I’m a little late to the announcement of LH3’s completion but I feel rather sentimental - having grown and developed various MCs for TLH during the past two years and now knowing their storylines are culminating towards a final conclusion.
Its like a metafictional journey coming to an end - I first played LH1 during a completely different phase of my life and again during LH2.
My anticipation for LH3 made me reflect on the journey so far: what makes an ideal King/Queen, would the MC’s parents approve of what I’d have to do for the sake of revenge, is there truly a ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way to reclaim this notion of birthright, could Daria in fact be better off without a monarchy and if so does that make Zusak the true hero of the story? In a world that dwarfs their personal ambitions of reclaiming the throne, just what is the MC truly fighting for?
I don’t know what to expect: will demons rule over mankind, will the MC die is either a tragic or noble pursuit of their birthright, what will happen?
I’m beginning to think a major theme throughout TLH is humankind’s pursuit of power. The MC wanting to reclaim their throne and all the power that comes with it, which they would use for either good or evil depending on their ideals. This is mirrored with Zusak who is on his own pursuit for power through demon-summoning in the name of whatever unrevealed ideals he believes in.
I don’t think there is any true hero or villain in this story - everyone is simply following their own ideals and this makes me wonder if everything my MC has done so far is even worth something bigger than themselves or nothing at all in the grand scheme of events…
I would like to take a moment to say that I have immensely enjoyed these books and I would like to extend my gratitude to the author for these works of art. I can not begin to describe how much joy this story has brought me and I’m sure the much anticipated final installment will be a fantastic end to a beloved trilogy. I wish you the best in all future endevors.
Interesting that the last game actually has a smaller wordcount than the second. Does this mean the game is going to be shorter, or will there just be less branching/choices?
Oh, thanks. Actually I think I was getting off-topic, I suppose knowing this trilogy is coming to a close is gotten me rather melancholic. There really isn’t anything else like TLH, I think it might become the best IF trilogy published on CoG and it will probably be years before we’ll get anything like it again.
As for word count, @tw1stedmind, It isn’t published yet. It always gains words through the beta test. When it reaches this size, I don’t think players can see the length. Lots of branching and scenes that only get reached in special circumstances.
Fair enough, but I disagree about the length. Sure, someone playing through the game once may not notice the length, but for someone repeatedly going through it I think even 30k words is a pretty significant difference. And the way your games are designed they definitely lend themselves towards the repeat playthrough style.
Mind if I ask will endings will be influenced at all by classes? Can you get any unique or modified endings by having a certain class? If not will the endings just be decided by a few static conditions like taking back the kingdom or not?
Ending 1: You became the Good King Of Daria, married to (insert name here), known throughout the world as a a skilled (insert class with the most ranks in it, unless it’s a prestige class in which case it trumps the normal classes, even those you have more ranks in than the prestige class)…
Ending 2: You became the Evil King Of Daria, married to (insert name here), known throughout the world as a a skilled (insert class with the most ranks in it, unless it’s a prestige class in which case it trumps the normal classes, even those you have more ranks in than the prestige class)…
Ending 3: You abdicated as king, opting to live a mostly normal life instead, marring (insert name here) and making a name for yourself in the world as a (insert class with the most ranks in it, unless it’s a prestige class in which case it trumps the normal classes, even those you have more ranks in than the prestige class)…
Hello! I’m not a normal commenter on the forum, though I check in frequently and enjoy reading the discussions. I wanted to thank you for your games @Lucid. They’re excellent stories with wonderful writing and structure. They’re such fun to analyze and they kept me sane through my first year of college!
I know that I’m a bit late to the announcement, but congrats on finishing your rough draft, and if you need another female beta tester, I volunteer.
Also I have a question. So, the MC can pick a royal consort in the second game and there is the possibility of getting pregnant/getting their partner pregnant. If they choose to pursue another romance option in LH3, what happens to their consort? Does the MC break up with them and they simply lose lose their title, or is it more complicated, similar to Life of a Wizard? And if a baby is involved how’s that handled? Would it really be possible to end the game with kids from multiple partners or one of the MCs children having a step parent?
Thanks! Yes, when the time comes, I’d love to have you beta test.
Those who are in relationships (have Royal Consorts) will continue their relationships. Those who are single will have more options to meet people. Everyone will have an option to have flings.
Each game takes place over a couple of years, and LH 3 is the same. So, we won’t be seeing a long enough of a time to see multiple children.
