VN Ren'Py Abandoned The Intoxicating Flavor [v0.10.6] [PixelsLab]

4.00 star(s) 151 Votes

MrDL

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Nov 11, 2017
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I gave up on this ages ago because if I wanted to read a novel I'd grab a book and read something by a talented writer who can tell a compelling story not this boring slog. There's plenty of other games that can tell an interesting story and still have the other... "content". This should've been finished years ago and had it been he wouldn't have run into the problems with funding caused by his government.

I will say respect to PixelsLab for wanting to do their own thing I guess.

Did you ever read any books literature? Dickens, Hemingway, Dreiser, Dos Passos, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Rolland, Jorge Amado?
Yes. it's a huge amount of text. And no pictures. Try to deal with it.
Authors VN writers couldn't sniff the taint of in terms of writing talent. If they could they'd be published authors not trying to milk crowd funding chasing after our dirty fat ass dollar making a porn game.
 

katmandomo

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Feb 10, 2018
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Did you ever read any books literature? Dickens, Hemingway, Dreiser, Dos Passos, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Rolland, Jorge Amado?
Yes. it's a huge amount of text. And no pictures. Try to deal with it.
Lots of text is not a problem as long as it is engaging. That's where I ran into a problem in this game. The action would stop dead for what must have been a thousand lines of exposition that didn't make much sense and really kicked me out of the game. I remember one scene in a gazebo in the middle of an empty body of water for example. And sometimes the updates would be like "Added 12,000 words", which is like a fifth of a novel. No problem as long as the words are interesting and serve the plot, but the game struggled with this at points. More than most games on this site this would have benefited from an editor.
 
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Smarmint

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Mar 23, 2019
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He is totally right. The scenes are too long: characters tell too many lines in a scene.

BUT this a problem that almost every F95 Patreon developed VN share (professional hentai VNs too).
Different strokes, I guess. I think the opposite. Most F95 AVNs skimp on the story and have endless meaningless dialog. There are many exceptions, of course, but the majority the story is the weakest part of the AVN, and the dialog is certainly not memorable, and just a way to pad the game until the next scene.

This game was different, the dialog and story actually meant something. Whether it is interesting, is certainly up you ones own taste.

Lots of text is not a problem as long as it is engaging. That's where I ran into a problem in this game. The action would stop dead for what must have been a thousand lines of exposition that didn't make much sense and really kicked me out of the game. I remember one scene in a gazebo in the middle of an empty body of water for example. And sometimes the updates would be like "Added 12,000 words", which is like a fifth of a novel. No problem as long as the words are interesting and serve the plot, but the game struggled with this at points. More than most games on this site this would have benefited from an editor.
I enjoyed the story and didn't mind the lengthy dialog, for the most part. But I do agree that there are several scenes where I had a hard time understanding what was going on. The scene where that other diety was captured on the island, for example. My memory is a little hazy since it was over a year ago that I saw it, but I remember being a little lost as to who he was, and what he did, and how he fit into the story. But overall, I wanted to see where the dev was going with the story, and always wanted to see more.
 

365 others

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I enjoyed the story and didn't mind the lengthy dialog, for the most part. But I do agree that there are several scenes where I had a hard time understanding what was going on. The scene where that other diety was captured on the island, for example. My memory is a little hazy since it was over a year ago that I saw it, but I remember being a little lost as to who he was, and what he did, and how he fit into the story. But overall, I wanted to see where the dev was going with the story, and always wanted to see more.
The short answer is he is one of Inana's original followers, who got obsessed with her, and wanted to force her to love him by capturing her (using the flowers with the intoxicating smell or something) but didn't get to fully achieve it. She caught him and put him in chains, and erased any memory of him.

Edit: Forgot to add that MC and his imaginary girlfriend thought he could help them get rid of Inanna's influence as he seemed to know how to lock her up, but well... things didn't happen the way they expected to.
 
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jamdan

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Sep 28, 2018
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Sorry, but no, Chasing Sunsets has literal kids in it, and it's on Steam, another game showed the same, and was rejected because of it. There are other games where they do not look 18, the reviewer (Mary) is notorious for rejecting games...
It's not kids, it's people who appear to be kids/underage that have sexual content. If they don't have sexual content, I don't think Steam cares. Like DeLuca family (it's on Steam? Right? I know it was/is meant to be)

But honestly, this game had no chance to be accepted by Steam regardless. Alice is obviously too small to pass as an adult.

The same reason Light of My Light got rejected, it had a few scenes in a place that was obviously a high school.

Devs just need to be aware of the rules and plan their game accordingly. Unlike Patreon, Steam actually tests games on their platform.
 

SonsOfLiberty

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It's not kids, it's people who appear to be kids/underage that have sexual content. If they don't have sexual content, I don't think Steam cares. Like DeLuca family (it's on Steam? Right? I know it was/is meant to be)

But honestly, this game had no chance to be accepted by Steam regardless. Alice is obviously too small to pass as an adult.

The same reason Light of My Light got rejected, it had a few scenes in a place that was obviously a high school.

Devs just need to be aware of the rules and plan their game accordingly. Unlike Patreon, Steam actually tests games on their platform.
No, DeLuca family is not on Steam.

There are worse offenders on Steam, there is worse content on Steam. Steam has rejected games with kids with NO sexual content, just because the dev's get stuck with a reviewer named "MARY".

Mary is notorious in gaming/dev circles for rejecting games.


A good example is "Homelander" it has flashbacks like Chasing Sunsets when they were kids with no sexual content and was rejected because of that.
 
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ThorinKing

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Feb 16, 2023
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No, DeLuca family is not on Steam.

There are worse offenders on Steam, there is worse content on Steam. Steam has rejected games with kids with NO sexual content, just because the dev's get stuck with a reviewer named "MARY".

Mary is notorious in gaming/dev circles for rejecting games.


A good example is "Homelander" it has flashbacks like Chasing Sunsets when they were kids with no sexual content and was rejected because of that.
Well, Mary is just being cautious. Can't have sexual content with adults that used to be kids.:WeSmart:
 
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It's not just kids, it's people who appear to be kids/underage that have sexual content. If they don't have sexual content, I don't think Steam cares. Like DeLuca family (it's on Steam? Right? I know it was/is meant to be)

But honestly, this game had no chance to be accepted by Steam regardless. Alice is obviously too small to pass as an adult.

The same reason Light of My Light got rejected, it had a few scenes in a place that was obviously a high school.

Devs just need to be aware of the rules and plan their game accordingly. Unlike Patreon, Steam actually tests games on their platform.
Even Melody was rejected by Steam!

I think there're kids in many AVNs but if they aren't depicted naked or in a sexual way at all but just as kids then there's no problem. Even BaDIK shows memories from MC's past also Zoey's from their high school years, they're even kissing in some of these flashbacks but there's absolutely no sex during those scenes!
The issue is when a character looks underage AND is involved in sexual acts.

It's still possbile that some games get through the initial review somehow e.g. becuase underage content wasn't in there when the review happened or it's just a small scene with a side character that the reviewer missed etc. But one person reporting the game explicitly pointing out the issue is enough for Steam to remove the game and ban it forever! They don't even allow devs to alter their games. If they've rejected it once, it stays that way for good and that's for a reason too.
I wrote this in another topic about this same issue (probably Melody's) but it's just the smart option for them. We have an incest patch for all games which contain no incest in their Patreon version. Even if a dev changes a few things in a game for Steam, if the game has another version with the controversial things in it, it could easily lead to an investigation and that could involve Steam. They don't want that and honestly they absolutely don't need it. While some AVNs sell very well (Freshwomen is probably the most successful with over a million copies sold), it's nothing comapred to $60 AAA games' numbers. It's just not worth it for them to risk anything. You wouldn't do that either in their place. Allowing porn is a huge deal by itself.

2dcg japanese games are the exception, I think no one knows why...

There are worse offenders on Steam, there is worse content on Steam. Steam has rejected games with kids with NO sexual content, just because the dev's get stuck with a reviewer named "MARY".

Mary is notorious in gaming/dev circles for rejecting games.


A good example is "Homelander" it has flashbacks like Chasing Sunsets when they were kids with no sexual content and was rejected because of that.
While I won't argue with you about Mary, even though I'm sure she didn't reject every adult game she checked, I'd say Homelander isn't a good example at all. I did not play it but just looking at the preview pictures I've found controversial looking characters (e.g. img 3 & 12).
The looks could be enough for Steam. Or even high school setting. People in general aren't over 18 in high school. A 12 year old looking character or people in 10th grade won't sell as adults for Steam, that's it. If devs want to make big money they should release their games on Steam but they should avoid anything controversial at all costs. It sometimes seems unfair, I get it, I knew women who couldn't buy a pack of cigarettes at 33!!! without a clerk asking for their IDs first but it is what it is with Steam. Some reviewers aren't that strict but some are. It's not smart to risk your chances, you always have to prepare for the worst case scenario!
 
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SonsOfLiberty

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While I won't argue with you about Mary, even though I'm sure she didn't reject every adult game she checked, I'd say Homelander isn't a good example at all. I did not play it but just looking at the preview pictures I've found controversial looking characters (e.g. img 3 & 12).
The looks could be enough for Steam. Or even high school setting. People in general aren't over 18 in high school. A 12 year old looking character or people in 10th grade won't sell as adults for Steam, that's it. If devs want to make big money they should release their games on Steam but they should avoid anything controversial at all costs. It sometimes seems unfair, I get it, I knew women who couldn't buy a pack of cigarettes at 33!!! without a clerk asking for their IDs first but it is what it is with Steam. Some reviewers aren't that strict but some are. It's not smart to risk your chances, you always have to prepare for the worst case scenario!

There is no school, it's set in medieval times lol.

Yup. Steam banned Homelander for alleged suggestive sexual content with "minors". I don't know what triggered my reviewer, I don't know if it was the Kaela scene, or the implication of future relationships with Abigail, or maybe they just saw Young Ariana in the prologue and said "NOPE" without giving it a chance. I'll never know...
And these games are there as well, but not Melody...or some others.

The weirdest randomness in Steam. Who you get evaluating makes a world of difference I guess

https://f95zone.to/threads/my-new-memories-v0-4-killer7.85280/
and
https://f95zone.to/threads/bad-memories-v0-8-5-recreation.28008/
Hmmm, strange how underage they look, but it's fine...because they didn't get "Mary".

"Mia" was rejected, but it got to be submitted again, because "Mia was school shit and still is school shit", so is Lust Theory, and they are high school...

Also here is this nice little chart.

 
Jan 27, 2021
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There is no school, it's set in medieval times lol.



And these games are there as well, but not Melody...or some others.



Hmmm, strange how underage they look, but it's fine...because they didn't get "Mary".

"Mia" was rejected, but it got to be submitted again, because "Mia was school shit and still is school shit", so is Lust Theory, and they are high school...

Also here is this nice little chart.

Who said Homelander has high school theme? I surely didn't, I even said I didn't play it. I said I think some characters look controversial in it and I said high school theme isn't allowed on Steam either.

Mia isn't high school though, I've just finished the sequel today. In one of the very first lines of the first game MC is 20 and is in college. It's literally written during MC's introduction! Mia is 22. In the sequel, two years after SwM, MC is 22 with his sophomore year behind him. Later in SwM MC is 18 who just finished high school though (there're a lot of messed up things in that game). But that's again different either way. He already finished school. There is no sex during the last two days of school, the whole game happens after that. MC is spying on Mia during those days but she's older anyway. Also 80-90% of people are over 18 on the day they finish school.
Lust Theory's description also says College. The characters must be over 18 either way in these games. That's why I honestly can't even understand devs, just write college instead of high school always for God's sake and that'll make it! :D Here the looks of a building or a classroom won't matter, like ever. No one will start a criminal investigation because a building in an adult game looks like a high school instead of a college... With 12 years old looking characters taking a dick in each hole at once is a bit different...

Also Mia was rejected for other reasons I think, that's why they could re-submit it. LoF was banned for a while because of license issues with the music in it. That's totally different from having underage looking characters that's why Drifty was allowed to fix it.
I've read some messages devs got from Steam and those explicitly stated that they can't submit their games a second time. And while the reason wasn't precisely disclosed, there're hints about underage looking characters or high school setting...

I wanted to bring up Bad Memories myself because it sure as hell is a miracle it wasn't rejected simply for it's banner. ::D
My New Memories is the same just like all the japanese games. I'm not sure these games would remain on the platform if people started to report them though...

Again, a reviewer can make a big difference but one has to prepare for the worst, like Mary. One day Steam may will fire the guy who allowed Bad Memories because it isn't in line with the platform's rules while Mary will be able to keep her job. It doesn't even matter. Make a game Mary would approve and you're good to go. It's not Steam's or Mary's loss if your game gets rejected but yours and your fans' if you'd abandon the game they liked for financial reasons!
 
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Umariel

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Jan 21, 2019
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did woman on it show her bare ankles?
See for yourself, if you're curious.. :unsure::WaitWhat: Might be part of a clip.

You don't have permission to view the spoiler content. Log in or register now.

There's also a rumour about first one actually being made somewhere
in Latin America (probably with camera obscura), :KEK: which shows a man,
dressed as devil, :devilish: which phucks two shepherd girls on a bank of a river.
 
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SonsOfLiberty

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Who said Homelander has high school theme? I surely didn't, I even said I didn't play it. I said I think some characters look controversial in it and I said high school theme isn't allowed on Steam either.
It's literally in your quote...about high school...

While I won't argue with you about Mary, even though I'm sure she didn't reject every adult game she checked, I'd say Homelander isn't a good example at all. I did not play it but just looking at the preview pictures I've found controversial looking characters (e.g. img 3 & 12). The looks could be enough for Steam. Or even high school setting.
The point is, there is one reviewer who is notorious that rejects many games on the platform (they reject the bulk of adult games). Considering these same games are on Patreon, and they also do not break Patreon rules, and Patreon is stricter than Steam is.
 
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It's literally in your quote...about high school...



The point is, there is one reviewer who is notorious that rejects many games on the platform (they reject the bulk of adult games). Considering these same games are on Patreon, and they also do not break Patreon rules, and Patreon is stricter than Steam is.
I wrote this, in a new line, after I finished my thoughts on a game I said I didn't even play: "The looks could be enough for Steam. Or even high school setting."

Maybe it's not perfectly clear but I simply stated a general fact about Steam, looks or even high school setting is enough to get your game rejected. I should've hit enter twice and put a line between the paragraph about Homelander and my next thoughts it seems. Anyway, it's a simple misunderstanding, how would I even know the theme of a game I didn't play? OK, the preview pics could give that away but I was just looking at the characters for a few seconds, didn't really analyze every detail about them.

Patreon doesn't allow incest. Steam seems to have no problem with it. This is the description of Sisterly Lust on Steam:
"The game is built on choices that will have an impact on the gameplay. Each main character has two statistics; Trust and Corruption. Scenes will unfold based on those two parameters. Be careful not to lose the trust of any of your siblings, otherwise your stay at your new home will be a very short one."
You may have noticed the word "siblings" there. Patreon is stricter when it comes to some topics. Steam is very strict about underage content (in most cases and I don't think it's just Mary still I know she's notorious for rejecting games).

But enough with the off-topic talk.
I think we could agree that some games shouldn't have been rejected especially knowing some more controversial ones are on the platform, like the ones you linked.

I wish all the best to this dev for the future!
 
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-CookieMonster666-

Devoted Member
Nov 20, 2018
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Ummm is this game abandoned or not? At the name it shows it is but there are updates comin in...
This last update was the final one. This is officially abandoned right now. It's always possible at some point in the future PixelsLab might swing back to this game, but there's nothing indicating that will happen at this point. He's not able to continue working on this game with how things have gone for him financially (see this post). At this point, I believe he's trying to figure out what he's going to do to move forward, because he's said specifically he really does want to keep making adult games. So for now, at least I personally am just keeping him in mind as a developer to support on his future endeavors. I played through this latest release and am keeping a copy of my saves somewhere JIC he continues this down the road eventually.
 
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