It honestly depends on your playthrough; Tin Star is a lot more “sandboxy” than “linear”, compared to other CSGs. None of the major characters (and a tiny minority of the minor ones), not even the ROs, have complete plot armor against the MC (even characters that initially have plot armor can be killed by MC in certain situations).
At the very beginning of the game, you can kill one of the main (male) ROs. If you do an evil playthrough, then your only RO (as in the only one that is okay with and an active participant in your crimes) is female. If you do a good playthrough, there is one male and one female RO (who is the same one I mentioned earlier; she changes her ways depending on the playthrough) who are active participants in the adventure. The other three (2 males, one female), generally don’t leave town, but are plot important. However, you do get to spend time with them as part of the plot (aka you don’t have to go out of your way to find them).
Hi all! I REALLY enjoyed the Fog Knows Your Name, everything about it took me, the horror aspect, the characters, the setting, the subtleness of the horror, the romance choices and how the story branched out. If anyone knows of other games like this could you please recommend them to me.
The Fog Knows Your Name is probably more character driven, but if you’re in the mood for some Lovecraftian horror, check out Highlands, Deep Waters. No romance, but you’ll meet a variety of characters, all of whom you can learn more about and interact with in different ways. Sordwin, the sequel to the Evertree Inn, also has some supernatural aspects to it. It’s not purely a horror game, but it focuses more on relationships between characters then Highlands, and it has romances that can be continued from the previous game, or new ROs for those who didn’t play Evertree.
Does anyone know of any games that have a relationship mechanic between pairs of NPCs, as opposed to their relationships with the PC, like where your choices can directly or indirectly encourage NPCs to befriend or fall for each other (or vice versa)? I’m trying to experiment with something like that and am curious how/if it’s been done before.
In Heart of the House a couple of the romance interests can get together if you’re not with them. And in Stronghold, there are conflicts between NPC pairs that can be mediated by the PC - I can’t remember if you can matchmake as well, but the relationships feel detailed. In my game Crème de la Crème, you can do a little bit of matchmaking of characters too.
Thanks! I’ll check those out soon. I’m trying to figure out how to balance making the NPC relationships feel natural and independent, but also giving the player agency over how they play out. It’s an interesting challenge.
Because the ROs are our preciousssss and they’ve no right to go pairing off in relationships that don’t include the MC?
More seriously, in games where this dynamic could come across as competing with another suitor, I can see how some people wouldn’t care for that. Also, in other topics some people have said that it discourages them from romancing these ROs, since they already have a “canon” partner and it feels like butting in.
But anyway, back to the games! In The Eagle’s Heir, you can find a wife for Alexandre, and in Tally Ho you can encourage or discourage Rory and Frankincense from getting married. Both are examples of games where the player is very involved in the matchmaking.
That’s…hard to wrap my head around. That’s like, “Hey, you’re a RO, so you can only romance me AND me only. No one else.” That’s kind of unrealistic, to me at least.
Ah yes, now that I can understand. It’s discomforting to me too. Although not as much as to stop pursuing them as a RO.
Nothing is “canon” in IF. IMO, if you like someone in an IF game and they’re an RO, just go for it (don’t go full Uther though, we all know how that turned up).
Take the Fire Emblem series for an example. That’s literally telling you, “Hey, you do you, we won’t judge, since it’s not canon”.
Or maybe I’ve different preferences than others? Could be
Mmm, I myself was thinking of something more along the lines of both an NPC and the MC showing interest in the same RO at the same time, and the RO having to choose between them. I think this can happen in Crème de la Crème, but I’m not 100% sure (because I care too much for the characters to pursue someone I know they like ).
I definitely agree about there being no canon playthrough in these games (I think I wouldn’t be too interested in a game where it’s made plain what the author considers the “golden route” to be! Rather, all branches should feel equally developed).
Personally I’ve found that I don’t mind ROs romancing each other under certain circumstances in most instances, but I already wrote an essay on that in the Bitten! thread, so I won’t repeat myself here.
Probably with Hartmann, Delacroix and Max although I haven’t touched that game for quite a while now
I sense a hint of jealousy behind that statement…
Will everyone kill me and put my head on a pike if I say that I kind of like the “Golden Ending” thing?
I mean, I come from a long list of VNs whose sole goal was to torture the reader with endless angst, drama and character deaths like there’s no tomorrow (I’m looking at you Muv-luv, alongside CROSS+CHANNEL), so of course I’m going to be a bloodhound for that everyone-lives-happily-ever-after ending. Don’t blame me, blame my friends who got me that VN list
But I agree, golden ending or not, nothing should be a substitute for a well-developed and balanced route.
That’s…a little too large for my attention span It brings up some valid points about NPC relationship dynamics though
I like to think the opposite that everything is Canon in IF. Well when it comes to my own games at least I subscribe to the multiverse idea. Every time you click play you are kickstarting another universe and everything in that playthrough is canon to that universe.
So you mean to say that one of my Unnatural PCs could’ve potentially saved the entire world while eating popsicles in an alternate universe and it would be considered canon, due to the multiverse theory?
I’m extremely bothered by that. I already tend to never replay different romances in these games and pick the exact same choices when I replay (I tend to try more things out in visual novels). But both in text based games and in visual novels, I can’t stand when some of the love interests can hook up - between them or with other NPCs. This is literally a deal breaker as far as trying other routes go. I’ll fiercely protect my chosen RO, and totally disregard the others as options.
I guess this part is also true for me:
I understand people who consider the other characters can have their own lives too and not only think about the MC, but eeeh… Even though I understand the opinion, it doesn’t mean I agree.
It would be lovely if authors who write things like that could offer players the choice for these romances to trigger or not.
Still, if I was to go more into depth than being jealous and not wanting to butt in “canon” romances, then I do have more.
Basically, one of my favorite types of romances in visual novels or text based games are romances where that love that was born between the MC and the RO actually SAVED the RO. Be it on an emotional level, or even actually saved his life. I think these are very impactful and touching romances.
But then, if that RO can actually romance someone else, on the sidelines, and be happy too… then what the heck is the point in the MC doing that, and the player going though all the hurdles relating to the romance. It’s extremely discouraging.
It basically downplays everything the MC and the player did.
This is a very interesting conversation about NPCs having romances with each other, but perhaps it might be taken to another thread, leaving this one for recommendations.
There must be a more recent thread than this, but until I dig one up…
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