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

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?

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.

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.