Xtracurricular Activities - RAGS Game by Cugel

Games in project or under development. The posts and games in this section can not ask for money.

Re: Xtracurricular Activities - RAGS Game by Cugel

Postby M » Sun, 11Feb27 11:51

Well, for starters, as far as story and images go I'd like to just mention how nice it was to see a RAGS game that wasn't MC or TF based and actually used original artwork.

Most of the artwork itself was pretty good, though the models in some of the pics had the occasional strangeness in their facial expressions that seems to happen in most games using 3D models. Kylie in particular almost always looked kind of freakish to me.

The humor elements never really did anything for me. I don't think the game would have worked out very well if it took itself too seriously, though, so there's that.

As far as "surprises" go I think you could have just taken Shofta out of the game entirely. She always felt a little out of place, though I appreciated the fact that any attempt to control people with the jewel ended poorly. Maybe you could have replaced her with a process where you learned to talk to Saran and Gretchen like a normal human being over the course of your lessons and checked off that requirement for the bonus day that way.

Actually, as far as story elements go I was a little disappointed that all the talk of mutual masturbation at the beginning and Adisa's repeated references to playing with herself in the bath never turned out to be foreshadowing. That could have been neat.

Overall, good game and easily the best RAGS game I've played. I'm going to stop typing now since this is easily more than I'd meant to write.
M
lagoon predator
 
Posts: 106
Joined: Sun, 11Feb20 00:00

Re: Xtracurricular Activities - RAGS Game by Cugel

Postby ExLibris » Sun, 11Feb27 13:58

I found the story to be interesting without ever really being involving. I think that's mostly because the PC is consistently passive. He never actively pursues his own goals, he just does what other people tell him. That subordinate position is reinforced by things like it being apparently acceptable for people indirectly employed by the PC's parents to break into his apartment and take his property, or drug his food without his knowledge.

He also doesn't get to make any real choices. Adisa says several times that he's going to have decide whether or not he wants to lose his virginity to her, but when the time comes there's no choice at all (unless he can just choose to go to sleep instead, which I didn't try). I would have preferred it if he had the opportunity to pursue someone he was personally interested in, rather than just Adisa & co (who, when all is said and done, are being paid to be interested in him). After all, they are supposed to be teaching him how to form relationships with the opposite sex, so it would be nice to see him actually put those skills into practice (beyond getting Ando and Saran together).

My opinion of the artwork is pretty subjective. I thought the backgrounds were very good, but the proportions of the faces seemed a bit strange to me (especially with some of the expressions they're contorted into). I was also a bit disappointed that all four of the girls seemed to have more or less exactly the same body type.

The implementation of the gadgets was one of the highlights for me, as they gave the game a bit more depth than if the puzzles had all been of the simple key & lock variety.

The humor... well the only thing I really found amusing was what happens when you use the smoke on the bees. But I agree that the game would have been less enjoyable if there had been no attempts at humour.

Overall, it's certainly one of the best made RAGS games I've played, but I can think of others that I enjoyed more.
ExLibris
legend of the South Seas
 
Posts: 745
Joined: Sat, 09May30 23:00
sex: Female

Re: Xtracurricular Activities - RAGS Game by Cugel

Postby Cugel » Sun, 11Feb27 17:26

blevins29 wrote : Cugel - Thanks for the explanation! This was a very well done game. You asked for comments about various aspects of the game - so I'll respond with questions and observations. 1)Was there any use for the tanning lotion or snacks? 2)When I saw the Vulcanizing machine as an option I was sure it was going to be used on the banana to make a sex toy. 3)I would have liked to have had sex with Gretchen, Sarah, and etc. on the final day as a reward for passing on earlier chances. 4)The liquor and cologne never became available which surprized me some. 5)If you wanted to increase this game you left yourself an opening by the girls telling him that several days of instruction remain.

Hi blevins29,
Thank you for the feedback.
1)Was there any use for the tanning lotion or snacks? 4)The liquor and cologne never became available which surprized me some.

Many of the items in the game are extraneous. It has always seemed too obvious to me when, for instance, a list of things to buy only contained items used in the game. It's partly for realism and partly obfuscation.
2)When I saw the Vulcanizing machine as an option I was sure it was going to be used on the banana to make a sex toy.

Your imagination does you credit and it shows that people bring their own ideas and comprehension into the story.
3)I would have liked to have had sex with Gretchen, Sarah, and etc. on the final day as a reward for passing on earlier chances.

I don't blame you and of course that could be done, but I had to put a limit on the number of scenes since they take a very long time to stage and render.
5)If you wanted to increase this game you left yourself an opening by the girls telling him that several days of instruction remain.

My intention there was more to give the player/reader a glimpse into the near future instead of an ending like, "Ando went on to build his muscles up so much that he could no longer bend over to tie his shoes, Gretchen married a small strangely augmented robot...', you get the idea.

Considering how much time and effort this project took, rather than adding a bunch of stuff to this game, starting a sequel or starting another project altogether, I'm going to take a break and just fix any bugs that might still be lurking out there.
User avatar
Cugel
lagoon predator
 
Posts: 155
Joined: Fri, 10Apr30 23:00
Location: USA

Re: Xtracurricular Activities - RAGS Game by Cugel

Postby Cugel » Sun, 11Feb27 18:09

ExLibris wrote : I found the story to be interesting without ever really being involving. I think that's mostly because the PC is consistently passive. He never actively pursues his own goals, he just does what other people tell him. That subordinate position is reinforced by things like it being apparently acceptable for people indirectly employed by the PC's parents to break into his apartment and take his property, or drug his food without his knowledge.

He also doesn't get to make any real choices. Adisa says several times that he's going to have decide whether or not he wants to lose his virginity to her, but when the time comes there's no choice at all (unless he can just choose to go to sleep instead, which I didn't try). I would have preferred it if he had the opportunity to pursue someone he was personally interested in, rather than just Adisa & co (who, when all is said and done, are being paid to be interested in him). After all, they are supposed to be teaching him how to form relationships with the opposite sex, so it would be nice to see him actually put those skills into practice (beyond getting Ando and Saran together).

My opinion of the artwork is pretty subjective. I thought the backgrounds were very good, but the proportions of the faces seemed a bit strange to me (especially with some of the expressions they're contorted into). I was also a bit disappointed that all four of the girls seemed to have more or less exactly the same body type.

The implementation of the gadgets was one of the highlights for me, as they gave the game a bit more depth than if the puzzles had all been of the simple key & lock variety.

The humor... well the only thing I really found amusing was what happens when you use the smoke on the bees. But I agree that the game would have been less enjoyable if there had been no attempts at humour.

Overall, it's certainly one of the best made RAGS games I've played, but I can think of others that I enjoyed more.


Thank you for your always frank comments and critical analysis.
I only have a couple of rebuttals and clarifications, and one admission of ignorance, which is where I'll start. Since I don't know the acronym or code PC (Personal Computer in my little world) I have to assume based on context that it means the player in the game.

[*]Nobody broke into anybody's apartment in the game, Adisa employs a hacker to remotely disable digital images in the players residence which she explains later is part of her teaching strategy. The parental permission was for access to biometric data, which the player admits in the dialog is "...weird...".
[*]Regarding the choices the player has, there is a scenario in the game you may not have come across where the player can choose to lose their virginity to someone else which changes the conditions when they visit Adisa on day 6.
[*]I'm not sure you could design this type of game without getting and completing tasks, and in this game most of those tasks are indeed assigned by the authority figure, the mentor.
[*]I agree it would have been much better if the player was developing a new relationship in parallel with the lessons, and that was in my original design, but got cut in order to avoid additional complexity and work.
[*]The only reason I did the "Nano Serum" thing was trying to explain multiple male orgasms, which in many AIF game are epic in quantity and quality. I regret the decision of having it done surreptitiously. It could have been up front and part of the game, or left out. The player does comment on it at the end of the last scene, but that could be removed too.
[*]I also agree with the comments you and others have made about the facial expressions. Sometimes the problem is lighting, shadows and makeup (Kylie especially in this project). I have a library of expressions and their effect changes from one character facial type to another, but if I was to form them myself, I would have to tweak one or more of 70 individual controls and probably lose my fragile grip on reality ;-)
[*]I did vary the body types, just not a lot. It is a male fantasy after all.

Take care,
User avatar
Cugel
lagoon predator
 
Posts: 155
Joined: Fri, 10Apr30 23:00
Location: USA

Re: Xtracurricular Activities - RAGS Game by Cugel

Postby daveon » Sun, 11Feb27 18:10

A little suggestion: After you are done day 5's "main event", you should have the PC or one of the girls say something about "Studying". Right now, it seems to be a bit hidden for what you need to do... just a suggestion for 1.7. Hope I made that clear enough without not being too clear :/
daveon
sirens hunter
 
Posts: 11
Joined: Sun, 11Jan30 00:00

Re: Xtracurricular Activities - RAGS Game by Cugel

Postby Cugel » Sun, 11Feb27 18:20

daveon wrote : A little suggestion: After you are done day 5's "main event", you should have the PC or one of the girls say something about "Studying". Right now, it seems to be a bit hidden for what you need to do... just a suggestion for 1.7. Hope I made that clear enough without not being too clear :/


Yes, what you say would be more obvious than what I ended up doing in 1.6 which was adding a hint in the text that displays when the player examines what is added to the inventory at the end of that scene. ("...you do need to study this...")
User avatar
Cugel
lagoon predator
 
Posts: 155
Joined: Fri, 10Apr30 23:00
Location: USA

Re: Xtracurricular Activities - RAGS Game by Cugel

Postby blevins29 » Sun, 11Feb27 22:55

Cugel - I downloaded your version 1.6 today and decided to shower before removing my underware on day 1. Now I can't remove my underware. They are not only worn to bed but are under whatever outfit I choose to wear also - even though the dialog says I don't wear underware under my clothes. Underware is stuck in my inventory with EXAMINE as the only option. Game play seems to continue as normal even though I'm always wearing underware.
blevins29
great white shark
 
Posts: 95
Joined: Thu, 09Aug13 23:00

Re: Xtracurricular Activities - RAGS Game by Cugel

Postby ExLibris » Sun, 11Feb27 23:11

Yes, PC stands for "player character". It's a term borrowed from role-playing games and means the character controlled by the player (as opposed to NPCs, or non-player characters, who are controlled by the person running the game or the computer in this case).

To be honest, the PC's endurance in the final scene(s) didn't really bother me. Partly because I've played a lot of AIF where the PC has superhuman endurance that is never explained, and partly because it's clearly a special occasion (and the PC has already demonstrated that he can orgasm three times in quick succession).
ExLibris
legend of the South Seas
 
Posts: 745
Joined: Sat, 09May30 23:00
sex: Female

Re: Xtracurricular Activities - RAGS Game by Cugel

Postby Cugel » Mon, 11Feb28 17:47

blevins29 wrote : Cugel - I downloaded your version 1.6 today and decided to shower before removing my underware on day 1. Now I can't remove my underware. They are not only worn to bed but are under whatever outfit I choose to wear also - even though the dialog says I don't wear underware under my clothes. Underware is stuck in my inventory with EXAMINE as the only option. Game play seems to continue as normal even though I'm always wearing underware.

Hi blevins29,
I reduced the number of clicks it takes to sleep (1.6 release notes "Player can now go to bed with their clothes on and the game will remove them."
The briefs are always on (in inventory) now, but you pointed out a message in the game that I did not change to reflect this.
Thanks,
User avatar
Cugel
lagoon predator
 
Posts: 155
Joined: Fri, 10Apr30 23:00
Location: USA

Re: Xtracurricular Activities - RAGS Game by Cugel

Postby ecou » Mon, 11Feb28 23:00

ok, I'm back... with the same problem and one question.
first, I really don't know if upgrading to v.1.6 will let me load a previous version savegame (1.4)-that's because I failed to load a v.1.2. save when I upgraded to v.1.4-maybe I'm wrong, but a confirmation will help.
second, please, I need a PM about hacking the handheld, because i'm really stuck. Thanks!
ecou
sirens hunter
 
Posts: 16
Joined: Fri, 11Feb18 00:00

Re: Xtracurricular Activities - RAGS Game by Cugel

Postby Cugel » Tue, 11Mar01 17:24

ecou wrote : ok, I'm back... with the same problem and one question.
first, I really don't know if upgrading to v.1.6 will let me load a previous version savegame (1.4)-that's because I failed to load a v.1.2. save when I upgraded to v.1.4-maybe I'm wrong, but a confirmation will help.
second, please, I need a PM about hacking the handheld, because i'm really stuck. Thanks!


I am pretty sure that the saved games are not backwards compatible.
User avatar
Cugel
lagoon predator
 
Posts: 155
Joined: Fri, 10Apr30 23:00
Location: USA

Re: Xtracurricular Activities - RAGS Game by Cugel

Postby Son-of-Odin » Thu, 11Mar03 08:59

ecou wrote :
... second, please, I need a PM about hacking the handheld, because i'm really stuck. Thanks!

Please check your PM
User avatar
Son-of-Odin
star of the reef
 
Posts: 254
Joined: Fri, 09Nov20 00:00
Location: Munich, Germany

Re: Xtracurricular Activities - RAGS Game by Cugel

Postby texasterry » Thu, 11Mar03 10:19

First of all, great game Cugel. If this is only your first attempt at a game, I can't wait to see your next one! Second, I'm stuck on day five with the handheld hack. A little help someone? Thanks.
texasterry
Pilot fish
 
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed, 10Sep15 23:00

Re: Xtracurricular Activities - RAGS Game by Cugel

Postby moron9876 » Thu, 11Mar03 19:18

I'm new to RAGS, but I absolutely can't figure out how to get through the 1st task on the first day (masturbate), the images on the computer are 'hacked', and I don't see any other options. Please PM me through this one part. Thanks!
moron9876
Pilot fish
 
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu, 11Mar03 00:00

Re: Xtracurricular Activities - RAGS Game by Cugel

Postby Son-of-Odin » Thu, 11Mar03 21:42

@ texasterry & moron9876
Please check your PMs
User avatar
Son-of-Odin
star of the reef
 
Posts: 254
Joined: Fri, 09Nov20 00:00
Location: Munich, Germany

PreviousNext

Return to Projects

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 25 guests

eXTReMe Tracker