Dinner at Wightfield - WIP

[Hazel]

Welcome to Wightfield, a peaceful little village in the bucolic countryside. The estate, Wightfield Manor, is presided over by a popular high society hostess who has invited you, a humble scholar of history, for the spring festival. But beware! Though the village might look idyllic on the surface, every small town has its secrets.

Dinner at Wightfield is a fantasy, horror, and comedy interactive novel set in a world inspired by 19th century level technology, with a magical twist.

Play the demo of Dinner at Wightfield here!

The demo includes the first two chapters of the game, with a combined word count of about 25K words. The average playthrough is about 15K words long.

The player character: a struggling historian looking for a patron to fund their research.

The setting: Wightfield, a stately house presiding over a small village in the countryside, in the nation of Nuskua. Aside from humans, Nuskua is also populated by elementals: brownies, sylphs, undines, and salamanders. Technology is at about a mid-19th century level, and magic exists, but is scarce.

The characters:

More about the characters of Wightfield

• Madame Ermengarde Glasswing (sylph): the mistress of Wightfield, a renowned society hostess.
• Lt. Novillion Ashforth (salamander): a cavalry officer with a gentlemanly reputation.
• General Fredurich Ritter (brownie): a retired army general fond of reminiscing about his glory days.
• Miss Polyxia Crimsonstrand (brownie): a young and sought-after heiress with a mischievous streak.
• Mx. Wynn Thruppe (human): a rake with a slightly scandalous reputation and a surfeit of charm.
• Mrs. Luisette de Anodyna (undine): a recently-widowed society wife.
• Mr. Elnath Aldebaran (human): a mystic of some small renown, visiting from a distant archipelago.

Some basics about the game:

• The PC’s age is variable, and can be chosen in chapter 2.
• The PC’s gender and sexual orientation are up to the player, of course; I haven’t set any third-person pronouns because I haven’t needed them, yet.
• While the profession is set, you have some choice of the PC’s family background.
• There will be 3 characters with potential romance arcs; try and guess who they are, it’s not too hard.
• Several of the NPCs have secondary goals; you can nudge these in one of two opposed directions, which will affect their eventual outcome when it comes to the main plot.
• Horror elements are subdued or subtextual in early chapters, but will gradually ramp up.
• Comedy elements are at the mercy of my own, slightly strange sense of humor, so best of luck with that.

Questions for readers (behind a cut for spoiler reasons):

Questions for readers

• Which of the NPCs are you most curious about?
• What skills did you choose to raise and what drew you to them?
• Did you play with verbose mode (visible skills) or not?
• Was there a point in the story when you didn’t understand what was happening?
• Were there any choices, especially in dialogue, where you couldn’t find an option that suited your character?
• Regarding the chapter 2 reveal: would knowing the PC is undead upfront have affected how likely you were to play the demo?
• Worldbuilding: at any point, were you confused about the elementals (sylphs, brownies, etc.), like what they were or how they worked?
• What made you click the thread title? What made you want to click through and play the demo?

[Hamartia]

I love this premise! Fantasy + horror at a stately home sounds delightful. Excited to give it a read, will report back when I do.

[HarrisPS]

Oh how exciting! I really enjoyed Turncoat Chronicle so I’m looking forward to having a look at this!

[cup_half_empty]

Just a heads up: the images are not legible with dark mode.

[HarrisPS]

Heads up that the link in the first post isn’t working, it needs /mygame added to the end of the link.

[Hazel]

I knew I should’ve double-checked the link.

Let me fire up Paint.NET and I’ll get those headers fixed. I’ve only just started experimenting with new fonts, so luckily they’re not in the game proper, just yet.

Edit: well, it doesn’t look good, but it is legible, and that’ll have to do for now.

[R1220]

Ooh, this is interesting! I love a story with layered genres.

1. Which of the NPCs are you most curious about?

Wynn! I forgot they were human, based on how broad they are and how they stretch out.

(On re-read, they might not have been explicitly described as human in their first introduction on the train. That, or I missed it twice. It is, of course, part of the character list, but I find information easier to retain when it’s part of the action.)

In any case, I appreciated their interest and their attempts to draw out conversation, and the descriptive physicality with which they move.

I’m also curious about the taciturn passenger on the train, for the opposite reason. It was a conspicuous exit.

2. What skills did you choose to raise and what drew you to them?

Observation and Ancient History, so far. I’m not always confident enough to use Charm, so having a read on the situation first seemed helpful, and Ancient History has similar applications for knowledge. I might not be brave enough to Tinker right away, but having a research background would certainly help later. I like having context.

Other than that, I just picked my favorite sentence out of every set of options, and it happened to work out that way.

3. Did you play with verbose mode (visible skills) or not?

Yes, and thank you! I might try next time without them, but I appreciate the option.

4. Was there a point in the story when you didn’t understand what was happening?

Only insofar as backstory reveals that haven’t happened yet. It’s got a great hook!

Gameplay-wise, I didn’t immediately clock the age options as age options, but I can be a little slow on the uptake. Still, a little prompting probably wouldn’t be remiss:

• “I was young; I was fresh out of university, and eager to prove myself.”
• “Older than my peers, I’d spent almost half my life striving for academic recognition.”
• I had the most trouble guaging the age of the middle option, and I’m not quite sure how to suggest broadening it: “While I wasn’t considered particularly young or inexperienced, or too old for adventuring, I’d been struggling for several years to earn the Society’s notice.”

A similar gameplay-related question involves the implications of “And why are you interested in keeping Wynn’s company?” - at the moment, I was most interested in building a friendship, but I hope choosing that option won’t prevent developing romantic intentions later on. (I’ve run into that accidentally in the past, and “I failed to understand the implication” is one of my least favorite reasons for replaying a game.)

A last little conundrum: When I picked, “Contribute a supportive interpretation. (+ Cooperative)”, I thought I was “supporting” and validating Aldebaran’s efforts, but the resulting dialogue seems more like I’m offering Polyxia platitudes (and annoying Aldebaran by doing so.) Something like “Concoct/Contribute a pleasant interpretation” might be more clear.

5. Were there any choices, especially in dialogue, where you couldn’t find an option that suited your character?

Not so far! But that does kind of blend into the next question; if I had known MC’s background from the start, I probably would have felt obligated toward something more melancholy than the story currently presents.

6. Regarding the chapter 2 reveal: would knowing upfront have affected how likely you were to play the demo?

I was very surprised at the reveal, and once I got over that initial surprise, I found myself glad of the timing. It would feel almost too easy (and a little cheap, if that makes sense) to play a tortured, haunted soul from the start. I liked that my character, in retrospect, was able to maintain their optimism and love of adventure, and it was a fun mental exercise to make up the headcanon of how and why that came to be. (TBD with in-game events, of course.)

If the twist was explicit from the start, I probably still would have played (based entirely on “wight” in the title), but I would have trouble keeping myself from falling into the pitfall of playing a tragically misanthropic victim of circumstance. It wouldn’t have been the same character at all.

I think the timing is excellent; it gives the player enough time to get a feel for the character they want to play, and the twist occurs within the standard “try before you buy” demo chapters, which allows for a broadened interpretation later on, instead of an abrupt veer in the story.

The hint at the end of Ch1 that there is a secret nicely sets up the reveal, and the swift follow-through keeps the pacing steady and even, without rushing or drawing things out.

7. Worldbuilding: at any point, were you confused about the elementals (sylphs, brownies, etc.), like what they were or how they worked?

I was unfamiliar with some of the terms (and how they “work”) but the character descriptions were enough to give me a rough idea on an individual-by-individual basis, and I assume there will be more opportunities to observe them “at work” in the action of the story.

8. What made you click the thread title? What made you want to click through and play the demo?

I am a sucker for “wight” puns in titles, and was curious to find out if that was an intentional play here as well. That’s very silly of me, but I have fun with it.

[Kate27]

I love your prose so far! Will play more if I find the chance.

[IRONHILLdwarf]

Now that was a refreshing read. Well written and ably narrated. I would like to see a bit more robust description of the various “races” we encounter, and perhaps a more thorough introduction to what makes them unique. I enjoyed the twist and especially the way in which it was revealed. I found myself thinking of that scene in The Strain where Eichhorst is applying his make-up and prosthetics to appear human.

[Hazel]

Wow! Really good and helpful feedback, thank you! I will definitely want to make some edits to the age choice and look into the other things, too.

[Konoi]

Such an interesting premise - I’m intrigued to see more!

I'll start with answering the questions and then I'll expand more!

• Which of the NPCs are you most curious about?
  Will you believe me if I say “the man that traveled alongside the MC and Wynn for a while at the start”? Because I was immediately intrigued, despite not even knowing if he’s a proper NPC or just a literal rando. Other than that, I’m most interested in Novillion.

• What skills did you choose to raise and what drew you to them?
  Mainly ancient history, observation, and wit, with a bit of tinkering. As for why these options, it was mostly because I was picking what made most sense roleplay wise for my MC at any given time. In the sense that it made sense for him to say a specific thing or act a specific way, which just so happened to raise a skill or the other. Then I tried to keep in line with what I already picked at the start. So it was a matter of personality choices resulting in skill increases rather than planning the skill increases themselves.

• Did you play with verbose mode (visible skills) or not?
  I did, yeah.

• Was there a point in the story when you didn’t understand what was happening?
  No, not at all - everything was fine on that front!

• Were there any choices, especially in dialogue, where you couldn’t find an option that suited your character?
  I will admit, yes. But the issue is that it happened… quite often? I faced two kinds of issues:
  1: Not enough “tone variety” in the choice options for me (which is subjective / depends on the MC, of course!), meaning I was often stuck with one single option that fit my MC’s personality either outright based on the text or simply based on the personality trait it increased. I feel like adding even just one choice option to some sets of choices could allow more roleplay freedom?
  2: I had a continuity (sort of) problem based on my MC’s overall personality and abilities. His dominant personality stats from each opposed pair are: cooperative, retiring, charming, bookworm. My idea is that he can work well with people and considers it’s often a good thing to work together and he can behave in society and be charming when needed, but he’s an introvert at the core and can easily feel shy even if it doesn’t show in his behavior or performance, and he’s quite a bookworm, not liking adventure or stuff like that. The whole “knowing how to perform in public” is also enforced by his decent wit skill. But “retiring” seems to assume the MC is BAD at public speech and interactions - it was often implied. Which directly contradicts “cooperative”, “charming” and “wit”. So while this isn’t exactly an issue with the choice options thenselves, it’s more of a “flavor text” problem with a retiring MC. At least with a MC that is retiring but actually good at social stuff.
  Now, obviously I’m not saying “this should be tailored specifically to me and since it isn’t it’s ‘bad’”, that would be insane and so entitled! But what I mean is that since the bold/retiring opposed stats exist separately from other stuff, it would make sense for them to be opposed to each other, but not imply an opposition to parts of other opposed pairs? Besides, these are personality traits, not skills, and so the retiring choises often implying the MC is outright bad at social stuff is a bit contradictory to begin with - all other personality stats are about just that, personality, not the ability to do something. That’s actually my only major complaint about the WIP at this point! Being reserved doesn’t always mean being bad at social interactions, basically!

• Regarding the chapter 2 reveal: would knowing the PC is undead upfront have affected how likely you were to play the demo?
  Not really? It’s not the kind of things that affect the personality I’d give a MC because I almost always have MCs falling into like two possible personality archetypes, so the background isn’t really relevant. I also suspected something was wrong WITH the MC rather than the MC having done something, with the mentions of the secret, so I guess it didn’t come as a big surprise to begin with? Which is not a bad thing! Just “irrelevant” for this question, basically!

• Worldbuilding: at any point, were you confused about the elementals (sylphs, brownies, etc.), like what they were or how they worked?
  Despite me liking the salamander from the group the most, I’m actually confused by salamanders in this setting. Currently I imagine an amphibian anthro with fire powers, which I’m pretty sure is NOT it. Which is a shame because that would be perfect, but I’m pretty sure it would have been mentionned had it been the case.

• What made you click the thread title? What made you want to click through and play the demo?
  I just happened to see it at the bottom of the page as a new thread, and I tend to check these just in case I discover a new gem. Well, when I’m lurking here in any case, as I’m more active on tumblr. As to why I decided to play… Based on the little synopsis, it seemed interesting. That’s all, really! Just curiosity, basically!

All in all, I had fun reading it, despite the issue I mentionned in one of the questions.
Another small “problem” of sorts I have is not knowing for sure which characters have potential romance. I certainly hope Novillion is one of them, because he’s the only character I’d imagine romancing, and if he’s not an option… Well, text based IF is a genre of games where I need romance to get invested, so I’m a bit anxious about discovering he’s in fact not one of the options.

And finally, I’m curious about the amount of customization we’ll get for the MC? So far, we basically only decided the age range and the forms of adress (and obviously we’re building the personality with each choice), but will we get choices about the specific looks and what not?

I hope I didn’t sound too nagging or anything of the sort, especially with the retiring stuff and the romance! Since these were my concerns, I think it’s better to just explain exactly rather than get it over fast! Like I said, I still enjoyed the game so far.

[Hazel]

Oh, not at all! Your feedback is very good and useful, specifically the sort of thing I can only get by hearing the perspectives of all sorts of different readers, which is exactly why I posted my demo so early (only 2 chapters). You make a really interesting point about the opposed stats, so that’d definitely something I’m going to look into.

Regarding appearance customization, I have some clothing-related options in later chapters, but I don’t have concrete plans to describe the PC’s physical features. That may change, especially if I see that there’s interest. Finding a good place for describing the protagonist is a perennial literary problem, one not limited to interactive fiction, though certainly the variability adds a bonus complication. If I can find an elegant place to include it, I will consider it.

Regarding love interests, I can spoil it for you if you like. It’s not exactly a secret, since the stats screen has relationship stats in it, too.

Most amusingly of all (to me): regarding salamanders, you’re right on the money. I was basing my elementals on the work of Paracelsus, but it occurred to me early in the development that there’s no reason why they can’t be both anthropomorphic amphibians and fire elementals. And then I had a little chuckle about it.

[IRONHILLdwarf]

Regarding the appearance customization, you already have a perfect spot for it when our character is regarding themselves in the room and their nature is revealed. Simply have them look into a mirror to make sure their “mask” is correct and let the player make choices then.

[HalfFinished]

I enjoyed reading these first chapters. I’m really curious where the story will take us. And of course if I will finally find a patron who covers all expenses on my travels.

Answer to Questions

• Which of the NPCs are you most curious about?

  So far I’d say I like Wynn the most, but I’m most curious about the other person we met on the train. Mostly because I was so sure we’d see them at the party and they were nowhere to be seen.

• What skills did you choose to raise and what drew you to them?

  Cooperative (I liked the choices for that one), Wit, Ancient History (seemed relevant to the story), Charm (a stat I generally like, if I could turn all of my characters into a D&D bard with ridiculous options for conversations I probably would) and Field mouse (I liked the idea of an adventurer I suppose).

• Did you play with verbose mode (visible skills) or not?

  Yes. I had a quick look at the stats and after seeing how many there are, it felt like the better choice for me. I generally like when it is an option.

• Was there a point in the story when you didn’t understand what was happening?

  Not beyond not knowing some of the elementals.

• Were there any choices, especially in dialogue, where you couldn’t find an option that suited your character?

  I chose a retiring option a few times because I didn’t like the others, despite it not being the best fit for my character when it comes to stats.

• Regarding the chapter 2 reveal: would knowing the PC is undead upfront have affected how likely you were to play the demo?

  I like the reveal as is, but knowing upfront wouldn’t have made a difference to me when it comes to playing the demo.

• Worldbuilding: at any point, were you confused about the elementals (sylphs, brownies, etc.), like what they were or how they worked?

  I didn’t know a few of them, and despite looking them up, I have a hard time picturing the characters.

• What made you click the thread title? What made you want to click through and play the demo?

  I often check out new demos that seem to be in a genre I might like.