The young, the eager, the not-annoying
By
Baryonic_Cell,
Posted on: 2009-05-01 15:39 in Mission Architect
It's hard to tell quite what you mean, but it sounds like you have an idea in mind. Just write it out and see how it plays.
If you are looking to develop a coming-of-age type of story about confidence and experience then the setting and motivation for the player's involvement should not be overlooked. It will depend on their relationship to this kid: mentor, guardian, acquaintance, relative or whatever.
Above all, write what you want to write first. Then take a couple people along for the ride and get their opinions.
I suppose there's not much detail here... I'm just trying to avoid re-inventing Dawn Summers (or worse, Jar Jar Binks).
And for a while things were cold,
They were scared down in their holes
The forest that once was green
Was colored black by those killing machines
[ QUOTE ]
I suppose there's not much detail here... I'm just trying to avoid re-inventing Dawn Summers (or worse, Jar Jar Binks).
[/ QUOTE ]
Or worse, Fusionette.
Seriously, having to rescue someone once is fine. Having to rescue them AGAIN in the very next mission, not so much. And if your plucky young hero uses obnoxious powersets or is an overpowered kill-stealer, the sympathy quotient just keeps going down.
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Oh, I don't know, there was an arc I played where I had to rescue some lady 4 times, and the green rescue text kept alluding to it. You rescue X. You rescue X....again. You rescue X, this is starting to get annoying. X says 'Oops, I'm making a bad habit of this, aren't I." etc.
I was greatly amused. Maybe not sympathetic, but amused.
Depending on the drama quotient level, I might actually -hurt- the young fellow or let him do a noble sacrifice sort of deal. Maybe he traded places with someone in a kidnapping and that's gonna cost/scar him later on. All the better if the hero's initial annoyance/negligence provoked the action.
It's more than a little hard to do without decent branching choices, I would think. So yeah, run with whatever you're thinking and let the chips fall where they may - no one is going to universally love/hate a character.
Even Fusionette and Westin Phipps can draw completely different reactions.
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You might also have him not be present in every mission. Something along the line of saying in the mission start dialog:
"Eager Boy ran of to take on Enemy X but got soundly trounced. He's in the hospital recovering now, so maybe you'll go finish the job"
Maybe even put in a clicky or two in the front part of the mission that give you notes left behind by the kid in order to keep his personality in the story.
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Another idea is to give him a different role in every mission. Maybe you rescue him in the first, then he's a 'Fight Defensive' ally in the next, then in the third he becomes a 'Run to Door' ally with no enemies surrounding him (you meet him, he gives you some info, and then runs off). Then in the 4th mission you fight him. OK, maybe not ... but maybe 
Those are good suggestions. Also, keep in mind that no matter what you do some people will think it's great and some people will hate it. And a lot of people will say "meh". You have to write something you like, then hope that the other people who will like it can find it.
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I'm trying to incorporate a minor character into a larger story line. This character is supposed to be young and a bit over-eager.
My worry is that the player is going to get annoyed with him. If that happens, it could be a serious wallbanger because caring what happens to him is part of the motivation to continue the arc. With that in mind, I'm wondering what people's thoughts are on how to make the character appealing.
One thing I'm definitely thinking about is avoiding overdoing it. I'm not going to throw him the idiot ball; he's young and inexperienced, naive even, but not stupid. I'm also going to avoid too much "gee whiz" language, although I think a certain amount of it is necessary to establish the character.
Other thoughts I've had: maybe the character gets in over their head and needs rescuing (a la Fusionette); maybe the character looks like they're getting in over their head and turns out to do all right after all (they rise to the occasion).
Thoughts? Cautions?
And for a while things were cold,
They were scared down in their holes
The forest that once was green
Was colored black by those killing machines