Albedo

Just finished Moon, it was ok. Map movement was, gasp, good! It even contributed to creating the mood instead of making me want to play something else!

Nah, the main thing holding them back is that no one reads them and that they're treated like IP farms nowadays. Sure, lots of mainstream superhero comics never end, but there's plenty of great series that do have a beginning and an end (off the top of my head, Y the last man, Preacher, Hitman, 100 bullets, From Hell, etc.), miniseries designed to have a story with a clear end (Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen are the clear examples) or you can just jump out when they switch creators. Like I said before, personally I enjoy this kind of stories, but don't expect any deep analysis of, well, anything. They're designed for "emotional engagement," after all, like Bioware rpgs. I think western media (and yes, this includes comics... even mainstream ones) do a better job of touching on subjects in an interesting way. MLA *might* be the exception imo, but it's as subtle as a sledgehammer to the balls.

Reading the list of translated games, I've only yet to play one of 'em (Comyu) and only hate, really hate one of 'em (Phantom of Inferno... god, it's shit) so the genre might be pretty much up my alley, I think. Also, wouldn't Umineko be a bit of a stretch, according to the description?

Multiple solutions to puzzles or gameplay obstacles are ideal in my opinion. I still remember soloing Baldur's Gate II with a thief and having a blast, despite that the game was heavily oriented towards mage combat. However, if budget is an issue or if the game doesn't allow different ways of playing it, there's nothing wrong with having a single solution, as long as it is logical. You know, unlike those old adventure games where the solutions MADE NO SENSE AT ALL, like Gabriel Knight's infamous mustache puzzle http://www.oldmanmurray.com/features/78.html

Childhood friend, she had the best endings.

Finished Symphonic Rain. Even if some of the big twists were kinda obvious it was very, very good.

Aselia the Eternal is pretty good. SRPG, but different from Utawarerumono.

Glorious Hierocratic City-State of Hipsteria Flag: Geographical area: Austin, Texas. And nothing but Austin, Texas. Not one inch beyond Austin, Texas. Official language: Arameic (so indy!) History: One glorious day, Devendra Banhart was visiting Austin, Texas. At the same time, Rick Perry was on his morning run. The Guv’nor bumped into Devandra Banhart, and promptly apologized, for even if he is something of a moron he has, at least, basic social awareness. However, this was not enough for Devandra Banhart, who cried oppreshun and all that, funneling the great hipster riots of 2015. Austin was paralyzed, as it was unable to function without its many overpriced coffee houses and video stores. Before the situation was critical, however, Austin seceded from Texas (and the Union) and formed its own, independent city state. No one gave half a fuck. Also, Zooey Deschanel was elected as first president for life. Anthem: Baby, by Justin Beaver. Ironically, of course. Form of government: Presidential democracy, with fully elected congress. However, congress is called parliament, because that’s what’s called in Europe, and we all know that Europe is a very sophisticated country. Also, to ensure that nothing ever changes from the glorious status-quo, parliament has five chambers. Constitutions are too mainstream so they don't have one, relying on hipster consensus instead. Electoral system: Even if parliament has five chambers, that still doesn’t guarantee that things will comfortably remain the same for ever and ever, before it was cool. Therefore, the electoral system is especially designed to disenfranchise groups with opposing views to the social consensus and to ensure that only mainstream (oh my, that word!) hipsters. Parties/groups/factions/whatever can present two candidates for each district. Every district chooses two representatives/senators/whatever. The candidate who gets the most votes is elected. HOWEVER, if his running mate was the one who got second place, he is not automatically elected. Rather, they must have double the votes than the closest competing coalition; if they don’t, then the candidate who got the most votes in the closest competing coalition is elected instead. Example: Coalition A: candidate A gets 31%, candidate B gets 30%. Total: 61% of votes Coalition B: candidate C gets 18%, candidate D gets 15%. Total: 33% of votes. Candidates A and C would get elected, since Coalition A did not double coalition B in votes. Notable laws: Every day is barista day. Lacking facial hair is forbidden for men, having it is optional (encouraged) for women. VICE magazine is mandatory reading for everyone. Deviating from the hipster-hive mind consensus on anything is punishable by death. Killing people before it’s cool (again) on the western hemisphere and all that.

Symphonic Rain, finished Fal's route and about half of Lise's...

I just started watching the first episode of Seitokai Yakuindomo 2. Age-quality english.

Hachikuji Mayoi: Bestest girl evar wow

Off the top of my head? Oreimo. I thought it was gonna be a comedy, then it started taking itself way too seriously and sucking, and then it jumps the shark when that model girl goes yandere in the most stupid way possible. Dropped immediately, with no regrets.

Well, there are a couple of VNs where the main character is inspired/relies on women who don't suddenly turn into delicate flowers who want nothing but to get some dicking, right now. Steins;Gate, Muv Luv Unlimited/Alternative (yes, despite the fanservice suits), 999, G-Senjou (for the most part) and maybe Ryukishi07's stuff come to mind.

Day 4 was busy trying to get 100% CG completion on this masterpiece http://vndb.org/v1484

Then Planetarian is for you!

Hmmm, I think the most irresponsible thing was skipping school for a week so I could finish watching The Wire. I had two exams on that week, had to lie outta my ass so I could get a retake. It was totally worth it.

Get Takeshi's bad ending. No, seriously, it's worth it.

This. A thousand times this.

Hidden with spoiler tags for those who haven't played Muv Luv Alternative.

It's probably gonna be Heaven's Feel, since it's the route that is most similar in tone to Fate/Zero.

I think you always have to shoot Meiya. What your choices change is whether she confesses or not, if she doesn't, then Takeru reads a letter from one of the other girls. The stuff with Sumika is explained by Kasumi just before Final Extra. Also, about the ending,

My new year's resolution is to finish a VN I'm doing with a friend.

In my case, I found it similar to reading a comic + music. I started with Ever 17 (highly recommended as a starter VN, this, Steins;Gate or 999 are pretty good points of entry for the medium, IMO.) and while the first 10-15 minutes look like they could be at home in any moe/comedy anime, things started happening really fast. From there, it was pretty gripping. It also helps that the situation in which the characters found themselves was pretty unique, too (until Archer's last episode of season 4 lol) F/SN is good. Except for Shirou. Fucking Shirou. I personally don't think is anything special but I can't really say anymore without spoiling it. It's also pretty long, so if you're new to the medium I'd suggest to start with something shorter, stick with it to the end of at least one route (many VNs have plot branches, where the story goes in different directions/focuses on different characters. That's a route) and then see how you liked it. In F/SN case, if you really, really want to get the complete story then you have to finish all three routes, and that's easily 50+ hours.

Finished Muv Luv Alternative Chronicles 01's partial patch. And now I don't have anything to read

Well, you said anything... Ignore this if it doesn't count as extra from this week's story.