[lisally]

Well, hello all the otoge fans who happen to landed on this page Welcome to my first topic

I have been itching to write my thoughts but creating a blog is just too troublesome for me. So... here I am.

It's been eight month since I first know the existence of otome game by coincidence. I love reading manga. Because of the same art that otoge offers, it quickly caught my attention. My first game was OKKO's Sweet Scandal and Office Lover. I played it for about one month and it piqued my curiosity. Then I searched for other related games and landed me (particularly) on Voltage games.

I have this habit to check the app descriptions and other people reviews before downloading an app. So the next otoge I downloaded is Voltage's Kiss of Revenge because the plot seems more mature than most otoge that looks like a transformation of shoujo manga (which is not really my favorite). I read the prologue and immediately captivated by the plot. By the time I finished the first chapters I got the feeling that this would be very interesting. But because it is paid version, I didn't read it further. Instead I search for other Voltage games and download it all to read the prologues and free chapters. Hehehe

And... that was how I got attached to Voltage, and ended up bought some of their stories.

I tried to seek other company's game, actually. But in my opinion, Voltage wins in quality. Wether it is the plots, the stories, the art, the characters, or the app itself (though I really don't like some of their app). And I can see that they really are geting better and better with each new app they released. In short, I love Voltage games for their (overall) quality 

(Well, this opinion of mine might be clouded by my own preferences so please don't take it seriously if you love other company's games )

That's why I didn't hesitate when they released their first PARTY series, My Forged Wedding: PARTY. I was so happy because it is free to play. Though it just 5 chapter per day, I don't mind. And it has cute avatar that remarkably better than any other otoge's. The sweet route is paid but I never go for it. Instead, I was captivated by the campaigns and events which always have bonus avatar that I really like.

The first campaign is really easy. If not for my 2 months field work where I have no way to get any phone signal I would have finished it, and realize the true nature of events earlier. When I get back from my field work, I was greeted by the Mushroom House reform campaigns. Well, I finished it.

After that they started the 1 Months Anniversary event (though I don't really get it why couples these days get so excited for many kinds of anniversaries ). That was when I made the first mistake of choosing NE before finishing all HE and lost the background prize. The next is Halloween campaign and event. I learn from my mistake and clear it all without having to spend money. But then, came the Wine Event.

It was really, really, really a disaster for me who didn't realize the true nature of events yet. It has 5 characters, with almost no more free aromas from battles, and yet the affection is never enough.

It really stressed me out. Actually, it was the absolute win early clear bonus that pushed me to quickly-get-the-affections-and-clear-the-route. I ended up purchasing more and more coins. And you know what? It still not enough. When the ECB really ended, I still didn't reach the requirements.

I was stressed, and even more stressed for the money that will never return. I didn't know anymore how many hours had been passed since I get so immersed in the event. I don't even have to mention that my works was going in a very, very slow pace.

All of that for some avatars that I don't even wear. And in the end, I didn't even get it.

You can say that maybe it was a severe warning from God that I had been neglected almost all of my responsibilities. I was lucky enough I never had any access to credit card and I was really forced to limit my purchase of coins. Otherwise I might just think "it's just a little more, just a little more" for every events without ever knowing when to STOP. Then the bill might really give me some heart attack.

I stop playing event after that. I missed Saeki's Sexy Darling event. After that, maybe because my resolution is really weak when it comes to avatars or I had been severely intoxicated by MFWP that I started playing the next Xmas event.

What a bad girl I am.

But don't think I came back to battlefield events without enough ammunition. I learned from my mistakes so far and then starts developing strategies to win events with as little money as possible (because I still have to expand my closet!!). When I mention developing strategies it includes searching as much info as possible from the previous events, determining the pattern of affection requirements, calculating how much personal affection from each event mates and myself required to reach each HE, analyzing which event mates should I add to help me full clear, even secretly inspecting which of my wife mates who is actively playing events and who is only play main route and who is a moody player, taking note of any possible resources I can use during the event including when and how to use it (even a little detail can makes a big differences), creating my own timeline as my baseline when playing the event, and which item set should I really buy -when I get myself stuck- to get the most affection/ points with as little money as possible.

That looks rather heavy...

Or maybe I just want to take revenge (?) on the past disaster and proof myself that I can do it.

And the result is... in December I get the perfect clear title, full clear all events/ campaigns (except Yamato S2 and the cinderella dress), get the ranking prizes, get all the voting prizes including #2 hubby bonus, get my main story done without having to stop on missions, and get my works DONE.

Heheheh

But that event planning strategies was not all I learned from that single disaster. I also learn a priceless lesson to just... let go.

I'm serious here. It's not like what Idina sing in the Frozen soundtrack which have a meaning of freedom. How should I say it? It's more like to just accept what we can/can't reach, prioritize our energy for what we originally responsible to do, and willing to let go of the strong desire to.. own some eye candy (that is, pretty avatars).

As a result, I have no regret for not full clearing the New Year event.

It's alright for me to lose some pretty avatar. It really is no problem if I fall behind my other active wife mates. Giving up my chance to make my avatar even more pretty will not kill me.

Because, after all, I get my Diploma

So it's really alright to let go, because it is just a game.

When you start pouring money more than what you had limited yourself to, it is no more a Game.

Linkback: https://kokoro-cafe.net/index.php?topic=1394.0

[Vixey]

I enjoyed reading this, and I am taking notes on your strategy! I would definitely be a "moody" player I suppose haha. And I totally have the same mindset, I don't beat myself up if I don't get the prizes I wanted or finish an event route. I'll try if I want, but it's okay if I don't try, and I'm really glad that Voltage has the 'how hard are you trying' thing to display for others, so I can warn others not to waste an event mate spot on me. I usually try harder with the house events though since those I find easier. Lol but now I have a hard time getting any mates when I am trying, since I've already given myself a reputation of not trying that hard even when I am trying...which is true since I just don't want to stress myself out about it.
I would disagree though that these are "just games," since that might diminish people's real feelings or passion for otome. But that's just my personal opinion. :)

[Aiwethryne]

I am moving the topic to the Game Discussions section~ But I agree that it is easier to post on a forum than to write on a blog for reasons. Heck, I have not touched any of my other accounts in months... *too lazy to login and post* And LOL "Let go." Yes, I immediately thought "Let it goooo~~" but it was obvious that is not what you were going for.

The whole month anniversary thing is like a landmark for people who lucked out with a bunch of others way before a month passed, but the people (honestly, females) who must bring up celebration after celebration are... excessive. But these things are really big in Japan and are constantly shoved in the faces of younger generations via shoujo manga. A person I know was even scolded by relatives for having too many commemorative-like parties because they were losing so much money. I barely even know what day it is, so I would not even remember a year anniversary unless I looked it up.

Not sure what type of "moody" you are referring to, but I am definitely moody on a daily basis~ XD *stares at all my rants* I never really have a strategy for playing, however. In my mind, it just all amounts to trying and doing minimal math in my head. There are evidently other members who create charts, calculate averages, etc.. Gotta give them props~ To have the most amount of points is the whole reason why we have walkthroughs. We're a walkthrough site, after all.

I am thankful that I managed to hold on to my "I'll NEVER spend money on these free games" attitude. In the end, I know that these are only digital prizes – mental vanity, and the event stories get kind of unoriginal after a while, especially when you relate it to shoujo manga (and I read so much of that genre that it infuriates me). It lets me accept that I did all I could, and it helps that, well, the online world is stuffed with uploads of CGs, screenshots, and story snippets. I'd only mourn a bit whenever I cannot wrest the items or stories by my own effort.

But I get over it and have my own screenshots. Hundreds of thousands of screenshots over the span of six years that I'll never look at again~~ Other than that, I have my memories~ I would rather be productive and draw than tap at my phone screen for hours. Where's the auto button when you need it?

[tssf]

I managed to learn my lesson before I spent money and I still am sticking to the decision not to spend anything on games labeled free.

My first experiences with events weren't that extreme, it was a time when events were actually events, something worth mentioning. Back then I pretty much had to have every free otome game available. But I just started playing so it was pretty easy for me not to care about what the prize is - I had to figure out how to play, I was busy enough with that and didn't even notice events. Once I did I did everything wrong and didn't care - I was new.

I slowly started getting used to the games, I started reading about how to actually play, but that was a time when there was the big event-drought. Events really were more or less special happening on ONE game, nothing on everything else, then a break, then another game... After a long time of nothing, the events suddenly became pretty common, but on different games and soon after that, they were there all the time.

Because the events started coming so often, even though they were on different games, I slowly stopped doing them on the games I didn't like that much and with the increase of event on all games, I stopped playing more than half of the games and I have to say I don't miss them.

I don't feel like using even my time on a game and the eye-candy I can get there, it's supposed to be fun, not stressful. Now there is only one game where I actively do all events and don't want to miss a thing and that's BMPP. But too crazy requirements - as in you have to pay for it are out of question.

[hela]

I really appreciate this thread- it was one of the first I read before I joined the forum and it really got me thinking about my own strategy and what I decide to "let go" of, lest I spend way too much on digital vanity. Letting go is definitely a huge part of being FTP.

Strategywise, my first run-through of a route in an otoge (specifically in SWD Niflheim) was a complete disaster because I didn't pace myself and realize that if I run the route too quickly, I miss a lot of time that I could otherwise use to pick up Ball/gacha points and thus, Ball/gacha items. In an event that would have made sense, but it wasn't even! T.T Also, spending all those points on the first Ball when that one's free once a day was not smart T.T Instead, I will have to wait for a second run-through to potentially get all the items instead of just finishing the Balls on the first run. That would have been nice- I'm not looking forward to running that route again. *rant over*

After that mess, I still don't make spreadsheets, but I am compelled to calculate average points per day, optimize those as a FTP player, and project where I will land based on my present rate. It makes me feel at peace with letting go, since the end result feels like a foregone conclusion that was calculated weeks in advance, as opposed to an active defeat.

[Sakuraichigo]

Imo this topic is really interesting so I think we should discuss more

First, I'm agreeing your point:
It's more like to just accept what we can/can't reach, prioritize our energy for what we originally responsible to do, and willing to let go of the strong desire to.. own some eye candy (that is, pretty avatars).

My otoge experiences:

Spoiler  Hidden:

My first otoge is Office Lover, and I was a ftp player. Read a bit everyday is ok for me, since it's free and I can enjoy it anytime I want. I just tried playing it without any walkthrough and ended up with normal ending lol. I like otoge more and more. I play everyday and finished reading each available character's route.

I was hoping for any updates because they stated "coming soon", so I was thinking that maybe I could wait a bit and collect all short stories from free gacha, and in the meantime I can play other otoge.
 
I saw Contract Marriage's ad banner so I tried playing it out of curiosity, while keeping my login records for Office Lover (but I sometimes screw up during my 5th or 6th login days T_T) until I reached enough points to get all side stories and avatars from free gachas with my accumulated Love point. I could dress up my character with those avatars however I like, but I couldn't do anything new except spinning gachas which will cost me money (and was too lazy to replay the other endings). I was really BORED. From that point on, dropping the game which have no future become my habit.

When I was finishing one or two routes in Contract Marriage, Contract Marriage Plus was released and I started playing the new version. I choose new character (Kurosaki) since I can read other routes at older version. The new version has battle system, guy's avatar and any others, and they're all new for me. I become more and more engaged with the game, participating in events and such. When new event was introduced, I was still learning how to play the game so I was playing the event casually. And then I learned that if I want to full clear the event, it's either hoarding lots of items or dump a large sum of money onto the game. I choose to give up on those rewards and start hoarding items for later events.

And then I came across "not enough spaces" for my guy's avatar and was pressured a lot. I was thinking "maybe it's another normal ending for me", since affection level needed is quite high, and can't be achieved without spending money. So I throw away avatars and was hoping for those with higher affection. In the end, I can only reach normal ending, because walkthrough were still uncomplete.

I played the game until it ceased to update. And once again, I was bored and dropped the game 

Then I tried to search another game from reviews or recommended otoges and come across to Voltage: 10DWMD, OTBS and KoR. These games are pretty good, I read up free prologue and chapters for each characters of these games. I bought some stories, and they're pretty good. But, because I am such a fast reader, finishing 1 season is only matter of few days for me. I tried calculating how costly it is if I were to buy all the stories of one whole app, so I tried playing MFWP instead. (Now I really think how extreme I was, it's better not calculating it because I know that I won't buy all the stories lol)

When I was starting MFWP (it was during rainy days house reform), I was surprised by how generous they are, giving lots freebies for beginner's login bonus. But that generousity once again struck me with "no closet space". At first, I tried throwing away some beginner's avatars, but not long after that I thought that spending a little for closet space won't hurt, because the stories are worth reading. I even used all of my free love passes at once and read the stories immediately after 11AM UTC.

Once I learned about affection fever and checkpoint at MFWP, I realized my mistakes and I stopped wasting lots of love passes without any considerations. So I let go my obsession towards reading several parts at once since it would only bring me trouble later on. Fortunately, I'm not obsessed enough to buy lots of passes and aromas just to finish the whole story in one day.

Back-to-back events are what makes me keep playing, since I know that this game will always being updated (at least until now).

I want to know how full clear feels like, so I tried spending money to early clear and full clear 2 kinds of story events: two routes event and multiple routes event (I don't really try spending for main story campaign because I can read main story and collecting wife pts anytime).

2 routes events: Second route is always harder, it's much harder if you try to early clear the second route. Buying bigger event sets (around $30-40 in total) may guarantee early clear and full clear the event.

Multiple routes events: I try calculating and found that buying bigger event sets are still not enough for me, even with those awesome emates. I need to buy lots of extra love rings or aromas with normal price at the item shop and it sucks. When I know that I have to spend more than $50 (maybe over $70) to full clear, I stopped spending for that event. It's good that I'm out of Mari from trying to clear my 5th guy. Out of Mari reminds me that I have buy checkpoint avatars with coins and it's really a waste of money, since I won't wear the same outfit forever. And then I stopped doing it, because events are going non-stop, but my Mari and real money is limited.

It's ok not to read all of the stories, since not all of the guys are my fav (some are really boring tbh), and I am playing casually to begin with. Those in-game currency are not enough if I want to full clear all of the events. I prefer attending all events casually (playing only for fav characters/better avatars) rather than full clearing one or two events, and got broke for the next event. I have already given up lots of cute avatars and it is really worth to continue doing that, because the stress are greatly reduced and lesser money spent (more avatars need more space anyway ). Idk how the completionists live with those back-to-back events

[kokoro-cafe]

I completely understand, the only reason I still play events consistently is so I can make walkthroughs otherwise I would be one of those "moody" players especially on hectic days or days I'm doing a lot of travel. I loved collecting avatar items for the longest time but I completely stopped because of how full my closets have become and now I have a giant stash of gacha medals I never use because I rather save those spots for event avatars. I do like the direction of how the new party games have gone though, it does help take off a lot of the stress from mfwp. I don't have to worry as much about running out of space and buying coins every month or so to stay ahead of everyone else.

[hela]

It's so awesome to hear where everyone is coming from, and how you guys progressed to your current mode of play- I think I still don't play enough otoges to want to play each of them them casually- just three for me right now, and one of them is more of a visual novel where there aren't events or different routes based on decisions. With two, competitive play seems somewhat plausible, even as FTP? It gets stressful around limited events, but only for the first day or so- once my strategy is laid out and I "let go" of everything I project I can't win without putting in real money, I'm mostly fine.

I agree that one doesn't need to play every route to be happy. Personally, I actually do not enjoy most of the more romantic endings- the normal or dark endings are intriguing enough for me, and anything more romantic just seems overly saccharine to my taste. Meanwhile, I do get a little bit sad when those routes are tied to avatar items that I can't buy/obtain without putting in real money, because I can't help but care about avatar items.

I've never played a Voltage game, but they sound awesome the more I hear about them.

Also, I bow down to the people who play and make walkthroughs. I could never play fast enough to do that in a time frame that would make the walkthrough relevant. Yet, my gameplay experience would be very dull without walkthrough help, since my ideas of what would make a good romance and a sweet ending are apparently very different from the heroine's.