Earl's Musings: A note on Shield High, and the choices presented.

So I'm doing some writing for the end parts of 0.2, and I've been confronted with a situation. The player's made a bunch of choices already, that have led them to this place, but now there's a question: Does the character promise to be nice, or is she planning to be an equally large bitch as her opponent? And this is where I get a little stumped, and have come to a realization about Shield High.

The simple fact is that Shield High isn't a game about you. It's not a self-insert game, where you can name your character, or define your features. It's a game about Jessica, and her situation. While it's very true that a lot of her actions are left up to the player, there's also large conversations in which Jessica speaks, not on the direction of the player, but in the way she would. So this is where I get to the problem I'm faced. Is giving the player this decision something that I should do, or is it best to leave it to the story?

Honestly, I'm not sure which is the better option, the one that would make people happiest, or the one that might be considered "right". But I do know that the way this game has been made so far, a choice like this wouldn't really have enough impact on the story to be worth including, and that letting Jessica be Jessica is probably the best approach. Though at the same time I feel kind of guilty. I'm denying the player options. I'm telling them that no, they aren't allowed to be a complete sadist. But at the same time, Jessica isn't a complete sadist, she's picking up a taste for sadism, but only in moderation.

I suppose, in the end what I'm saying is that this is a roleplaying game, but one with a pre-built character. You can only act as the character would, and see how they turn out. It's an interesting situation, a nice contrast to most "roleplaying" games that are made today, where the player makes whatever they want, and then makes almost no serious choices. Or makes "serious" choices the only impact of which is to make a big deal of something. That conclusion kind of went off on a tangent, but whatever. The point is, Shield High isn't about you, and if you would do something that Jessica wouldn't, and think that's a problem, then I guess the game isn't for you. Or something.

Just a little thought I had as I was writing, I doubt anyone will look at it, but still.

Pudding Earl