Community College Hero: Knowledge is Power (old WIP thread, now closed)

Well @ParrotWatcher is with Mob, right? Has to be him then :thinking:

Well, actually I’m doing pretty well for dead boyfriends right now. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye: Besides, right now it wouldn’t really fit with Mob’s character arc. Sadly, I can’t tease you with Tress, as she’s very similar. Stoic could die, but I’m seeing that more as a final battle heroic sacrifice (or a last minute betrayal) kind of thing.

5 Likes

It would take a lot to get past that barrier. Plus since Captain California hasn’t taught us about the zone her powers could become even more effective

And wouldn’t that just make the villain who managed it extra-scary, right?

3 Likes

I don’t think so, her barrier does not cover her entire body. She wouldn’t be able to breath out eat if it was the case.
So you just need to use gas or force her to open her mouth to pass her barrier.

@ParrotWatcher Yes, which is something I would kinda like to see.

That’s assuming she can’t make her sheild air tight or just trap the source of the gas in a force feild. Let’s keep in mind so far Stoic has yet to actually try her best; she’s barely tried at all. Now with the added motivation from the events of “A Very Stoic Chirstmas” and the class learning about “The Zone”, people are going to need to get far more creative than just gas.

2 Likes

That reminds me.

Is there a formal name for ‘The Zone’?I feel like that the term has had a bit of California’s surfer vibe sprinkled onto it.

[insert horrified gasp here]

3 Likes

Hey, I wanted to discuss something I was thinking about lately about CCH. I think, I’ve been noticing since I read A Very Stoic Christmas, which when I heard the title I thought that it was going to be a comedic story but turned out to be a dramatic one.

And I don’t mean to be a buzzkill but… did you ever get the idea that CCH could have a tone problem?

When I read the demo of part 1 for the first time it kinda reminded me of the movie Sky High, which had the same concept. And I thought that CCH wanted to be something similar, a comedic take on a superhero story. Sincere, but subverting some elements and tropes of this kind of stories and never taking itself too seriously.

I mean, I don’t think that I was entirely wrong about it, you just have to see the introduction of characters like Tress, Dirty Girl or Uni. And I get that this is based on superhero comics, so some elements are supposed to be kooky and over the top. And, I don’t have any problem with that, I really liked that.

But it has some of the darkest stuff that I’ve seen in these kind of games:

-Yeah, that 13 year old girl died in a terrorist attack!
-Yeah, that little boy is dying from a disease and (probably) having suicidal thoughts.
-Yeah, your father (a villain called Dr. Stench) was murdered in prison!
-Yeah, a teacher is using his position of power to obtain sexual favors from his students

And, then we go bak to have scenes with characters like Quickie, and things like that… and I don’t really know how to feel about this, because I really like this game when it’s trying to be lighthearted and fun, but I also don’t think that tone shifts are necessarily bad, but sometimes this feel so rushed and out of place.

I would like to hear the opinions of the rest of you about this.

And please, keep in mind, I’m not saying that the game is bad or that I don’t like it because of this (I wouldn’t have done all that fanart if that was the case) but that doesn’t mean that it can’t be a problem.

10 Likes

i don’t see shifts in tone. it feels more of a slice of life to me. but with superpowers.

7 Likes

Yeah, I agree. It’s been a while since I played all the way through the first one, or I’d try to come up with something more specific. But yeah, I definitely wanna preface this with how much I did really genuinely enjoy the game and the characters and that there are definitely aspects of CCH which are absolutely unquestionably fantastic. But I was actually talking about this sort of thing recently with a friend who’s played it.

I definitely think there’s a bit of a jump between like, the usual tone I associate with CCH and when I can tell the story is trying to be somewhat darker. I think there are solemn moments that don’t really clash with what I generally feel is a somewhat comedic romp–the premise is sort of based around characters with “useless” powers–like, the moment talking with Stoic and watching Origami fly, I thought was a quiet moment that was really well done.

But like, moments like being in the hospital with Jacob talking about death–it isn’t that there’s anything wrong with having some darker material, but sitting next to the stuff involving like, the other students at the school, that seems like it’s mostly just trying to be comedic, it’s just sort of jarring and it feels somewhat out of place. Like, a lot of the side characters seem pretty designed to be humorous and entertaining–the stuff with Dr. Hover, Hi-Jinx’s entire existence, Quickie, a guy called Friendzone … the characters that populate it feel like they’re a cast for a comedy, which makes it feel jarring when things like Origami’s death happen, or the deep talk with Jacob about his mental health. I thought the death of the father was alright–a dramatic character backstory isn’t uncommon in any type of superhero story, and it does establish the main villains as not only threats to the public, but gives the MC a personal reason to become involved in anything going against them.

I do think I’d be wary of the tone getting too much darker–I disagree that it’s a slice of life work, it felt to me like it was definitely intended to be a story with a plot and an arc and whatnot, it feels like it has direction. But I think that, being introduced to the world through kind of silly characters and an initial villain (whether or not it was just a mask for a bigger enemy) who did vandalism and poetry, jumping to multiple prominent character deaths would feel like a really big shift in tone.

3 Likes

Perhaps it is that the two themes sometimes don’t meet at the twain (in other words they clash and don’t blend) at times.

I personally feel this when @Eric_Moser tries to show the tropish YA super-hero “camaraderie” that others may feel but I don’t.

An example for me is Dirty Girl - I like her but she has no special bond on me. Consequently mini-scenes like the kicking of the chair in the study room, doesn’t allow me to react how I would normally react as the MC I play - it forces a “Wonder Years” moment where we as readers are supposed to feel a timeless moment is happening but it really isn’t for me.

Even if others may feel it is because that bond to Dirty Girl is stronger for them then me.

4 Likes

Y’know just reading this got me to realise how the tone in CCH is very similar to my favourite book series skulduggery pleasant (#shamel3ss plug #sellout) in that they both have extremely humorous moments and characters, but also handle some very dark scenes and tones. Most likely my love of SP is influencing my enjoyment with CCH but to me I quite like how the series has handled the tones within it, as I feel the two tones help even each other out. The comedy keeps happiness, fun and hope alive, while the darkness reminds us of how cruel and unforgiving life and people can be.
I really wish I could explain myself better (this probably sounds like a fool ranting) but unfortunately, unlike a lot of you fine ass people (I’m looking at you HomingPigeon), I’m not very good at putting my thoughts into words.

6 Likes

Don’t sell yourself short. You did a fine job

3 Likes

Why thank you very much my man, woman or any other form of sentient being.

2 Likes

No problem fellow web surfer

1 Like

This game has always reminded me of a music video I saw once and I’ve been meaning to link it for ages but was too nervous. But particularly with the Zenith route coming up, I thought it was kind of appropriate. It shows an ordinary person moving to a town of superheroes and always makes me think of CCH. Superhero video Sorry if that was silly, just wanted to share it.

4 Likes

I always enjoy putting “Goodbye Mr. A” by The Hoosiers in the background while daydreaming about CCH! :grin:

2 Likes

I just had a neat little idea:What if you could change your persona?

Maybe at the beginning of the game,as you’re going home,the game could question you on what you decided to do with your persona.And you could either keep it the same,or change it.Maybe when you change it,it takes a significant amount of percentage from your old persona and puts it into the new one?

It’d be nice for the people who wanted to try out a new persona without having to replay the first game.It could also be used for roleplaying purposes;maybe you were a Jokester who had a very close relationship with Origami.And when she died,your character became much more quiet and reserved,making them a Brooder.

9 Likes

Thanks for the suggestion, that’s another great one, the video really captures the goofy vibe CCH has going for it as well, really gels with that Speck charm of second-rate heroism.

3 Likes