Interest check~
Hey there. General Ke- ah, no. Anyway.
I’m writing a story in a somewhat uncommon setting, and before I’m going really heavy on the coding (which I’ll have to) (but which will also not be a problem, I’m good with coding, I work in IT), I’d like to hear what people think of the idea in general.
(General) (I’ll use that word a lot here. it’s a good word. you might want to use it as your title in-game! or not, that’s fine too. you’re the… boss? leader? you can decide later, no pressure.) (also, I like explaining things in brackets, so there will be a lot of those here, too. not in the game though (probably), so don’t worry.) Game Concept:
Equal parts Romance, Dress-Up Game, and… Grand Strategy. But focus is on Role-Playing, first and foremost.
Setting:
Alternate (but non-fantasy) 1920s; Russian Civil War/Chinese Warlord Era-inspired.
General Story:
You’re a (very customizable) child of the ruling Imperial Family. Until one day, when said Imperial Family is toppled by a popular uprising and very messily executed. Well, technically you’re still their child of course, it’s just that your parents and siblings are suddenly dead. You are not, though, and you intend to keep it that way. Which is hard when you technically being the entire Imperial Family now is something a lot of people have a hard time tolerating, one way or another.
Thankfully, you have a few loyal(?) companions at your side, as well as their equally loyal (to them, at least) troops - and thus the potential to build an army and properly reclaim your place in this country.
Opinions on what that place is supposed to be vary greatly, however, and at some point (ideally before you’ve gained ultimate victory over your rivals and are stuck with a set of supporters with very specific expectations) you’ll have to figure out what you want to do.
Features:
- Customize your character! (in a lot of ways, including, of course, gender)
- Customize your army! (in a lot of ways, including, because why not, gender)
- Build your own train! (the armored variant, with big guns and, if you want to, a cinema!)
- Romance one of 10 (subject to change, maybe) exciting (author’s subjective opinion) characters (there are a lot more characters of course, but those are not romanceable for various reasons)!
- Be the best-looking Warlord of them all! (opportunity to eliminate competition will be given)
- No personality stat checks! RP to your heart’s content! (characters will react differently depending on your personality, but it will never block you from success. losing a battle might, though…)
- Reclaim your parents’ throne, abolish it in favor of democracy (having an army is very helpful for election campaigns, by the way), or become (= proclaim yourself to be) a Saint chosen by the Gods! Or… just rule. Your army is justification enough.
- Die! (eventually. hopefully not too soon. in any case, you will certainly become metaphorically immortal if you play your cards right.)
Special Features (same as Features but vaguely more meta):
- Save system! (high priority for me)
- Be autistic! (or not. but the option is there, and it will change a lot.)
- Toggleable hints! No more guessing how characters will react. Highly recommended if you are autistic or choose to be in-game.
- Talk a lot! Or not at all. Or anything in between.
- Do warcri- I mean, boost morale by solidifying cohesion through shifts in personnel.
- Build your own train! (already mentioned in the normal features, but isn’t it cool?)
- Ride a horse! (or use other modes of transportation. a cool car or an even cooler… alright, I already mentioned the train enough.)
- Red flag ROs! But also conventionally friendly ones. There are a lot of them after all, so I hope your favorite stereotype can be found as well.
- Trauma! Which is a main theme, actually. Or rather, dealing with trauma, in an ultimately hopeful and positive way. You will overcome. Everything will be fine, because you’re a good person (opinions of characters in-game may vary based on your actions). You can also choose to ignore this completely and be fine from the start, if you want to.
Non-Features:
- Poly romances. Sorry, can’t write them.
- Trans MC. Sorry again.
- Actual Evilness. In-game ‘evil’ actions will always stay in the realm of ‘dealing harshly with enemies’, not go into actual ‘being a really bad person’ territory.
- A title. For now. I’ll think of one in due time, I promise.
- A lot of other things not specifically listed here.
Note: the general tone of this game will be way more somber than my description here, but there will be light-hearted banter too (if you meet the right characters and/or choose to have a certain personality).