Tavern Talk, uh?

[Lurking Luka]

Very original, I've never heard of anything like that... I hope it will be a good game, at least.

[ParaffinBrain]

its ripping off coffee talk and va11 ha11a

[Ode]

Originally posted by EFC EdSheeranVEVO:

its ripping off coffee talk and va11 ha11a

I wouldn’t call it a rip off. It has similar gameplay, but the setting and story seem unique. If it comes out and it ends up having the same exact story as those games, then I think calling it a rip off would be fair. Games can be similar without being a rip off. I’m hoping this game will be as good as it seems, since I enjoyed va11 ha11a.

[badlymadetraveler]

Looks like the drinks you serve do more than getting customer epilogues or not at least.
Well okay there was also the payment mechanics.

What does Coffee Talk entail? I kind of stopped when it got into the latte art stuff.

[JudgeMental1337]

Yeah its coffee talk but with more to It than just doing "drinks" there is atleast some "Quests" involved. Would be happy to see that your choices have consequences and that there are some intertwined connections. I really liked the demo and It sucked me up until It was over. Could´t ask for more :-D

[Dollie]

Definitely enjoyed the demo as well thus far. Certainly reminds me of Va11 ha11a and coffee talk. I enjoyed the drinks making mechanics. Quite unique. The drink choices (when given) also gives different dialogues, though I hope there's a chance of unique endings or whatnots for the customers that visit.

Would be interesting if these are romanceable characters, or perhaps the chance to pair some of them up. The demo stories already had me hooked, and I want more.

[badlymadetraveler]

Even if each customer has only 1 epilogue (which some folk would need a walk-through to find) I'd be fine with it.

[GentleTommysTavern]

Hey, maybe I can bring some clarity to this discussion. First off, yes, our game is inspired by Coffee Talk, hence the name of the game. We are extremely happy that Toge Productions (the studio behind Coffee Talk) actually knows about us and even supports us!

Secondly, let's talk a little bit about Tavern Talk and highlight the differences.

It's all about listening to the adventurers visiting your tavern. While listening to their stories, you gather rumors, and those rumors can be combined into a new quest for your patrons! Also, our drink-mixing mechanic is completely different, and depending on the drink you serve, the outcome can be totally different. For example, you might serve an adventurer a drink that makes them stronger, but for the quest, they needed something that would make them more charismatic. In that way, even if you are "just" the Innkeeper, you are connected to their fate in a very special way. The demo (thank you so much for playing it, by the way!) showcased in some ways how those decisions can have a short-term effect on the story. In the finished game, you'll see the long-term consequences of those decisions, and it will have an even bigger impact on the whole story!

As some people here have already noticed, we are trying to mix things up and make the experience as unique as possible for you! ❤️

[vykrom]

I don't know why people always get bent out of shape when this happens. We have souls-likes, rogue-likes, metroidvanias, Zelda-likes, Diablo-likes, Doom-clones, etc. People who like Valhalla and Coffee Talk want more games and are happy there's a genre that brewed out of them. There's nothing wrong with it. I'll be wishlisting and watching this game. I wish the devs much luck and love in their endeavor

[löyly]

I really liked the rumour and quest mechanics. Wondering how much the full game is going to lean into the "adventure" aspect though, as I'm not at all into combat or any stressful stuff. Is it going to be like, if you brew the wrong drink then someone dies or something?

[GentleTommysTavern]

@löyly,

As the Innkeeper you won't be in any combat. But as the description of Tavern Talk says, your drinks and choices will influence the fate of your patrons. And depending on that not everything will go according to plan and some outcomes will be more dire than others.

But of course I won't spoil anything here 💜

[The Queen Salis]

Originally posted by vykrom:

I don't know why people always get bent out of shape when this happens. We have souls-likes, rogue-likes, metroidvanias, Zelda-likes, Diablo-likes, Doom-clones, etc. People who like Valhalla and Coffee Talk want more games and are happy there's a genre that brewed out of them. There's nothing wrong with it. I'll be wishlisting and watching this game. I wish the devs much luck and love in their endeavor

I think it's the title. Maybe if it was a little more different, they would be happier?
Now it's in this weird space where it sounds like an AU sequel/spinoff of Coffee Talk without being affiliated which gives inherently sus vibes.
Tavern Banter might have been better :D Or if Coffee Talk changet their name to Coffee Chat.

Or honestly just come up with a neat name for the tavern to have since "Coffee Talk" and "VA-11 Hall-A" were both the names of the establishments?

[GentleTommysTavern]

Originally posted by The Queen Salis:

Originally posted by vykrom:

I don't know why people always get bent out of shape when this happens. We have souls-likes, rogue-likes, metroidvanias, Zelda-likes, Diablo-likes, Doom-clones, etc. People who like Valhalla and Coffee Talk want more games and are happy there's a genre that brewed out of them. There's nothing wrong with it. I'll be wishlisting and watching this game. I wish the devs much luck and love in their endeavor

I think it's the title. Maybe if it was a little more different, they would be happier?
Now it's in this weird space where it sounds like an AU sequel/spinoff of Coffee Talk without being affiliated which gives inherently sus vibes.
Tavern Banter might have been better :D Or if Coffee Talk changet their name to Coffee Chat.

Or honestly just come up with a neat name for the tavern to have since "Coffee Talk" and "VA-11 Hall-A" were both the names of the establishments?

Hey The Queen Sails,

as stated in one of my earlier posts, Coffee Talk was always a big inspiration for us and we just wanted to wear that inspiration on our sleeves. One of our catchphrases always was "Tavern Talk - where Coffee Talks meets D&D". There is nothing sus about it, especially since we are in contact with Toge Productions and they know about this game and gave their "blessing" so to speak.

Our Tavern is actually called "The Wayfarer's Inn", but we thought that everybody would immediately know what this game is about if it is called Tavern Talk. Something our next game will also have in common ;)

[The Queen Salis]

Originally posted by GentleTommysTavern:

Originally posted by The Queen Salis:

I think it's the title. Maybe if it was a little more different, they would be happier?
Now it's in this weird space where it sounds like an AU sequel/spinoff of Coffee Talk without being affiliated which gives inherently sus vibes.
Tavern Banter might have been better :D Or if Coffee Talk changet their name to Coffee Chat.

Or honestly just come up with a neat name for the tavern to have since "Coffee Talk" and "VA-11 Hall-A" were both the names of the establishments?

Hey The Queen Sails,

as stated in one of my earlier posts, Coffee Talk was always a big inspiration for us and we just wanted to wear that inspiration on our sleeves. One of our catchphrases always was "Tavern Talk - where Coffee Talks meets D&D". There is nothing sus about it, especially since we are in contact with Toge Productions and they know about this game and gave their "blessing" so to speak.

Our Tavern is actually called "The Wayfarer's Inn", but we thought that everybody would immediately know what this game is about if it is called Tavern Talk. Something our next game will also have in common ;)

Now let's be clear, I'm not saying it IS sketchy, you talking to them and getting permission does clear you of doing a wrong, I'm saying it gives sus VIBES at a glance, and that people are reacting to that with aprehension. Without having all of the details, when a person sees this game, it looks either like a full-on spinoff, which it isn't, or some wannabe clone.

Getting inspired is a beautiful thing, and I am very much for more games in this establishment-dialogue genre existing. But we live in an era of constant plagiarism, AI clones and ripoffs. Appearance of impropriety will not serve you well.

I'm not saying you did something unseemly here, I'm saying you shouldn't be surprised people have mixed reactions and feel like something is out of place.

This is an effort to let you understand that clean conduct and clean appearance are different, and a defense of getting permission to spoof their name doesn't change the fact that you're trying to catch the wave of their popularity by doing so.

If you called the game after the tavern name and simply let the screenshots convey the similarity, people would definitely still see the connection and those looking for games like Coffee Talk would probably check yours out to see what it offers.

You made a marketing choice, you were in your right to make it, but it will have consequences in appearing a bit sus and less legitimate than you could in my opinion.

TL;DR: I'm not making any accusations - I'm explaining why it can feel off to some people, especially without context.

[GentleTommysTavern]

Your explanation is totally valid.

While it wasn't purely a marketing decision and a more of a "want to pay tribute"-decision, we understand where this initial apprehension comes from.
That is why we are always very eager to correct this, set it straight and give the needed context to it.

But in the end, we can only hope that people play our Demo, see the differences we made to set us apart and experience the love and work we put into Tavern Talk. Because, yes, while it isn't a spin-off, it is also not a wannabe clone, rip-off, AI clone or plagiarism in the slightest.

[The Queen Salis]

I really hope this game does well, I sincerely want more good games in this genre.