Pro - Giving the Zenith-route characters all six powers makes the story easier to code because instead of having to code 5 different builds for each fight (Stench, Tactician, Zenith Pow/Thud, Zenith Zap/Whoosh, Zenith Hmmm/Shhh), I’d just have to code 3…which is already a LOT.
Con - It arguably makes the Zenith route overpowered and lacking a theme (a character with all these powers becomes…muddled…it’s probably too much).
But I don’t think I can enter Part 3 having to deal with more than 3 possible builds. It would just be too daunting. I might never finish it if every fight scene has to be 50,000 words.
EDIT: Or I’ll have to get a lot more clever at coding. I suppose I could code Dr. Stench fights in a similar way to Zenith Zap/Whoosh fights (other than Dr. Stench can’t fly!) And I could code Tactician fights to overlap a little with Zenith Hmmm/Shhh builds.
It doesnt really matter that you can say no to him in terms that this is still sexual abuse. Even if you are not agreeing to him, the fact alone that he is coercing all of the students for sex for better grades doesnt make the case of sexual abuse any less despicable, even if he “allows” people to say no to him. Just that he is making that offer to everyone, is bad enough.
Even if you come into him yourself he is stll sexual abuser to whole school. That may explain why your MC doesnt pursue any way to punish him for his action though.
But for MC who recognises what Hedonist is really doing there is interesting lack of options to respond to it appropriately. That’s not something normal to brush it off so much (with only one failed, half hearted attempt at reporting him), that’s why i think there may be some powers involved with the issue.
I don’t know, maybe use the Stench equipment and the Speck equipment to code less? for example, if you chose to do a Zap attack, you could do something like "you use your ${rangedequipment}, and you’d get slingshot for Zenith route or some stench guns for the other route. That way you could cut it down to Tactician route and other routes.
I’m not sure any of that made sense, though
One of the reasons I didn’t give the player more agency re: Hedonist staying on at Speck was that he either needed to return to Speck or not return to Speck, for ALL players. I couldn’t code some scenarios where he’s present in Part 2 and others where he’s gone. He’s too big of a character. And I wanted him there.
Yes some players would have welcomed the chance to make more of a stink about him, even if the plea ultimately failed no matter what, but other players get frustrated when an issue is presented as a choice, but no matter what they pick, the end result is pre-determined. So I didn’t want to present a false “help get rid of Hedonist!” path if it was never going to work.
I think it was extremely well played too, as it adds the “man, what a jerk” and “oh my god, he’s my hero” factors to just about anything the Hedonist does or say
I like Quickie and his truth about our team and I hope we get to actually talk to Dr. Hover and have him do something cool. It be cool if Quickie could join our team all superhero teams need a speedster even not so great one like Quickie.
We’re not really a classic team We have two strongmen, an indestructable unmotivated misfit, a knife-throwing portal-opening father figure, a drug-addict who produces smoke screens, a girl whose hair has a life of its own and a person with no powers (or at least not yet)
Can’t really call him a real speedster if he can only go fast for three seconds. Unless he works hard to increase the time limit I can’t respect him nor trust him in the field.
I mean, it’s a great team for defense, I must add! DG’s smoke screens, Stoic’s force fields, Wombat’s robust armor, Crook’s ability to make up a way out, there’s a lot of potential for the team there. But the team is lacking on offense a bit since Stunner left.
Well Wombat is a magnetokinetic, so he brings some variety. Yes, the team balance took a hit when the team flyer was killed and when the best distance attacker left for greener pastures.
@lutece, I have the same thought about offense. Hopefully Wombat can help fill that void (flinging manhole covers, etc). And if DG could generate more offensive gases (insert joke here!) that would help a lot.
I see your point, I was under the impression that sexual abuse had to involve something sexual happening. I thought (in the cases where you turn him down) that it was more an unwanted sexual advance, still not good but I think we all agree that Professor Bad Touch isn’t really a great guy. I still kinda like him though, in a “wow, I’m glad he’s fictional” way.
I have a detective savegame in which I am wearing a trench coat with lots of pouches. I plan to follow the Tactician route in the second part just to look as badass as Swain from League of Legends
I can’t speak to how complex coding could get, but I feel like giving the MC all the powers would be kind of overdoing it. Like it would change the dynamic so much with the group–going from a frankly mostly useless character to one of the most powerful in the school, even if in combat you nerfed the powers to keep it balanced it would feel like a completely different game. I think you might end up needing to do a lot more writing and coding to make it all feel like it’s addressed properly.
Here’s sort of a BIG question, but it’s one I’ve went back and forth on in my head these past few weeks…it’s spoilery so please respond in kind (or in PMs)
Do you think I 100% NEED to give the reader the “pay off” of reaching the upgrade by the end of Part 2? I know Part 2 needs its own arc, and the Wyvern is a big part of that…you’ll obviously end up beating him by the end, and of course preparing for and surviving the Manipulator’s return will start to dominate the story soon, BUT is it too much to continue the MC’s “upgrade” journey into Part 3?
I think the pros for continuing that “journey” into Part 3 are: 1) the journeys won’t feel so rushed…it would be VERY hard to cram it all into Part 2, especially if the MC got the upgrade before the last Wyvern fight and the Manipulator’s return…I’m starting to fear it would read like a short series of vignettes instead of a sprawling journey. 2) I wouldn’t have to code the upgrades until Part 3, 3) It gives the reader something more to look forward to in Part 3, and 4) It would mean that the MC beats Wyvern without getting the upgrade yet, which might feel like more of an accomplishment, and 5) It “saves” the upgrade for Part 3 (to be titled “Zenith War!”) when the MC is REALLY going to need it, going toe-to-toe with the top shelf characters
The only downsides I can think of are: 1) Some readers may not want to be patient enough for a delayed pay-off, and 2) Players who feel like there’s not enough of a self-contained arc for Part 2 without the upgrade pay-off.
I would say it depends on how you’re going to do it. If it’s not going to fit well into the plot of the chapter, maybe you could have it happen in a sort of cutscene at the end (after all the fights)? This would excite people about Part 3, and give us some payoff for the storyline, but without introducing story-breaking powers just when you really need them (which isn’t really good storytelling).
Hmmm…a prologue might very well be the way to go…I do like that idea…but I think I’d want the prologue to still be more of a teaser of what’s to come rather than actual pay-off. I’d like to build in a few twists/turns, disappointments, false leads, etc., in Part 2 and that’s going to take some time to develop, but maybe at the verrrrrry end of Part 2, after the final Wyvern and Manipulator scenes, the reader gets a prologue that shows that the MC is finally headed in the right direction, with only one (huge) obstacle remaining? Something like that?
Something like…“You now know the one person your father trusted enough to share the secret location of his prototype Dr. Stench armor. Your father’s old partner in crime, Arnold Dwire, otherwise known as Viral. The secret is within your grasp. You just need to reach Dwire and convince him to talk. One complication: Dwire is currently housed in the ultra-security Zenith prison off the coast of New York CIty. And the person in charge of security at the prison?” (page break) “Mega Cat”.
