Characterising Kate
Added 2023-09-03 16:20:02 +0000 UTCBack in the early days of Female Agent, 59 players told me how they liked to play their heroine (called "Kate" in internal dev discussions, for convenience).
Four broad archetypes emerged:
WAIF (dutiful, resilient) - 41%
- A survivor, capable of stoically withstanding hardship
- She can take anything the mission throws at her
- The "good girl" heroine – she embodies feminine traits like demureness, acceptance, compliance, submissiveness
- But not a doormat: she has tremendous strength of will. She doesn't fight back, she endures and outlasts the enemy.
CRUSADER (idealistic, loyal) - 24%
- Idealistic, loyal, heroic
- The "action heroine" – she's the female Commander Shepard, Jack Ryan, Jack Bauer. Confident, tenacious, headstrong.
- In Mass Effect, she'd be the Paragon.
ALPHA FEMALE (headstrong, assertive) - 17%
- Assertive, career minded, cocky
- The flip side of the Crusader. Mission focused – but also ruthless, and kind of a bitch.
Takes no prisoners, takes no shit. - In Mass Effect, she'd be the Renegade.
FEMME FATALE (enigmatic, manipulative) - 17%
- Manipulative, flirty, well-suited for the mission
- Controls men with her charm and desirability. Makes men feel powerful and desirable, yet holds the upper hand in all her relationships.
- Turns her charm on at will, even if she feels nothing for the target. Distrusts others and conceals her personal desires carefully.
Understanding how you play your "Kate" will help me make sure you get the right decision and dialogue choices in future episodes. Please vote! And tell me about your Kate in the comments!
(Multiple choices are allowed because some people like to play a mix of the archetypes. If your Kate doesn't fit into these categories, tell me about her in the comments or DMs! Maybe we need to introduce a fifth type now the game has so many more players.)
Comments
As this is Kate first mission. And the writing in the story is that she is very WAIF - but the more exp. she gets and task she gets into she could develop a femme fatale. She is an analysis and want to prove herself to the agent bosses. So as she needs to maintain her cover and the story passes she will develop and become more aware of the task a head. The alpha and Crusader would also come in hand - perhaps player choises. Eg save some of the other girls from "the bar" or not. Depends if would damage the mission she is on. Oh just found your game - and this is one of the best stories atm. I like it a lot. But if the players needs to develop their Kate - a bit more player choises needs to be added. But know that would proberly be hard. Follow your idears as if you want to add all player idears puh. Thats gonna be hard. :)
2023-09-10 21:48:27 +0000 UTCI think I tend to play a combo of crusader and waif. I have a thing for strong women getting corrupted, so I like to have a bit of that confident, head-strong tenaciousness give way to more waif-like actions and behaviours. She doesn't lose her crusader idealism and strengths, but circumstances just kinda force her to endure (and eventually enjoy). I like my crusaders to eventually take back control on her own terms (which have by now been thoroughly corrupted); she's not broken, but she has definitely begun putting her talents to a different use.
Eric B
2023-09-08 17:04:16 +0000 UTCI like this. It’s how most CYOA stories/games are.
Steve C
2023-09-06 05:34:23 +0000 UTCI think writing multiple dialogue options and decision points for different character archetypes will be a time-consuming task. I think it may also limit player choice because the player will be presented with several options, but only one will be right for 'their' character. What would you say to letting the characterisation happen in the player's own mind? Instead of four tailored options, offer a simple binary choice. In any given situation, Kate can be enthusiastic or reluctant. Don't explore her motivation, but let the player decide. She might be enthusiastic because the player wants her to be a slut, or because they think it's important for her cover. She might be reluctant because the player's Kate is clinging to her dignity, or she wants to stay in control, or maybe their Kate is just not in the mood tonight. If you let the player develop the character in their head, you can avoid the trap of writing a whole scene that clashes with the player's own vision. It may be harder to leave the character as more of a tabula rasa, but this is a game and not a novel. The player should be in control. Instead of presenting one of four alternate pathways, allow them to make it up as they go along.
ultimate_elephant
2023-09-05 22:26:34 +0000 UTC