The Gym by sportd ***Final*** (HTML)

[nacho666]

You are wellcome

[Josefus]

Hi, sportd,

Thank you for this new download.
But ...sorry... but No Dildo...

nice weekend

[jfrancois323]

i try it last night, the dildo was there, maybe i take it !! Seriously, you must miss something because it's there, she play with it before !!

[iamystic]

Dont know if I was playing an older version but is sauna and massage now done? Hope to see next one soon.

[Morgwen]

Dont know if I was playing an older version but is sauna and massage now done? Hope to see next one soon.

Re: The Gym by sportd ***Final*** (HTML)

Beitragvon sportd » Sa, 13Feb16 05:59
Yeah, The storylines grew too big so the sauna and massage rooms have been incorporated into the next story called "The Physio". The premises of the physio are in the same building as the gym (luckily) and there is an agreement to share facilities. This works for me as the gym storylines (and game length) had reached a level I was happy with and "the physio" was lacking a storyline.

[sportd]

If you are having dildo problems.. so to speak... try clearing your cache. There seems to be a problem with persistent data. I'll try to find a way to combat it.

[Nosferatu]

Great game - donation on its way.

Only annoying thing was the cache issues, needs to be resolved.

Aoart from that, totally enjoyed it!

[kessie8yl]

This game is OK but I was really hoping for more improvements this time. At the risk of repeating things that have been said before, the suggestion is that the player is free to "roam" but in reality the story is set on strictly pre-determined paths.

Any attempt to deviate from the path results in the girl telling you to "Drop dead" or something equally witty & intelligent and closes that whole area of the game. There can't be many better ways to discourage exploration, except maybe to have the player getting stuck inside a loop but this game manages to do that as well... eg: You do the stretches, have the coffee, return to the gym and there she is again. You approach her only to find she's back to "Who are you?" and you have to start that sequence all over again... Does she have the memory of a goldfish or something?

There are many great examples of linear games from Shark, LoP, Chaotic and the rest. You are gently nudged into the right direction but you can try other answers just to see what happens - often with amusing (but not fatal) results. "Drop dead" shouldn't be an outcome.

There are some other parts to the plot that don't make sense, for example the suggestion that the desk girl has somehow seduced you to get you to join the gym. This makes no sense at all because: 1) At no point in that conversation does she suggest that she may be "available", in fact she quickly puts down any of the player's attempts to flirt with her and 2) The reason you buy the membership is because you can't play the game without it. Very weak. It would have been easy to avoid the problem just by making any of the other characters "the receptionist" - when you meet her elsewhere in the gym later she just mentions that she's on her break or finished her shift. Then you don't have to explain why you haven't written a sexy ending for her...

And do we need to have his room as a location? He never needs to sleep and doesn't take anyone back there... OK, so he plays the CD there but she could easily have sent the blackmail movie to his mobile phone. This feels like you had something in mind but then couldn't be bothered to develop that idea.

I don't wish to be entirely negative because there is some good stuff in here - The series of encounters with different characters reminded me a little of "The Photographer" and you've avoided the repetitive actions contained in that game... Your artwork is very promising too...

[fatquack]

And do we need to have his room as a location? He never needs to sleep and doesn't take anyone back there...

I think you missed a part of the game!

[Morgwen]

And do we need to have his room as a location? He never needs to sleep and doesn't take anyone back there...

I think you missed a part of the game!

He sure missed a big part of the game... the character don`t say that you need to sleep but if you done all that you can do, go sleep and you can do new things. Btw sportd realeased a walkthrough:

http://www.the-vdates.com/walkthrough.html

[sportd]

Hi kessie8yl

Thanks for your input, I'll have a look at that coffee shop loop. Two questions here first, 1) are you playing the final version (at http://www.the-vdates.com) and 2) if you have played previous versions, have you cleared your browser cache?

I spent 10 years in gyms and all of these threads are based on things that I have seen and experienced over that time. One sales girl in particular didn't actually sleep all of her commisions (only a couple each month), but you always got heavy flirting, a bit of rubbing, maybe a snog and half a hand job...

The story of Casey (the yoga girl) is a blow by blow decription of my flatmate's experiences (he married her) up until Nic turns up at the house (fiction from that point).

I have been told to Drop dead, asking for similar favours (boy did I read the body language wrong) and I can tell you... it ends the story, unless you want to add a storyline about awkward passing in the hall and waiting to be fired for talking inappropriately to customers.

There was going to be a time constraint (hence the sleep option at the apartment) but found it wasn't required.

In summary, if you are in your early 20's, go and get a job at a large commercial gym! You won't make lots of money but will you have some stories to tell.

[kessie8yl]

And do we need to have his room as a location? He never needs to sleep and doesn't take anyone back there...

I think you missed a part of the game!

Yes I did miss part of the game but I don't like to use walkthroughs and a well-written game shouldn't need them. That's part of my beef with this one - it's just not subtle enough.

I also get very fed up with not being able to try all the options just to see what happens without having to restart the whole game over again when she says "Get lost"...

[kessie8yl]

Hi kessie8yl

Thanks for your input, I'll have a look at that coffee shop loop. Two questions here first, 1) are you playing the final version (at http://www.the-vdates.com) and 2) if you have played previous versions, have you cleared your browser cache?

I spent 10 years in gyms and all of these threads are based on things that I have seen and experienced over that time. One sales girl in particular didn't actually sleep all of her commisions (only a couple each month), but you always got heavy flirting, a bit of rubbing, maybe a snog and half a hand job...

The story of Casey (the yoga girl) is a blow by blow decription of my flatmate's experiences (he married her) up until Nic turns up at the house (fiction from that point).

I have been told to Drop dead, asking for similar favours (boy did I read the body language wrong) and I can tell you... it ends the story, unless you want to add a storyline about awkward passing in the hall and waiting to be fired for talking inappropriately to customers.

There was going to be a time constraint (hence the sleep option at the apartment) but found it wasn't required.

In summary, if you are in your early 20's, go and get a job at a large commercial gym! You won't make lots of money but will you have some stories to tell.

I'm quite a bit older than my 20's and have experienced a number of careers, including soldier, debt collector and city banker, so I think I have my fair share of stories.

Of course everyone has a far greater number of "Drop dead" experiences than those of the "Oh my God, yes please gimme that thing!" variety - but if you wrote a game based on a guy's real love life it would be a very long and boring one.

Turning again to the cafe scene as an example - the number of times you can check her phone without getting caught is just an arbitrary number - so you're deliberately writing the game so the player will get to a bad end at least once. There's no skill involved in knowing when to stop peeking, apart from being able to count up to five once you've been caught the first time. No wonder you have trouble reading body language

My main point about the receptionist is that there has never been any sign of the slightest hint of flirtation but then on Day 2 the story is that she's tricked you into signing the contract. They call it "continuity" - except in this case there isn't any. I assumed the reason was that you intended to include a sex scene with her but it didn't happen, so stuck the "You flirted just to get me to sign" thing in at the last minute. That's certainly how it felt when I played it. It struck me as being a lazy way out and the game deserves better.

The coffee shop loop seems to be due to my clicking on the timetable sign in the gym on subsequent visits. Having played it again it seems I'm supposed to click directly on the corner where she sits once we've been to the cafe. Why the same old notice board route is still available I don't know - as I remember she's never there again if you get the bad end with her, so there is another version of that page somewhere. I think it'd be easier just to have 2 versions of the page with her sitting in the background, the first as it is now, then after the cafe just change the link so it's leading to the "she stretches you" routine. She's in the same location both times, clicking in two different places doesn't make a lot of sense.

If all you want to do is write games for people who are reading a walkthrough I guess that's up to you.

[sportd]

I also get very fed up with not being able to try all the options just to see what happens without having to restart the whole game over again when she says "Get lost"...

That is a valid point, one that I will address in the next game.

Turning again to the cafe scene as an example - the number of times you can check her phone without getting caught is just an arbitrary number - so you're deliberately writing the game so the player will get to a bad end at least once. There's no skill involved in knowing when to stop peeking, apart from being able to count up to five once you've been caught the first time. No wonder you have trouble reading body language

I'm interested in this comment. My thinking was that if you get to do over life, you'll always make the right decision so it's the first time you go through that counts. Would you have it randomise the number of pics you get through before she comes back?

My main point about the receptionist is that there has never been any sign of the slightest hint of flirtation but then on Day 2 the story is that she's tricked you into signing the contract. They call it "continuity" - except in this case there isn't any. I assumed the reason was that you intended to include a sex scene with her but it didn't happen, so stuck the "You flirted just to get me to sign" thing in at the last minute. That's certainly how it felt when I played it. It struck me as being a lazy way out and the game deserves better.

So you haven't found the second sex scene with the receptionist then?

The coffee shop loop seems to be due to my clicking on the timetable sign in the gym on subsequent visits. Having played it again it seems I'm supposed to click directly on the corner where she sits once we've been to the cafe. Why the same old notice board route is still available I don't know - as I remember she's never there again if you get the bad end with her, so there is another version of that page somewhere. I think it'd be easier just to have 2 versions of the page with her sitting in the background, the first as it is now, then after the cafe just change the link so it's leading to the "she stretches you" routine. She's in the same location both times, clicking in two different places doesn't make a lot of sense.

The idea is that you see her out the corner of your eye while looking at the timetable. After that you are agreeing to meet somewhere. She should disappear from the timetable after you talk to her the first time. Have you cleared your browser cache? Caching won't be a problem with the second game as the game logic will be server side rather than client side

If all you want to do is write games for people who are reading a walkthrough I guess that's up to you.

I think you should probably check the walkthrough on the website... I don't think you have found all of the storylines.

[redle]

Turning again to the cafe scene as an example - the number of times you can check her phone without getting caught is just an arbitrary number - so you're deliberately writing the game so the player will get to a bad end at least once. There's no skill involved in knowing when to stop peeking, apart from being able to count up to five once you've been caught the first time. No wonder you have trouble reading body language

I'm interested in this comment. My thinking was that if you get to do over life, you'll always make the right decision so it's the first time you go through that counts. Would you have it randomise the number of pics you get through before she comes back?

I think the point was, "*squeek, thonk*, I think I hear the bathroom door opening behind me." Bet if I keep looking at her phone she's going to catch me. You choose to keep looking and see how she responds to you looking at her phone, or you quickly put phone back to not get caught. A good game gives the player enough information to make the 'correct' choice the first time around. Maybe it's obscure and they'll completely miss it. (as you update the phone imagine, maybe the tiny top right of the screen in the background also shows the bathroom door. You see it open on the first picture as she goes in. It is closed on the middle pictures as she stays in. It opens back up on the last pic before you get caught.) But it should be knowable.

My main point about the receptionist is that there has never been any sign of the slightest hint of flirtation but then on Day 2 the story is that she's tricked you into signing the contract. They call it "continuity" - except in this case there isn't any. I assumed the reason was that you intended to include a sex scene with her but it didn't happen, so stuck the "You flirted just to get me to sign" thing in at the last minute. That's certainly how it felt when I played it. It struck me as being a lazy way out and the game deserves better.

So you haven't found the second sex scene with the receptionist then?

Whether you can have sex with the receptionist, obviously it isn't required. His point about continuity is, anything that is happening should make sense with whatever background I have experienced, not what background is possible.

The coffee shop loop seems to be due to my clicking on the timetable sign in the gym on subsequent visits. Having played it again it seems I'm supposed to click directly on the corner where she sits once we've been to the cafe. Why the same old notice board route is still available I don't know - as I remember she's never there again if you get the bad end with her, so there is another version of that page somewhere. I think it'd be easier just to have 2 versions of the page with her sitting in the background, the first as it is now, then after the cafe just change the link so it's leading to the "she stretches you" routine. She's in the same location both times, clicking in two different places doesn't make a lot of sense.

The idea is that you see her out the corner of your eye while looking at the timetable. After that you are agreeing to meet somewhere. She should disappear from the timetable after you talk to her the first time. Have you cleared your browser cache? Caching won't be a problem with the second game as the game logic will be server side rather than client side

I've noticed this loop type both with coffee shop and the exercise girl. Both seem to have nothing to do with caching. My take is that there are trigger points. Skipping a trigger means previous trigger remains unlocked. With the coffee it seemed to be first trigger equals fail or ask for coffee. Second trigger is fail or success at coffee. If you ask for coffee and then go to coffee, but neither fail nor succeed... ie you just walk out, she is back in the gym (rinse, repeat). Same with gym girl. Worked out, but didn't yet move on to next trigger point and I can redo that work out over and over.

If all you want to do is write games for people who are reading a walkthrough I guess that's up to you.

I think you should probably check the walkthrough on the website... I don't think you have found all of the storylines.

For the beggars that want/need walkthroughs, or for those totally stuck, to get them through a tricky point is one thing, but a game writer should really never fall back on suggesting walkthroughs be used.

A game should stand on its own. If it isn't navigable without a walkthrough, it isn't worth playing (I'm not saying some bits can't be extremely obscure, but the core of the game should be doable without any help required). Don't get me wrong, after I've played a game a few times here or there to conclusion, and just want to see everything there is, maybe I'll do a walkthrough because I'm basically done playing it. But that's what a walkthrough is. It is an, I don't want to play a game. I want to see all your pictures. I want to see any witty twists of storyline you maybe came up with. Take me through a Visual Novel. I don't want to explorer.

All that being said, the game was a fun little game. I enjoyed it. And certainly, as a free game, all the better. The comments are hopefully taken as constructive criticism. A game is better when you either see a choice and know which answer is the best because of something you learned in the game, or later, when you eventually figure out the right way, you are smacking yourself on the forehead thinking, wow, I can't believe I didn't realize that the first time (or, oh, that author was sneaky and I didn't realize that bit even though it was there all along).