At least you didn’t try to unzip his pants…
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@AAO
J/K 
And @StrayPuppy, I have a friend whose brother is 20 years older, for same reasons @Harroc described. Common? Maybe not. But plausible.
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Guess everybody has different kinks.
I never thought I would use this word here.
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There’s a first time for everything, am I right?
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I swear these theories are slowly getting twisted by the day…
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So I have Mob’s Issue 5 romance scene completed. I also have DG’s competed. I’m in the middle of Crook’s right now. Hopefully I can finish that tonight. Then Tress’s sometime by the end of the week.
Basically I’m doing those four lunch scenes, and they all take place at the exact same time; the lunch time between Tolliver’s morning Media class and the Hedonist’s afternoon Defense class. So basically the MC will go to the corresponding lunch scene based on if the MC is dating one of the four, OR if the MC is dumping one of the four (but that will be a much shorter scene for obvious reasons).
REQUEST FOR FEEDBACK - DATING ISSUES
MCs who are dating either Stunner or Uni, or not dating anyone, will get to choose among the four (MCs not dating anyone could possibly “get on the tracks” with a new RO here) One thing I will struggle with is trying to decide how the game should “remember” exes. For example, in Part 1, it’s possible that the MC could have started dating someone like DG, then dumped her during that lunch scene for Stunner. I think the dirtygirl_status variable would still show as “ex” when Part 2 starts. So I wonder if it makes sense to allow the MC to “get back on the tracks with her” or for me to use a “one strike and you’re out” rule, meaning that once you dump someone, you can never get back with that RO.
Or let’s say that you dated Tress but then she caught you sneaking in her computer and she dumped you, so you’re currently unattached at the start of Part 2. How unrealistic would it be to let the MC “get back on the tracks” with her? Should I just lock that out? I mean, I could maybe see her getting past it in Part 2, but I can’t really see her actually DATING the MC after that sort of betrayal.
I HAVE decided that by the end of Issue 6 or so, that MCs will be locked in with whoever they are dating and that if they dump or get dumped by that person, then no more dating for the MC. So I want to get this right and for it to make sense.
I need to get my revised Part 1 files back to CoG soon, so if anyone has thoughts on this matter, it would be helpful to iron this all out now.
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I’d say one strike you’re out. Coding enough variables to make it feel believable that the MC had hurt an RO in the past would be a huge undertaking. It wouldn’t feel right for them to have the same scenes and moments as an MC who had been with them from the start, or who had only recently gotten together with them without hurting them before–there’d be another layer of “second chance” that would be coloring the scenes. Maybe the specific RO you’re with is very forgiving, or had never really gotten over you or something, but overall I feel like it’d be something really easy to get wrong and feel forced or uncanny valley.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t asking this with Booksmart in mind, but in fairness there have also been requests for a Stoic romance that I’ve seen–but does this comment mean you won’t be adding more romance options past the ones introduced in Book 1? Stunner, Uni, Mob, Tress, DG, Crook(ish)–probably forgetting someone else, but those classmates?
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i’m not seeing this happening either. I’m also in favor of one strike you’re out. feels a bit more ‘real’.
i want to echo all of the above as well.
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Yep @HomingPidgeon and @WaNeZot, I’ve definitely thought about that too. Like I said, now is the time to finalize my romance framework. I can make it all work however I want, but once I settle on the framework and push the Part 1 update, then I need to stick with it.
It’s tough about Stoic, Bookstmart, (possibly others like Hedonist). On one hand, I DEFINTELY want to give readers what they want, if possible. On the other hand, it really seems to cheapen the MC’s relationship with let’s say DG, for example, that the MC immediately dumps Mallory the moment the MC gets a chance to date someone “new and shiny” like Booksmart or someone previously “forbidden” like Stoic.
As a possible compromise, I might force readers at the START of Part 2 to make a decision. If they decide to stick with whoever they are dating, then that’s the road they are taking. I could even phrase it like, “I’m not interested in meeting anyone else. Rey is my guy, and I’m sticking with him no matter what.” So I’d be making it clear that future ROs would not be available. (actually I think my current coding/wording is something very similar to this)
At that very same spot, I could give readers the option to choose to break up with their current RO, opening the door for “one more chance for romance,” but strongly hinting they only get ONE more chance. So if they move on to Tress or Crook or someone, they don’t get date any new RO that might appear.
The only problem with doing that, is that I’d pretty much HAVE to offer at least one, maybe two, additional ROs later in Part 2 and/or in Part 3, so that the readers who held out hope don’t feel robbed or whatever.
So I feel this summarizes where I am, and the options available. More to ponder! Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
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Well, it isn’t necessarily dumping your current RO FOR the other character–with someone like Booksmart that you haven’t met yet, it could be more along the lines of “it wasn’t working out with Tress and then MC happened to be more compatible with someone else.” I definitely get what you mean with this concern, though …
Maybe a big rel hit if you get into another relationship too quickly after breaking up with your current RO, maybe a couple exclusive dialogue lines? But again, not sure how much extra coding that would be.
As is, how do the current break-ups and romances work? Like, I think you said there are more opportunities than in Book 1 to start romances, so after these lunch scenes are there opportunities to start romances with the current set of ROs? I feel like you’ve answered a question similar to this before, but I don’t remember the answer, sorry if I’m making you repeat yourself!
Well–keeping in mind that as hard as I’m gunning for a Booksmart romance and as bad as other people might want to romance other additional characters, you really aren’t under any obligation to add in more romances–do you know what other ROs you might want to offer? If it’s something that would be too much of a pain to implement, it isn’t necessary. Although I will say that it would be good for anyone who wasn’t satisfied with the current RO crop (definitely granting that you have a good variety to select from) to have more options, even if they’re introduced a bit later.
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If you wanted to offer additional relationship options in the future sections: Would it be possible to write it so that the storyline only happens to offer chances for new romances if the PC is currently unattached?
That could potentially be done by making use of a scene which is occupied with one’s romantic partner, if the PC has one. That same story-space could then offer new opportunities, and generally look quite different for an unattached PC.
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I’m leaving work in a sec so I’ll dig into it later. But basically every character has their relationship score. But also, characters who can be ROs have a status variable as well. I think in the first game I used statuses of:
ex
enemy
interested
dating
love
That might be a bit too complicated to carry over.
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as a reader I honestly would never expect to be able to break up with a character I’ve decided to romance whenever someone new came along. I’d only expect/want that option whenever the character I was romancing revealed a hidden ugly side of themselves.
I would have nothing bad to say about this happening.
i’ve typed out a response to this single block of text 6 times now. backspaced it every single time.
every time my response basically boiled down to either “yes, more ROs is going to be more workload for this part AND the next so I won’t blame you if you didn’t” and on the other side i kept typing something akin to “add more ROs or i’m going on a puppy-kicking spree and blaming it on you!” 
so, yeah. i’m probably going to click on reply before i get in a fight with myself.
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Romance Question: Did you find a RO in Part 1 that you would be happy staying with throughout the series (assuming they don’t totally change personalities)?
- yes, Dirty Girl
- yes, Mob
- yes, Tress
- yes, Crook, assuming his path becomes a full-blown relationship
- yes, Stunner, even if many scenes are long-distance
- yes, Uni, even if she doesn’t appear again for a while
- no, but I would love a Hedonist romance. I’d be happy with him long term
- no, but I would love a Stoic romance. I’d be happy with her long term
- no, but I might be interested in a new character who didn’t appear in Part 1
- no, I really don’t pursue romances. It’s not something my MC is interested in. I’d much rather have a “best friend” option
0 voters
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can i push the “yes, all of them”-button (although in DG’s case it might depend on getting her to stop taking drugs.)
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I’m pretty sure somewhere Eric said that we’d be able to help her get through that later on in the series, or do you mean you want to be able to help her kick the habit and then have that lead into a romance?
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This is really on point Fi. Thank you for expressing this so well.
I’d like to broaden this request to have you continue to be aware of those who prefer a MC that is looking to build the closest of friends bonds but not romance or bed anyone. In other words, would it be possible to write it so that the story line doesn’t feel totally exclusionary and more like punishment to those not wishing to romance anyone yet?
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@Eiwynn, Well I was considering adding the “best friend” option (but probably limiting it to Mob, Crook, DG, and Tress). I would basically create a platonic version of those romance scenes so that MCs not romantically pursuing those folks would still get an equal amount of scenes. That would minimize my extra work. And ALL MCs will get plenty of Stoic scenes since she’s your Sidekick.
But like everything else, it depends on how many readers actually want that. I don’t like to ignore any segment, but much of it is just cold hard math. If only 2% of readers want something, it makes more sense for me to focus on the things bigger segments want.
Note that I did include the “best friend” option in the poll. I’m legitimately curious about the size of that reader segment.
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And a general question to those who seek a Stoic romance…what would you envision that looking like?
I mean I see two parts to a romance: the physical side and the emotional side. With Stoic, there are huge obstacles on both fronts. You can’t really touch her, so physical is totally out, at least at this point. And on the emotional side, she’s still rather distant and quiet, even though you’re spending more time with her. If anyone “made a move,” it would have to be the MC. And even if Stoic was receptive, perhaps just having grown fond of spending time with you, progress towards anything resembling a conventional “romance” would be verrrrrry slow. You’d have to really work for that shit!
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