@blackrising I’ve refused to play locked white-male-protagonist games for a long time now, just because there are so many of them. (Though obviously, given my own game, I can’t complain too loudly about genderlocked protagonists in general – but I also hope this is the last time I’ll write one.) And the sex cards always turned me off big time. But someone I’m very fond of pointed out the game’s other virtues (great graphics, gameplay, storyline), so I’m trying to ignore the Marty Stu elements and appreciate everything else about the game. I have to be in the right mood for it, but when I am, it’s fun.
@ceecrab Depends on if you want to be the paragon of manliness or hang out with the paragon of manliness. Personally, I’d rather hang out with Varric than be Geralt.
It’s a real shame that such a cool-seeming game company (originators of GOG, advocates of DRM-free gaming) had to make such a well-constructed game cater almost exclusively to adolescent boys. Just think what amazing games they could make if they took a more Bioware-style approach to character design.
Well project red based game in the witcher books , starring by Gerald. Its a f
Polish books series they even tone down story they k
Quit rape scenes and that stuff. They want to be accurate
I couldn’t stand the first Witcher due to how controls were but it is a beautiful world. 2nd one was alright, I never finished it either… it was colorful and liked some of its humor. Otherwise I lost interest, cause I guess its a locked character build. Shooters if I play them, understand that a locked character is fine but when RPG is its goal, locked character building kinda sucks. I wasn’t sure about Guen at first till it entrapped me cause its not just completely locked, you can build her personality. Witcher doesn’t allow personality building, its just… there.
Basically, locked characters are good if personality can be altered inside the game and not in my own head. Otherwise I avoid locked character games.
@poison_mara I keep forgetting that it was an established IP before the game was made. I guess they had to work with what was already there. I’m going to dream that maybe someday they’ll make games with better protagonist options.
@jjc73 totally agree. I might be more open to locked-protagonist games if there was more variety, but they’re nearly all 30-something stubbly white men, with only a few exceptions that prove the rule.
You’ve done a fantastic job with this game… I’ve already replayed the first chapter 4 times looking for new opportunities to come up, it’s addictive! My only suggestion would be to make it a little more easy to “displease” the other characters, i.e. so that not every decision Guen makes is always favorable to Arthur and Lancelot (who don’t seem to fault her for anything). In doing that I think it adds a little element of suspense to the game, making you really have to think about the rammifications of your actions throughout the game because certain decisions may hurt or help your relationships. I’m sure you’ve probably already worked this out to come into play as the later chapters come up, but I just thought I’d throw it out there. Honestly though, I really enjoyed this… I can’t WAIT until it comes out for release and more chapters emerge, I have to know how this ends
It’s a pity that The Witcher games haven’t got more customization options for main character, but given this was the first game cdprojekt made themselves and their limited resources they decided to focus the story on the most recognazible character from books. But like @jjc73 mentions locked character is normal in other games like shooters, so i just played the role of Geralt like i play the roles of other characters (I think it’s kind of more like Bioshock than like Skyrim in that way). And like @poison_mara said it’s good universe, and there are many other interrsting characters you can meet. But i totally understand that you don’t want to play a game if you don’t like the main character.
Anyway, it’s good that i’ve heard that their next Cyberpunk 2077 game will have customizable protagonist both in appearance and personality.
@Rubyredx04 Thank you! I’m really glad you like the game. Balancing “disapproval points” certainly is tricky. On the one hand, you don’t want the NPCs to be mindless automatons who approve of everything the MC does no matter what… on the other hand, it can get awfully frustrating for the reader to lose approval points over seemingly arbitrary things like the MC choosing strawberry ice cream over vanilla – I know that’s not what you’re suggesting, but a lot of romance games work that way, and I’m not a fan of games you have to keep replaying because the LI doesn’t approve of your ice cream choices. Obviously you’re suggesting something more complicated than that, though. In part 1, Guen does lose trust points for a few things – being outright unkind or rude, or her decision about killing Hrothulf – but most of the time, her responses/actions either gain trust points or they don’t. So if she says something flirty to Lancelot, he’ll feel more of a connection to her and maybe trust her more, but if she doesn’t, he doesn’t actively dislike her – he just stays neutral.
One difficulty is that ChoiceScript can’t handle negative stats, so coding point-loss is a pain. There are, of course, other ways of displaying the stats (like the slider bar), but I’m trying to keep it really simple for this game. So the NPCs’ trust can’t ever go below zero. But I think it’s possible to play the game and end up with zero trust from any of the NPCs.
Anyway, that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t be interested in building in some more point-losses. (And I’ve thought that Arthur’s trust should take a bigger hit if Guen kills Hrothulf.) Do you have any suggestions for particular moments in part 1 that seem worthy of negative trust, rather than just no trust gain? In any case, you’re right that Guen’s decisions in the future will have bigger ramifications for her relationships, and those relationships can turn out quite differently depending on what happens.
@Ponku I was wondering if they were maybe going to make a different kind of game sometime! I was looking for it online last night and couldn’t figure it out. If they can keep up their high quality AND have a customizable protagonist, I bet it will be a fantastic game.
@jeantown
You bring up really great points! It’s hard for me to critique this game, not gonna lie, I’ve played it 3 more times since my last post I think perhaps in the first section there aren’t any particular points where she necessarily needs to “lose favor”… however I think later on as the game gets a bit more complex, i.e. the character’s intentions get a bit more known (for example in the traditional story isn’t Morgaine a villain character? I’m not sure if that’s the direction this story is taking, but it would be interesting to see how their relationship develops, for instance if she turned on Guen like in the traditional tale by using those secrets to her advantage… but again, not sure if that’s where you’re taking it, whether friend or foe it’s an interesting dynamic!). But I think perhaps one moment that struck me was that Guen was so open about kissing Lancelot (betraying Arthur) and Morgaine didn’t think any less of her for on behalf of her brother. Again that could be a character point of hers, the understanding of an arranged marriage and so on, so I think the “negative” points might come into play more as the characters develop, which I’m really excited to see happen. I can’t wait for chapter 2!
I think you’re quite right, going through chapter 1 again I didn’t see any moments where there was potential for “negative” points, but perhaps later on it would be interesting to see her favor rise and fall depending on certain character’s personality traits or interests. I mean at some point Guen’s going to piss someone off right? I agree though, I know for me games like Orpheus and The Vampire saga were frustrating at times because you never seemed to know what was going to set a character off. Although it did add a certain level of suspense and intrigue that was fun to play out. But I think if you made certain character attributes clear, much like you did with Arthur, it might make for more logical decision making. I’m excited to see how the characters continue to develop though and get more multi dimensional. I would love to see Lancelot and Arthur be more drawn to Guen by her character as well as her looks. Lancelot seems to be mostly taken with just her looks, so maybe an interplay of her character (is she kind, brave, etc.) might be more fun than he just loves her right off the bat no matter what she does. I totally get the pain of the negative points, the slide bar is really useful to get your status in the game, but I understand it adds a bit of complexity in programming. So while I would definitely recommend it, since it adds a certain challenge to the game, I think it still works with neutral points. An alternative then might be if Guen doesn’t reach say 20 points or so with Lancelot, certain opportunities won’t be presented. I know this is the case with Morgaine and romance, but maybe add that to Lancelot and Arthur too? Just a thought, but honestly the game is a great love story as is, which is great, but if Guen was more power hungry per say, it might be helpful to have her gain or miss opportunities in the future? Still a fan of the slide bar, but definitely understand the aggravation
Again, these are just really small things… I think they will sort themselves out when the characters progress with their intentions, personalities, etc. I’m REALLY looking forward to chapter 2, I do hope it comes out soon, but keep up the good work I know it takes time to keep such a great story going… but just wanted you to know how much I already love it!
@Rubyredx04 Thank you again, for all of this! You understand the game really well. There will definitely be things that can only happen with certain characters if their trust level is high enough. There’s a bit of that in part 1, but it won’t make much difference for the overall plot until later, like Guen trying to influence Arthur’s decisions. My concept for part 1 is that the three main NPCs are all basically decent, well-meaning people (in different ways), so they’re going to try to get along with Guen even if they don’t have strong reasons to like her. Once they get to know her better, they’ll probably be more honest if she does something they don’t like – or in some cases they won’t be honest at all, because they don’t trust her.
If you like agonizing and suspenseful choices with relationship consequences, just wait until Guen has to choose between two (or among all three) of the characters, whether it’s to settle a dispute or to choose which one needs her help the most in a tough situation. I have a feeling that by the end of part 3, some readers are going to want to kill me for how many times Guen has to make those kinds of decisions – because there will be positive and negative consequences no matter how she chooses.
You’re right that Lancelot’s attraction to Guen starts at first sight and seems rather hasty and even shallow in part 1. He does comment insightfully on her personality a couple of times, but he’ll still be attracted to her regardless of her personality. He has a long, agonizing path ahead of him, and he will absolutely be able to fall out of love with Guen.
As for Morgana being the villain, many people (within the story) will see her that way by the time everything’s done, assuming I can work the plot the way I want. If she and Guen are truly friends, she won’t knowingly betray Guen, but if Morgana ever feels that Guen has betrayed her… well, it won’t be pretty. Morgana does not like to be vulnerable.
Anyway, thanks again for all of your positive words; that’s what keeps me writing! Part 2 is still a long way from being done, but I’m working on it steadily and I like how it’s shaping up.
@jeantown
This is an insanely small thing, but I was wondering if Lance could truely be in love with Guen at the end of part 1? If so, since Morgana is really good at reading Lance, if his trust stat is at a certain point or higher, could Morgana’s discription of Lance 's feelings alternate between love and attraction?
In other words, if Lance’s trust > a number, then Morgana’s line: “He knows, consciously or not, that he’s deeply attracted to his best friend’s wife.” Would instead be like, “…that he’s falling for his best friend’s wife.” Or perhaps if Morgana is not certain until the end then you could use a line from the post-battle conversation.
Again, this is reeeeaaally, really small and I just thought to suggest it to see what you thought and I look forward to part 2 sooo much!
@Dark_Bear2899 That’s a great idea. I have a feeling that I’m going to have to do a lot of tinkering with how Lancelot’s feelings are described in part 1, and I like the idea of having some of that depend on his trust stat. It’s complicated, of course, and Lance himself is rather confused about it. He’s attracted to Guen no matter what, but that doesn’t mean he trusts her. And then there’s the spell he’s under, which causes the physical reaction, but that also doesn’t mean he trusts her. I’m guessing that not a lot of readers have tried kissing a Lancelot who doesn’t trust Guen, but if you do, he’ll back away, not return the kiss, and get out of the tent as fast a possible.
There will be a big shibboleth in part 2, when Guen has an opportunity to have sex with him. If his trust level isn’t high enough, he’ll absolutely say no. Later on, he’ll be able to decide that he’s not in love with her (if low trust), but until then, he’ll be somewhat confused by his physical attraction and the effects of the spell. I’m really looking forward to everyone knowing exactly what the spell is, because then I can ask for more specific feedback on how to describe its effects on Lance in part 1.
Lying: 17
Manipulating: 20
Wanting to poison everybody: 26
Thinking Arthur is an adorable puppy: 0
Thinking Lancelot is charming and attentive: -100
Kitties: 30
Planning to take over the world: 100
Morgana will get angry if Gwen leaves her being vulnerable? Noted.
Trust is a deciding factor? Noted.
Got a question as to the variables like Kind, Stubborn and Intelligent, I would think they’re going to be used in some way in conjunction with what abilities Gwen has like Light or Dark magic.
Also, slight question about Mordred. He’s going to be Gwen and Arthur’s son right? Which also raises the question as to how Gwen will react when he gets corrupted.
So many possibilities…
@Taiho The trust variables will make a big difference, not just for possible romantic relationships, but other things like persuading the characters to do something. In part 1, Guen can talk Arthur out of exiling Bretta if his trust is high enough. I’d like to have a lot more moments like that in the future. The reputation stats are just that: reputation, not necessarily indicative of Guen’s true personality (except insofar as that’s how she acts around other people). They’ll make a difference in what sort of allies/factions Guen can recruit (starting at the end of part 2), and how people view her. The game is also tracking hidden personality variables, like how often Guen lies. Right now I’m planning to make certain options available based on the hidden variables.
Mordred will be Arthur and Morgana’s son. If you feel like going back through the thread, you can find out more about him. He already has some fans, and he hasn’t even been born yet. Guen will be able to have and express a range of feelings about him.
-In this playthrough, I didn’t care about relationship values at all (manipulation)
-Guen is really nice but really bloodthirsty at the same time. (Killed Saxons, fired rocket before dealing with attackers because the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, killed the leader and lied about it)
-Romances:solely Arthur (but Guen’s opinion and what she really feels about him I decided to pick as ambiguous), no interest in anyone else, attracted to men
-Mordred plans: He can do whatever he wants as long as it doesn’t interfere with making Britain stronger by working against Arthur’s dreams. No interest in him for romance either.
