Dev Log #4 - Just a guy trying to put smiles on faces.

Hello there, Lucyfar here.

In this dev log I wanna talk about a couple of things: the main character, the main tone of the story, and HS2.

The Main Guy

Let me start by saying you will be able to write your own name and last name when you press New Game; this is already a staple in the AVN world, and it's always cool to name the MC as you like. Having said that, he has a default name, and that name is Alex Grand. A very normal and common name, right? But it's perfect for him and for the story I'm trying to tell.

You will be able to make some decisions that will change his life and put a little of your personality in him, but at the end of the day I can't lie and say there will be a hundred different branches with hundreds of different scenes based on the personality you choose for him. This is my first AVN, and I'm a single developer, so I'm not trying to bite off more than I can chew. Alex has a base personality, which is the foundation for his character as a whole and also for his character arc. You can choose some dialogue options to change how he reacts or responds to some situations and conversations, but most of the time it's not going to branch out into a different route, but you will be able to see different dialogue in the same scene based on your choices.

What I can say about Alex is that he's a kind of "lovable idiot" character; he is not dumb or stupid, but he can be a bit naïve and overpositive, always trying to be a hero and do the right thing. But that won't stop him from punching the bad guys in the face (or slapping some bitch in the ass); he has been training since forever to become a hero and is very proficient in close combat. He just doesn't have any superpower yet; since most people awaken their gifts during puberty and he's already 24 when the story begins, he will start the game as a special person (in this world special people are the ones without a superpower). He's always chasing adrenaline or dangerous situations in the hope that will awaken his powers. My initial idea was to offer three different routes to the player: a hero, an anti-hero, and a villain route, but I quickly realized this would not only put the game in development for ages, but it also wouldn't make much sense with the story and its characters (I'll explain this better in the next topic).

His story begins with Alex working at an insurance company. At 24 years old and with a degree in Heroics (a specialization focused on studying activities, managing, and analyzing superhero data to improve and optimize performance), he was unable to find a job in his field. Stuck in this job and being exploited by a millionaire company, his life will change after a fateful event. The rest is up to you as a player. That was just a quick summary.

Being a "loveable idiot" doesn't mean he's incompetent, by the way. Like I said earlier, he has been preparing to become a hero since he was a kid. He may lack a superpower, but he has the guts and the heart to act when it's needed. He is very creative and knows a lot about superpowers in general and also about hero and villain culture. If you underestimate him, he will kick your ass.

Now I have to be honest and set the right expectations before release, and that takes me to the second topic of today's dev log:

The Main Tone of Empire of Heroes

First I need to quickly talk about superhero comic books, its ages, and how each age has a different vibe and way of telling stories. I'll be very brief since I already wrote a wall of text in this post, and it's not like I have a PhD in comic books either.

So here's the comic books' ages and how they can be summarized:

The Golden Age: Known for its patriotism and simple stories, mostly good vs. evil stories.
The Silver Age: Known for its goofiness and more sci-fi elements. Very colorful and fun.
The Bronze Age: Known for its cultural relevance. Like the X-Men talking about racism with the mutants as a parallel.
The Modern Age: Known for its darker, grittier, and more complex characters and stories. Watchmen is the best example, but this is also when antiheroes started to become more popular, etc...

I may or may not have said some wrong things there, but this is the gist of it. A very quick summary about comic book ages and their influences on vibes and storytelling.

Now where does Empire of Heroes fit in? I can say I do have inspiration from ALL ages, but the age of comic books that most influences the tone of the game is definitely The Silver Age.

*DAM DAM DAM*

Shocking, I know. Does that mean Empire of Heroes is a goofy-ass and stupid game? No. The best way to describe EoH would be like "A superhero comedy romance with action, drama, and mystery that focuses on putting a smile on your face and a boner in your pants."

So there's that; the main genre of the game is comedy and then romance. It doesn't mean the story isn't serious because you can have seriousness in a comedy story. So there will be stupid moments, and maybe you will have to use your suspension of disbelief sometimes, but I'm doing my best so even if something surreal happens, it will make sense in the story and the world the story takes place in. Maybe it wouldn't make sense in OUR world, but in a fictional world with superpowers, magic, aliens, and giant monsters, it does.

I felt the need to talk about that because I saw some comments saying they were thinking EoH was going to be a dark, gritty, and overly serious superhero story (like Man of Steel or something), and I'm not saying I don't like those types of stories; I even used some serious comic books as references for EoH in a post (Invincible, The Boys, The Walking Dead, etc.), but I also talked about Scott Pilgrim and Tokusatsu, so there's that :)

As a theater actor, I studied the old Greek comedy tragedies, and I fell in love with them. There's something very unique about a story with big comedy moments and, at the same time, big drama moments. I personally love this, and at the end of the day, I am also making a game that I would like to play.

I hope I have not disappointed anyone; if I have, I apologize for not being clear from the start about the tone of Empire of Heroes. I am also learning and improving on how to connect with my audience, so let me know in the comments what your opinion is about this.

Oh yes, I said something about HS2, right? Okay then:

Honey Select 2

I hate when this app bugs out and I lose a whole scene and have to start from scratch. That's it. Just wanted to vent :)

See you.