Just A Silly Based On This Post

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!

Medium

Creating a dynamic relationship system in Scarlet Hollow

In our first run at figuring out the relationship system for Scarlet Hollow (play Episode 1 for free on Steam), we tried a kind of Dragon…

Or if you haven't played the game, try episode 1 for free!

It’s so crazy that Luke Skywalker thought his dad was just some freighter pilot and yet also claimed to be a podracing fan how did he not think to look at the records and see his dad was the only human to ever win the Boonta Eve Classic the legend who defeated the great Sebulba #FakeFan

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.

Wyll romance as The Dark Urge is so funny cuz he’s trying his hardest to live his fairytale fantasy, meanwhile Durge is out there saying the most unhinged things and barely preventing themselves from going on a killing spree

some fucking resources for all ur writing fuckin needs

* body language masterlist

* a translator that doesn’t eat ass like google translate does

* a reverse dictionary for when ur brain freezes

* 550 words to say instead of fuckin said

* 638 character traits for when ur brain freezes again

* some more body language help

(hope this helps some ppl)

Got inspired, made something, hope you enjoy.

Pretty accurate if I do say so myself.

I think it's fun that the titular dragons of Dragon Age ARE mysteriously coming back from extinction, but that is (1) never explained and (2) never plot relevant. It's like if during a major apocalyptic event, you just randomly started seeing dodos again. like hey that's neat. anyways

saying I miss a character is so funny I don't even know what I mean. I could engage with the media anytime. i could even read or even WRITE fanfic. but man. i miss the character

For freedom