According to the reviews I've read, the game is actually fairly well written. If you don't want to buy the game yourself there's nothing wrong with that, but isn't it a little immature to say that you won't play it simply because it didn't get censored while a game you like did? Every piece of media should be graded on it's own merit, not on whether or not another game got snubbed. I wasn't trying to incite rage against Sakura Spirit, I was just trying to point out that the system is flawed and has a very arbitrary way around it. Sakura Spirit played the system, while Loren just made the game they wanted. Neither approach is intrinsically better, just different. The point is, nothing is making you play the game, but if you want to have a reason not to play the game, don't make it that it got around the system while Loren didn't. That's like the people who won't watch a movie because it won an award they thought should have gone to their favorite movie. It's not the movies fault, just as it isn't the game. So while you have absolutely no obligation to even give it a chance, don't declare that you will never play it for a reason that has nothing to do with the game itself, it's degrading to both you, and the game, and it's honestly kind of embarrassing. I'm not trying to offend you, or insult you, it's simply unbecoming of someone to hate something simply because it was treated differently than something else. Yes, jack's games are probably better, and yes, Sakura Spirit got artificial inflation of it's sales from people just buying it for sexual content, but is that really a reason to hate it?fabulaparva wrote:I read the very extensive review for Sakura Spirit at VNs NOW. I came to the conclusion that I won't touch that <censored> thing. It is beyond me why Loren's few scenes at the end (and missing formal rating) would be an issue but other game that consists (apparently) nothing but smut is okay just because the dreaded female nipple doesn't show up >.< This is a major problem with all ratings that are based solely on number of nipples and lists of cursewords without taking the context into consideration. Yes, there is erotic stuff in Loren. Not showing full frontals of female/male genitalia does not mean that sex is only implied and not shown. Yes, there's making love in Loren.But the thing is, in Loren this is in perspective and it's not hurtful, it's not demeaning, it's not exploitative and it's not something that's there for cheap thrills only. There are games that show way less than Loren do, but have way more hurtful content as far as things that the ratings should be looking out for go. But the thing is: nipples are easy to count. Number of times "blacklisted words" are said is easy to count. Putting content into context is not easy.
Okay. Better shut up now before I really start to rant, lol.
Jack has an excuse to be a little upset, he made the product that got a little screwed, but is it actually supporting him? Does not buying Sakura Spirit get Loren Uncensored onto Steam, will it boost his sales? Unfortunately the world isn't that simple. I love the games that Jack and his crew work so hard to make, but where in that is it conflicting with being okay with the existence of another game? Beyond that, Comparison of the gameplay of the two games is rather irreverent. Loren is part RPG, Sakura Spirit is not. Loren has traditional gameplay, Sakura Spirit does not. This essentially makes it akin to putting Dragon Age Inquisition and Tales from the Borderlands, or League of Legends and Smite on a side by side comparison, they share similarities conceptually, but they aren't similar enough in execution, it doesn't work. Jack you even noted that you put so much effort into creating a good RPG experience, which you did, but then how did you miss the fact that Sakura Spirit isn't an RPG? You also talked about it "being rewarded so much compared to a product like Loren", which is comparing sales cross genera. Do we compare the sales of a book and the sales of an unrelated movie, and if you do, why? It doesn't make sense. Jack, you also said "with much less effort", while I know you work really hard on the coding, how do you know it was less effort? Are you just assuming that because it lacked an RPG element that there was less work. Couldn't it have had as much work? Did the artists inherently try less hard because their drawings were more explicit? Did the writer not work as hard because they weren't writing an RPG? Do they not have work ethics because they have more sexual content? How would you know? If the game is so popular, then don't they have fan support too? Is it really fair to say that it was much less effort when you weren't part of the project? There is nothing wrong with being proud of your work, and your work is deserving of pride, but might that pride be obscuring your judgement a little? There's nothing to be ashamed of if it is. That's human nature.jack1974 wrote:Haha, thanks. I agree with what you said. Get used to see more stuff like Sakura on Steam though, especially as it sold EXTREMELY well. While I don't know the real figures, based on the chart positions it had, is easy to say that probably sold 3-4 times Loren's.
I haven't played that game, but based on reviews I've read it has like 1 choice and stop. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong if someone wants to make a game like that, but being rewarded so much compared to a product like Loren... is a big LOL for me.
In times like this, one has to wonder why put so much effort creating a good RPG experience, using great writers able to bring beautiful characters to life, spend time/money on this and then see stuff like that earn a lot more with much less effort!
For me the answer is easy: work ethics and fans' support. But not everyone is like me
The only place where comparison makes sense, is that Loren got Censored, and Sakura Spirit did not. But even then it's not a direct comparison. Loren did contain actual nudity, whereas they used technicalities and workarounds in Sakura Spirit. I brought this up only to illustrate and give example of how the system works, and the slight nuances of it. I had no intention of starting a hate fest on a game that objectively speaking doesn't deserve it. The ratings system is broken, it doesn't make sense and it doesn't really work, but that isn't the fault of the games that fall under it, it's the fault of the system. Get mad at Steam if you want, it's their system, but why does it make sense to get mad at a game that is just an embodiment of the problem?
I'm sorry if this came off as a little harsh, I just felt it had to be said.
I guess I shouldn't put up links as reference, without explaining more on what there is as most won't probably click them, anyway.
So there I was, typing 'why on earth' and 'edited for clarity, I hope', not because I was angry, but because I really did not understand. I'm truly sorry that you took it as anger. 
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