@Sylfaen That’s really interesting. What could be done differently to help you connect with him?
I kinda agree with @Sylfaen on the dependant, I feel a small bond but not one as strong as I felt with Emma, I think mostly because he’s showing little vulnerability, the only time he shown this was when you call the hospital about your sister while Emma deteriorated along the line and she became more emotionally broken, as well as how dependant the Her and the MC were of each other socially. Which personally is the reason why I cared for her so much for her. The dependant seems a little too brave out in the field especially for his age and sure he’s only a kid and doesn’t have a full understanding of the outbreak, and like I said at times he showed fear, but most of the time he’s a bit fearless? Also there’s rarely any sentimental moments with him, maybe a few chapters down the MC can teach him how to scout, fish, fire a handgun (I say make the task relating to the MC’s profession or skill tree) would be a nice touch in showing their relationship.
Tested the beta, overall it’s awesome but I have spotted a problem with soldier profession when I go to military base they asked me which clothes I would wear, I chose civilian clothes and after I went back home the option of changing your clothes is still there despite I chose to wear civilian cloth earlier
Not sure if thats a problem, because I went on the date rather than the base and the option came up, I think it’s more of the case of changing into fresh clothes or getting ‘combat ready’ as they say
See’s Delusion and Alcoholism… QUICKLY PICKS THEM BOTH. I don’t even regret my choices… AT ALL. Have to admit i’m loving this! I’M A SLIGHTLY PARANOID ALCOHOLIC INSANE HACKER! That’s like… Best character creation ever.
5 Likes
Can we order the dependent to kill zombies? That ought to toughen him up, I think.
@JimD The problem with people not liking the nephew might go away when you have a few more chapters in. I’m not trying to say they;re wrong or anything, as I also believe the nephew is a little too brave, but just that playing two chapters doesn’t give you a total feel for everything and everyone yet.
But a few places the nephew seems oddly brave:
– If you come home after the Jillian/Lyle bandit attack and tell him all about it he doesn’t seem spooked about any of it, which is extremely odd.
– If you kill Lyle and Jillian in self defense your nephew is a little shaken but I don’t recall him having the traumatic event situation, which is also odd.
Those are the two most in my head. I’d say he’s a little too brave at the school scenes too if you take him along. He just doesn’t seem to get shaken up by a lot and when he does it’s very mild.
On another note, found a typo:
If you follow Jillian and Lyle then have to deal with Dillian. When you choose “Take charge and order them to stand down”
You say:
“You have no right, no authority to do harass these people and threaten to rob them,” you say in a commanding tone. “All of you, get back in that vehicle and leave this area.”
The do shouldn’t be there.
- Movie Star, Chapter 2
“I thought they were going to kill me,” she says. “Or I’d get infected.”
“You don’t know how happy we are to find other living people,” the young man says.
"I’m Angel, you say. "Who are you two?"
You forgot to put a quotation mark after Angle (or whichever name you use for the MC).
"I’m Angle," you say. “Who are you two?”
1 Like
Well, I probably like him because it’s not a cry baby, like Emma was. For me her was totally out of place drama queen. She acted like a 8 years old spoiled brat. And it’s not the mental issue I know people with the same problem and not acting that way.
It’s a pre teen that has all his life changed in a day, he just doesn’t assume that crap yet. In a few days when he would have time to process all, he would cry and felt terrible. I suppose that will make him unable to go away. That’s the reason I chose all the pick food and water resources I could because I will stay with him and helping him get better. Also Clem if you think about that was even braver than that and almost everyone loves her ,me include
6 Likes
This is interesting! For the same reasons you describe I very much disliked Emma, while I adore the nephew. I am not a fan of the damsel in distress trope and I find it annoying when I am supposed to rescue some fragile female the game tells me my MC cares about. I rolled my eyes, when I saved this good looking contruction worker? from the compound and then it turns out that being in a relationship with him makes Emma emotionally more stable. That’s a male fantasy right there.
Jillian, however, is a breath of fresh air. From the few scenes she’s had so far she strikes me as a clever, independent, and strong character. I hope she stays that way even if the MC choses to romance her.
I really enjoy the nephew as a character and like how subtly his presence changes some of the Lyle+ Jillian scenes. His level of vulnerability seemed believable given the circumstances. After all, I would not expect a kid to fully process what has happened at this point. It was my impression that as a way of coping he’s started to merge his comic book world with reality, which is why the two of you become super heroes in his plan. Psychologically, this made a lot of sense. I hope Jim expands on that.
4 Likes
@poison_mara I’m going to have to disagree with you that Clem was braver than that.
Clem, especially in the very beginning and first game, was struck by fear when anything happened and she was terrified, what made her brave was she was willing to keep going even when afraid, not that she just wasn’t afraid.
In the second game Clem is fearless because she’s already seen a lot, so it makes sense she’s desensitized.
@5ubzer0 The making the MC the superhero thing was pretty cool and I can see where you’re coming from with it.
On the debate between Emma vs nephew. I like the nephew a lot and do feel protective of him. Much more than I did for Emma. I really didn’t care one way or the other about Emma, she was just kind of there to me.
I actually have no problem with how the nephew acts, but I can see where people would. There are times he’s oddly brave in the face of possible death, but I stand by my original option that we just aren’t far enough into the story to really determine if the nephew is going to be unrealistically brave about all things. We’re still only on day 2 and I’m sure after his mother he’s in a state of shock.
I trust JimD’s ability to make the characters realistic and believable.
Because I don’t have a strong opinion on whether he should change or not (I think I’d like/feel protective of him either way), I probably won’t get too into the debate and instead stick to pointing out typos I come across.
2 Likes
hmm I also liked emma as I thought she was a complex character that you had to get to know over time not just instantly know, which I like in a character. Just thought of that we don’t have any free time to talk to our nephew like we do with sean or fred where we talk to them but it doesn’t necessesserily advance the plot(like in z1 where you spoke to people at breakfast). yeah think the nephew is a bit too brave now people mention it. But also don’t think he has had as many lines as emma had, plus emma was always there, where as your nephew is optional. Plus I kinda like that the nephew isn’t perfect so I don’t feel guilty about being a dick to him “you can cry all you like it wont solve anything” after you murder lyle and jillian. muhahaha that made me lol so hard :p.
2 Likes
playing as a ninja(custom class obvs :p) went to the 3 story house with flashing light to scavenge after going to the 2nd floor came across a zombie and this mistake “You lift your katana and step toward the zombie. You pass the cellar door and creep along the floor, raising the katana and aiming for the back of his head. His erratic movements make him a difficult target. As he presses his face against the boarded window, you throw a punch, striking his earlobe” I assume that’s a mistake as my character had a katana but punched the zombie.
It’s very interesting for somebody to have a completely opposite opinion on Emma to my own. Having younger sisters myself is kind of huge reason I took to an instant liking to her. her vulnerability made her realistic, she’s only a nurse and she doesn’t immediately adjust into becoming a badass survivalist like Mindy or Devlin, in fact she never turns into that and although she becomes more resistant she’s still got that kinder side to her (that’s if you don’t screw up with Cassie). But I do agree with you, Crone the big beefy charmer and Emma the petite innocent girl getting together was ridiculous in my eyes, kinda ruined a few conversations you share with Crone because of him gawking.
Jillian is possibly the most believable survivor in the ZE timelines. Like you said she’s intelligent and very cunning, hopefully we can see her putting those perks to use. And she isn’t made out like this perfect romance character most choicescripts do, Jim pointed out her flaws when describing her and it felt like she was real and somebody you would on any other day. Her reaction to the outbreak is backs her character up, she’s prone to outbursts and snapping at others and (sometimes) apologising after, complains a lot, she’s withdrawn but wants to earn the MC’s trust to survive when it gets serious. And I do hope they don’t soften her in the romance. Mindy became clingy, Devlin got softer and Heather became… Well Heather didn’t change much but she was much more selfish and was super angsty if you disagreed with her even a little bit.
In the upcoming chapters I hope we see the dependant bond with the MC, like we teach him survival techniques. It will be a nice side story watching him adapt
1 Like
There’s one thing that always bugs me when I do a playthrough with the nephew. When Lyle and Jillian show up and I choose the option: "I don't fully trust these two yet. I ask Lyle to wait here with Marcus while I escort Jillian to the bathroom."
Why would I leave my eight-year old nephew alone with a complete stranger in the living room?
"I'll stay with you, Mr. Lyle," Marcus says excitedly and sits next to him on the couch.
Shouldn’t the MC be more concerned about the nephew’s safety, instead of worrying about what Jillian might do unsupervised upstairs? Especially, after picking the option that MC doesn’t trust them yet.
4 Likes
I found weird too, but probably character thinks they never harm a boy. It was only few hoursfrom outbreak, you could not fully trust someone that doesn’t mean you believe he would kill cold blood a 8 year kid in your living room. Also the blind factor could help to that. Anyway I don’t let my little Alex with him or my kitty. I only do something like that if i could give him a electric teaser, or a pepper spray. … Funny thing is my character had one and i was thinking that could be awesome to give it to my depending rat if a raider get near his hidden spot. At least until he learns use other weapon. But i think a crafting teaser for him could be great
My MC would be fine with it.
1:He thinks lyle is blind thereby lowering his threat level.
2:Even if lyle somehow managed to grab my nephew its more likely lyle would hold my nephew hostage and I can deal with that via stealth stabbings.
And other reasons but basically I don’t consider lyle as big of a potential threat as jillian was at the moment
Honestly? I’m not entirely sure why I’m not connecting with him. I recognize I should be, and that it is the nearly the same situation with Hadley and/or Clementine. I don’t think I agree with @Nathan_Faxon, his bravery isn’t the problem… I have a few ideas but I’m not sure on any of them.
Why does his mom die? What does it add to the story? The kid gets over it fairly quick, plus it kind of robs him from a goal other than do what you tell him to. Fulfilling his desire to go find his mom against trying to keep him safe and in one spot in case she looks for you would give you some kind of motivation besides “let’s keep him alive because he is just family”. Maybe he was visiting you while his mom was vacationing.
Somewhat related to the above, but he doesn’t really suffer in the story. Hadley had her world shattered in short order, while the worst the Nephew suffers is his mother dying, which as I said above he doesn’t really seem to process.
@5ubzer0
A strong relationship can be helpful for anyone, of either gender (It can also be harmful!). I don’t think it is inherently a male fantasy regardless.
I have no idea what you guys see in Jillian, you are aware she is dating Lyle right? Are you guys just gonna let him die so you can pick her up on the rebound, or will you just take advantage of her emotional isolation while he is gone?
Well I typically have a short temper when someone tries to rob me in the apocalypse so if you have the mind to make an inference on my opinion of them then you might realize you are not alone XD
Your sister (dependant’s mother) had cancer, it mentions in the background story that she is having her first chemotherapy and didn’t want her son to see her suffer, and since hospitals became a deathtrap on the first days of the outbreak she was mostly likely slaughtered. But I do think your idea is a good one. Maybe she wasn’t at the hospital at the time and you contact her mobile after the hospital says she isn’t there, she’ll tell you what happened and where she has gone etc. This could be made into one of the missions you pick on the second day, ‘to reunite you and your nephew with his mother and your sister’ (whether we find her dead or alive is the choice of @JimD as I think both will be a powerful moment).
But one thing I’m worried about is if this idea will become too much similar to Emma, it will dampen the stories via deja vu. Plus her cancer if you choose to keep it makes her limited, she can’t do outside chores and will need constant assistance as she goes on since there is no more facilities to battle it if the decision is she ultimately is found alive. So maybe finding her hiding spot and discovering evidence that she died from the zombies or you in fact find her turned might be more of a tear jerker for some players.
@Sylfaen it’s more of the fact that Jim made her realistic, Mindy and Heather’s appearance was made out to be perfect in looks and both girls fall for the MC almost too quickly, even when Mindy takes it slow she took a liking to him too early even before Temperance, ‘she smiles at you so wide it’s almost worrisome’. Jillian on the other hand might take a very long while to like our MC because of Lyle (dead or alive) and realise Lyle will never come back, getting closer to him/her and as your group grows, sticks by you because she barely trusts anyone else since I get the feeling trust isn’t one of her strong points being a con artist and all (plus she trusts the MC because they’re her best chance of survival and put their neck on the line to save her even when they knew their original intentions were to rob them). At first you could reject her advancements or vice versa because of Lyle but eventually it happens?
2 Likes