anathemafiction
patreon
Progress Report
🕑 Added 2023-02-24 17:30:40 +0000 UTCFriday already!
Time goes by too fast, especially when one is busy. And busy I've been! I managed to write, again, every single weekday β Wednesday was dedicated to the Patreon scenarios for next month, however. They were honestly so fun to write. Right now, I'm writing fast-paced, high-stakes scenes in the game itself, so it feels great to take a creative break from that and just write a bit about the ROs. Try a few different atmospheres, and play around with some dialogue.
Although Hadrian's part took me by surprise xD It started so sweet...
But, regarding the rewrite, it's going so well! I know it's the third time I say this, but it's the truth. As I said, I'm writing a sort of action scene right now. The chase scene is ALMOST over. I had too much fun with some of the choices that I... got carried away. π But, I think it's so worth it!!!!!
I only need to fill the last branch where you manage to avoid a confrontation β if, of course, you so desire. I think most Romanus will choose not to avoid it, but that'll remain to be seen.
For those of you who saw the Lingering Glance post, I just finished writing each of those major choices β three very different, very intense moments. One of them... I love it so much xD That was the scene that made me re-write this last third of the chapter. That was the image that rose to mind in the middle of the night and refused to let go of me until I promised I'd make it a reality.
But I'm worried it may be a bit too brutal? I hope Hosted Games doesn't ask me to tone it down when I submit the game, but that's a problem for the future. π
From Book 2 onwards, I really want to explore the consequences of your choices, not only externally but internally tooβ how they affect you. There's a price to be paid for being brutal and ruthless, and there's a price for being merciful and compassionate too.
After that, I need to go back and write a branch I purposely left behind. There's a choice where every option corresponds to each of the Skill stats: Combat, Influence, and Reason. In that context, Combat is the most obvious and useful one but the option for a high-Influence Romanus is exciting too. I'm very happy with it.
The problem I'm having is with the Reason route. I have a scene in mind, but I fear it isn't half as satisfying or fun as the other two. Sometimes, not all stats can be used in all situations. During Mist's meeting, for example, a high-Reason Romanus will have an advantage and be able to find more information about a couple of dangerous criminals (π).
On one hand, I don't want players of a specific build to be "doomed" as it were, just because they chose one stat and not the other. But on the other hand... is it really better to have a weaker route? Wouldn't it be better to "fail" on the other options but get a better experience overall?
Ahh, I'm so conflicted π© That's why I left this as a placeholder. Right now, I want to finish the big "chase" scene and tie the endings of the Chapter before I return to it, so I have time to figure it out.
And that's the goal for next week! I'm working hard to be ready to upload the new link on the 10th of March with the complete Chapter One. I also have some revisions to make to the content that's already there, especially at the end of Hadrian's conversation.
I wish you the best of weekends! β€οΈπΉ
Comments
Anathema
Thank you so much for the insightful comment! I'll definitely check the link but what you said about character archetype already helps! As you said, this is very much a WIP , so I know I'll be changing some things around - especially if someone suggests a great idea - so it's good to keep these things in mind
Anathema
Thank you so much, Atlus! π Hope everything has been going well^^
unfortunate small
Well, the good news concerning the alpha, is that you have a lot of time to figure out a good route for a reason-inclined Romanus. Even after releasing the Alpha you can still make adjustments if a better idea ever stumbles out of you or is suggested by someone. The bad news as you're probably aware is that they're will always be a weaker route most often than not. It's very difficult to balance roleplaying opportunities that have the same impact in the story because, after all, for it to feel distinctive it has to be different from one another (sounds redundant but it's true). That means if not planned you will eventually run out of 'cool' ideas. The other good news is that, again, with enough planning you can circumvent these types of misfortunes. One alternative, in a informative talk from the director for the critically acclaimed RPG Fallout: New Vegas (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LR4OxNfzTvU / this is a very good talk and I highly recommend it if you're interested in choice architecture.) is to plan your story based on character archetypes. He explains it better than I ever will, but beyond thinking of a 'Combat Inclined Romanus' you think of further characterizing the pathing of each choices with a more accurate character archetype you wish to follow. Is the Reason Inclined Romanus way to solve problems more of a Sherlock type of rationalizer or more of a Hermione? And going from there crafting a profile that will always be consistent and so on. Now personally speaking, I enjoy anything you put out but I have seen people complaining that the scar you gain in Book One is unavoidable. From my understanding, you traded the consequence of getting the scar or not for how you feel about it. That's infinitely smarter than a lot of games but not a lot of people get that. My point? Even if it doesn't feel very fun to you, maybe someone will think it's very good. That's where feedback comes in. I could spend the day talking about choices but I guess I should stop here.
AtlusHeart
I've been offline for a while, just want to pop in and say your doing awesome Ana <3 remember to take time for you. The valentines stuff was super cute!!
Imani
My thing I prefer when all stats have their chance to shine, it makes each individual Romanus feel special. (I think you do that already though). It makes more sense that not every stat is going to be able to pass everything and I don't think most of us are expecting that. The only thing I would dislike, personally, is those specialized harsh fails where: Oh you didn't pass the combat stat check in this battle against an opponent you lose a finger Oh you didn't pass the reason stat check you don't know enough and you lost your chance to find this special relic Oh you didn't pass the influence stat check in your competition to convince the populace you're the 2nd coming of god against the crazy monk in town square, you're going to the gallows Like yeah, it's specialized but can add a bitter experience to a particular stat playthrough if not handled right T_T
emelsi
I've seen a couple games where the "Smartbrains" stat was useful in some situations, like using a Rube Goldberg approach, like throwing a brick at a sign that then falls and knocks a guy off a motorcycle - that kind of thing is always fun. I love having the "silly and complex" kinds of options, no matter the stat it relies on.
Anathema
Agreed for sure. I want to have more moments for a high Reason Romanus to shine. I'm very aware how they didn't get a lot of moments in Book One.
Anathema
Thank you for your insight! It's really helpful to know how the "failure" with Will impacted how you viewed Hadrian and Alessa.
Kashmir
As a high reason Romanus, and a fan of RPGs, I think it's totally legit your main stat isn't useful in every situation as long as I don't get locked out of "beating" the game because of my stat choice and the experience is overall balanced for the entirety of the game. Essentially, I would avoid having an objectively superior/optimal (content or ending wise) stat, but nothing more. For example, in Book 1 Hadrian had to save my ass against the bandit chief because he beat me in combat and I think it's totally fine and actually adds to the experience because combat is just not as much my Romanus specialty as Latin translation lol.
Rue
Personally, I have faith in your ability to write a "weaker" result if the Romanus build doesn't favor the situation they're facing. We've witnessed a similar situation in the fight with Will the bandit leader in book 1, a Romanus without high combat gets smacked around and almost killed and personally I enjoyed it very much. It solidified to me my first playthrough that I needed Hadrian and Alessa to cover my Romanus' weaknesses and that I could cover theirs in turn, a perfect trio! I'm certain you'll find a way to incorporate something similar in this instance if it proves necessary.
Megladong
I actually enjoy a optional failure in a story sometimes, it helps with the story telling and the immersion. A plan will never go 100% according to plan and there are too many variables sometimes to account for.
Nessy Lovegood
Ohhh you got my interest at Hadrian (you know I have an unhealthy*ahem* (not obsession ) for him.) I'm so very curious what happens
Jo
This all sounds so exciting! So far combat has always been all my MCs' dump stat (I know... maybe not the best choice as a mercenary, but that's why you have Hadrian along, right? Right? π ), so I'm always extra happy when the mental stats also get some appreciation π€ I'm so excited where all of this will lead ππ
