Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption Kickstarter Campaign Update #7 and #8, $171,000 and Counting
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Torchinomotorino asked about equipment and cross-class skills:
Corey responded: We will have many more equipment options in Hero-U than in Quest for Glory. As Sierra adventures, those games were severely limited in inventory space and options. Rogues at Hero-U rely heavily on their tools and possessions. We'll also get Shawn some stylish changes of armor and clothing.
Lori added: The Rogue can set magical traps and snares, learn to make healing salves and blinding powders, and even itching powders to add to his repertoire of thief skills. He's never going to be a great fighter, but he'll find ways of defeating his foes that no warrior would dream of using!
Twincast2005 and ubyuby asked about romance, relationships, and companions.
Lori responded: Reactions to Shawn's deeds depend upon the other character. Something dastardly might win you the respect of one classmate and the disdain of another one. If Shawn makes friends, then he'll have to work to keep them. They won't stay his friend long if he doesn't act like a friend.
Reputation will be a critical part of the game for people who really like the "Role-playing" in a game. It will take an effort to raise your status with other characters because you start out as a poor Thief. What you do for and to other characters will raise or lower the opinions of those around you.
Right now, I'm planning on the issue of romance to be determined by the player. There are classmates and staff who could be romanced. Everyone has their own goals and agendas, so helping them achieve their goals will give you serious karma cookies.
Then, maybe... they'll think enough of Shawn to fall in love with him.
But Romance is only a side quest in this game. The player may or may not want to put in the effort to impress other people. Shawn may have more important goals in his life than making friends.
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In Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption, we present Shawn with problems that you get to help him solve. You and Shawn have a lot of ways to resolve these problems, some with different consequences than others.
Silly as it was, the line about "itching powder" in the project video shows this flexibility. Someone is making trouble for you You can try to make friends with him, play a practical joke, get him in trouble with the administration, get another character to help you with the situation, and so on. Our goal as designers is to provide a lot of tools, and let you use the ones you find appropriate.
What will happen in each of those cases? The situation may escalate if you are too obvious. Your attempt at implicating the other student might backfire and get you in trouble. The friend you make might prove important (or a love interest) later... or you might get them in trouble.
Now that level of detail sounds impossible, and it would be in a pure traditional adventure game. One of the "rules" of that genre was that there was exactly one solution to each puzzle. But we like to break rules. In Shannara, Jak could use his fishing pole in two different ways to solve problems. The producer balked when we tried to introduce a third. None of them involved actual fishing.
Shawn's role-playing stats and skills work the same way. If he doesn't study or practice his lockpicking, he will be bad at it. It he takes the Botany elective, he can harvest plants down in the catacombs and use them to make potions and powders. He might be able to buy some of those, or he can use other solutions to the problems he faces.
