Thank you!
I appreciate the suggestion. While I like some parts of The Fixer, I actually find their system to be incredibly fiddly and confusing. They have the 'shifting traits' on the surface, but they don't seem to actually matter in game play. It's a lot of clicking the same thing again and again (ex: working in the bar) until you get the desired result.
I see where you're coming from in terms of the reduction of traits -- maybe that will be necessary (and easier to do than adding) in the future -- but for the time being, I've found each of them to be unique and used in different places and don't see a need to pare down at the moment. Your opinion on which are similar is well-taken, and if there was a reduction, those would likely be the ones unified.
No problem, and thank you for considering what I have to say.
I'm not sure what you mean by "shifting surface traits." If you mean, energy, mood, and attraction, that's not what I'm referring to. I'll try to be more clear in case there was a misunderstanding.
I am referring to the character's written descriptions in the character menu.
The Fixer's character description changes as the character changes, like the color of their eyes and hair, the appearance of her abdomen (if she's tone, fat, or pregnant), how revealing their outfit is, if she is a whore, slut, or baby crazy, etc.
For example, if the player character gains the whore perk the flavor text will update to reflect that, "I have become accustom to selling myself." If they have the slut perk, it says, "I have as much fun with men as I please." If they have both it says, "I love sex. I'll fuck almost anyone for pleasure or money. Usually both."
I recommended looking at Fixer because of even though the flavor text is irrelevant to its own gameplay, I think it would be useful to Blue Swallow. The descriptions are purely flavor in Fixer only because the game also shows the player the perks and stats - which you've made it clear you want to keep invisible. That's cool. But if the planned Blue Swallow dossier used flavor descriptions it would be both functional and flavorful at the same time because the player gets an idea of their Claire's inclinations and aversions as they're updated throughout the game, including the prologue.
For example, if Claire doesn't like taking risks, it might say, "she likes to play it safe."
If she is a mild risk-taker, it might read, "she is willing to try new things under the right circumstances."
If she later becomes a big risk-taker, it updates to, "she likes to try new things, even if it's probably not a good idea."
If she ultimately delights in taking risks, it might say, "she goes out of her way to do things most people wouldn't normally do."
As far as I can tell, this idea checks all the boxes. You do not have to reveal the hard numbers to the player, and the player feels less blind. If you like the idea, I might even be willing to volunteer to write some of them for you if needed the assist.
