Uggh…the Dorne subplot had three excellent actors, Pedro Pascal, Alexander Siddig, and DeObia Oparei and now all three gone and the entire Dorne subplot has fallen into the gutter. Ellaria’s coup struck me as entirely unbelievable and the Sand Snakes make me cringe nearly every time they say a line. As far as I’m concerned, HBO’s version of Dorne could sink into the ocean at this point and I wouldn’t care.
I do think Pedro Pascal is an excellent choice for a male Ortega. I’m not sure who I’d pick for a female Ortega. hmmm… I like both Roselyn Sanchez and Patricia De Leon for the role.
33 653 words now, and the entire Puppet/Ortega/Mortum chain is done with all variations. Now to add the MC in the mix… and an entire day free to do nothing but write (and maybe do some wallpapering) tomorrow. So long since I had an entire day!
Also, a question.
I have been reading a lot of the criticisms against the stat use in the latest CoG release, especially how opposing stats are used. I just wanted to make sure that if you guys have issues with my stats, and how I use them, please let me know. I don’t want to end up like that after I’m done.
I actually rather like the way you have your stats set up . Haveing raw strength and then the subtle use is quite refreshing as I don’t have to worry about balancing between the two.
I think the huge issue when it comes to stats is that it tends to promote a particular “Build” better than another. The game then becomes a matter of finding the optimal path rather than a game with consequence and nuance. For instance, the new Heroes Rise required some oddball stat to save one of the characters that no one could have predicted, and for that many people disliked the game.
Your choices feel just like that. Choices. One of the reasons I was originally so drawn to the game is that there doesn’t seem to be any “Wrong” way to play, and I do love how many of your options have a line or two immediately after giving some justification as to why the MC is going through with them. And I don’t think we’ve come across any “4-point traps” the thread speaks of.
I think the huge issue with stats is it’s easy to rely on numerical values in favor of more fluid storytelling. “You need X amount of stat A” is fine in theory, but when you’re given choices based on its opposing stat, it’s a clear “Choose this option or fail” sort of scenario, which becomes an exercise in spotting the build-path and isn’t necessarily all that fun.
TL;DR You’re doing great, your stats are good, and omigodican’twaitforthehospitalscene.
So far, I really like the stats. They seem to be very common-sense type in what opposes what and what raises what and lowers what else. I’ve already gushed about the amount of player customization and how you never force the player or change the narrative to try and persuade the player into playing a specific person. I can gush more, if you want, but I’ve already got a whole lot to say about the mustache (rabbit-hole-theories, away!) So I’ll have to save that for another post to prevent this one from taking a half hour to read.
So, onto the mustache…
Alright! It’s theory time this time done in hypotheticals!
So, lets take a hypothetical MC and hypothetical male Ortega. So say these two are close (or the MC’s puppet and Ortega are close), maybe even in a romantic relationship or romantically inclined towards each other- don’t have to be, they’re just very emotionally close. Now, we take the aforementioned hypothetical of the MC casually mentioning that they liked Ortega without the mustache better and/or somehow infer (directly or indirectly) that Ortega should lose the 'stache.
Ortega, wanting to impress this friend/lover, does so. Life goes on with all the usually amazing Fallen Hero drama, and Ortega remains blissfully unaware of the MCs villainous double identity (triple? Counting the puppet?) (The villainous identity will be dubbed ‘Villain’ in this hypothetical for the sake of brevity)
With the mustache gone, and the MC back, Ortega starts to settle into a kind of comfort- but an uneasy one. There’s times when he’ll wake up and almost mistake the present for the past because, hey, it’s trippy enough having your dead friend/kinda romantic interest come back to life after a long ass time. Especially when you were there when they died. Now, not only does he have this person present from this past life, but he also looks as he did then. It drags up a lot of supposedly “resolved” feelings and anxieties, the majority of which aren’t all that pleasant.
But maybe this isn’t all bad. Maybe he expresses this odd discomfort or just generally displays it when around the MC, MC notices this (having known him for a long enough time to recognize such things), and helps him learn to leave the past in the past. The two grow closer as per result of this. (Especially with a reluctantly villainous/very trouble MC, since the two of them are helping each other at that point, learning how to rely on others and open up and all that sappy, adorably sweet jazz).
Things may even start to get better than they were before. Anything that Ortega had previously left unresolved without knowing is actually being fixed (and a troubled MC is slowly healing, but simultaneously hurting in the process since it puts all their actions as Villain into a much more troublesome light for them).
Now, imagine the effect that has on their fights. Ortega can now fight harder, better, faster, and with less reluctance or worry than before (his mental strain being significantly eased). (Also, going back to the hypothetically troubled MC, it becomes subsequently harder for them to fight, it becomes harder to justify acting as Villain when they’re learning to move on. They have to keep reminding themself of their goal. But worse than that, they have to fight Ortega, someone who they’ve not reason and want to help, not physically hurt, but help. It becomes harder to fight back against him. The last part of which applies to all MCs, not just those who are morally troubled by their own actions.)
But still, they go on. The fights go on. The MC finds it harder to keep up the double life because they spend much more time with Ortega. More than that, maybe it also becomes harder to help him. Maybe they’re having some moral reservations (something along the lines of: “I can’t help him. I can only hurt him. I’ll just be making it worse for him. I am just making it worse for him.” etc. etc.)
Still, it goes on.
And then- whenever, however- Ortega finds out.
Ortega finds out the MC’s identity and with that everything, everything that the MC had helped them with becomes a lie. How can they trust anything the MC has said? How can they believe that they really got better when maybe the MC was just trying to lull Ortega into a sense of false security? (If it was the puppet that was helping Ortega through all this: Then how can he ever trust anyone who tries to help him when they’re not even a real person?)
All of that worry, all of that paranoia, everything can come back tenfold. Now, whenever he looks in the mirror, he sees that fear, that time when his friend/lover died and didn’t come back, but he also sees betrayal, he sees a lie that made him who he is.
Just imagine the mental reciprocations that would have.
In the end, Ortega plans to grow a beard.
So, uh, yeah that’s my hypothetical repercussions of Ortega’s hypothetical 'shave the ‘stache’ choice… (It’s all very hypothetical)
It took a much more dramatic turn than just a shaving cut. Ahem, well, anyway… Yep.
But, in my own opinion, I actually like the mustache. Well, I just like Ortega, both in my male Ortega and female Ortega play throughs. So, yeah, whatever you decide to do in the end, I’ll be happy with!
I don’t mind moustaches as long as they look good on the people growing them and are generally well kept and waxed. Unfortunately for Ortega, when I think of his moustache I think of a cop stache. If it had been paired with other facial hair like a goatee it wouldn’t bother me at all and the cop stache seared into my brain wouldn’t rear its caterpillar-y head.
40 500 words. Almost done with the Ortega bit, almost but not quite. Then it’s just the bit about the news and how they see/name you, and I will be done. Phew.
Some interesting possible developments here, I can tell you that much. Shouldn’t be more than a week or two til next update if I can keep this up.
This became my most looked forward to choiceofgame after a playthrough, as has been stated before it’s interesting and fun to have a mc whose story you’re slowly unravelling as you play, makes me curious and want to play more. Also I always loved the underdog getting their hands on something, be it an army, magic, items or anything in that way which they can then use to even the playing field. It’s real late so I’m not putting this out quite as well as I would like, but essentially it boils down to this, a real great game and thanks for making it.
I just thought I’d point out that the trip to see the armor happens between the initial meeting of the heroes and the psychic dive but that should be 2 days where as the trip starts out with
waiting around for this update is killing me. @malinryden would you be okay with me drawing some fan art?(I ask because I didn’t know if you like haveing images that may interfere with people’s perception of your characters).
