CadiaCreations, Id like to suggest something again, or just spark some discussion on the topic: An option to make the player character introverted, extroverted, or a bit of both during the character creation process.
Something that often stands out to me during playthroughs (especially with harder difficulty settings) is that my player characters seem to be mostly extroverted by default since they easily run out of relaxation by doing things that I would find very relaxing, and gain relaxation through activities Id find exhausting. Like, they mainly gain relaxation from being around other people or doing social activities, but rarely gain relaxation from alone time outside of very specific activities and some random events like the pleasant breeze.
It often makes me think "Why is my character not feeling relaxed? If I was in their place Id feel very comfortable" or "Why is my character gaining relaxation from being around this many people for this long? Id feel completely drained."
This sort of mechanic would not just help flesh out the player character more, but it could also influence gameplay and progression by making it more dynamic and changing how exactly the stat bars need to get managed.
Im not an expert at gameplay balance, but just to throw out an idea: maybe introverted characters could gain relaxation or rest from being on their own at the cost of losing more energy from social activities, or lose less rest/relaxation from doing things like studying alone, while losing more for group activities.
Extroverted characters could do the opposite, and characters that are ambiverts could be a middle-of-the-road thing and work the same way the player character currently does, receiving no specific boosts, so players who like how the game currently plays wouldnt lose anything.
This system could also extend to NPC characters, giving them an additional trait that influences interactions or even dialogue.
An NPC with the "introvert" trait might feel more comfortable doing calm and relaxed activities with the player and is more likely to be found hanging out by themselves or with a small group of people.
An extroverted NPC might instead prefer loud and energetic activities and is more likely to be found around larger groups of people or social locations.
It would also give more weight to the exact hangout the player chooses for an NPC.
The NPCs could receive an extra boost to the friendship/romance/lust stats if the player interacts with them in a way that fits their personality trait. I imagine an extrovert would get more enjoyment from going to a party or a bar, compared to an introvert who would be happier to hang out at home or watch a movie together.
Existing traits like "Shy", "Passive" or "Insecure" kind of already cover this, but there might be other interesting ways for these personality traits to work when combined. Imagine what an insecure extrovert could be like, or a bragger introvert.
I skimmed the roadmap and didnt see any mention of this, and I dont remember any other suggestions like this from this thread, so I think this could be an interesting thing to consider since it opens up a lot of possibilities for future dynamic interactions between the player character and the rest of the world.
It could maybe even be a slider that gives a proportional multiplier, since in real life people are never 100% one or the other, but before getting into anything that specific Id like to see what other people think of the idea.
Something that often stands out to me during playthroughs (especially with harder difficulty settings) is that my player characters seem to be mostly extroverted by default since they easily run out of relaxation by doing things that I would find very relaxing, and gain relaxation through activities Id find exhausting. Like, they mainly gain relaxation from being around other people or doing social activities, but rarely gain relaxation from alone time outside of very specific activities and some random events like the pleasant breeze.
It often makes me think "Why is my character not feeling relaxed? If I was in their place Id feel very comfortable" or "Why is my character gaining relaxation from being around this many people for this long? Id feel completely drained."
This sort of mechanic would not just help flesh out the player character more, but it could also influence gameplay and progression by making it more dynamic and changing how exactly the stat bars need to get managed.
Im not an expert at gameplay balance, but just to throw out an idea: maybe introverted characters could gain relaxation or rest from being on their own at the cost of losing more energy from social activities, or lose less rest/relaxation from doing things like studying alone, while losing more for group activities.
Extroverted characters could do the opposite, and characters that are ambiverts could be a middle-of-the-road thing and work the same way the player character currently does, receiving no specific boosts, so players who like how the game currently plays wouldnt lose anything.
This system could also extend to NPC characters, giving them an additional trait that influences interactions or even dialogue.
An NPC with the "introvert" trait might feel more comfortable doing calm and relaxed activities with the player and is more likely to be found hanging out by themselves or with a small group of people.
An extroverted NPC might instead prefer loud and energetic activities and is more likely to be found around larger groups of people or social locations.
It would also give more weight to the exact hangout the player chooses for an NPC.
The NPCs could receive an extra boost to the friendship/romance/lust stats if the player interacts with them in a way that fits their personality trait. I imagine an extrovert would get more enjoyment from going to a party or a bar, compared to an introvert who would be happier to hang out at home or watch a movie together.
Existing traits like "Shy", "Passive" or "Insecure" kind of already cover this, but there might be other interesting ways for these personality traits to work when combined. Imagine what an insecure extrovert could be like, or a bragger introvert.
I skimmed the roadmap and didnt see any mention of this, and I dont remember any other suggestions like this from this thread, so I think this could be an interesting thing to consider since it opens up a lot of possibilities for future dynamic interactions between the player character and the rest of the world.
It could maybe even be a slider that gives a proportional multiplier, since in real life people are never 100% one or the other, but before getting into anything that specific Id like to see what other people think of the idea.
