You can do it like @Aly did with her game (though that originally started out as a CoG, apparently) and provide multiple background options and stats. Of course one needs to combine that with good storytelling too. For instance if you allow me to play a badass character who has been training for his/her whole life don’t have him/her defeated in the first fight with a bunch of lowly henchmen just so they can be “rescued” as a way to introduce your Knight LI.
That is not always feasible though and when it isn’t I’d prefer mc’s with a personality over those without, unless that personality is super uke or Disney princess, but if it is at least be upfront about it so I know your game isn’t for me.
It does, for good or ill, bring your game closer to classical novel experience, where it isn’t the tale of my mc but I’ve been invited to look over the shoulder of the protagonist as he/she journeys through your world, which automatically means I’m going to care more about the story telling, setting and game world consistency than I am about the protagonist per se.
Long story short customisation usually makes me more invested in the mc, but if your story and setting are good enough I can become invested regardless, just don’t be surprised if I end up rooting for the villain or the sidekick, in that case.
It isn’t called choice of games for nothing and mc gender is a choice we’ve mostly come to expect around here.
Guen seems to the big one, though it’s still in development, here. Incidentally it’s another one where I don’t really mind playing female because I can reject Lance, if I want to, instead of having to be the silly swooning girl.
Otome games are “maiden” games about romance made for females. Saying there’s too much female perspective and romance is kind of like saying there’s too much focus on shooting in a first person shooter game.
As for creating a good MC, don’t make them dumb or a damsel in distress. Personality options are great as long as they are consistent and the characters react to your personality. Aloners and Princes in Distress were good at this. But, if you want a good MC with a set personality, make them crazy-funny. The MC in wanted dragon was playable even for those who don’t like evil MCs because she was funny. Hatoful Boyfriend had the best protagonist because she was humorous and everyone seemed to ignore her craziness.
I suppose though, that whenever I see a ren’py game made with a female MC, I automatically classify it as an otome game, regardless of subject, as long as there’s some degree of romancing. I guess I should structure better and say that I wish more ren’py based/styled games had a focus (to an extent) on things other than romance/politics.
Obviously I don’t know what your ideas were, but the rest of this paragraph has been deleted by @FairyGodfeather for suggestions of corruption and jury tampering by being psychic.
Well there’s Planet Stronghold, Loren and Seasons of the Wolf, all from Winter Wolves, where much like around here, you can chose to play a male or female character and romance is completely optional, with the main focus being on combat and adventuring.
Played those, yeah, they’re okay. I liked Seasons of the Wolf, but the battles got tedious for me, so I skipped replaying it. Loren I disliked somewhat for ripping off dragon age, and Planet Stronghold just wasn’t really my cuppa tea. ^^
Currently playing Cupid…
…it is so very dark. Very…very dark. It looks dark as a premise…but so much darker.
My soul, actually shivering a bit here, it gets hectic.
Not the biggest fan of Loren myself, though I liked Mesphit. Seasons of the Wolf improves on Loren in almost all respects (except the number of available romances) and Planet Stronghold was sufficiently unique to hold my attention.
Seasons of the Wolf wise…I enjoyed the familial aspect, along with changing chapters. You really feel the bonds of family, and the characters interact well together- that seems to be a great strength for the writers there. Their characters work well together- arguments feel real, relationships are believable.
There’s some talk in here about female protags in otome games, so I thought I’d bounce in here with a recommendation for an otome game I played recently. It’s called Rock Robin, and it’s still in beta. The protag, Robin, is one of the more human characters I’ve encountered. She’s flawed and complex and not necessarily likable in the same way actual people are. For all her bravado, she’s insecure and can be way too harsh, unfair to and judgemental of others. Hell, I’ve been there before. I think sometimes people concentrate so hard on making protags likable that they make them bland. Likability is the dullest defining trait for a character IMO. Everyone is unlikable in some way, especially when we are alone and nobody is watching and there is nobody to please. Her relationships with the guys develop in interesting and unique ways. Not only that, but the game has a lot of content. There is a whole different mode to play in after you run through the game once with several romances. I think there are even gay romances for Robin, although I’m unsure. Still a great game, and the non-VN gameplay is pretty good. The entire game is about Robin and her rock band trying to get famous, and so the player can even check fan forums that change in reaction to what occurs in the story. It’s one of many nice touches.
I actually passed that game today while trolling itch.io and gave it a look.
My problem? I’m a music student, and know how bands work and function. So I’d probably spend the whole game screaming that finding work isn’t that easy, why aren’t they publicizing, social media is your best friend, you can’t have a social life, WHY AREN’T YOU PRACTICING/WRITING MUSIC, so on, so forth. ^^;
You should check out the edit to my post. Half the gameplay is about practicing music, developing albums/singles, trying to find a record label, checking thd band forums, playing at venues etc etc. It’s a game, so it’s of course not completely realistic, but it is very in-depth and as the band’s fame rises you really feel like you’ve worked toward it. And the game sure digs into the politics of the music industry.
You should! It’s free, but honestly has more content and depth than most of the paid games I’ve encountered. And the band’s ascension to fame makes sense considering that two of four of the band members are already sorta famous and one is rich as hell lol. I’m selling it hard haha, but only because it struck me in a way games rarely do. It’s a gem.
@LacetheDisgrace THANK YOU SO MUCH IT WAS BEAUTIFUL AND WELL-WRITTEN AND ABOUT THE MUSIC AND EMMITT IS THE CUTEST THING EVER AND I SQUEALED AND UDEINEIDNVIREUNVIERUV
Just out of curiosity, do you think you would you be making a game with just a male MC or are you thinking of making a female (& any other gender identities) an option as well?
That’s an easy question to answer. The current game I’m working on (Love Bites), as well as the expected next 3-4 (such as Planet Stronghold 2) will have both female and male MCs as well as an even split among the romances.
That said, I admit I hope to get some time to work on a few personal projects as well, which might be female MC only. For example, whether I use Choicescript or RenPy is up in the air, but I really want to do a story where the MC, at least at the start, is fighting in the Civil War and she would be a female soldier disguised as a male, but fighting for her cause. Considering it did happen in real life, it would be interesting to pursue. Then I hope to transition it to the Old West where she continues, perhaps as a sheriff. There would be some supernatural elements involved as well…zombie rail workers could make for an interesting encounter, for example.
I just played The Lady’s Choice from lemmasoft and it’s great especially if you like Jane Austin Pride and Prejudice like tales. The characters are great especially the friendship parts because I always like it when games allow you to have friends. It’s pay what you want.
I would definitely have to agree about Katawa Shoujo. Lilly is one of my favorite romantic interests in a game to the point where it just feels like cheating on her for me to pursue any other path.
I also agree about The Royal Trap: The Confines of the Crown. Oscar’s path is so sweet. One problem for me with a path for a romantic interest is that the really good paths are such that it feels wrong to go down any other path particularly if those other characters treated the character I really liked poorly.
I also really liked Seduce Me the Otome. The first game is free while the sequel is not, but the sequel is well worth it in my opinion. I did not even realize that Diana was a path until I looked at a fan site. Having tried her path, she is by far my favorite romantic interest in this game and may be my favorite in any game. Without having tried her path, the other characters paint her in such a bad light and even her best friend claims she has a mean side, but I disagree with all of them. She is willing to make the hard choices for the greater good regardless of the cost for herself and ultimately she is prepared to leave to fight a war she does not think she can win alone rather than bring the main character she comes to love into a war. When she told the main character that she did not know how to love, I wanted to hug her particularly having seen her reaction to finding her family. She risked and lost so much for those she cared about, I think she may have as good an idea of what love is as any character in this game.
Going to download it now. ^^
I really hope they have a chance to update it soon!