Latest Posts by newlena-hs - Page 3
elrond
part of what makes tragedies tragic is the story being preventable from the outside but unpreventable from the inside
It is fascinating to me that, despite being one of the games love interests, Avery is essentially an optional part of the game. Like I'm thinking about it and the time that you are actually forced to interact with/be in general proximity to Avery is significantly less than every single other one of the potential love interests, even moreso now that the update has come out and you can completely avoid even meeting Avery until the third episode (and even then I don't think you actually learn their name. And you barely even interact with them).
All of the instances of you actually interacting with Avery (going to the diner in ep 1, seeing them on the street talking to Sybil in ep 2, hanging out with them in ep 3, and talking to them at the diner when you're looking for Stella in ep 4 (assuming that they haven't joined you to look for Stella beforehand)) are optional and can almost completely be avoided. You have to actively try to hang out with and include them in activities because they won't naturally be invited along.
"You don't know me. I'm not the same person anymore."
"That's okay. I'll get to know you again."
what’s the point of having a boyfriend if he doesn’t moan like a girl
Relationships in Scarlet Hollow
Have you ever wondered why every playthrough of Scarlet Hollow feels so different? It isn't *just* from branching off of major decisions. A lot of characters make use of a hidden 10-variable relationship system that maps to their perception of the protagonist.
These variables influence a *lot* of dialogue, as well as the sprites and emotional range of these characters in a given scene, and tracking this much information lets us take a very nuanced approach to PC/NPC relationships.
It's also why SH will probably never get voice acting.
So instead of just looking at someone likes or dislikes you, we can look at "trust" as its own value separate from surface-level likeability
ex: You and your cousin can be at each other's throats and still trust each other with your lives, or you can be cordial and share nothing with each other on an emotional level.
This system also dovetails into other parts of our narrative design, often unlocking different paths or scenes based on who someone is to you.
Your relationship with your cousin, for instance, has the possibility to unlock an entirely separate outcome in episode 3.
We go out of our way to not show off this system, even though it's a big part of our secret sauce, mostly because the whole point of it is to make our story and characters feel more alive and dynamic.
Having a meter to see that x statement gives you y openness points with Tabitha would ruin that immersion and gameify things to the detriment of the narrative.
When you're making decisions and choosing what to say in Scarlet Hollow, it shouldn't *feel* like a game, at least not in the sense of it being something you're playing on a meta-level. You should pick what feels right for you, and the game should respond accordingly.
Hiding the system has other benefits as well, including being able to *change how it functions* as time goes on without calling attention to those changes.
Values move A LOT (almost every dialogue choice) in episodes 1-3 as you make a first impression on characters, but by late episode 3/early episode 4, most of the characters in Scarlet Hollow have decided who they think you are, and it starts to take big, character defining moments to move that needle.
Just like in real life!
Anyways if this stuff interests you and you want a longer read on it, please take a look at this devlog!
Or if you haven't played the game, try episode 1 for free!
top 3 places to bleed out:
1. the snow
2. your lover/best friend/homoerotic comrade’s arms
3. bathroom floor
you guys think john lennon was ever jealous of martha the dog like a little bit
Normal guy voice . I need to watch him lose consciousness in a vulnerable position
Anders, mid act 3, on the verge of a mental breakdown that will shake Thedas to its core: Everyone was hooking up in Kinloch. I was the biggest slut to ever graduate from there.
the kirkwall political compass
i think the near-extinction of people making fun, deep and/or unique interactive text-based browser games, projects and stories is catastrophic to the internet. i'm talking pre-itch.io era, nothing against it.
there are a lot of fun ones listed here and here but for the most part, they were made years ago and are now a dying breed. i get why. there's no money in it. factoring in the cost of web hosting and servers, it probably costs money. it's just sad that it's a dying art form.
anyway, here's some of my favorite browser-based interactive projects and games, if you're into that kind of thing. 90% of them are on the lists that i linked above.
A Better World - create an alternate history timeline
Alter Ego - abandonware birth-to-death life simulator game
Seedship - text-based game about colonizing a new planet
Sandboxels or ThisIsSand - free-falling sand physics games
Little Alchemy 2 - combine various elements to make new ones
Infinite Craft - kind of the same as Little Alchemy
ZenGM - simulate sports
Tamajoji - browser-based tamagotchi
IFDB - interactive fiction database (text adventure games)
Written Realms - more text adventure games with a user interface
The Cafe & Diner - mystery game
The New Campaign Trail - US presidential campaign game
Money Simulator - simulate financial decisions
Genesis - text-based adventure/fantasy game
Level 13 - text-based science fiction adventure game
Miniconomy - player driven economy game
Checkbox Olympics - games involving clicking checkboxes
BrantSteele.net - game show and Hunger Games simulators
Murder Games - fight to the death simulator by Orteil
Cookie Clicker - different but felt weird not including it. by Orteil.
if you're ever thinking about making a niche project that only a select number of individuals will be nerdy enough to enjoy, keep in mind i've been playing some of these games off and on for 20~ years (Alter Ego, for example). quite literally a lifetime of replayability.
i Love that anders’ clinic delivers babies and treats STDs. thank you for calling planned parenthood of Kirkwall. we are one guy in the sewer. they’ve been trying to catch him for Years . for birth control inquiries, press 1. for hormone therapy, press 2
leliana ruining dinner in the origins camp by trying to explain he/him lesbians to oghren
thatbemeqq
video is mildly funny but this comment killed me
"Varric hat so die energy von so nem Kölner" joining the ranks of the best German Dragon Age take, only bested by "Anders ist so links-grün-versifft".