I’m sorry if I offended you? You needn’t shush yourself neither does anybody, I thought redditz was right as It was only reduced to you and I talking, but I thought you yourself said you were here to provoke my thoughts, and you did a great job of doing that, I am not going to stop replying to the thread or anything. People helped me, I got the information I needed, and would be happy to get more.
Yep, that was what I was planning to do!
How much of the game would you say is done, percentage-wise? Just curious, as I am certainly interested.
@Ardasevanos Your game concept sounds promising, and I would like to play it. Since you’re inspired by the history and developments of your country, may I ask which one it is? You don’t need to answer if it’s too personal.
I think if you want to keep all the prejudices in the game, you can make them some of the groups sharing them while others are more tolerant on these aspects while emphasizing others. For example, the mercenaries might have a sexist homophile attitude that @FairyGodfeather described above, while some other groups have other combinations of prejudices.
I think having a church as one of the main fractions might explain the homophobia, in real life most denominations condemn homosexuality as a sin. Alternatively, if infertility is widespread (because of the pollution?) and the authoriites are concerned about it, they might prosecute homosexuals for wasting their reproductve ability.
Are the weapons you’ve mentioned firearms or are only blades and bows and arrows available?
So the MC can be a male human, a female human or a male elf? I don’t know how the elves in your game are but in many fantasy world they’re quite androgynous. How easy could a female elf hide her gender?
So when do u plan to release your game?
This game sounds awesome, but I don’t want distinct good/evil lines. I want a game where you decide what you belive. For example, let’s say that I am part of a noble house. I should be allowed to think that I am I am killing people or oppressing some people so that so that the rest can live, and vice-versa. I honestly believe this is essential in any “dark” game.
Having an option does not make a difference for me, though I am part of the minority judging from the posts here. Is it nice to have an option? Yes. Most of the time it doesn’t change the game, just the the pronouns used. It changes my perception of the avatar, not by stereotypical gender roles but how I would picture their looks in real life.
With that said, is it okay if there is no option? It all boils down to why the author did it and whether the story still offers enough options to the player. If he or she felt like it would be too much effort when they could be focusing more on the story, that’s fine. If the author didn’t put it in because he thinks Gender X is stupid, hasta la vista. Having a locked gender may disqualify a certain group of people, but look at Sabers of Infinity and don’t tell me it wasn’t good.
It would be fun to play this game on both genders if there were significant differences for each playthrough like what you suggested in another post, though. Most of the games here avoid that because they want to create a world where sexism isn’t a thing, and I agree it shouldn’t be a thing, but if you’re creating a world where that and homophobia are things…then don’t make them likeable, but readable and a challenge to the player.
There’s definitely a lot of potential in a dark, interactive story. As long as you stay away from the common pitfalls of gritty reboots and edgy fanfiction.
I think a priority is to force the player into morally ambiguous situations. Where it’s not always obvious what the “right” or “just” actions are–and let there be real consequences to taking them. We’re talking about stat drops, lowering fame or money or whatever. Something tangible. That’s how you move a player’s mentality to adopt to a darker setting.
Let’s say you’re at a dinner party. An elf servant is getting beaten to death by a nobleman. Do you stand up for her, or turn the other cheek? Is it really so evil to look away, especially when you’d lose so much esteem by speaking out?
One thing to keep in mind: a significant portion of the audience for your game is idealistic, 21st century young adults. They have sensitivities to bigotry that many of your characters in the story won’t–if your characters have grown up and lived in an unjust world, they’ll be mostly indifferent to it. This means you may want to start the protagonist character off from a more sheltered lifestyle, as he/she (like the player) will be more of an outsider looking in at the start of the story.
I hope that helps, and good luck @Ardasevanos. Writing lots of words is tough.
I cannot give you a percentage because we haven’t started coding it yet, scenario-wise though I can tell you it’s 60% complete, and I’m working on it every day. 
[quote=“WulfyK, post:23, topic:5409”]
@Ardasevanos Your game concept sounds promising, and I would like to play it. Since you’re inspired by the history and developments of your country, may I ask which one it is? You don’t need to answer if it’s too personal.
[/quote] My apologies, but if i give that information, I might get in serious trouble as I’m in a campus.
[quote=“WulfyK, post:23, topic:5409”]
I think if you want to keep all the prejudices in the game, you can make them some of the groups sharing them while others are more tolerant on these aspects while emphasizing others. For example, the mercenaries might have a sexist homophile attitude that @FairyGodfeather described above, while some other groups have other combinations of prejudices.
[/quote] That’s what I was thinking last night; The church having female clergy, while mercenaries being strictly male and probably female-hating, I am still not sure about the nobility though, elves were mentioned somewhere above, theres no female elf tolerance anywhere, they just get hanged or kileld on sight.
[quote=“StarWarsMaster, post:24, topic:5409, full:true”]
So when do u plan to release your game?
[/quote] A few months? A few weeks? It all depends on my workload from the university and my free time ( and @Ealrion 's
[quote=“Alvern, post:25, topic:5409, full:true”]
This game sounds awesome, but I don’t want distinct good/evil lines. I want a game where you decide what you belive. For example, let’s say that I am part of a noble house. I should be allowed to think that I am I am killing people or oppressing some people so that so that the rest can live, and vice-versa. I honestly believe this is essential in any “dark” game.
[/quote] I hear you my friend, up there somewhere I already said that I didn’t want the good vs. evil stuff. There won’t be morality restrictions, you can be the goodest guy in the city but you can hate elves and kill them all on sight, it all depends on your choices (NPC’s will be made with the same thoughts)
[quote=“MultipleChoice, post:27, topic:5409”]
I think a priority is to force the player into morally ambiguous situations. Where it’s not always obvious what the “right” or “just” actions are–and let there be real consequences to taking them. We’re talking about stat drops, lowering fame or money or whatever. Something tangible. That’s how you move a player’s mentality to adopt to a darker setting.
[/quote] Some great advice indeed, thank you!
Again, thank you, this was great! Yes, I actually have a plan about the immersing, and I’ll be working on it hard. 
Tips hat, It is, friend, it is 
.
A big thank you for all the contributions guys! Hugely appreciated.
EDIT:
I’m sorry, @WulfyK , I somehow missed these, so I’m answering them now. There will only be blades and bows, there will not be potions and magic. BUT, somewhere in the storyline people of the city will find a substance underground which will seem to be granting them metaphysical, non-self-centered powers called “wishes” (yes, I was so bored of fireballs and lightning balls I tried to create an alternative to magic in a unique, non-inspired way, this way the combat will feel more dangerous, too, as you won’t be relying on the supernatural) in exchange of them being addicted to the substance (the rest will be interesting; the church banning the substance, then realising the need for it to try to convert to city to a better state, etc.)
Well about the elves; They are easily distinguishable, they are not lithe, small built people, they closely resemble the human race, except their pointy ears, angular cheekbones and almond shaped eyes. Females would have the same qualities a human female would, the most noticable of them being their breasts.
About the race/gender choices, you are right.
EDIT2:
Something wrong with the browser or my head (I fear it’s the latter), I missed your post too, @Pocky , here come the answers:
I assure you it ABSOLUTELY isn’t the case; In fact, what I am trying to achieve here is actually promote feminism.
[quote=“Pocky, post:26, topic:5409”]
If he or she felt like it would be too much effort when they could be focusing more on the story, that’s fine.
[/quote] Again, that is not the case! I already mentioned playing a female would provide the player with an almost entirely different playthrough experience from an etirely different perspective.
[quote=“Pocky, post:26, topic:5409”]
Most of the games here avoid that because they want to create a world where sexism isn’t a thing, and I agree it shouldn’t be a thing
[/quote] So do I.
No, no, no! Making them “likeable” would kill the whole point of my making this game! You see, what I’m trying to achieve here is give some degree of awareness to the players about these subjects!
But I understand and appreciate your concern, thanks!
Have a nice day people!
60%? Sweet! I can’t wait for it to be done.
For what its worth, I think you should consider your goal in telling this story. There is a purpose that you have in writing this story beyond the simple desire to type words onto a page, and that goal is important in deciding what to do and what not to do. For example, if you are writing this story for the sake of offering the reader escapism then I would strongly recommend equalizing the genders and orientations so that people can properly “escape” into this world. On the other hand, if the goal of your story is to ground itself in the harshness of reality then prejudice is a real and powerful tool.
You may also want to consider your message on how the evil in your world is meant to be dealt with. Is the story about conquering the darkness of the world, or is it about learning to accept the evils of reality? Does the story preach the value of doing good even in hopelessness, or is it a tale about how the reader CAN make a difference in the world? Is the tale meant to spark introspection, or is it just an enjoyable story?
Be careful with whatever it is you choose though.
Dark stories are difficult. You have a group of readers often looking for escapism, and you are offering them a world more evil than their own. It is easy to scare people away by making things too dark, and it is easy to offend people if they are already chafed by reality. I’ve also seen too many works who have let their attempts to be angsty drain all the fun and enjoyment of their worlds. Not to mention all the young writers who mistake pointless blood, gore, and rampant sex for quality.
There is a certain charm to a good dark story though. They test us in a way that other stories don’t. Choices make you think when they are no longer black and white, and a happy ending means more when you have to march through hell to get it. If I could offer only one bit of advice it would be to remember that (in my opinion) the greatest charm of a dark story is that in a world filled with evil, the meager light you find in it seems all the more beautiful.
No problem, keep yourself safe!
For the nobles, I think they can either be bound by a code of honor that requires them to behave in certain ways towards different groups or be decadent courtiers who are tolerant towards each other but despise everyone below them.
[quote=“From_Beginnings, post:30, topic:5409”]
Not to mention all the young writers who mistake pointless blood, gore, and rampant sex for quality.
[/quote] What can I say, I couldn’t quote anything except this one because it was all great, be assured that I will consider every single wisdom in your post, thank you!
About the quoted part; Do not worry about such things in a writing I am going to make 
[quote=“WulfyK, post:31, topic:5409”]
For the nobles, I think they can either be bound by a code of honor that requires them to behave in certain ways towards different groups or be decadent courtiers who are tolerant towards each other but despise everyone below them.
[/quote] The second idea could be interesting! Definitely going to consider it.
I was thinking that their could be something like rock, paper, scissors, where the nobles are discriminatory against elves, and elves hate nobles; along with the humans allying themselves with the nobles, but not particularly hating elves, despising, oh, I don’t know, maybe hermit halflings
Sorry for the double post.
My last post made me think about different species, soooo, um, well. Here you go.
Halflings, Dwarves, a kind of people from any species that can control their “wishes”, as you said, better than most, orc-like creatures, aliens, a blank slate no-gender people that were born of a genetic experiment by the nobles, animal people, zombeeeezz!!!, the undead (skeletons not zombies), and machines.
Well I am sorry to inform you that the only races included in the game will be elves and humans 
.
I can see that. It would probably allow the story to be more immersive.
Looking forward to it. The only thing on this site that I would call dark is Zombie exodus, and even that’s pretty tame to Endmaster’s Eternal. We definitely need more games like this in my opinion, and it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if there’s a big market out there for it.
[quote=“Suede, post:37, topic:5409”]
Looking forward to it. The only thing on this site that I would call dark is Zombie exodus, and even that’s pretty tame to Endmaster’s Eternal.
[/quote] Thanks for sharing! We will do our bests.
(And also I’ll try the game out to see what we need to improve to make the game darker in atmosphere.)
No dark games, really?
I think there’s already a lot of darkness.
In Choice of the Vampire you’re a blood sucking monster condemned to eternal life, and your lovers will die, regardless. There’s a lot of darkness, not much hope, and you’re a monster who preys on humans. It’s one of the scenes in the tiny village which I find darkest and most disturbing though though. It’s the one where you’re given a young woman, and it draws the comparison between blood-drinking and rape, and she ends up killing herself.
In Choice of Romance you can sacrifice kittens in order to work dark magics, and it gets darker from there, with people abusing their powers, mind-control, more murder, and watching the monarch transform into even more of a monster. The third game’s particularly depressing, especially if you thought you were getting into a nice, light-hearted dating game.
Even Heroes Rise is dark. Just in the first game, for instance, you have Black Magic, that celebrated hero, who keeps a room filled of the mentally disabled and feeds on their lifeforces so they can perform magic, magics like pretending their room is on fire so the two of you can have sexy-fun-times. Black Magic’s so very, very broken in so many ways. The last game has you watch someone dissolve in acid in front of you and you can’t do a thing about it.
And that’s just three games and just the incidents in them that disturbed me most (there are others). I don’t think Choice of Games really shies away from darkness.
Not wanting to shamelessly self-promote (although that is what I am doing) my upcoming release “Divided We Fall” is not the cheeriest. Some nasty things happen. Well, its set in a bloody civil war so, you get the picture.
To @Ardasevanos I would say it sounds like a good idea with a lot of promise. What I would advise you to do is get writing! You don’t need to have necessarily finished your plan to begin writing, because you will always find that as you write, new choices, plot lines etc come into your head. For me at least, the best way to brainstorm ideas is to actually start writing some prose, because then the characters and world become more alive. Hope that helps anyway…