Tell me your definition of good. I let people die because it was no my concern. and I don’t want use powers. I let Bar kill people . But in many choices you don’t let me other alternative that use powers or to stealing or save people. And my character wasn’t a thief so ok i will save that whoever i don’t care. I think if i keep saying i don’t want them i don’t use them ending like Batman using powers continuously, moreover when first paragraph say you only use your powers for emergencies and you live a normal life and a good career.
Games such a WayWalkers, Sabres, Rebels, The Lost Heir and (if it ever resumes) Vendetta are series and therefore have the opportunity to introduce their characters at a much slower, more organic pace. Obviously, if you write a single, stand-alone, game and include romance, you have to compact it by necessity. Also, unless you’re writing a romance or dating game, it automatically means moving the bulk of the romance content, aside from maybe a few remarks here and there to subplots. whether or not it’s “main plot” critical npc’s you can romance.
Therefore we could spend the first game of Waywalkers mostly getting to know the characters and the setting.
For me, the writing, without a doubt Zachary is a great writer and storyteller! But here’s the thing, while i like his stories I usually like the gameplay and choice elements of his games a lot less, to the point where I hardly ever replay any of them. Whereas the gameplay and replayability in Wise use of Time was one of its strongest elements, for me at least. He also has the distinction of being the writer of the romance option I least enjoyed in all Cog’s: Black Magic.
While this is true, I also think that just by the sheer volume of content and the pace of the writing and the story such moments are far more likely to happen in series. And of course the reaction to such moments and the characters themselves varies for every player.
But let’s use myself and Choice of Rebels as examples. It has a very powerful moment, for me at least, were a certain noble blade master doesn’t really flinch or beg for mercy if you threaten to execute him/her in retaliation for the atrocities some other nobles commit against your band. This character is always introduced as having a something of a crush on the mc, but the way I read it, my character being basically a (former) slave who doesn’t exactly like nobles always initially takes him captive just to ransom him later. It is his reaction when you are ready to have him executed that always makes my character see him not as another noble, but a man who, in his own way, is just as stubborn and dedicated as he is and that is what makes my character develop his own crush on him.
Now I don’t know if @Havenstone intended for any romance to happen that way, but that is what it does for me.
I could definitely see the work that went into the NPCs, and like I said I did like some of them, so I cam confident that should you decide to give more focus to them and their sub-plots the result will be very satisfying.
Let’s see, Versus was an absolutely thrilling read for me. Some of it is my personal bias toward pulpy sci-fi, world building and character drama, which compose most of the first parts of the game.
The narrative was always very intense - the MC’s reaction, descriptions and thought process was high paced and emotional.
It was also very personal - all events were always presented in the context of their immediate effect on the MC and their mindset. So events went like that:
- Character walks into scene/Other event
- Choice or description of MC’s first impression and initial reaction/thought
- Character or Event acts, usually directly upon MC
- Choice or False choice of MC’s feeling toward above action and intended response to the situation
- Narrative describes consequence of choice and MC’s (inner or outer) response to consequence
In that way, everything that happened involved the MC, making you an invested player rather than a spectator.
I also personally very much enjoy Zachary’s characters. They’re usually divisive, but they have their own very distinct voice, with speech patters and unique approach toward the MC. For example, I immediately liked Breeze upon hir introduction, because ze was very effectively established as what he is (an adorkable scatterbrain). During the conversation with him the narrative constantly describes his body language, his intentions and voice, all those details that are hard to convert through mere dialogue.
To compare [very liberally paraphrasing here]:
- “‘Yeah, I get distracted really easily. You probably noticed already, huh?’, said John casually”
You can get a feel for John’s character through their phrasing, but even if you had a physical description before, you can’t really tell if they are pretending to be casual to cover awkwardness, or just being nonchalant, or even being sarcastic (of course you can use tags, but that get tiresome quickly). - “‘Yeah, I get distracted really easily.’ John shrugs. ‘You probably noticed already, huh?’ He glances at you.”
This lets me try and interpret John’s motives and intention on my own, based on his body language combined with his words, which both feels more natural and makes it feel more like a real conversation.
I’m am no writer, so I hope the point came across.
When reading AWUOT I felt a lot of the character interactions lacked social cues - it was like reading a script, which can have an entirely different vibe depending on the actors’ interpretation. Versus’s character always provided plenty of cues, giving you a clear view of how the presented themselves as well as the MC’s observations.
Conversely, Versus was very ineffective with its plot constructions and exposition. It was atmospheric but highly dense , and that made it difficult to follow all the simultaneous sub-plots or keep track of all the information that was thrown at you. AWUOT was always very clear and concise with the exposition and I had no problem following and tracking the various sub-plots.
Uh, I hope any of the above is useful or at least incoherent. I’m obviously not a native speaker, but as a voracious reader analyzing writing is just too tempting a prospect to ignore.
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exactly, dynamic characters in it of themselves.
but thank u though, this ha been a good conversation for me. The intention in the next choicescript way walkers game is to be a one-shot, which means i have to sort how to work the romances. this has been most enlightening.
I actually liked that part. That there were many subplots and you had to choose which ones to pursue. (For example, I still don’t know what happened to the father, since I was busy doing other stuff, and I liked that here.)
But I also agree that the romances felt flat.
A bit bland, maybe but i wouldn’t exactly say they fell flat. Though, in all honesty, I’ve only tried Kyle and found the whole young bisexual father thing refreshing, even if the romance and the character themselves weren’t as fleshed out as I’d have hoped them to be. But as I’ve said I’ve seen romance handled far worse in COG. For me Wise use of Time was somewhere in the middle.
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I never could obtain that much, I always seem to peter out around 69%-73%. That being said, I did defeat Barnabas.
The method I used:
Get the single focus power from the professor.
In the fight with Barnabas, Jeremy dies, the important thing is to not control time around Barnabas, that also saves Jeremy.
Recruited Malaya.
In the fight at the fair, I attacked Barnabas, then wrestled control of time from him. Somehow killed him.
Managed to get more money for Liv though, so that’s good.
I think we all know mara here, let’s not ask unneeded questions 
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You know right, I mean I let people being killed , robbed and etc… But gameplay sometimes obliged you choose:
A-Steal.
B-Become the new savior like Batman reencarnate.
And I was role playing a charisma media business woman that only wants up in her career . And sees this stuff like a curse. She just wanted all be normal and if someone has to be slain by a train let’s be it. That’s universe rules. But she hates stealing and gambling people she comsiders loosers and lame druggies . So she wouldn’t steal so i was forced save some people. So game supposed I am the new batman.
But that’s not the only inconsistent in my play through, that’s why I was asking if there is some glitches in stats related thingy in the endings. 36 % relationship with doctor she gave me hugs and whatever? ??
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enjoying the game thus far… curious question though… havent really progressed much but noticed that when i played black jack with raj and manipulated the favors for him, i won 200 something… then i manipulated the favors for myself, drawing a crowd, says i won 1200 but raj was down 200, but when we leave the casino, my character didn’t cash out the 1200, is that bug or do i have to progress thru the game and my character realizes he didn’t cash it out?..
What would happen if you froze time and kicked every guy in the world in the nutz
If you actually manage to freeze the world that time and manage to do it before you die I think it would give birth to a sound so loud that it would shake reality itself.
(Thats also very cruel.)
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But it would be pretty funny every guy in the world clutching their parts and falling to the floor (and then when everything is normal… I’d do it again)
(And that my dear readers is how the entire human race went the way of the dinosaurs.)
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Hey at least the guys can clutch their privates, you don’t see t-rex’s doing that with their tiny arms
How would kicking all of humanity in the balls make them start having feathers and being able to fly?
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Evolution is a fickle mistress
Hey, I just wanted to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the game and gave it a 5 star rating! I’ve been a fan of yours ever since I played Exodus. I can’t wait for your future projects! You’re AWESOME!!! 
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i played your game and from that game and 1 phone call i killed my battery i started that game at 100% and did 8 or 9 playthroughs darn you for making a good game
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@daemonofrazgriz821 It’s a bug that should be fixed soon.
@SheaMcD I had a scene early in the game where you can kick someone in the groin as revenge. Editors did not approve.
@LordEdwardBaratheon thanks very much for playing it and for the rating!
@Drakeye sorry for killing the battery but glad you enjoyed the replay value.
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