For friendship rank, I think it’d be best if the relationship boosts were distributed in a way that allow you to max everyone.
Since this is the first game in a series, not being able to max everyone would basically lock you in with some characters for the entire thing right from the start, which isn’t the best since some characters might change in ways that make them more or less interesting as the story goes on.
Unless each game result in a ‘rank reset’ at the start but it’d be kinda shallow, no?
The ranks will grow each game throughout the series, so they won’t be reset. The plan is for there to be 5, maybe 6, ranks total. For example this first game you can be ranks 0 through 2 (with the exception of Casen who can make it to 3.) 0 is enemy, 1 is acquaintance, 2 is friend. The more ranks that are added, the slimmer difference there will be between the relationships. Like 7 is good friend, 8 is better friend, 9 is best friend, 10 is bestest friend. That’s what I’m trying to avoid by making ranks increase gradually.
My intentions with the rank system was to allow relationships to go beyond the 0-100% bar because that felt limited to me. I wanted each rank to feel like a large mile stone and to get unique dialogue and choices based on how good your relationship is with characters as a reward system for those who spent energy on people during intermission; you spend every chance you get with Ruth (ignoring a few others in the process) and you’ll notice later in the game that your character and hers have a closer bond than anyone else because of that. The goal’s to have it tie in with the limited energy you have in intermission; you won’t be able to do everything so you have to pick and choose who you want to become closer with and what you’ll have to miss out on in order to do that.
Later on in the game you’ll get more opportunities to increase rank, plenty of more characters to choose from, and occassionally you’ll be to drop down a rank due to story or decisions you make like in chapter 4 with Chase.
Just wanted to make sure my intentions were clear with the system before I responded! The reader’s perspective is just as important. What is the problem you’re having with the ranks? Is it discouraging to have to skimp out on some characters to improve others? What do you mean by lock in, as in if you put ranks into a character who becomes less likable in a future game, you’re stuck with them being the only high relationship?
Oh and if you or anyone could give a rough estimate on your ranks and your stats with characters (Like everyone is around 50% or I have 2 characters rank 2 and 5 at 0 still ect.) Would be greatly appreciated!
I appreciate that, it helps a lot seeing what the ‘plans’ are at least for the mechanic.
I don’t really have a problem with ranks right now but I was just expressing some concerns that could arise overtime with the mechanic as I currently saw it.
While not discouraging yet, I feel like it could get that way overtime as the casts grow and the gap between the characters you focused and the characters you didn’t pick much or at all widens.
It does feel like a waste whenever I get a list of like 5 characters and can only talk to one but take it with a grain of salt because I always struggle with that kind of choice and I actually think this case doesn’t happen much in this game funnily enough.
Pretty much and not just in case they become less likable but in many other situations.
Let’s say we’re on book 3 and I’ve spent the first two games mostly with Ruth, I might feel a little tired of her or some plot points might make some characters more logical or interesting to approach on the topic (like say something massive happened to the orphanage and I get a choice between talking with Anni or Ruth) buuuuut, I’m rank 9 with Ruth already and have already invested two whole books on her so might as well finish getting her to rank 10 and I’m just rank 1 with Anni so we’re just gonna talk like near strangers anyway, without getting into the weirdness roleplay-wise to suddenly ditch Ruth when you’ve basically been joined at the hip the entire time.
See what I mean? A great exemple of what I’m talking about is the new release, Hunter: The Reckoning (if you haven’t played, everything I’m about to say is within the free demo), where I’m constantly faced with choices where one option is clearly more plot related or just plain interesting and flows better with what happens before and after buuuut it’s attached to a character who I don’t need points with while another option is basically a non-sequitur but get me those sweet sweet points with the character I already picked.
Been a while since my last legit playthrough but if I remember correctly I got most of everyone at rank 1 after a few tries.
Don’t get me wrong, I 100% support your attempt to go beyond the 100% bar system, which has it’s own (often bigger) issues, I’m just mentioning possible issues on the long term so they don’t blindside you or cause problems in the future if those issues do pop up.
I totally understand because I am a hypocrite when it comes to this. I’m a completist who likes to go through every option so maybe I’m even worse. Intermissions are supposed to be a major part of replayability but I would much rather have a satisfying first play through instead of multiples ones where you feel like you can’t do enough, so still trying to figure out the right amount of energy to give the player.
I think I’ll start the next intermission giving a generous amount of energy and see if that helps. If so then I’ll go back and add more to the old ones too.
Do you think co-bonding events in the future would help with this? To avoid bloated intermissions as the cast grows, I was considering letting you bond with two characters at a time in future games. That way if you’re bonding with Ruth all the time, you’ll still get the occasional Anni or Jay or whoever too. Would that help with that decision if maybe Ruth is rank 9 but Anni is close to rank 2 so that plus the plot relevance might encourage you to get her up a rank instead? Not sure if that would help or not, let me know!
The only reason I say this is because when I personally play these games, I choose a romance option and stick with them through every choice (Then replay for other characters). I’m not sure how to prevent people from at least doing the former and picking their favorite character over any other one in any given situation.
Don’t worry, I didn’t assume that! @snas mentioned this too and I’m grateful for any suggestions or calling out potential flaws to make the game better. That’s why I posted the demo here so thank you both
Same, honestly I just cheated energy on most of my playthroughs just because I want to see everyone, I’m the kind of guy that rarely if ever deviate from his ‘one true path’ once I’ve found it so I always want to include everything per playthrough (which is also why you’ll see me complain about romances being mutually exclusive on many threads).
That actually sound like a neat solution. Just need to balance it out so it doesn’t feel like one is just along for the ride or even worse like in The One Chosen where you can be in a relationship with two characters as a triad but basically feel like you’re dating nobody (and sometimes like you’re third wheeling).
I’d need to see in action but it does sound clever and like it would help, I think you got something there at least.
I don’t think it should be prevented, just that people who prefer to actually engage with the cast as a whole rather than just hyper-focus one character should also be able to do it to some extent.
Like take Harry Potter for exemple, you have his mainstays, Ron and Hermione but the books would have been pretty boring if Harry didn’t also regularly just go chill with Hagrid, talk to Luna, interact with Ginnie and mess around with the rest of Griffyndor. See what I mean?
Basically a player that hyper focus 1 character for romance shouldn’t necessarily be stopped but a player who wants to build a real friend group should have some way to do it. Not sure if I’m being clear on that.
I guess a solution for that could be to spread the attention each characters get in the ‘mandatory story’ outside the ‘Pick one!’ choices in a way that still let you feel like each of them is genuinely part of your friend group regardless of you picking them or not? I dunno, could be overly complicated.
Good, I just wanted to be sure, I know I’m not always the clearest when expressing my thoughts on a game.
Good point, I can see it becoming like that. Will keep in my notes not to make anyone feel like a third wheel! I think I’ll test it out the first intermission next game.
Someone actually mentioned before about more side stories as a group and I definitely want to add that with quests and stuff. Being able to interact with everyone in a group setting like a sleep over or field trip would be a way to include everyone and increase stats for all. You’re right, I will definitely try to add more mandatory interactions with different characters early on! Hopefully that’ll make more characters likable and feel more involved
Nice, good luck! I hope it works out well! Small clarification tho: You mean all bonding will be co-bonding or just some?
God, that sounds awesome, I 100% support that idea.
Glad I could help! I know COGs are all about choices but writers shouldn’t be afraid to have mandatory moments to build a base for those choices, especially when it comes to characters.
There are way too many games that ask me who I want to hang out with before most characters even said hello to me yet (That’s one flaw I noted in the start of say the Ultimate Student, another WIP I like).
Honestly I already find them likeable, which is specifically why I raised those concerns, it’d be a shame to waste all that great stuff that’s already there and it’s potential to be even better. And characters feeling more involved is always good.
Only some at first, just to see how it turns out then go from there.
True that! It is difficult to decide who you like before you even get to know them I’d say the only character in the main friend group that kind of got shafted in the main story line is Diego, but that’ll be rectified next game.
This is probably the biggest progress update so far! I’ve made a lot of progress since the previous one and I even have a little surprise at the end of this! (Don’t skip to the end, that’s cheating!)
I’ve finally completed the secret scene if you successfully guessed Crazy Cory’s secret password! I’ve also created an extra exploration scene that gives you a final hint on what that password is. It ended up being a little bigger than I anticipated and leaves you with another plot point to explore in future games! I’ve also made small changes to Mr. Liang’s password in chapter 4, the scene that comes after, and there is also a hint on what that password is in the final intermission. There are small changes in Oli Oli’s predictions that change based on your relationship rank with characters and some differences specific to chapter 6 too.
I’ve also written another POV with a character you might not expect. They’re someone who you really haven’t gotten much time to learn about, but this will be your chance to spend time in their shoes. I’ll leave it at that to avoid spoiling anything!
The last thing I’ve started is Tahlia’s final intermission! I’ve decided to do hers instead of Chase’s, mostly because she’s a romance option and I’m also doing Beck bonds before the academy. I’ve finished her confession scene and nearly done with her intermission as a whole, but haven’t quite gotten to it yet. Mostly because of a little distraction I’ve come across recently. Getting straight to the point…
I’ve decided to post a mini-update for you all to read. Since I’ve had to move the demo to a new website than Dashingdon, I’ve decided to take this opportunity to post a small amount of work I’ve finished for you guys to read. Ruth and Jay’s final intermissions are now available in this next public update. I hope this is an opportunity for everyone to give feedback on how the romances are for two of the more popular characters as well as the overall design of the final intermissions. Hope you all enjoy and I hope the format is enjoyable for everyone! I will appreciate any feedback or criticism that indicate otherwise!
Yes, I forgot to elaborate on this! If you fill out the in-depth or quick selection, you’ll be given an option towards the end to either read Ruth or Jay’s final intermission instead of update 6. You’ll be able to read each individually. The rest of the stuff I’ve written is being saved for the big final intermission update once I finish it.
So after one of my most eventful progress updates comes the opposite. I’m not going to lie, I didn’t get much done these past couple months. I’ve been busy and really just been chipping away at Tahlia’s final intermission which I’ve realized I made a habit of making larger than I intended like the last two I did.
What I can say is that I’ve been considering posting two characters at a time as I finish them like I did with Jay and Ruth. I was thinking Tahlia and Casen then Anni and Diego, but I also don’t want to give too much and leave less seen content once the actual final intermission update comes out. I’ll play it by ear as I write.
That’s about it this time around, will try to make a little more progress next time around!
Tahlia’s final intermission is officially finished! Very happy with this one, you learn a lot about her feelings about many things. I’ve decided to post one romance option at a time on here as I finished them that way there’s more consistent content for you to read while I take forever. I wanted to post Tahlia this update but I’ve come across an error in the script that I can’t for the life of my figure out what it is, so I’ve decided to put it on hold for the next progress update so I don’t halt my writing too much trying to figure it out right now.
Other than that, I’m currently writing a new Beck intermission location to explore, (spoiler if you want to wait until the update) the park where you can chat with Sol and learn more about that character you’ve had little interaction with in the past.
That’s it for this update. Still working slowly but working all the same!
Nice progress! I appreciate that you’re taking your time to make everything polished. With Beck’s intermission coming up, do you think we’ll see a different side of him? What are your thoughts on diving deeper into supporting characters? Would love to hear more about your plans!
@Carloshmc2812 I have no idea why the link changed but I replaced it with a new one and it works now!
@Gerkuless You’ll be seeing different sides of a lot of the characters, especially during the final intermission! One conversation pathway will be unlocked if your relationship is high enough with a main character and that will allow you to learn a piece of their backstory that will help you understand them better.
One of my biggest reason for intermissions is to explore side characters who won’t have as much time to shine during the main plot! I wanted to have a huge cast of side/minor characters to make the city feel more lively, and allow the reader to choose who they like and who they want to spend time with during intermissions. So the plan is to give even side characters depth and growth throughout all the games and if you like them, you can be a close friend of theirs and do quests or just hang out as if they were a main character in those moments…or if you hate them, ignore them entirely!
I’d say the only character in the main friend group that kind of got shafted in the main story line is Diego, but that’ll be rectified next game.