narrative designer alex scokel on companion interjections

hi there. thought this would be fun for people at a loose end over christmas. dont think its been posted here yet.

 

alex scokels written a hefty tumblr post on how companion interjections are implemented. its interesting stuff.

 

i think my brain would short circuit keeping on top of all asepcts of game design. reckon ill stick to scribbling prose as a hobby.

Cool stuff. That's probably why I am so conflicted about the way Deadfire did companions. I do miss coherent, directed character arcs a simpler system and structure provides, but some of those interjections are pretty great.The "companion" problem might be more of a overall narrative structure issue then per say how companions were handled. I also like Deadfire more and more...

 

Regarding to the "resolution" at the end of the post one bit from Deadfire really stuck with me as awesome:

 

After doing a quest for shipright in Queen's Berth he offers to sell you four cannons at a discount. However, if you have Maia with you she makes a comment the shipright doesn't appreciate and raises the price significantly. Cool stuff. 

 

 

Im now thinking if ur a narrative designer and a sociopath u could really mess with a colleague by subjecting them to five million requests for interjections.