So one of my friends is going to school to be a game designer (programming), and we occasionally like to just talk about if we were able to make any kind of game we wanted. I did most of the talking today, and I described an idea I've had for a "storyline"/plot line in a game for a long time.
The kind of game is less important this discussion, but it would be kind of a Witcher 2/Dragon Age: Origins/Record of Agarest War influenced RPG for reference. (Witcher 2 world/look and tone, Dragon Age style combat and characters, with a bit of Record for relationships)
Important to note that with the noted exceptions, the player character's gender wouldn't matter - males and females would experience the same thing.
The basic idea is that starting from the beginning of the game, the PC would get quests from a certain "obsessed" person would proclaim their love and devotion to the PC, but wouldn't be someone the PC is interested in - but might still be interested in helping for the reward for that particular quest.
About 45% of the way through the game, the player would get a quest to go back to the town where this person is. when they get there they'll find nothing but blood and body parts everywhere, leading to the town square where the PC finds the person in question in the middle of the town square, standing in a sort of demonic blood-circle design. After some mad rambling about how much they love you, and the PC not buying it (obviously) they decide that they're going to "make you love them" and they "activate" (for lack of a better word) the circle, causing you to be blinded by this deep red light. When you're vision finally clears, you see that the person who summoned you there is dead (gashes all over the body, blood having left the premises dead) and in the center of circle is a naked (attractive woman). At this point to the player two things would stand out right away - her slit pupils and deep red hair; things the player would've learned to associate with the supernatural and enemies by now. At this point what happens would be up to the player; some would give into their instincts and attack, triggering a boss battle and ending the plot line permanently.
However those who stay their hand and try to interact with her find something else; she smiles and looks happy to see you, then hugs you. She doesn't seem to able to speak yet, but she makes sounds and squeaks and other noises to indicate her mood etc. and what she wants. At this point the PC would bring her back to the rest of the part, where s/he would have to try and convince everyone in their part of what just happened, etc.
From here the woman becomes the PC's constant companion, following her/him everywhere, regardless of other followers. She appears to be a blank slate; though intelligent she doesn't seem to have a concept of right and wrong; and guess who she learns how to act from? That's right; the Player.
Over the course of the game she tries to learn how to act by watching the player act; if the player is nice to other people, she tries to be nice to other people too (often in a ham-handed way). If she sees the player stealing things, she assumes that its okay for her to steal too; even her attitude towards clothes is dictated by the player. (IE: If the player runs around in his/her birthday suit). Her behavior determines how the party and townsfolk accept her; is she a welcome part of the community, or do people in towns you've never even been to get the torches and pitchforks out to kill her just on reputation alone?
By the end of the game the player will have seen her grown and develop, learning to speak and what she really is, etc. and having her interact with other party members etc. At the end of the game, when the player finally has to stop being wishy-washy and dodging the question if they have the entire time the game has been going on; pick the person they want o marry.
At this point, along with the other "normal" options, assuming the player hasn't been a raging asshole to her, the woman is available as one of the options. to marry and have kids with. Obviously in order to get that last bit, you have to have sex with her.
I hadn't really elaborated much past that point, but that was the general jist of the idea. But that last part is what got my friend and the other person in the party talking.
The general flow of the debate was alone the lines of "Its either going to be way too TnA and fanservice-y and cheap and people won't like it, or you'd wind up on Fox News for creating the perfect sex slave. (Probably both)" and "Lets be honest - its too mature for most gamers to be able to handle like adults" among other things.
So I brought it here for you guys to discuss. I put it here because this could easily be translated to something like a book or movie, not just a game. Is something like this too "fanservice-y" even if the tone of the whole game is serious? Are gamers not mature enough to be able to handle this kind of thing as a major plot point/responsibility?
Some thins to get the conversation rolling:
1: The method of her "birth" and her early behavior might lead to some thinking this is a child, even though she very clearly has an adult body, is far more intelligent than a child and eventually acts and behaves like a mature adult. Is this an actual issue, or just something people would be picking on?
2: Would this be too TnA and out-of-place in a serious game, even if it seems that its' being handled in a serious way?
3: Is the fact that its a female regardless of the player character's gender actually offensive, or is it more important to have a consistent, predictable character (not to mention being easier to write and make) regardless of people's personal tastes on the matter?
CAPTCHA: How Interesting.
Damn straight. Even the machine thinks this is good.
The kind of game is less important this discussion, but it would be kind of a Witcher 2/Dragon Age: Origins/Record of Agarest War influenced RPG for reference. (Witcher 2 world/look and tone, Dragon Age style combat and characters, with a bit of Record for relationships)
Important to note that with the noted exceptions, the player character's gender wouldn't matter - males and females would experience the same thing.
The basic idea is that starting from the beginning of the game, the PC would get quests from a certain "obsessed" person would proclaim their love and devotion to the PC, but wouldn't be someone the PC is interested in - but might still be interested in helping for the reward for that particular quest.
About 45% of the way through the game, the player would get a quest to go back to the town where this person is. when they get there they'll find nothing but blood and body parts everywhere, leading to the town square where the PC finds the person in question in the middle of the town square, standing in a sort of demonic blood-circle design. After some mad rambling about how much they love you, and the PC not buying it (obviously) they decide that they're going to "make you love them" and they "activate" (for lack of a better word) the circle, causing you to be blinded by this deep red light. When you're vision finally clears, you see that the person who summoned you there is dead (gashes all over the body, blood having left the premises dead) and in the center of circle is a naked (attractive woman). At this point to the player two things would stand out right away - her slit pupils and deep red hair; things the player would've learned to associate with the supernatural and enemies by now. At this point what happens would be up to the player; some would give into their instincts and attack, triggering a boss battle and ending the plot line permanently.
However those who stay their hand and try to interact with her find something else; she smiles and looks happy to see you, then hugs you. She doesn't seem to able to speak yet, but she makes sounds and squeaks and other noises to indicate her mood etc. and what she wants. At this point the PC would bring her back to the rest of the part, where s/he would have to try and convince everyone in their part of what just happened, etc.
From here the woman becomes the PC's constant companion, following her/him everywhere, regardless of other followers. She appears to be a blank slate; though intelligent she doesn't seem to have a concept of right and wrong; and guess who she learns how to act from? That's right; the Player.
Over the course of the game she tries to learn how to act by watching the player act; if the player is nice to other people, she tries to be nice to other people too (often in a ham-handed way). If she sees the player stealing things, she assumes that its okay for her to steal too; even her attitude towards clothes is dictated by the player. (IE: If the player runs around in his/her birthday suit). Her behavior determines how the party and townsfolk accept her; is she a welcome part of the community, or do people in towns you've never even been to get the torches and pitchforks out to kill her just on reputation alone?
By the end of the game the player will have seen her grown and develop, learning to speak and what she really is, etc. and having her interact with other party members etc. At the end of the game, when the player finally has to stop being wishy-washy and dodging the question if they have the entire time the game has been going on; pick the person they want o marry.
At this point, along with the other "normal" options, assuming the player hasn't been a raging asshole to her, the woman is available as one of the options. to marry and have kids with. Obviously in order to get that last bit, you have to have sex with her.
I hadn't really elaborated much past that point, but that was the general jist of the idea. But that last part is what got my friend and the other person in the party talking.
The general flow of the debate was alone the lines of "Its either going to be way too TnA and fanservice-y and cheap and people won't like it, or you'd wind up on Fox News for creating the perfect sex slave. (Probably both)" and "Lets be honest - its too mature for most gamers to be able to handle like adults" among other things.
So I brought it here for you guys to discuss. I put it here because this could easily be translated to something like a book or movie, not just a game. Is something like this too "fanservice-y" even if the tone of the whole game is serious? Are gamers not mature enough to be able to handle this kind of thing as a major plot point/responsibility?
Some thins to get the conversation rolling:
1: The method of her "birth" and her early behavior might lead to some thinking this is a child, even though she very clearly has an adult body, is far more intelligent than a child and eventually acts and behaves like a mature adult. Is this an actual issue, or just something people would be picking on?
2: Would this be too TnA and out-of-place in a serious game, even if it seems that its' being handled in a serious way?
3: Is the fact that its a female regardless of the player character's gender actually offensive, or is it more important to have a consistent, predictable character (not to mention being easier to write and make) regardless of people's personal tastes on the matter?
CAPTCHA: How Interesting.
Damn straight. Even the machine thinks this is good.
