Proof of Life #99: Finished with the Gist of the Story
Added 2021-10-25 18:36:29 +0000 UTCHeya guys and gals, another (Mon)day, another PoL post!
About HC2's development
-!Some minor plot spoilers below!-
The story part is done. I only need to test it out, and then I'll start with the freeroam part. My main worries while developing the story were
1)should I add any sex scenes in the beginning, even if they're a bit shoehorned into it? I decided not to, because I thought that instead of spending time doing scenes people wouldn't care about, I'd rather do a story-only segment, and then only insert sex scenes in the freeroam section with characters that mattered more. Hopefully, the story bit is interesting enough to avoid boring players halfway through and have them press skip. Hopefully!^^
2)(spoiler?/on)
Celis. I know a lot of people reached a point where they started to hate her, but I still think there is hope for her. The issue is: how to write a redemption arc that would seem believable and convincing enough, yet avoid completely overdoing it to the point that it would be cringy? I didn't think it would be so tough. As always, you people will be the final judges.
(spoiler?/off)
Onto the scenes now! Ha!
About HC3's development
I really hoped I could show you the two remaining side-characters of HC3, but the gnome does indeed take more time to make than the rest. Besides, her haircut is slightly more complicated to make than the others. The nun is ready though, but I'll show them both next week. Look forward to that : )
Thank you for reading, and have a wonderful week!
N_Taii
Comments
1. Perhaps I am remembering incorrectly (I play far to many NTR themed games, so I might be confusing scenes) but I do remember during the first 1 way mirror scene that Celis was getting off to sneaking behind Noah's back, even talking to Noah (though, she knew he couldn't hear). Though not shown, I believe she and Edwyr kept sneaking off for quickies as well. The changing room scene could also be considered an example. So wouldn't be surprised if a part of her developed a fetish for the sneaking/cheating part of it all, even if she felt guilty afterwards. Now there are many ways this fetish could play out. One is Noah using her to score other girls, but another is her getting off to seeing other girls fall to Noah. It could also mean she likes getting off in secret when other people are around (like with the table scene). So you could still use it for a 'happy' ending sort of way. 2. Not fixed, but she would be less corrupted at earlier stages of the story. Just highlighting that you could introduce endings at different stages of the story to make certain types of endings easier. More does complicate things though, as I understood Zeno's ability to stay ahead of Noah was because of her special connection to both of them. Personally, I would prefer Noah to corrupt Celis rather then receiving Edwyr's sloppy seconds but thats just a personal taste thing haha.
Lyaruil
2021-10-30 18:58:34 +0000 UTC1. If I remember well enough, I don't think Celis has ever mentioned the cheating element of sex aroused her. Actually, she's always felt guilty about that. However, she's come to enjoy being dominated and "used", which doesn't require cheating. 2. True, but I don't think it is something that can be easily fixed even when introducing choices at earlier stages of the story. One would need an entirely separate storyline (which I know you've been advocating for^^) to make it really work. Well, since I want the non-NTR route to be a happy ending, even if it has to be a tiny bit cliché, I'd rather avoid any power trip or characters using each other. But I agree that Celis has a long way to go before being forgiven - or more likely before she can forgive herself. Still, it isn't incompatible with a happy ending : )
N_taii
2021-10-30 18:09:02 +0000 UTCOh, I think so too, looking forward to seeing it :)
Arthur Kord
2021-10-27 19:21:33 +0000 UTC1. That is true, which is why I brought it up as a plot point that will need to be addressed if you want to cover all bases. That is minor, though, when compared to the addiction she may have gotten from secretive and cheating based sex (which is a fetish some people can develop, especially in Celis's case). 2. Agreed - my worry is more about doing it in a single update and not feeling rushed. The NTR ending had a lot of build up and the revenge ending had decent build up but could of easily been extended. Might of been easier to trigger the non-ntr route from an earlier part of the story, when corruption and guilty actions were less. Overall - I don't think Celis deserves to be hated, but not necessarily forgiven. Maybe Noah could of got addicted to having power over Celis as she tries for forgiveness could work - allow for an escalation in acts. For example, having Celis seduce/distract Goras while Noah has fun with Solana and so on.
Lyaruil
2021-10-27 18:50:02 +0000 UTC1. Well, we have plenty of people in the real world being in an abusive relationship and believing that they have feeling for the other person, while in reality they have been manipulated into thinking that way. Once they are out of said relationship, they realize that more easily. 2. I understand what you mean, but several elements can accounted for when making the non-NTR ending, such as Noah's several attempts at countering Zeno towards the end, or whether he has decided to let Celis join him or not before heading towards the council. I think if we take them into account, then a happy ending for Noah can make sense : )
N_taii
2021-10-27 18:14:55 +0000 UTCThat was what I was aiming for, yes. But from the feedback I have gotten, it seems players' perspective is somewhat different from what I actually wanted to portray. I never hate the characters I make, even the villains, but I am aware this is definitely not the case for the players, so I rely a lot more on their opinion to adapt the story and make it as believable and satisfying as possible. Some people have mentioned they thought Celis was beyond redemption, and I'm trying to prove them wrong, kind of^^
N_taii
2021-10-27 18:07:34 +0000 UTCThank you for your input! Although it's not really my place to say it, I believe the majority of the boxes have been checked among what you said would be necessary for a redemption arc. The main issue that remains is not overdoing it, and maintaining a good balance between redemption elements and story progresssion, and not focus too much on one to the point that it would be detrimental for the other. We'll see^^
N_taii
2021-10-27 17:58:53 +0000 UTCApart from what has been said by others already, there are two other hurdles that a non-ntr Celis storyline would have to overcome. 1. Celis herself said she had feelings for Edwyr during the revenge ending. That won't change in the Non-NTR route. Celis corruption has progressed far enough that she probably won't be satisfied with Noah physically. 2. Noah lacks the character progression provided to him via the NTR route. This, as is usually the case in NTR storylines, will usually result in a heroine that stays with the MC but cheats on the side. Single update to account for both of these might be a tall order but probably possible with timeskips I guess.
Lyaruil
2021-10-27 02:33:33 +0000 UTCI'm confused. All of the girls have slowly become more and more corrupted by pleasure (which is what we are all here for) and Celis is no different. This slow corruption does not make her evil or uncaring any more so than the rest of the cast. Also prior to ending choices there is a scene(s) that show her still caring about the MC despite what she herself has been through. This is just my personal take obviously but I think Celis's redemption is as simple as whether MC forgives her (which I assume he does in good end)
Kyle
2021-10-27 00:06:20 +0000 UTCAlso, I think it is important that in a character redemption arc, that the consequences of a character's actions still haunts them after the fact.
Arthur Kord
2021-10-26 13:02:46 +0000 UTC(spoilers) 1) I think it wouldn’t be worth putting a sex scene at the beginning unless it is directly related to the plot. That being said, if there is some way to add a related sex scene, I’d say go for it. I’d rather an extra scene in the free roam if I had the choice. 2) As for Celis, I would say that redeeming her at this point is going to be hard. With redemption arcs, you have to ask: what changed for a character to want to make a change. Is it their view of themselves (e.g. I have been doing bad things), is it their view of the world (e.g. the people around me have been manipulating me), or have the stakes changed (e.g. if I don’t turn a new leaf now, everything I care about is going to end). Or is it some combination of the three? In Celis’ case I think you need to give her some sort of self-awareness that she has up until this point lacked (albeit she lacked it to service the plot). I think that it would be very hard finish a redemption arc at this point, but you can definitely start one. Have Celis realise the errors of her ways and begin to make amends and even have her continue to try to make amends at the end of the story, realising that what she has done to help up to this point hasn’t made up for the pain she has already cause. But hey, it’s your story, I am just looking forward to reading it :P (/spoilers)
Arthur Kord
2021-10-26 12:53:48 +0000 UTC
