Weekly rambling

So, I’ve been super inspired and made great progress. Progress on coding (Twine doesn’t feel as clunky and I’m getting the hang of it), on gameplay, and plotting.

I think that the coding has been sluggish partly because I had no idea what to do with the stats. I mean, that does have the tendency to slow things down. The other problem was Twine, too, but that was to be expected. When I was writing the earlier chapters, I highly disliked the opposite stats I used. With some stats it works, with others not so much. Do I need both disciplined and stoic stats? They’re not the same but they’re different enough so what should I do with them? I kept forgetting to use some of them, and kept being annoyed at how to track the stats properly.

The answer came to me in the form of elements.

Now, there are four personality types: fire, air, earth, and water. Those might be familiar to some from modern astrology. However, I will make them my own. They could affect the gameplay in the form of Hati’s powers, too. That’s to be seen, but it’s an interesting thought that I will likely explore further.

Anyway, here’s a quick summary of how the Hatis differentiate from each other:

Fire Hati: Undisciplined, bold, prone to emotional turmoil.
Earth Hati: Disciplined, stoic.
Water Hati: Mellow, empathetic.
Air Hati: Observes, deflects.

And just so you won’t think that I’m restricting your gameplay, here’s an example of how the stats work when it comes to manipulation:

In the update, you can be asked what your relationship with Marcus is. Then, you can choose to think that you want to kill him (who wouldn’t?). Then, this follows:

(Earth:)

Briefly reminisce in the thought of killing Marcus but my features give nothing away.

[[It would be just.]]

(Fire:)

“I’ll be close with him when my dagger pierces his belly.”

[[Did I say that out loud...?]]

(Air:)

Briefly reminisce in the thought of killing Marcus. But this is not the time.

[[Change the subject.]]

(Water:)

If I opened my mouth right now, I would most likely incriminate myself. Lies don't leave me easily.

[[Instead, I give him a smile.]]

(none of the stats are dominant:)

I’m unsure what to say, how to answer the question without incriminating myself.

[[He gives me a long look.]]

So, earth is disciplined and can hide their feelings and lie to people’s faces. Fire has the tendency to blurt things out but is charismatic enough to fix the situation. Air deflects and makes others do their dirty work for them. Water is efficient in emotional manipulation. They all have their strengths and weaknesses.

I hope I made some sense! It’s still in draft state but I like it so far. The stats won't automatically change everything, you can still choose what to say and what to do. However, in this instance it was appropriate to make it a stat thing. They will pop out from time to time.

It’s actually been bugging me a lot that I haven’t got a clear vision of Hati. They’re kind of a blank slate that sometimes shift between fire and air Hati, sometimes I remember to put some stoic earth tones, sometimes I forget the empathetic water. This way, I can keep an easier track of the different Hatis, their strengths and weaknesses stay clearer in my mind, and the flavor text will make more sense to the roleplaying experience.

These Hatis were already here. I just needed to give them a name and a face, and contextualize them better.

So, all in all, such a good week. I’m going to get back to coding since that's ceased to be a pain in my butt, too.

Yay!

But, as always, thank you for being here!