kircholm
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Some thoughts about the choices
🕑 Added 2021-04-22 07:17:45 +0000 UTCI want to share some thoughts about the choices in my game. I try to make The Parity a complex story that players can shape. Of course, it's not a sandbox, so you get some version of the same story. Some events will occur besides players' actions.
How I plan the plot
Firstly, I need to tell you about the construction of the plot. I owe much to the authors of the RPG tabletop games from the Powered by Apocalypse franchise. There is a tool for Game Masters to predict the future plot - in the Monster of the Week is Countdown, in the Dungeon World we have the Fronts. In short, you have to establish the events that will happen if players don't interfere. Then you need to write down the requirements for them to happen. As I have them for the game, I put them in the story about Pauline.
As there are many factions in the game, and each of them has its own countdown, it gives the illusion of the living world. I think it worked well with the elections' path. You don't have much information about it until chapter 8, but you saw some scenes on the horizon.
I separate the knowledge of the player from the knowledge of the character. Some of you could be surprised why David bets on Robert's homosexual activities and then he torments Pauline if she has sex with Martha - but it's not an error. You don't know David's plan yet.
The struggles of the main cast
There are the members of the main cast between those countdowns. Every character has its own path. I haven't defined it too specific, but some of them you already saw. Caroline wants to change back, Olivier is scared by the opportunities of his new life, Martha deals with the life after fulfillment of her wish, etc. Their struggles sometimes cross the main countdowns and make space for meaningful choices that deeply affected the plot. For now, there are two such important choices - if Olivier freed Pauline from the influence of the Parity and if Caroline drops school.
And there are of course plenty of minor choices that affect the story of Pauline and her relations.
Some of you expect the alternative line, when Paul changes in the first chapter, Olivia and Carl don't change. I think that you got enough explanation for why it couldn't happen. :) I mean, there is a lot of potential in such a story. I believe that Olivia would convince Justin (and maybe even Pauline's father - he could be "an adult who believed" in the Stranger Things' style) to rescue Pauline from the influence of the Parity. We know that's possible. But it would be a completely different story, with completely different countdowns and struggles.
The type of the hero(ine)
I like how the Approaches work. I took them from the Fate Accelerated, but they work differently in the Parity. As I have three paths I test (my personal path, the struggle path, and the complete acceptance path), I sometimes have an impression that I see three different stories. Of course, it's still Pauline with her beliefs and disadvantages, but the Approaches really make the difference in the game. And gaining Approaches make many minor choices meaningful. Of course, during the game get's harder to switch between them (however, it's still possible to have them balanced in chapter 8), but it serves the story.
But I wanted to have some things unchangeable. For example, the Parity is not a story about bad parents. Of course, you met Olivier's parents (wait for Justin's parents :v), but they are rather the part of the setting that something affecting the core. Pauline's parents love her and support her, even if they don't always understand her. She feels safe in their company and she doesn't hesitate to express her own opinion. I was afraid that Pauline's mother will be an unbalanced, negative character. But damn, she can apologize, so she can't be evil. :)
Yes; yes, but;
The other thing I owe Powered by the Apocalypse tabletop games is a system of the outcomes. I don't use it every time, but it serves well. An example of his use is the struggle with the Parity. Olivier can free Pauline, and it's simple to achieve it in chapter 6. But if we refuse to take this easier path, we can have sex with him after the struggle against Bimbo-Pauline in chapter 8. So, it will happen, but the other things can be the consequence of our delayed decision. If Olivier won't help us, we will have new information about Robert's path, which would be important in the further plot.
The other example is the broken mirror in the girls' restroom. However is determined that this mirror must break, you can see a big difference if Paul or Robert breaks it.
Switches
I like the mechanics of the switches (those events in the green frames, where you get points for the previous choices). First of all, they are simple to code. :P The players make some choices, so they get the outcome. You can see how many choices matter which is important. I still remember one of the reviews (around chapter 3) where the reviewer said that he/she didn't know if the choices affected the story. I try much to endure the charge of the railroading. ;)
And the other thing - it's understandable for everyone. I wanted to avoid the common mistake of many game creators. They hide the meaningful choices so completely that I have no idea how to replay those games - or maybe I'm just too stupid to find them. Mechanics in The Parity have to serve the story, but I want to put players in charge. Of course, some paths are challenging, but it's good. One of my goals is to encourage you to play more than once.
To the very end
The Parity is a long story. When I talk about it to my friends, I usually introudce its has 4 elements: YA novel, queer horror, the mix of King's and Lovecraftian horror, and the reportage about modern Poland. Many things in the story and the mechanics work well because it's so long. Paradoxically, it's easier for me to write a long story, because I can keep the scripts and mechanics easy. It's a really extensive game. :) I have space for the descriptions and plot twists, I can introduce you to the setting and genre.
I think that it would be even longer than I expected in the beginning. I think about 24 chapters now, but the finishing of the plot is just one thing. Such a story needs a satisfying epilogue. I think that every ending will have its own chapter. I want to show Pauline and Justin in Lisbon or Pauline and Martha as leading divers. I'm that kind of guy who still waits for the next film with Arnold Schwarzenegger as an old Conan :P (and I signed the petition to remake the last season of the Game of Thrones). So there is a chance that after the main plot I will have 6 months of writing the endings. Well, that was my choice. :)
