple different projects but he lacks writing experience and it shows,i hope he gets better as the time goes.
Reason why i mentioned them trying to make visual novel style game is because i think this game format hinders story telling and character development. Dating sim worked best with first LWT or Eleanor,or older titles which were fairly simple with story,but when they started to make bigger and more complicated games it became problematic. You say they might now have writing skill to pull it off but it would sure help them when you see the stories they try to tell. LWT2 is good example where in period of one year girls changed so much that the girl who was so hot for you have no problem blowing multiple guys in glory hole or your wife who cheat and divorce you in a heartbeat. You have to explain thoroughly such drastic character changes. I noticed similair stuff in Serbian casino and Call girl Denise too for example...
All of visual novels are coming out in episodes,or udpates,LOP would benefit for sure if they take similair approach
I can't say I agree with the notion that the gameplay format obstructs storytelling and character development. LwT1 had both of that in spades and I personally don't think gameplay had any part in making it good or bad. Characters growing and the story progressing at a comfortable pace had nothing to do with gameplay and everything to do with good and thorough writing. Just like LwT2 being horribly contradictory and lacking any sort of character development (or characters being completely different to who and what they were in the first game) isn't due to a certain gameplay format or mechanic... it was due to headless, directionless writing that seemed to have been rushed.
Storywise their games haven't grown more complicated. LWT2 and Eleanor 2 are no more complicated than their predecessors, all of them having storylines that are fairly simplistic. Callgirl Denise, CVR and Living with a Nympho have similarly simple premises. Storywise they're simple and they have a similar amount of paths/endings to older titles. It's completely fair that you prefer one gameplay format over another, but I see no evidence of a VN format being more appropriate than a stat-builder. One aspect of LOP that I have always been appreciative of is that they make a full game and not episodic stuff. I understand why patreon developers make episodes or updates. It's because patreon is basically built to fit such a model and it's a way to maximize profit (which is perfectly fine, developers gotta eat too). But I will always prefer getting a full experience to an episodic release. Releasing a game in episodes might lead to longer stories... but that doesn't automatically mean they'll be better stories. It's all about the narrative you want to tell. Fx, the X-files work better as a series than a movie while something like... I don't know... Iron Man works better as a movie than it would as a TV-series. There is no definitive on what's better. It's about what fits the story.
It's the characterization and character interaction that make or break these games for me and the gameplay format have little to no bearing on that. Encounters in a statbuilder are just as easy to set up as in a VN. I am not opposed to seeing them make visual novels, but if they move to that exclusively then I definitively out. It's too simple, not enough challenge and I doubt LOP can bring the level of complexity that fx GGGB can.
About Daman growing as a writer: He's made enough games for me to tell that he's not going to improve to a level that I'll find enjoyable. All his characters are the same and a completely interchangeable. They have the same voice with the same speaking patterns, same mannerisms, same sexual proclivities, etc. There is no variation in his cast and you can take any character, from any of the scenes in any of his games and insert them in any other scene in any other of his games and give them the same lines as the characters they are replacing and there would be no noticable difference. He has a terrible habit of spouting tired cliches and dated pop-culture references. He has one mindset when it comes to certain types of characters. Fx, all black girls who have appeared in his games have been a dominatrix (CVR, Living with a Nympho and Call-Girl Denise... and by the look of the preview pics, also in Eleanor).. The black guys are always the big, bad bull (tired of this racist stereotype) and all his girls are bisexual nympho supersluts who cheat on their significant other. Add to that his inability to write beyond his own interests (that's his right, but we don't share the same preferences, so... turn off) and that leaves me checked out. He also has a weird idea of making an MCU-like shared universe where everyone knows everyone (Serena shows up in Jacob's Rebound, Jacob is mentioned in Call-Girl Denise and CVR, etc.), often leaving him to "hijack" the characters other writers have created and built up. I actually enjoyed a lot of aspects of CVR, but it's clear to me he's a one-trick pony.
I gotta say though; I think you present your case well and I respect your tastes and opinions, even if they differ from mine. I am actually glad that some people feel like they are getting something out of their LOP subscription and keep a positive attitude on their future.
