June Q&A Answers

Hi everyone! This is June's Q&A responses!!

I was wondering what kind of scenes you find the hardest to write. I always thought action scenes were the hardest to work with just written text, but I'd love to know what you think!

Honestly, it just depends. 

Some action scenes can be difficult to write but it really depends on what is happening and what I need to have happen. As long as I can block out a scene mentally and figure out where everyone else, it becomes much easier to write. 

Love scenes can also be quite difficult - especially because there are multiple in each game and they all have to read differently though the basic mechanics of the activity is kinda the same. So figuring out how to use evocative but unique phrasing and write a scene that is sensual but also unique...is tricky.

A lot of times when I get to a scene that is difficult, I literally just list the scene beats as bullet points so I can figure out the flow of events first. I join it into something cohesive after I know exactly what's going to happen. And then I just tweak it and edit it and improve it multiple times to get it to read well.

How do you decide how many LIs to write into a game and balance the personality variation?

It's different for each game. Changeling was just about the number of interesting characters and angles I felt suited the story. 6 just felt right.

The same is true for Gilded Shadows when I originally had six. It just felt right.

With WSC, I just wanted to limit myself to a more reasonable number of love interests because I am trying to pare back the amount of content. That's why I went with 5. LoL

When it comes to balancing personalities - there are certain types that I really like to write and will always include. Grouchy characters, snarky characters - I find these character fun because of the banter. They kind of function as a starting to build the cast.

From there, I consider personalities I know are popular (the protective one, the cinnamon roll, etc) and also other types that I personally like or think are fun to write (gadflies, for example).

And after I consider my favourites, player favourites, types that suit the setting...if there are any gaps, I try to fill those in with personalities that fit but are also different from what already exists. 

That makes it sound very methodical but there's a lot of just "doing what feels right" and sometimes there are characters that I have a very, very clear mental image of but that do not actually fit in any of the above categories. Flirty characters are not my favourite to write, to play (in other games) and aren't even a player favourite.

But Asher was a character who I had a very clear mental image of. I think cocky pilots are kind of a trope in science fiction and it's pretty common to associate flirtiness with cockiness so I imagine he stems from that trope. 

He was sort of a character that sprang up out of nowhere. 

Will the WSC get equal screen time and relationship development?

This is as much a piece of advice as it is a question. But will you be making sure that the WSC characters all get equal treatment? I have played too many games like this where there is obvious favouritism some romances feel flat compared to others. Where some characters get multiple sex scenes and endless opportunities to flirt while others feel like they get nothing.

I want to make sure When Stars Collide doesn't fall in that trap.

So this was a lengthy question that essentially just expressed how some games they've played seem to favour some characters, giving them more romantic content or screen time than others.

In order to answer this, I really need to get into my writing ethos a bit, so bear with me as I break it down.

First of all, I think it's important to note that multiple things have to balanced in addition to 'equal treatment.' 

You have to consider characterisation for one. Some characters may be more talkative or flirty. So you can't always do something like make everyone flirt equally. It would feel odd if everyone got the same amount of flirting action as Asher, right?

In addition, unless you want to play a game where I'm just swapping the names out in scenes, I have to try to find ways to make LI scenarios read and flow in a way that is unique to that character and worth replaying for. It is not going to be fun for players if every scene reads the same way for the sake of making sure everything is equitable across the routes.

And finally there is the idea of 'equal treatment' - does that just mean everyone getting the same activities presented in their scenes or is it still 'equal' if where one couple has a hot, passionate kiss against a door, another character has a gentle hug, forehead kiss, and tender moment?

My goal is to try to balance characterisation, uniqueness to each LI's route, relatively equal word counts, and some level of romantic development equality.

Screen time will vary based on who your target LI is. I cannot write in a way where I maintain the LI carousel where the MC rotates between a interaction between every LI, one after the other. It's not a writing strategy that works for me. You will have to choose who to interact with in places. But you will be able to choose equally, if that makes sense.

If one character has a romantic interaction in a chapter, they all will. Of similar lengths. But some characters are more overtly flirty and sensual while others are quieter and more emotional. So the type of interaction may differ. 

I also want the routes to offer a slightly different romance and experience even if the major plot points are largely the same through most of the game. This isn't about favouritism but about making sure the replay value is there.

Do the LIs in WSC know the translation of the names.

I don't think so - at least, it hasn't come up so far. I think it would be hard to implement this anyway since there's no way for me to know what the player names MC and if they choose a Veleian name from the lore post or not.

What is your fav random WSC Lore fact?

Ooh. This is hard.

This isn't really a single fact per se but I really enjoy playing around with the languages. They're just quite fun and even though I initially thought I'd only use them a couple of times it's been pretty fun to work them into random places and I've ended up using them more than I expected.

Is there a friendship/non-romance path in WSC?

No. This is a romance game, so the only paths are romantic. If Wil fails to establish a romance with someone it will cause them to leave the ship at one of several places and the game will end.