![]() A common check to see in the game’s code is to check if the different between the opposing variables is greater than or equal to a fixed value.įor example, take this line of code from the beginning of the game, after Tabitha has finished showing you around the Scarlet estate. Note that the trait pairs are not mutually exclusive – you can have points in both insightful and dull with the same character, depending on your choices.Īctions and dialogue change based on these variables and the differences between them. The traits are never shown in-game, but are labeled in the game’s code as follows: Scarlet Hollow, by contrast, uses an array of relationship values consisting of five pairs of traits (that’s ten traits for each character). Even WolfQuest, an educational game where every character is – you guessed it – a wolf, uses a progressive scale to show how much other wolves like you. But it’s not limited to BioWare – Expeditions: Viking uses the morale system to track how much your followers like you, and Oxenfree’s character relationships generally exist on a “likes you – doesn’t like you” scale (except for Clarissa, who never likes you). Games like Mass Effect, Dragon Age, and Star Wars: The Old Republic are notable for this, variable character relationships being something of a BioWare staple. It’s a tried and true method that creates reasonable progression without investing too many resources into a mechanic that, being honest, is probably not the focus of the dev team. Many games score relationships on a simple scale – the more points you have, the better your relationship. But it’s not the number of relationships that impresses me about Scarlet Hollow, rather, it’s the way they’re tracked that caught my notice. There are other character relationships to manage – Avery and Oscar are the most obvious, but Duke and Reese also have relationship values in the game’s code. ![]() On the other hand, I was surprised at how well my character got along with Kaneeka. As much as I liked Stella, my character was more interested in getting out of town, which allied me with Kaneeka Tabitha’s general demeanor made it harder for me to figure out the “right” dialogue options to win her approval – and when it was clear, it usually meant being mean to another character whose friendship I was trying to cultivate. On my first playthrough, I spent most of my time struggling to balance my relationships with the three main characters – Stella, Kaneeka, and Tabitha. In case you’re wondering what my personal opinion of the game is… Let’s see if it lives up to the type, and if so, how. It’s a narrative-heavy horror game billed as having meaningful choices and complex relationships. Scarlet Hollow was released by Black Tabby Games, a married team of game developers named Tony and Abby. In honor of the fourth episode of Scarlet Hollow coming out on November 30th (EDIT: the fourth episode has been delayed until December 3rd), I decided to sit down and take a close look at the first three episodes.
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