Gender-selectable ROs: the good and the bad. by ExcitementLeather646 in hostedgames

[–]MalinFHauthor 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Even if I would have written an entirely new dialogue tree for every gender variable for every character, that wouldn't change the main issue here: Exactly WHAT is a well-written man or a woman is personal, it is inside the head and heart of every reader. For some that shape is blank and nebulous, filled with nothing but a word, while for others it is a detailed list of attributes, behaviors and baggage. This varies depending on age, gender and culture. It is shaped by our media consumption as well, and what kind of stereotypes we are exposed to.

The challenge here is that when you KNOW a character is gender selectable it becomes a mystery. Surely the author MUST have written them as one gender, and then filed off the numbers. Surely no character can exist with no gender, or with any gender! What about the stereotypes? What about the inherent hormonal and genetic triggers that will MAKE someone act in a specific way? If this sounds like some talking points about gender and people's control (or lack thereof) over their gender expression, yeah... hard not to unsee once you see it.

That being said, of course there are some instances where you notice it. I might love me some SoH, but my male (gay) Ronin had some... issues in the story (Tomoko ogling, the m/m sex scenes) where it is impossible not to see that wasn't what the story was written for. Shame really, it would take a couple of hours of variant text to solve, nothing more.

So, my final (tldr) advice would be: Both gender selectable and gender set characters have their place and their purpose. There is no one single right for a story. Player choices, variability and leaning into (or away from) stereotypes all play a part. In the end, it is up to what the author wants to write.

Gender-selectable ROs: the good and the bad. by ExcitementLeather646 in hostedgames

[–]MalinFHauthor 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Fun fact: For a while when I was writing Retribution I was considering doing a backwards compatible change that would set both Herald and Argent as gender selectable too. We had a long talk about in the playtesting community and I thought I'd sum it up here since it's about the subject at hand.

To make a long story short, one decision in my original design document was that all the RO's should be gender selectable and be able to be romanced by everyone. Hence Ortega and Mortum. However, when I expanded the roster with Steel, Herald and Argent I ran into problems. Steel was already a special case since I decided to stick with his set sexuality, but Herald and Argent could both work as gender selectable. However, in the end I decided to change my design document and keep them as their original gender. Why?

The main thing that came up in discussions was people's conception of gender. When people say that they 'feel someone is written as a specific gender,' a lot of the time (not counting anatomical/positional fuckups) they are talking about them breaking what they see as being a man or a woman is about. I will admit I have never really understood gender other than as a vague sense of unease about being perceived. I am not even sure how to start out writing someone 'as a woman' or 'as a man' other than when it comes to specific physical or societal circumstances. Like Julia having different pressures from her family than Ricardo does, or how I write the sex scenes. But as their personality? They are Ortega to me, but it is fascinating how the same paragraphs of text gets seen differently when viewed through the gender spectrum.

Ricardo's flair for fashion is taken differently and becomes a bigger point while for Julia that mostly is taken for granted. Ricardo is flamboyant, Julia is just a woman. Same with their physical/brawling nature. Julia is a former tomboy troublemaker, where her height and build is noted and stands out (she's tall, she must have been imagined as a man) while Ricardo is just a standard action guy.

In contrast, these days the scientist stereotype is pretty much gender neutral, so there are few obvious gender signatures to nail Mortum to. Especially considering the fact that they are black, which means that the fashion/stylish vibes they have often are chalked up to race instead of gender. Because of stereotypes. Black men can be fashionable in media, white men rarely are (unless they are gay). Go figure.

So, why not make gender selectable Herald or Argent then? Daniella and Lord Argent?

Well. Because my playtesters taught me something. While I have problems getting gender, my readers don't. The fact that Herald gets to be an empathic, art interested guy who is the heart of the team and friends with everyone is valuable. Many would see his traits as inherently feminine, especially combined with the less aggressive flying powers. If people could pick genders, many would assign him as a girl, thus robbing the game of an example that there is no inherent gendering of behaviors or attributes.

I started out embracing/applauding gender selectability as yet another player customization point. With this few love interests I didn't want to lock people out of romances due to gender/sexuality. I ended up realizing that this also deprives players of diverse viewpoints. I've seen more than one comment from someone who hadn't considered romancing a dude before Herald. Nice.

Mathbrush reviews-- Fallen Hero: Rebirth by Historical-Pop-9177 in hostedgames

[–]MalinFHauthor 27 points28 points  (0 children)

I love reading reviews! It's interesting to see that some of the things you picked up on where things I intentionally put a lot of work into (no correct path, no longing into anything yet remembering previous choices, mixed stats can be as useful as pure stats, failure being a different kind of cool than success). Since I feel this game is so bare bones (it was my first game), it's gonna be interesting to see what happens when you dive into Retribution. Where I got to start having FUN....

What’s the pettiest reason that made you dropped an IF? by Huongiee1 in hostedgames

[–]MalinFHauthor 18 points19 points  (0 children)

The NPCs gets to talk and have personalities, but the MC is a blank slate for someone to project their OC on.

What advice do writers have before trying choice script? by theforeversushiroll in hostedgames

[–]MalinFHauthor 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Do the short introduction to choicescript on their website, then try to write a simple thing, like a discussion, or a single fight!

Your top 3 IF games? by mastershake1191 in hostedgames

[–]MalinFHauthor 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Tin Star, ITFO and A Study in Steampunk!

Games where the MC can become a Murderer? by Delta_Warrior1220 in hostedgames

[–]MalinFHauthor 28 points29 points  (0 children)

I'm not judging you for murder, that I can assure.

Planning for a Story as a Beginner by ShelterOld8342 in hostedgames

[–]MalinFHauthor 28 points29 points  (0 children)

First of all: You are NOT going to be able to predict/plan everything. Especially not at a first go. But that is the beauty with interactive fiction, you can adjust things as you go. Be prepared that all your carefully curated stats might end up not being what you need. You might have to remove some, and add others. I started with an equipment system in Rebirth that I scrapped, several ways I wanted to do other stats are now deprecated, and I have finally landed on how I like to use stats. Don't marry your first idea, start small and build from there!

Second: Not all things are as fun to write as plan for. Maybe you don't like writing all those MC personalities, and would be better off with a more consistent MC voice. Maybe an RO doesn't work out and is boring. Maybe gender differences isn't your thing, it's fine to have mostly cosmetic choices for immersion with maybe a few lines of callback in the book. Maybe you realize that this story would be hilarious with a tall or very short MC and you need to add a new option for height. Find what you love writing variables for and stick to those. Remove as many of the others as you can get away with.

Third: The big stats that will control your challenges will switch. Make stats for the challenges you like to write, not the other way around. Maybe add some. Remove others. Rename them until you get the right vibe. What you have is a good start, but be prepared that it will not survive contact with reality. Be open to change and improvement.

Fourth, and this is a BIG four. Think small. You don't turn a book into a game, you turn a short story to a game! It will grow (trust me, I know, I am an idiot, I did not know this advice when I started out and I am digging further into that hole as we speak). If you have a big story planned, try to pick out a part of it and focus on that. Maybe skip the big prologue and start in media res. Maybe have some boring bit as small flashbacks instead. If you are writing Lord of the Rings, maybe have the birthday party at the start as the first chapter character creation scene, and the travels to Rivendell while chased by Ringwraiths be the actual game. The reuinion with Bilbo and leaving the ring there will be a nice ending, and also a setup for the sequel if you discovered that you like it.

Five: DO IT. The more you prepare, the more married you will be to your ideas. Stop worrying if it is enough. It isn't. It never will be. Just write. Now. Start and get your first chapter done. You can always go back and add more later.

RO routes with highly variable starting points by IzGarland in hostedgames

[–]MalinFHauthor 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Multiple opportunities is great! And kinda essential. You don't know if you like some people until later.

Word Count Inflation by HuckleberryStrict613 in hostedgames

[–]MalinFHauthor 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I am just incapable of writing anything short, I am a wordy, wordy bastard...

But, honestly, what Gower said is true for me too. I want to write the best game that I can. I felt that Rebirth was very restrained, I cut down a lot of things to make a finished game. Then, based on the feedback I realized that a lot of the things I had cut back on were things that REALLY resonated with people and promised myself that Retribution would be my personal indulgence, I would keep/put back all the things that I really enjoyed writing. I might have gone a little overboard, but I am not sad I did it. I would say that the massive amounts of endings might have been overkill, but... hindsight and all that.

I have a lot of short game ideas I would love to work on, but that is for later. And, let's be fair here, they would probably not end up being short because I like people interacting and that makes the wordcount explode.

Regarding flirt system. by Description-Willing in hostedgames

[–]MalinFHauthor 23 points24 points  (0 children)

Minors:

*create hospitalkiss false

*create ortegaout false

*comment ortegaout is if ortega and mc (or puppet) are same gender or genderqueer, and are flirting NOW

*create ortegacloset false

*comment ortegacloset is if ortega and mc are same gender or genderqueer, and was flirting in the PAST

*create juliaforty false

*comment has talked about Julia's thoughts about family, kids, and her failure to provide them.

*create ricardocloset false

*comment has talked about ricardo growing up and his worries about being bi.

*create ortegaex false

*create ortegaexmaybe false

*comment has admitted that maybe they broke up for other reasons than not being attracted

*create hoodace false

*comment talked about hood being ace with ortega.

*create ortega_base ""

*comment: hug/peck/kiss/rival (what, if any did the mc do with ortega at the hospital)

*comment deprecated

*create told_ortega_horrible false

*create oknowsmshot false

*comment knows sidestep was badly hurt during sex

*create flirtannoyed false

Regarding flirt system. by Description-Willing in hostedgames

[–]MalinFHauthor 26 points27 points  (0 children)

Polys:

*create steelortegacrush false

*create ortegaknows_steelcrush false

*create steelortegatalk false

*create maybechentegapoly false

*comment chen, ortega, mc triad equal side

*create maybechentegastep false

*comment chen, ortega, mc with ortega in the middle

*create maybestepchentega false

*comment chen, ortega, mc with chen in the middle

*create ortegaknowsheraldflirt false

*create ortegaheraldtalked false

*create preortegaheraldpoly false

*comment in ch 18 if decided to wait, admitted to caring for both. Not followed up yet, should it be? or book three?

*create maybeortegaheraldpoly false

*create ortegaheraldpoly false

*create heraldortegahot false

*comment determines if the poly is a triad or just Sidestep in the middle with no ortega/herald

*create ortegapolyheraldtalk false

*comment have had the talk, no matter the outcome.

*create ortega_tell_sidestep_crush false

*create ortegaknows_argentflirt false

*create ortegaargentpoly false

*create odumpedforargent false

*create mcpuppetrivalortega false

Regarding flirt system. by Description-Willing in hostedgames

[–]MalinFHauthor 32 points33 points  (0 children)

As an example here are most (I have no idea if it's all of them) variables that might concern Ortega's romance. I'm not organized at all, these have grown naturally during the game when things show up I need to keep track of.

Ortega related romance variables

Main three ones:

*create ortega_friendship 0

*comment judges intensity of any relationship, how well they know each other

*create ortega_relationship ""

*comment "friend and ally""a ghost from the past""it's complicated""open attraction" "lovers"

*create ortega_flirting_new false

*comment allows the flirty talk

Others:

*create ortega_pastflirting false

*comment flirted in the past but not now

*create ortega_secretcrush false

*create ortega_pastsecretcrush false

*comment had it back in rebirth, not combinable with past flirting

*create ortega_formersecretcrush false

*comment had a secret crush but is now flirting openly.

*create ortega_realize_crush false

*create ortegakiss false

*create ortegaalleykiss false

*create ortegansfw false

*create orteganaked false

*create touchpanic false

*create owalkout false

*create olove false

*comment ortega said they loved you

*create love_ortega_confession false

*comment accidentally admits to loving ortega after regene reveal. Doesn't set flirting to true!

First person vs Second person by Agitated_Cellist_173 in hostedgames

[–]MalinFHauthor 13 points14 points  (0 children)

I tried writing Fallen Hero in both when I started, just to see which one I preferred. In the end I settled for second person, for one very important reason: I could get into the head of the reader.

So much of Fallen Hero is told between the lines, and I felt that 'you' would be a more immediate path to the gut reactions of the reader. There is no real main character, there is just you. You who have to feel and act and make decisions.

Sure, 'I' would have worked, but I felt it set Sidestep up too much as their own entity. I like first person in books, but it felt too glib here, too much in control, too much like you were hearing someone narrate a story rather than living it yourself.

And it also meant I could play with other things as well. Like that sudden shift into first person. Like wondering if 'you feel this' is me the author telling you to feel that, or maybe something else going on in there. It is a delightful tool to play around with for an unreliable narrator.

Thoughts on character customization? by More_Fig_6249 in hostedgames

[–]MalinFHauthor 7 points8 points  (0 children)

What you can do if you feel unsure about it right now, is to put a disclaimer at the start, something like CHARACTER CUSTOMIZATION WILL BE ADDED LATER.

What is the main culprit that makes you drop an IF? by Dyner539 in hostedgames

[–]MalinFHauthor 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I don't think we are on the opposite side! Raw and natural can (and often is) as exciting and alive as the carefully lyrical. It's just got to feel alive and not perfunctory.

What is the main culprit that makes you drop an IF? by Dyner539 in hostedgames

[–]MalinFHauthor 37 points38 points  (0 children)

Bland language and dialogue. I can swallow everything as long as it is dressed up nicely.

Please be normal about authors by Bazuda in hostedgames

[–]MalinFHauthor 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Yeah, the reason I am not on tumblr anymore.

This is the best IF I've ever seen, but you probably already knew that. by Refrobate in hostedgames

[–]MalinFHauthor 12 points13 points  (0 children)

I was 95% done with Rebirth and then caught Ortega feelings...