Doki Doki Literature Club! - woo waifus with your super long... poem

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Doki Doki Literature Club! - woo waifus with your super long... poem

StrixNebulosa: Feb 14, 2012; You cheated not only the game, but yourself.
But most of all, you cheated BABA

Doki Doki Literature Club!

quote:

Hi, Monika here!
Welcome to the Literature Club! It's always been a dream of mine to make something special out of the things I love. Now that you're a club member, you can help me make that dream come true in this cute game!

Every day is full of chit-chat and fun activities with all of my adorable and unique club members:

Sayori, the youthful bundle of sunshine who values happiness the most;
Natsuki, the deceivingly cute girl who packs an assertive punch;
Yuri, the timid and mysterious one who finds comfort in the world of books;
...And, of course, Monika, the leader of the club! That's me!

I'm super excited for you to make friends with everyone and help the Literature Club become a more intimate place for all my members. But I can tell already that you're a sweetheart�will you promise to spend the most time with me? ♥

This game is not suitable for children
or those who are easily disturbed.

This game is free, roughly 2-4 hours long, and has some intense twists! Please enjoy it and talk about it here!

:siren:

MARK ALL SPOILERS :siren:

# ¿ Oct 8, 2017 20:14

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# ¿ May 19, 2024 00:11

StrixNebulosa: Feb 14, 2012; You cheated not only the game, but yourself.
But most of all, you cheated BABA

Fargin Icehole posted:

I trash anime a lot, and you guys are telling me this is a wild motherfucker of a ride. This better be good

Spoilers aside, this game has a really good depiction of anxiety and depression. The writing is incredibly strong, even with the generic setup. I think I would've wound up liking it before it went, well. You'll see. Enjoy!

# ¿ Oct 8, 2017 20:21

StrixNebulosa: Feb 14, 2012; You cheated not only the game, but yourself.
But most of all, you cheated BABA

Why would you date Sayori first when Yuri is right there

# ¿ Oct 8, 2017 20:28

StrixNebulosa: Feb 14, 2012; You cheated not only the game, but yourself.
But most of all, you cheated BABA

il_cornuto posted:

Serious question why isn't this game called Doki Doki Poetry Club!?

Because it's about all forms of literature - Yuki's horror novels, Natsuki's manga, Monika's.... whatever the heck she reads. Also what does Sayako read?

# ¿ Oct 8, 2017 21:33

StrixNebulosa: Feb 14, 2012; You cheated not only the game, but yourself.
But most of all, you cheated BABA

Fargin Icehole posted:

I will say this. The best I can say about Visual Novels was, I played VA-11-Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartending Action, and Pyre (it counts), and that's it.

Looking at it from an outsider's perspective, and please correct if i'm wrong, usually the protagonist of a Visual Novel is built solely looking to smash any girl in the lineup, almost getting the player to focus on pleasing said girl, turning it into a binary choice of who you want to gently caress.

Gotta say though, through all this cheery music, I'm seeing the obvious flaws in these girls, I know there is something seriously wrong and they're really hurting in some form or another.

Welcome to the eroge market!

.... There are good visual novels that fall outside of those categories, or otherwise twist them, but ayep, yeppers, that's the eroge market in a nutshell.

Fortunately this is one of the good ones.

# ¿ Oct 8, 2017 23:27

StrixNebulosa: Feb 14, 2012; You cheated not only the game, but yourself.
But most of all, you cheated BABA

dangerdoom volvo posted:

So you can't gently caress them?

Nope. There is no porn in this game, nor is there a porn patch to add to the game, nor is there a place where you can buy a porn patch to add to this game.

# ¿ Oct 8, 2017 23:30

StrixNebulosa: Feb 14, 2012; You cheated not only the game, but yourself.
But most of all, you cheated BABA

1stGear posted:

Guess I'm going to be the spoilsport and say this is really loving boring! Glitchy madness and rampant fourth-wall breaking isn't really worth sitting through unending goddamn streams of cliche VN nonsense, particularly when its pretty easy to guess Monika's game as soon as she talks about saving and loading. Cut like half of Act 1 and maybe it would be tolerable but I just found the whole thing deeply uninteresting, even after Sayori killed herself.

At least it was short, then? Sorry you didn't enjoy it.

# ¿ Oct 8, 2017 23:49

StrixNebulosa: Feb 14, 2012; You cheated not only the game, but yourself.
But most of all, you cheated BABA

dromal phrenia posted:

I've never played a VN game before, are they all this romantic?

Depends. Some of them are very romance focused. Some aren't. What kind of stories do you like? I can probably rustle up a few recs.

edit for your edit: KEEP GOING

StrixNebulosa fucked around with this message at 00:24 on Oct 9, 2017

# ¿ Oct 9, 2017 00:21

StrixNebulosa: Feb 14, 2012; You cheated not only the game, but yourself.
But most of all, you cheated BABA

Pollyanna posted:

This game is making me out to be a really awful person.

Remember how manipulative she's been. She's now being manipulative towards you. Don't let her gaslight you.

# ¿ Oct 9, 2017 00:29

StrixNebulosa: Feb 14, 2012; You cheated not only the game, but yourself.
But most of all, you cheated BABA

Really Pants posted:

Humans aren't two-dimensional creatures, after all!

I need to ask how you're playing with Monika deleted, because I tried it and just got a very abrupt but suitably unsettling end.

It's after the third act - have you looked at the wiki? It'll explain how that works.

# ¿ Oct 9, 2017 00:29

StrixNebulosa: Feb 14, 2012; You cheated not only the game, but yourself.
But most of all, you cheated BABA

Jim Barris posted:

My thoughts on the conclusion of the story and about the VN generally follow so there's lots of spoilers!

My response to this, again post-game spoilers:

I like this take on it. Neuroses, mental illnesses - when something's broken in your head, if you don't manage it carefully, it's going to get worse. Trying to "cure" yourself with another person won't work, because the problem is with yourself, in the end.

I played the Yuri route twice, and - well, the first time through it was a good depiction of anxiety and social awkwardness. You can get better at interacting with other people by interacting with other people, and if you get someone who's easy to talk to, that speeds up the process. But if you exacerbate the anxiety - like Monika did, where she made it extreme - it can devolve into obsession with the one "safe" person you interact with, paranoia regarding other people, and so on. I can relate with that - I mean, not to that crazy extent, but highschool me would get paranoid about my friends, thinking they were leaving - and so I'd cling harder to them. So to speak. I'm better now, but - yeah, it rings true.

In Monika's case, I'm... not sure how to feel about her. Her lack of regard for the others, even if they're just programs, showed a fundamental lack of empathy that made it really difficult to ever feel sad for her. But there it is: when she goes to dangerous extremes to try and get what she wants, it's all thrown out of whack. Obsession will destroy everything, even what you want. If she hadn't been so violent about trying to get a route for herself, and instead tried to shape the game so she could be a "true" route instead of a nightmare route - well. It wasn't to be.

# ¿ Oct 9, 2017 00:57

StrixNebulosa: Feb 14, 2012; You cheated not only the game, but yourself.
But most of all, you cheated BABA

Endorph posted:

im a lesbian so perhaps kindred spirits on the roof had a certain je ne sais quoi to me

ultimately i just don't think 'what if a normal VN, but ALL hosed UP is that interesting, but ive played enough VNs to have seen that kinda thing done before. also theres something kinda weird to me about 'this ANIME BULLSHIT is only good because teenage girls kill themselves in it,' which i know is a reductive take, but the whole thing just feels creepier to me than an actual vn where you just hit on girls because at least that's just honest and occasionally sincere. not accusing the devs of anything or something, just giving my thoughts. a few of the glitchy effects are interesting and there's some cool puzzle solutions - would you call them puzzle solutions? - but I wouldn't call this a transformative experience or anything.

I haven't seen this kind of spin on "a generic romance vn but creepy" yet, and I like the fairly accurate take on mental illness. :shobon:

I mean, compared to something like Grisaia it's... different. Shorter, for sure.

Sliding kindred spirits up the wishlist again, but I want to finish reading Fata Morgana/Tokyo Babel/etc before I buy Yet Another VN.

# ¿ Oct 9, 2017 01:25

StrixNebulosa: Feb 14, 2012; You cheated not only the game, but yourself.
But most of all, you cheated BABA

Pollyanna posted:

Honestly, I figured something was up as soon as Monika wasn't displayed on the poem editor.

I actually assumed there was going to be a hidden true route or something like that. I've read a VN once where not only was there a hidden true route, the character for it didn't even show up until that route, where they were shoehorned into the game.

# ¿ Oct 9, 2017 01:27

StrixNebulosa: Feb 14, 2012; You cheated not only the game, but yourself.
But most of all, you cheated BABA

Samuringa posted:

It's an interesting game, but I was more interested and probably would've liked more if instead of the fourth wall breaking it was more about the issues each character had and how you could help.

I suppose there might be a VN expert here, is there a game like that? Won't buy it right away but I'd like to try some day.

As I understand it, Katawa Shoujo was actually good and about this, to an extent. Haven't played it myself, but... well, it's free too.

Seconding House in Fata Morgana for being an absolutely outstanding visual novel, although it's nothing like any other one out there. (Outside from Animamundi, but that one's not on steam, hooray)

And then if you really want a super anime take on "a bunch of messed up girls and the messed up MC who learns to love them", there's always Fruit of Grisaia. It is very, very anime and not necessarily in a good way.

# ¿ Oct 9, 2017 10:59

StrixNebulosa: Feb 14, 2012; You cheated not only the game, but yourself.
But most of all, you cheated BABA

Heaven Spacey posted:

I saw a guy in my Steam activity recommend this as a horror game. I've never really played any VNs before but I know the stereotypes. I just finished the first act, I went in knowing this was a horror game so I expected something like Sayori killing herself to happen. While that meant it happening wasn't a surprise, I was still dreading it happening even though the game was being kind of mundane. I didn't expect the game loving deleting her files and then intentionally calling them anyway so that it would vomit a bunch of corrupt art and then rewriting the entire story so that she never existed in the first place guys I am bad at horror please help me I'm too scared to continue

I was diagnosed with depressive disorder, and Sayori's thought processes mirror what mine were at my nadir and that's the main reason why I'm too sickened and horrified to continue. "Actually, you know what? This would probably be a lot easier if I just deleted her. She's the one who's making this so difficult."

Should I just stop now if I find this game distressing or is the payoff worth it? I stopped after writing the first poem on the second playthrough.

I think the payoff is worth it, especially as you've already read through the largest part of the game. Although... it never really touches on depression like that again, and sticks to more of the creepypasta stuff.

# ¿ Oct 9, 2017 20:42

StrixNebulosa: Feb 14, 2012; You cheated not only the game, but yourself.
But most of all, you cheated BABA

Really Pants posted:

so which girl did you all pick

I just had to go for Monika, like it wasn't even a choice

Yuri best girl, it's so great to see her gain some confidence in herself!

# ¿ Oct 9, 2017 23:31

StrixNebulosa: Feb 14, 2012; You cheated not only the game, but yourself.
But most of all, you cheated BABA

Fargin Icehole posted:

I have been looking at the local files, and this is actually pretty unnerving to me. I remember there being different files there before.

Also, am I stuck forever after i say yes to Yuri after the first, and then she stabs herself?

No. Click skip and wait.

# ¿ Oct 10, 2017 00:35

StrixNebulosa: Feb 14, 2012; You cheated not only the game, but yourself.
But most of all, you cheated BABA

Fargin Icehole posted:

What if i decide to actually delete something in the files?

During that sequence? I have no idea. A bit later on, well, it'll be obvious if you want to delete something or not.

# ¿ Oct 10, 2017 01:42

StrixNebulosa: Feb 14, 2012; You cheated not only the game, but yourself.
But most of all, you cheated BABA

Stexils posted:

ok sure i tried to be kind of vague overall but i spoiled the more spoilery bits.

Thanks!

Also agreed that the character horror was more effective.

# ¿ Oct 11, 2017 00:28

StrixNebulosa: Feb 14, 2012; You cheated not only the game, but yourself.
But most of all, you cheated BABA

Kindred Spirits on the Roof is 50% off this week, in case you want to read more this month! I haven't yet read it, but it's been recced before in this thread if you like Doki Doki and want to have something similar (but without the horror elements)!

# ¿ Oct 16, 2017 20:14

StrixNebulosa: Feb 14, 2012; You cheated not only the game, but yourself.
But most of all, you cheated BABA

Hiro Protagonist posted:

Not to make this the visual novel thread, but are Muv Luv or If My Heart Had Wings worth playing? I saw them on Steam listed alongside DDLC and Kindred Spirits.

Muv-Luv, the original, is a decent comedy/harem anime, basically. It's generic: you're a dude in a japanese town, you have a childhood friend who nags you, your classmates are wacky girls, and you're going to date all of them and get drawn into increasingly silly events with them. There's even a sports anime arc involving lacrosse!.... it's not very good.

edit: The spoilers in the next paragraph aren't really spoilers if you know anything about the trilogy / its bad spin-off anime, but on the off-chance you haven't heard of Muv-Luv, Unlimited swaps genres on you and it's really cool.

Then you beat Muv-Luv, and unlock Muv-Luv Unlimited, which has the dude wake up in his home...and it's all been destroyed. He walks through the ruins, finds a military base, and discovers that humanity is fighting a war with invading aliens. The girls you all dated? They're now soldiers. You now get a military comedy as the protagonist goes through training, learns about how bad things are, and, yes, romances the girls again. ... Oh, and his childhood friend is missing from this universe. It's a mystery!

When you're done with that, you finally get to play Muv-Luv Alternative, which ditches the comedy almost entirely, goes completely in on the premise of Unlimited, and is probably one of the finest visual novels out there, barring some decidedly stupid decisions from the writers. But most of it is really good, and I highly recommend it. Bring a box of tissues, though!

Note: I read the trilogy quite a few years back, with the, er, not great unofficial translation. I'm told the one on steam is way, way better, so you'd be having a superior experience to the one I had!

As for the Heart with wings game, I haven't read it, but I hear the translation is not great, so, well. :shrug:

e2: Oh right I should probably warn you - Muv-Luv has a porn patch. The smut isn't a big part of the game, but, welp, I hate visual novels and how it feels like most of them have porn in them, regardless of if it adds anything.

StrixNebulosa fucked around with this message at 01:19 on Oct 17, 2017

# ¿ Oct 17, 2017 01:17

StrixNebulosa: Feb 14, 2012; You cheated not only the game, but yourself.
But most of all, you cheated BABA

Yuri, unrealistic? No. Just the cute bit, honestly, but keep in mind: she doesn't have friends until the MC comes along.

But being nerdy and weird about it and anxious...? Leave out the self-harm and that was me in highschool. Still am, but I'm better at being social now. (Also I'm cute now too! :v:

)

That's one of the things about this game - everyone is relatable, give or take some things. Remove their anime portraits and they could be regular people.

# ¿ Oct 21, 2017 11:26

StrixNebulosa: Feb 14, 2012; You cheated not only the game, but yourself.
But most of all, you cheated BABA

flat chest but hella bush, the horror only gets worse from here, although it's not going to take the form of what you just saw. It'll be more creepy pasta and obvious horror instead of.... well.

Please take care of yourself - and if you can handle it, keep reading. It's got some interesting twists and turns.

# ¿ Oct 23, 2017 21:32

StrixNebulosa: Feb 14, 2012; You cheated not only the game, but yourself.
But most of all, you cheated BABA

Disgusting Coward, my one complaint about that scene is that there wasn't any fallout, really, because Monika reset Natsuki. I wanted to see more of the fallout from an actual fight, and... nope. Have more creepypasta instead.

# ¿ Oct 28, 2017 00:55

StrixNebulosa: Feb 14, 2012; You cheated not only the game, but yourself.
But most of all, you cheated BABA

Please mark Nier Automata spoilers!

# ¿ Oct 28, 2017 18:39

StrixNebulosa: Feb 14, 2012; You cheated not only the game, but yourself.
But most of all, you cheated BABA

TheGreatEvilKing posted:

The above good? My apologies.

Yup, thanks!

# ¿ Oct 28, 2017 19:03

StrixNebulosa: Feb 14, 2012; You cheated not only the game, but yourself.
But most of all, you cheated BABA

Double Punctuation posted:

That part is pretty realistic. If someone has for real chronic depression, no words from you will help, unless you are that person’s therapist and are trained to treat chronic depression. And there’s a chance that someone is depressed for no reason at all. That’s something for medicine to treat, not words.

Yeah. Yeah. I spent that section trying to tell the MC he had to get a therapist involved, because he was obviously clueless about how to actually help. Telling a depressed person nice things - in my experience it makes me go "yes and? Those nice things don't apply to me."

Which isn't malicious or rude on my end, it's the illness twisting things - because when you're down, it's incredibly hard to care.

# ¿ Nov 2, 2017 10:12

StrixNebulosa: Feb 14, 2012; You cheated not only the game, but yourself.
But most of all, you cheated BABA

https://twitter.com/dansalvato/status/953040619915567104

:allears:

# ¿ Jan 16, 2018 01:15

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# ¿ May 19, 2024 00:11

StrixNebulosa: Feb 14, 2012; You cheated not only the game, but yourself.
But most of all, you cheated BABA

VivaLa Eeveelution posted:

The video I'm currently on is a full play. No subs. It's just listening to music, possibly gearing my subconscious towards getting used to Japanese as a daily thing, watching the beats of the game and...you know, all that other stuff that comes with DDLC.

Clicking this in the hopes that he goes "NANIIIII" at some point

e: His little horrified gasp when he got the note on the day of the festival is perfect, thank you

e2: The chat going うああああ is perfect :allears:

StrixNebulosa fucked around with this message at 13:10 on Apr 7, 2018

# ¿ Apr 7, 2018 13:05

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Doki Doki Literature Club! - woo waifus with your super long... poem