@Eiwynn Ahh thank you so much. I really appreciate your kind comments, and your thoughts on writing and design are always so interesting and, well, thoughtful!
I had totally forgotten about Villette. I very vaguely remember the plot but I read it a looong time ago at university and I feel I should revisit!
(FWIW it’s fairly easy to opt out of in the moment, plus it can be switched off in the content notes, so it’s not something that players will be pushed into being part of!)
I’m pleased to report that I’ve submitted Chapters 3 and 4, and I’ve zipped past 50,000 words! Chapter 3 has a trip out with a friend or romance interest, and Chapter 4 has a less romantic, damp and busy trip to the nearest town plus some horse riding. Plus: kissing* and a dramatic bonfire!
*if you want to; asexuality and aromanticism are included, and you can get close with other characters with varying levels of physical or intimacy. I’m handling aro-ace spectrums a bit differently for Noblesse Oblige than I have before, with an aim for more flexibility and nuance - hopefully it’ll be successful!
I have the same general request as with RA. It will probably make lines a bit longer, but please can choices more obviously reflect emotions MC will say the chosen line with?
For example, when Danelak leads us to the house and goes too fast, we can ask them to slow down. I did it, because my character isn’t shy and won’t keep enduring discomfort when they can simply ask, but they aren’t bitchy about it, and when i made the choice, i imagined something like “hey, could you slow down please?” and i didn’t expect my character to say something sarcastic in a tart tone. if i knew MC is gonna be rude, i would never choose it because it’s not their style, and i’m replaying from the beginning because my mind is just “ugh, that was so OOC, need to fix it”.
So if it’s possible to make it clear that the option is gonna be sarcastic or rude by the tone of the option itself, that would be very helpful!
Absolutely! This is really helpful feedback - tone of an MC’s response can be hard to understand as a player and I want to make sure that it’s as clear as possible. I’m deep in RA writing at the moment but once I’m back on Noblesse Oblige, I’ll definitely take a look at doing that!
And i didn’t only mean Noblesse or specific moment, that’s a request in general, for any choice in any game. Just like how i asked you in RA topic about the moment when Dominique is late to the council meeting and we can calmly say “let’s move on”, and suddenly we snap at Dominique, remember?
The same request for literally any choice that leads to strong emotional roleplay that might not fit any MC, like rudeness, flirtiness, sycophancy - would be great to understand the tone of the choice clearly beforehand For example, if we’re gonna be tart about Danelak’s speed, instead of “Ask them to slow down” the choice can say something like “Ugh, where’s the fire? I tell them to slow down” so it would be visible that the option has annoyed tone already
Just a minor suggestion, but maybe you could put a “Return to the Stats Page” button on the Content Notes section? It feels weird to have to return to the game itself then go back to the Stats Page again.
@JBento Hmm, at the moment it sets a variable which gets referred to when relevant for the MC’s background. I’m not sure what stats I’d change for it, though if something comes to mind please let me know!
I’m on the fence about whether the NPC stats should be visible or not - I’m wondering whether it would be better to keep them hidden at the start and then show them once it’s clearer what the characters’ motives are. With Rys in particular, you’re right that it’s not very clear why certain comments would have the effect that they do, and Rys doesn’t especially respond in a way that reflects it. I’ll have a think!