COC2 Player Character Problems

[Bleh223]

At the risk of not being seen, a gripe I have with the game is the lack of consistency of our character. They're supposed to be a blank state where we can customize their bodies, and mold their personality by making decisions for them. But in certain scenes our character is forced to act a certain way that can possibly contradict the way they have been behaving before. When they have denied being in a romance with Cait before, specifically because she mentioned that she's poly (I did, don't know about anyone else), they suddenly don't care about that anymore and are now a poly hippie in another scene. Or when they have had a dominant personality before, they suddenly act like a complete doormat in the presence of the kitsune and even accept their lousy "better than you" attitude even though they've had their asses handed to them. Speaking of the kistune, why can they potentially subject us to some of the most horrifiying shit but the story forces our character to be all cool with them? Same with the mino guards blocking the Khorminos mine. They can potentially rape and enslave us as a bad ending, but what can we do to them if we win? Rough em up a bit and come back later to give them a blowjob. Really? The game is called "Corruption of Champions" but the worst we can do is look like a demented mess with a high enough demonic rating, kill one or two inconsequential people, or tell others to go away. The lack of consistency and freedom with our character makes it so that they are sometimes a plot device for other characters getting the spotlight, it just doesn't feel like our story anymore.

All of this could have been handled better, but the damage is already done. I know power fantasies aren't favored here, but it doesn't have to be a power fantasy for our character to act in a way that's consistent with how we have been roleplaying them or do certain things when the oppurtunity presents itself (i.e. providing the kitsune or mino guards the same treatment our characters can potentially recieve). Is this game trying to be a dark fantasy like any of the Soulsbourne games? Those games allow player freedom like the kind I've just described. What is this game trying to accomplish?

Thank you for listening to my Ted Talk, I played this game to scratch my RPG itch while waiting for Baldur's Gate 3 to come out because it looked interesting enough. Don't get me wrong I really like parts of it, but the lack of control over our character in this RPG seriously frustrates me.

 

[Rezplz]

There's definitely inconsistency in how the main character is portrayed, but my guess is that it would be pretty inevitable with the style of game we have. Since it's pretty much all text based the main character has to be described somehow. But between the very different kind of scenes (sexual and otherwise), depending on the scene it's natural for there to be some amount of variation. I think of it more as a choose your own adventure story with RPG combat, with multiple authors individually writing different chapters/scenes/characters. The best we can do is to try to choose the scenes that our characters are most likely to interact with.

Also with Cait, I've seen that criticism before but I don't agree with it. I never got the impression that it was our character that decided Cait being poly is a problem - But rather it's Cait saying that she can't be romantically tied to anyone to make it easier to give free love for her Mallachite thing. While it sounds similar to being Poly, it's not quite the same thing. Instead of deciding to love multiple individuals (Poly), she needs to be able to love EVERYONE (... Whatever that would be called.)

What is this game trying to accomplish? I'd say a decently interesting story, but mainly lots of sex scenes with a character that looks however you want it to. For the pure freedom of character and consistency I think you're talking about, it would take so much extra work that we'd never get any content. Since most of the game is available for free, it's reasonable not to expect that.

 

[WolframL]

The Champion is not and never has been synonymous with the player, any more than Captain Steele in TiTS is. They're a character you control and who you just happen to have a lot of control over. This is a porn game produced by a small crew of staff writers and a larger pool of community writers, not a AAA game that can dynamically account for every possible choice you make and tailor the experience to your exacting preferences. A number of decisions have been made on the basis of what's convenient from a writing standpoint. This is why for example the Champ and companions must be bipedal and why they're treated as canonically pan regardless of any given player's preferences or headcanon.

 

[Melancholy Man]

At the risk of not being seen, a gripe I have with the game is the lack of consistency of our character. They're supposed to be a blank state where we can customize their bodies, and mold their personality by making decisions for them. But in certain scenes our character is forced to act a certain way that can possibly contradict the way they have been behaving before. When they have denied being in a romance with Cait before, specifically because she mentioned that she's poly (I did, don't know about anyone else), they suddenly don't care about that anymore and are now a poly hippie in another scene. Or when they have had a dominant personality before, they suddenly act like a complete doormat in the presence of the kitsune and even accept their lousy "better than you" attitude even though they've had their asses handed to them. Speaking of the kistune, why can they potentially subject us to some of the most horrifiying shit but the story forces our character to be all cool with them? Same with the mino guards blocking the Khorminos mine. They can potentially rape and enslave us as a bad ending, but what can we do to them if we win? Rough em up a bit and come back later to give them a blowjob. Really? The game is called "Corruption of Champions" but the worst we can do is look like a demented mess with a high enough demonic rating, kill one or two inconsequential people, or tell others to go away. The lack of consistency and freedom with our character makes it so that they are sometimes a plot device for other characters getting the spotlight, it just doesn't feel like our story anymore.

All of this could have been handled better, but the damage is already done. I know power fantasies aren't favored here, but it doesn't have to be a power fantasy for our character to act in a way that's consistent with how we have been roleplaying them or do certain things when the oppurtunity presents itself (i.e. providing the kitsune or mino guards the same treatment our characters can potentially recieve). Is this game trying to be a dark fantasy like any of the Soulsbourne games? Those games allow player freedom like the kind I've just described. What is this game trying to accomplish?

Thank you for listening to my Ted Talk, I played this game to scratch my RPG itch while waiting for Baldur's Gate 3 to come out because it looked interesting enough. Don't get me wrong I really like parts of it, but the lack of control over our character in this RPG seriously frustrates me.

Yup, I'm sure they are aware of the problem but I like to look at it as "they've been at this since 2016 and it's too late to turn around and fix the problem", they are committed to the bit at this point. You'd never see Triple-A or Indie studio would do this because it makes no sense, the writers and editors would slap the taste out of the other's mouth, but these are just ppl with a lot of passion and effort with different work schedules and irl things they have to deal with, so they might not get that synergy necessary to make things consistent.
If there is another project I do hope they learn from this mistake and either commit to making a solid character, a solid blank slate we the player can customize, or a character that can be influenced.

 

[Savin]

If there is another project I do hope they learn from this mistake and either commit to making a solid character, a solid blank slate we the player can customize, or a character that can be influenced.

Yeah we've talked at length about this for next time, believe you me. I think we've arrived at a solution that's going to work nicely, but it absolutely wouldn't work in CoC2.

 

[PalletTown]

Honestly, I feel like the odd one out because I like the way COC II balances this out.

 

[Zeus101]

High corruption PC being a doormat to the Kitsune is my only problem most of the high corruption PC dialogues cracks me up lmao

 

[Aelana]

Or when they have had a dominant personality before, they suddenly act like a complete doormat...

Its called "being a switch"

In seriousness though, yes you are right, but it is sort of inevitable in some parts. Its a smut-based text game. Haven't played Baldur's gate, but Pillars of Eternity. I argue the amount of truly character defining/character variation in its scenes is actually small. Most talk options do not matter. The main character in those games is more of the 'question asker', who allows the NPC's to reveal their personality with their response.

I'd argue there are some good payoff scenes, usually towards the end of the game, which makes it all satisfying. But also that the actual PC acts as a blank slate for most interactions. The game does not have to track much from scene to scene, because the personality of the PC rarely matters. When the game screws up, it is not as glaring.

This is dynamic is kinda fucked for a smut game. Sex starts with flirting, which always reveals something about the characters involved. A blank slate does not flirt. A blank slate walks to somebody wearing the amulet of Mara, and gets married the next day.

I argue that when the CoC screws up the personality of the PC, it is glaringly obvious.

But yeah, I too wish for some heavier hand against the kitsune. Preferrably in their face when they give their five thousand page introduction speech:

"I am Nakawoo. I am stoic, powerful, and humble, and my noble lineage goes back..." SLAP


That said, there are some interactions which can be criticised, which still work wonderfully well depending on the game. Like how Brint is basically in love with the Champ after the first fuck. Which... True. Basically in love out of the blue. It can feel off, but my champ did a lot of fucking first before it came up. So my first experience with Brint it felt more like this:

Brint: "Damn... I think I love you"
Champ: "Wow... I think I love you too"
...
Champ: "Soooo... wanna do Anal?"

Like this sudden realization of Brint that hr actually loves the champ would be totally in character. If it were more explicit, it would be perfect.