FenCayne
Feb 17, 2013
So far in these Sneak Previews we have discussed Roger Steel's background and seen him in, uh, action, if that's the right word. However, the heart of any Winter Wolves game lies in the relationships formed between the characters you'll meet as you progress through the adventure.
In this respect, we hope Roger Steel won't disappoint. As well as an international cast of colourful characters roaming across some pretty exotic locations, the game will also implement what we hope to be an interesting and very replayable relationship system.
As you know, players will be guiding either Ann or Arthur Trevelyan in search of their kidnapped sibling. For various reasons, at the point of the kidnapping, the atmosphere between brother and sister has become rather strained and the crisis takes place at a low point at their relationship. Things can only get better right?
Well, maybe. As the remaining sibling embarks on their quest they will enlist the help of a varied cast of characters, each with their own motives for joining the party. Regrettably, none of the motives have much to do with the milk of human kindness and altruism. So not only will Ann or Arthur have to figure out what happened to their brother or sister, for maximum party effectiveness they will have to interact with and coordinate a disparate group of strangers ... each of whom is pursuing their individual agenda and have their own preferences or prejudices regarding their companions.
Through conversations, conducted in the evenings and quiet moments in their travels, the player will have an opportunity to get to know their companions, figure out their quirks and desires, and try to build or maintain friendships while perhaps conducting a romance or two on the side. The goal is to give those who let the chips fall where they may, or even purposefully cause dissension in the ranks, a quite different experience from those who strive to lead a united party, whether or not romance is part of the adventure.
ValHallen
Feb 17, 2013
now you are just being mean
you say there will be a varied cast of characters, but said nothing about them =(
jack1974
Feb 17, 2013
Haha please don't be angry
the sneak previews is something we decided to do even if we knew that in the beginning there wasn't much to show. Mostly to keep update of the progress...
In this specific case, about the characters, I told him to wait to introduce them because I want to have the lineart or at least the sketches. Is more cool to talk about a character and look also at the picture, rather than text only.
FenCayne
Feb 17, 2013
now you are just being mean
you say there will be a varied cast of characters, but said nothing about them =(
Sorry about that.
I try to keep the Sneak Previews from being a wall of text and also, as Jack said, we would like to introduce characters alongside their artwork. However, I'm thinking that next week I might introduce you to the four friends at the heart of the story and their relationship to each other ...
Uh, I just realized that's more teasing. More apologies. I can be a bit of a bastard at times.
ValHallen
Feb 18, 2013
so whar are you saing in the sneak preview is that we cant have all ou party members with us by the end of the game, since helping one of them might annoy another ans that person will leave the party? so we should think careful about our decisions because they can make someone betray us?
if it is what you want to say, well it will be awesome
jack1974
Feb 18, 2013
Yes in practice you'll have to do real "party management". In my other RPGs, even if you pissed someone, they consequences weren't too bad. With this game we want to try something new. There will still be the possibility to have an ending where everyone (or almost!) is together, but at certain points of the story you'll have to make "tough choices" and pick your side, befriending some people and making others angry
ValHallen
Feb 18, 2013
Yes in practice you'll have to do real "party management". In my other RPGs, even if you pissed someone, they consequences weren't too bad. With this game we want to try something new. There will still be the possibility to have an ending where everyone (or almost!) is together, but at certain points of the story you'll have to make "tough choices" and pick your side, befriending some people and making others angry
i hope we will lose at least one or two members, since if there is a perfect ending, the majority of the players will have that ending and will not try the others
jack1974
Feb 18, 2013
I never said that the perfect ending will be EASY to get
MarSel
Feb 19, 2013
Sounds like my kind of game (even more!) I love games ( I know it's not quite the same) where you have to pick and choose which members to get and no way can you get them all but a party where you can't keep them all sounds good too
biscuit
Feb 19, 2013
Sounds like LOADS of replay value. :O
Do you get the opportunity to pick/choose your character's personality, or is it more a decision-making process that you do? (ie: being friendly/joking/stern, like in Loren, or more 'I make the big decisions, but other than that, my personality stays the same') kind of deal, like in... uh, can't think of any good examples on that last one, really. (Maybe the Scheherezade game?)
jack1974
Feb 19, 2013
No will be like Loren, each decision will shape your personality/relationships with the other characters. There will be a similar character creation in the beginning too, where you choose the class, attributes, backstory etc by answering some questions (or telling the story of your life to someone).
Foelhe
Feb 19, 2013
No will be like Loren, each decision will shape your personality/relationships with the other characters. There will be a similar character creation in the beginning too, where you choose the class, attributes, backstory etc by answering some questions (or telling the story of your life to someone).
I was wondering how that was going to work. You mentioned on the blog that Ann had just been in a "forbidden affair", I'm guessing you get to decide on the details if you're playing her? Any other examples you can give for this?
jack1974
Feb 19, 2013
I'll leave this to Fen if he has time to reply, but maybe he is planning to talk about this in a future sneak preview (I don't know the content of the previews myself, he sends them to me each week).
Foelhe
Feb 19, 2013
Right, sorry. I was going to ask that when you guys started talking about the main characters, but when you mentioned the questions in the beginning I couldn't help but jump in.
I imagine I'll be asking a lot more questions when you guys start discussing details - for now I'm just trying to be patient.
MarSel
Feb 20, 2013
Oh oh I have a question! I like Loren's personality change BUT It didn't change the way the romances work, will it this time? Like for example (Jade Empire) If you were evil you could turn Dawn Star and Silk Fox evil too. What I'm wondering is with the different personality will the characters like or dislike you more? I'm not explaining it right let me try this.
Will a certain character NOT like you if you are too nice (or visa versa) Like in Star Wars The knights of the old republic if you were "dark" (evil) the "Light" (good) characters wouldn't like you at all or at least not as must.
Sorry rambling I just love games like this!
MarSel
Feb 20, 2013
And I know this will be in a later preview but what classes will there be? A unique kickass power for the MC this time. Healing is great but the MC should always be the most all out powerful Character at the end, if not most the way through the game.
jack1974
Feb 20, 2013
Since the game is set in an alternate reality, there will be "professions". So you can have secret agents, nurses (heheh
), journalists, etc. However we'll probably indicate a "class equivalent" in the character screen to make it easier to understand. Right now the plan is to have Warrior, Thief and three variants of the Mage. Scientists, which can be: Healer, Naturalist, Technologist.
Of course everything is just work-in-progress so might change. As for the alignment yes, characters have specific alignment: there are some good people and some "evil" ones and they'll react differently to your actions. By evil I mean more selfish of course, it's not like you'll have a serial killer in your party... at least I think
deathknight1728
Feb 20, 2013
Since the game is set in an alternate reality, there will be "professions". So you can have secret agents, nurses (heheh ), journalists, etc. However we'll probably indicate a "class equivalent" in the character screen to make it easier to understand. Right now the plan is to have Warrior, Thief and three variants of the Mage. Scientists, which can be: Healer, Naturalist, Technologist.
Of course everything is just work-in-progress so might change. As for the alignment yes, characters have specific alignment: there are some good people and some "evil" ones and they'll react differently to your actions. By evil I mean more selfish of course, it's not like you'll have a serial killer in your party... at least I think
Sometimes when a serial killer/extremely negative character is in party it can cause MAJOR problems. I had a guy named zert from Temple of elemental evil in my party and he crashed my game for me. I was in a dungeon fight with some bandits and he just flat out left the party and backstabbed my rogue killing him and making my experience awful.
I had to laugh though as I read gamefaqs and got to the part where it said Zert is the traitor of the module. It still never explained why he was evil as it didnt make much sense that he would be working for undead or kobold bandits
P_Tigras
Feb 20, 2013
Since the game is set in an alternate reality, there will be "professions". So you can have secret agents, nurses (heheh ), journalists, etc. However we'll probably indicate a "class equivalent" in the character screen to make it easier to understand. Right now the plan is to have Warrior, Thief and three variants of the Mage. Scientists, which can be: Healer, Naturalist, Technologist.
Of course everything is just work-in-progress so might change. As for the alignment yes, characters have specific alignment: there are some good people and some "evil" ones and they'll react differently to your actions. By evil I mean more selfish of course, it's not like you'll have a serial killer in your party... at least I think
Sometimes when a serial killer/extremely negative character is in party it can cause MAJOR problems. I had a guy named zert from Temple of elemental evil in my party and he crashed my game for me. I was in a dungeon fight with some bandits and he just flat out left the party and backstabbed my rogue killing him and making my experience awful.
I had to laugh though as I read gamefaqs and got to the part where it said Zert is the traitor of the module. It still never explained why he was evil as it didnt make much sense that he would be working for undead or kobold bandits
Good old Zert... He was a "chaotic evil spy" for the Temple of Elemental Evil pretending to be a bored caravan guard interested in some adventuring while awaiting the arrival of his caravan. It was his job to not only spy on, but also to sabotage and destroy adventuring parties that decided to snoop around the ruined moathouse, and possibly other Temple interests. He wasn't working for or with the undead or kobolds per say, they were just the outer defenses, adventurer fodder if you will, that his bosses had set up. He wasn't stupid enough to take the adventurers on all by his lonesome, so he'd wait until they were otherwise occupied in battle and betray them. Although, to be completely honest, I never played the computer game, I just DM'd the original D&D tabletop module from which it was derived. There weren't any kobolds in the original module, but there were plenty of human bandits and undead.
Pace675
Feb 21, 2013
I am quietly sitting on the side lines as the writer tantalizing teases us with tasty tid bits of what lays in store for us. All I have to say is I am liking what is developing here. But what now has me thinking is the number of weeks till we get to the final bit of info. Heh we all know what assuming does so got to ask is that a goal for a approximate release time after the last bit of a teaser?
