- Jan 10, 2021
- 55
- 74
I don't know who the fuck he even is in Paradox. That the character so unwilling to kill in plot decisions can decide to go along with a plan that sees everyone he knows in the world killed with practically no pushback just doesn't compute at all.Okay, if you're focusing on the first part of your statement about Luka not being who you think he was established as, then I misunderstood. That means you're not talking about agency, though. In literature, character agency is the ability for a character to make meaningful choices. This is always a good thing because it makes it seem as if the character (generally) earned what happens to them, good or bad. Characters without agency are usually a sign of bad writing, unless that's the point (or joke).
Having read what you've said though, it really just sounds like you simply don't like Luka's portrayal in Paradox and believe it betrays who he was established to be in the first game, which is something completely different.
I don't see agency and in-game choice as necessarily separate. That you do and that the game at times does and doesn't with his character can get confusing when trying to set up his character motivations.The literal choices presented to you have nothing to do with agency, as games very often railroad you for the sake of gameplay. But you know this--you know that when the game does the spoosh and transitions into combat with music and turn-based elements, it's all representative and not literally part of the story, right?
Those in-game choices are like that.
When people talk about agency, they mean stuff like how Luka could have just stayed in town. Obviously that's not what happens, just like it doesn't happen in books, because the book/story/game/whatever has to take place. But you can sit down and logically say X character didn't have to make X choice but did.
That is agency.
And Luka has tons of it from the very start.
I think that's a big weakness to the story, the in-game choice should have been interwoven with his agency as a character. How you played Luka up to the Great Decision should have informed him what he would have chosen, and therefore reflected the choices you would have had. That the Great Decision offers such meteorically bad options renders that possibility moot, but it could have been a display of agency for him and the player that ultimately didn't happen. Say for instance every choice you, the player, and therefore Luka, makes in the story revolves around supporting the monster side of things, then the Great Decision could have displayed that in some way by showing Luka going along with the Monster World's plan, vice-versa for Angel World, and if he couldn't settle on being one way or the other in his choices up to that point, then the player themselves make the gameplay choice for him, reflecting his agency as someone who isn't wholly convinced one way or the other.
That is the bare-bones of how it could have interwoven the two, nothing too out there or hard to conceptualize or innovative.
I just don't see how A, B or C should factor into this at all. Indie games have the same capacity as any other game to have a great story. A porn indie game is theoretically no different. And the dev doesn't have to be a professional to write something good. Let me expand on point C from you.Now, whether or not Luka's story in Paradox embodies the Luka we've come to know in the original is a whole other thing entirely and mostly personal opinion. I can kinda see where you're coming from there, but we also have to remember that A)this is an indie game, B) this is an indie PORN game, and C) it's very unlikely the dev wanted to be a professional author or had any intention to, and very likely wrote a good story "by accident." Not to diminish his achievements, but it's definitely a 'broad strokes good' kind of story.
A sequel probably would have always been a gamble. So I'm not surprised the writing varies, especially with the story getting so ridiculous lol. Thus I'm willing to cut the guy some slack. He's made some classic mistakes but clearly he put more effort into Paradox being an RPG with bangable monster girls than a novel and even MGQ had a pretty simple story overall.
The way I see it, it's not just a matter of skill but of effort and investment. Do you believe that the dev made at least one good, solid plot point in this game or the last? If you do, then they can make good plot points, so it's not a stretch to believe that they can repeat that feat. If they can make one, then they can do so again, and again, and again, so while it would invariably take more investment and time, the potential is there for them to be able to arrive at a story that is eventually made up of all good plot points. Then you'd just have a good story because a story is a sequence of plot points linked to each other, and if the plot points are all good then the story is good.
I'm not coming at this from a perspective of expecting writing that isn't up to the dev's skill level, because the dev has shown they have the capacity to write good stuff. I'm disappointed at them for not living up to the potential they've shown they have, and ultimately leaving us with something inferior to what they could have given us.