My reaction to the “birth’ event. SPOILER!

Poot Poot Poot! A mainline Bokumono game set in a resort town that wants to be more resort-y. Available for Nintendo Switch, Steam/PC, and Ps4/5. [ Game Guide ] JP release = Feb 2021. NA = Mar 2021. EU = Mar 2021.
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Shan O 123
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For the longest time, I was wondering why I wasn’t getting the pregnancy event, just events with Damon lol.

But then, this morning it finally happened…
Spoiler:
There’s no actual birth event. The child is given to you, even if you marry Straight.

Now I know why the child disappears if you get a divorce. I don’t know how I feel about that.
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Kikki
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I really don't like that they did this sort of thing in Olive Town. I mean, they're small things, but they bug me big, lol. Like taking away all characters' disliked/hated items. Making it so that your response to any event doesn't count for anything. Having no pregnancy or birth events. (I'd add 'no farming festivals', but imo that is not a small thing...that's a HUGE thing. I was flabberghasted when I found out that there were no farming festivals in the game at all.)

I get that they probably did this because of the same-gender pairings, but why not put in that bit of extra care and have the usual pregnancy/birth events, and add an adoption event, too? They could even let the player choose which they're gonna do. I suppose they think they can't, because how would they handle it if the player decided to have a pregnancy with a male-male pairing. I've half thought of a couple of scenes that they could do that would make note of your couple's intention to have a child, and then the child arriving, without it being clear whether they're being adopted or birthed directly...it could apply to anyone. But I wish they wouldn't hack bits out of the game to put a new feature in so shallowly.

Hopefully these are growing pains, and they'll start putting more thought into how they can give everyone decent options without somehow slighting others. As best they can. (I know no game is perfect.)
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Shan O 123
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Well, I mean I should have saw it coming? Olive town actually doesn’t have a doctor/ clinic. At least the pre pregnancy events were decent. They weren’t big but they were decent.
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i thought it was cute lmao

i thought it was a nice way to help players who are gay and typically play gay not feel left out wrt the child's genetics
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This is something that’s really bothering me too. I love waiting out the pregnancy and also the pregnancy event itself has potential to be super sweet. And seeing your spouse’s dialogue change as the pregnancy progresses was always so special, because that dialogue you won’t ever get again. I’m not sure why they got rid of this.
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Kikki
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I'm pretty sure it was because they added same-gender opportunities. I mean, maybe they just cut corners and it had nothing to do with that, but I can really see them not properly thinking through how they could handle a pregnancy between two men, for example. I don't think it'd be that difficult to include 'expecting' and 'baby's arrival' type scenes, though, in scenes that would work for anyone, regardless of who they are or who they marry. For example:

Farmer is sitting at the kitchen table with thought bubbles over their head. Spouse enters to see this, and goes over to give them a hug/kiss/pat on the head/whatever, and says, "What are you thinking about?" Answer options could then pop up.
  • I was thinking about having a family with you.
  • I was thinking about you.
  • I was thinking about having a tuna sandwich.
  • Oh, nothing...I was just daydreaming.
If you choose the family option, Farmer and Spouse could have a lovey dovey conversation about a potential child/children. No mention of pregnancy or adoption would ever need to be brought up, to try to stay as neutral and even-handed as possible, to avoid excluding anyone and their chosen situation. If you chose the family option, you could then see family-making conversation from then on, one line per day or whatever, like "I'm so excited to meet/see/hold our child!" (Random and rather dull example, but let's just go with it, for the sake of ease.)

Fast forward the allotted time period.

You get a cut-scene at some generically official-looking place that could pass as a hospital waiting room or an office, etc. A doctor or nurse hands Farmer and Spouse (who have a bag with them, which could indicate either a stay in the hospital OR that they brought stuff along for the baby they just adopted) a baby, and congratulates you on your healthy new son/daughter (the name input can go here.) A scene like that lets you think of it as though you just gave birth, or you just picked up your adopted child, either one. The baby's genetics would be determined the same way they were anyway; that doesn't need to change. Though personally, I've always felt that the game should let you choose your child's appearance the way you can choose the farmer's appearance at the beginning of the game. Seems even more feasible now that there are no portraits.

It's relatively simple to be inclusive in this, imo. I don't see why they had to axe the 'expecting' and 'arrival' scenes, unless they really were just cutting corners. Which would be sad.
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Shan O 123
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Post  Posted:

Kikki You really should write for a gaming company XD




Whatever the reasons for this somewhat shortcut, I’m just going to live with it. Maybe the farmer in question can’t “form” well or something and that’s why the baby was gifted.
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Kikki wrote:I'm pretty sure it was because they added same-gender opportunities. I mean, maybe they just cut corners and it had nothing to do with that, but I can really see them not properly thinking through how they could handle a pregnancy between two men, for example. I don't think it'd be that difficult to include 'expecting' and 'baby's arrival' type scenes, though, in scenes that would work for anyone, regardless of who they are or who they marry. For example:

Farmer is sitting at the kitchen table with thought bubbles over their head. Spouse enters to see this, and goes over to give them a hug/kiss/pat on the head/whatever, and says, "What are you thinking about?" Answer options could then pop up.
  • I was thinking about having a family with you.
  • I was thinking about you.
  • I was thinking about having a tuna sandwich.
  • Oh, nothing...I was just daydreaming.
If you choose the family option, Farmer and Spouse could have a lovey dovey conversation about a potential child/children. No mention of pregnancy or adoption would ever need to be brought up, to try to stay as neutral and even-handed as possible, to avoid excluding anyone and their chosen situation. If you chose the family option, you could then see family-making conversation from then on, one line per day or whatever, like "I'm so excited to meet/see/hold our child!" (Random and rather dull example, but let's just go with it, for the sake of ease.)

Fast forward the allotted time period.

You get a cut-scene at some generically official-looking place that could pass as a hospital waiting room or an office, etc. A doctor or nurse hands Farmer and Spouse (who have a bag with them, which could indicate either a stay in the hospital OR that they brought stuff along for the baby they just adopted) a baby, and congratulates you on your healthy new son/daughter (the name input can go here.) A scene like that lets you think of it as though you just gave birth, or you just picked up your adopted child, either one. The baby's genetics would be determined the same way they were anyway; that doesn't need to change. Though personally, I've always felt that the game should let you choose your child's appearance the way you can choose the farmer's appearance at the beginning of the game. Seems even more feasible now that there are no portraits.

It's relatively simple to be inclusive in this, imo. I don't see why they had to axe the 'expecting' and 'arrival' scenes, unless they really were just cutting corners. Which would be sad.
The game has this kind of dialogue already. There are two cut scenes about the child wish. One of them determines the gender of the baby. But after those two scenes the potential baby is never mentioned again until the baby arrival.

I think the baby arrival event is cute, but I feel a bit disconnected from the child, especially because in my case the child don't look (enough) like it's parents.
My headcanon for the child situation is that my character is sterile (for unknown reasons), so he had to rely on alternative ways for family creation.
It's unclear in the game whether the child was still created from its parents genes or if a normal orphaned child is given to the couple. For my headcanon for my first file the latter option seems more plausible.
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Kikki
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Post  Posted:

So there IS a pregnancy-equivalent event, then. I was going by Shan's OP in assuming that there was not. I'm fine with there being no pregnancy-specific event, though I don't like how the child arrives in such a weird way...I'd prefer that they left it vague, as in my scenario, to let you head-canon it as a pregnancy or adoption or whatever other scenario you might come up with. And it's too bad they didn't include any 'expecting a child' daily dialogue. But I guess in this case, you weren't.

EDIT: How'd your post sneak in there without me seeing it, Shan? Lol. Thanks :)
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Shan O 123
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Seems I failed to get the shots of the first event where you decide gender. But yes there’s events,
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Kikki wrote:I get that they probably did this because of the same-gender pairings, but why not put in that bit of extra care and have the usual pregnancy/birth events, and add an adoption event, too? They could even let the player choose which they're gonna do. I suppose they think they can't, because how would they handle it if the player decided to have a pregnancy with a male-male pairing. I've half thought of a couple of scenes that they could do that would make note of your couple's intention to have a child, and then the child arriving, without it being clear whether they're being adopted or birthed directly...it could apply to anyone. But I wish they wouldn't hack bits out of the game to put a new feature in so shallowly.)
That's also something I don't get because they did the pregnancy and birth events in SoSFoMT if you marry the opposite « Chicken Hugging », but had a magical baby event if you marry the same « Chicken Hugging ». I guess different engines might be the cause, but I can't say for sure.
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greensara
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Post  Posted:

That's weird and disappointing, both because I like the traditional pregnancy events and because it kind of makes the magical baby-gifting for couples of the same gender to be less special. But who am I to say if it's weird or not, maybe everyone "magically" gets gifted babies in Olive Town, lol! Not sure, but I think that may be worse than Natsume's twin beds, just saying.

Now I am even less inclined to pick the game back up.
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Shan O 123
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Post  Posted:

I mean I’ll still play it, just now I know what to expect XD
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Post  Posted:

This is actually one of the things I’m really hoping they fix before I start to play. I’m going to hope real hard for a pregnancy patch
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Post  Posted:

i understand everyone's disappointment, and i agree it should be an option for everyone to have either traditional or adopted. but if it had to be only one system, i do like this is a system inclusive to trans people. i enjoyed getting to use the character creator to create a trans female mc with a deeper voice, and that would've been ruined if I had married a dude and the game forced her to be confirmed cis in-game when she gets pregnant. instead with magic babies avoids confirmation either way
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