Alpha 6.1 - In A Mood

Greetings everyone!

Since last week's mechanic announcement I've been steadily trudging along, inputting a ton of comment variations into the system. There's nothing really new to report, as I expect this to just be my life for the next few weeks, but I thought it would be interesting to share some of the underlying features of the new system.

Specifically, how different character moods come into play.

Now, when I say mood what I really mean is an overall personality. The system isn't so intricate that characters will be in a good mood on one day then a bad mood the next. Rather, moods will only change in the event of a major story or character event. In Alpha 6.1, I'll be launching with 6 (technically more) different character moods:

• Nice
• Mean
• Shy
• Flirty
• Horny
• Formal
• Ava & Dakota will have a slight variants of applicable moods

And here how characters will be assigned moods at the start of the game. Be advised, this list contains some spoilers from Chapter 3.

• Sophie - Formal
• Ava & Dakota - Nice - Shifting to Flirty/Horny/Mean depending on doses
• Penny - Nice - Mean after John's Dom route, Flirty if you dose her to act slutty
• Diana - Flirty - Horny after Chapter 3
• Tasha - Shy
• John - Mean - Nice after initial dosing
• Lauren - Flirty - Mean after Chapter 3
• James - Nice
• Chris - Nice
• Jag - Nice
• Mick - ????
• Ash - Flirty
• Siri - Flirty
• Veruca - Nice
• Lexi - Shy

Characters' moods will predominantly affect how those characters respond to changes in the player, as well as the dialogue involved in menial repeating tasks such as noticing and interacting with inserted objects and even basic dialogue in interactive events. That said, there will also be opportunities within story content to reference player moods, which can change the general tone of a given event, which can be updated as needed over the course of development.

Getting this particular system built is, frankly, mind-numbing at times, and I understand there's some concerns over whether such a system is even worth building.

I get it.

Ultimately, though, I think one of the most jarring aspects of The Company is the fact that there is no real reaction to the player, or the changes the player's going through. Even if the commentary can end up becoming a little repetitive or generic, the payoff is seeing that changes to your character actually matter outside of mechanical considerations.

More importantly, this particular system is being built in such a way that it can be plugged in just about anywhere in the game very easily, as well as expanded on the back end without having to break saves or re-implement down the road.

I plan on getting a status report together for next week, as well as a general outline of the things this system will be touching. I'm looking forward to getting the backer update out next month so more people can get their hands on it, followed by the public 6.1 release hopefully not too far down the road!

That's it for this week. As always, thank you all for your continued feedback and support!