Mind Blind Discussion Thread

[theiss]

From someone who used to be a patron when this IF was releasing semi-regularly (wdym it's been 7?? yrs?), every big update for this book went exactly like this: author drops an update containing huge errors, nothing works, author immediately drops off the face of earth, possibly returning in a few weeks with a 'good golly, it doesn't work??' and then fixing bugs (hopefully sometime this year). MB definitely taught me not to get excited at the first drop lol. So yeah, maybe the title says it has all endings and the author just uploaded the wrong file, but even if so, it's gonna take some time for them to notice. Or it just says that, hard to tell

 

[prismaticangel]

I'm not even gonna lie I'm weirdly disappointed haha, which is super painful bc I breathed this game for a long while. I feel like the latter half of the story was kinda rushed, as a lot of the plot threads/themes, especially pertaining to the parents, got skimmed over near the end. plus the lack of bad endings hinders the impact of the story quite a bit. I think the Save Nick route is probably one of the best climaxes I've ever read in an IF but it's really diluted by the fact that he was going to be saved regardless, even if you went to arrest Reese. I haven't done Vengeance route but I assume nobody gets hurt there either. Plus a whole deal is made over how Nick might have to be killed in order to save the city, yet it never happens. It doesn't feel as satisfying to save him in the end if it's predestined lol. Also I don't get why anyone would do a Nover route if it has no payoff - I think it's fair/realistic that Grayson tells us we can't go save Nick if we hate him, but playing an awful Button feels like there's no point, especially if we don't join Vengeance - which is my biggest criticism of evil/mean routes in choice-based narratives.

I think most of my problems come from that the story's scope was way too large for its length, I feel like it needed to be longer to feel satisfying. The heart of MB to me was Nick and Button's relationship, and I do think that it was done well, I guess I just feel like this had a LOT of potential and it fell short of that for me.

 

[theiss]

Yeah same, I used to really like it. But the more I think about the plot and lore the worse it gets, honestly. Which makes sense, cause I remember that MB was originally meant as a regular book with Sally as the MC. As much as I like Button, the only storyline that actually makes sense is them joining Vengeance after everything that others did to them. The problem, though, is that MC could be taken care of by the Ments within seconds even if they do become a villain, unless they get Magneto's helmet. The author said that one of the inspirations for Button was Lex Luthor, because of all the intellect vs superpowers and how he can keep up with the literal Superman. True, but a) Luthor has zero morals where Kent cares about people and b) DC made many variants of Kryptonite. There is no failsafe for Ments as powerful as Nicky, and doesn't it make things a bit pointless? How can MC be eventually made an agent - which, I haven't read the new endings, only the Save Nick from last year, I don't want to get into something incomplete once again - if anyone can take a peek into their brain? The whole thing with Luthor vs Superman was physical abilities vs the power of mind. When Marvel wanted Magneto to go against Professor X, they gave him a hemlet repelling telepaths. Here it's power of brain vs power of brain, because how can MC outsmart superheroes when the said superheroes have a full view of all MC's thoughts? Like you said, the story's way too short for the problems it introduced. It's kinda like Harry Potter, the more you think about it, the worse it gets. And I like all the ROs, but most of them are just a power imbalance relationship, and some ppl say, well it's about trust - yeah, one-sided trust on MC's part I'm just trying to ignore that to enjoy the romance routes haha. Not to mention, I remember a short story where Nick calls Button to tell them to please never make out with Kent in Kent's own backyard because that's within his range and he had first-seats to the scene: so Button doesn't get to kiss their husband in their own backyard, because their brother will call to please stop. When you introduce too many very complex issues you eventually get in over your head, and it just feels like MB is going to be either the GOT of IFs, or the ASOIAF of IFs and I don't know which is worse