Dusk ( Asch ) (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
reducedtoasch) wrote2011-11-13 12:08 am
reducedtoasch) wrote2011-11-13 12:08 am
Heart Game Write-Up
I am still filling in the last parts of the heartgame write-up but whatever!!
Some general information stuff about Dusk's heart!
First off, the way I designed Dusk's heart was to ENCOURAGE change. One of Asch's major character points in the game is that he remains static throughout the whole game/time we know him while Luke is the one who undergoes a major change from who he is at the beginning of the game and who he is at the end. Asch, in comparison, tries to cling stubbornly to the past WHILE rejecting the past; he never quite manages to change himself and only really hits a self-epiphany... right before he dies. So this was Dusk's chance to change; while he doesn't have all of Asch's particular problems, he does have a developed fear of change (he's afraid of changing INTO Dusk) and the same 'need to be needed' that Asch has.
Asch, as I interpret him, is very much a 'I need someone to need me and give me a purpose' kind of character; he's completely torn up as a child when he realized that his position as 'Luke fon Fabre' was easily replaceable and went straight into the arms of the guy who PUT the replica there and kidnapped him away from his life because he told Asch that he needed him. He becomes really embittered over Van, who he wants to stop and yet still respects and loves. He also still loves Natalia and Guy and will do little things to please them. It's a character trait of his that naturally carried over to Dusk, who found a fulfillment in Tiger's Eye and being "Dawn's Dusk". He also built up a dependency on Konatsu and regained the ones he had for Van, Natalia, and Guy through memories. So in total Dusk had 7 reasons/purposes to keep himself going, and while that's been working out alright for him, it isn't particularly healthy. If every single person on that list suddenly vanished, he'd be completely dysfunctional. In other worse, he can't live his own life. Instead, his life is comprised of 'what can I do to please these people' and 'don't do things that'll make them not need me anymore'. He's scared to lose the important people in his life and it restricts his actions as a result.
SO what I wanted to try for was presenting this opportunity to change this part of Dusk. He wouldn't change it on his own, because he doesn't really view it as a problem (and it really isn't!), but subconsciously he knows that he could be at least a little... I don't want to say he'd be a better person for sure, but it would be better for him to grow as a person if this part of him changed.
SECOND, I also purposefully designed Dusk's heart to be reminiscent of a JRPG dungeon/game because. He's a jrpg character. Which meant there were random treasure chests in hidden locations, little puzzles to open doors, an inventory system, and mild amounts of backtracking because you found a new Key Item. This was mostly just a for-fun aspect because I wanted an overarching theme to the game! What this also did was make the heartgame a lot more structured than some of the other heartgames I've participated in, because there were clear goals and clear ways to interact with things, with what I hope was just enough room for your own interpretations of how to do things. ONE OF THE THINGS I SUCK ABOUT WITH HEARTGAMES is trying to figure out wtf I am supposed to do with an item or area, so that factored a lot into the design of this game.
Now, a couple of things that were overarching in the game:
Cheagles
The cheagle is representative of Dusk's will to change! Small and determined and willing to DO WHAT IT TAKES, even if it meant setting doors on fire and smashing padlocks. They were also not quite strong enough to accomplish the required tasks on their own, which was why they approached heart-explorers to help them and keep them on task. For the most part, the cheagle's objective was to lead you to an orb. They don't differentiate between the orbs at all; they'll just take you to the nearest one because they KNOW that in order for things to change inside Dusk's heart, all of the orbs had to be given to Dusk. They'd also give you helpful tips for solving the assorted puzzles in the game, because not everyone is an rpg character (sorry Mitchell).
The cheagle was not only a guide, but also a necessary instrument to get through some of the doors/do things. Because they're also an integrated part of the heart, none of the actions they could take would affect the heart! So all of those locks smashed open didn't have an effect on what Dusk keeps locked away and what he's open about, but whatever else you touched in those rooms did.
The number on the cheagle's head was a 'use' number, after a certain number of uses it would pass out and you'd have to revive it! Mostly this was to keep people from endlessly abusing their cheagles, but there were ways to get around that anyway.
Your cheagle also comes with a built-in inventory system. I AM NOT GOING INTO THE PHYSICS/SCIENCE OF THIS but essentially anything you passed off to your cheagle, it would hold onto for you until you needed it again. Just for the sake of convience when it came to carrying out a bunch of orbs and gels.
Orbs
There were 7 orbs in total, representing the 7 people Dusk places as his 'reasons'. The coloring on the orbs was by clothes for the major color, then accent details/hair color for the minor. So, for example, Dawn's is white with yellow and red (his Luke outfit, to differentiate from Konatsu's), while Konatsu is red with black and yellow.
Dawn: White orb with swirls of yellow and red. (Found in Black Sun/Dusk, in a locked chest on a shelf.)
Van (Good): Light gray with swirls of white and brown. (Found in White Sun/Luke, on Van's broadsword statue.)
Van (Bad): Dark gray with swirls of white and brown. (Found in Black Moon/Asch, grasped by the black Van statue.)
Guy: Orange with swirls of white and green. (Found in White Sun/Luke, on Guy's sword statue.)
Natalia: Teal with swirls of white and yellow. (Found in White Sun/Luke, on Natalia's bow statue.)
Konatsu: Red orb with swirls of black and yellow. (Found in White Moon/Drank, in Konatsu's pedestal.)
Tiger's Eye: Pure yellow orb. (Found in Black Sun/Dusk, in Lark's snuggie)
There are two orbs, because while Van is only one person, Dusk holds two very different opinions about him. He's 1) the person who stripped Asch away from the life he knew and loved and sent a replica to fill the gap, and 2) the person who took Asch in, believed in him, needed him and guided him. He both loves and hates Van for this and the conflict in emotions is super confusing to him. So there are two representations of Van in his heart, for the two sides!
Okay I think that is everything; I decided to do the write-up by just tacking on two more columns to the table I used for pre-scripted interactions/descriptions. The first column is the area/items being interacted in/with, the second column are all the pre-scripted interactions/descriptions for that area/item, the third is an explanation of what is symbolizes, and the fourth are the actions taken by characters in the game and the changes made, if any. Enjoy your walls of text.
Quick Changes of Note
+ Recalls his fonder Van memories more clearly.
+ Willing to confide his problems more to Tiger's Eye.
+ Willing to yell at Mitchell sometimes.
+ Altered perception on self-sacrifice and more willing to compromise/seek help.
+ Actively misses Kimlasca now.
+ ... Increased sex knowledge pertaining to Konatsu...
+ Renewed awareness of his attractions to Guy and Natalia, but still will not act on them.
+ N-New awareness of an attraction to Zack and Ferris. And having a boyfriend does not factor into acting upon his attractions.
+ The capacity to change himself.
+ No longer chains himself to the people he holds strong relationships with.
Heartgame was here. For my own reference.
Some general information stuff about Dusk's heart!
First off, the way I designed Dusk's heart was to ENCOURAGE change. One of Asch's major character points in the game is that he remains static throughout the whole game/time we know him while Luke is the one who undergoes a major change from who he is at the beginning of the game and who he is at the end. Asch, in comparison, tries to cling stubbornly to the past WHILE rejecting the past; he never quite manages to change himself and only really hits a self-epiphany... right before he dies. So this was Dusk's chance to change; while he doesn't have all of Asch's particular problems, he does have a developed fear of change (he's afraid of changing INTO Dusk) and the same 'need to be needed' that Asch has.
Asch, as I interpret him, is very much a 'I need someone to need me and give me a purpose' kind of character; he's completely torn up as a child when he realized that his position as 'Luke fon Fabre' was easily replaceable and went straight into the arms of the guy who PUT the replica there and kidnapped him away from his life because he told Asch that he needed him. He becomes really embittered over Van, who he wants to stop and yet still respects and loves. He also still loves Natalia and Guy and will do little things to please them. It's a character trait of his that naturally carried over to Dusk, who found a fulfillment in Tiger's Eye and being "Dawn's Dusk". He also built up a dependency on Konatsu and regained the ones he had for Van, Natalia, and Guy through memories. So in total Dusk had 7 reasons/purposes to keep himself going, and while that's been working out alright for him, it isn't particularly healthy. If every single person on that list suddenly vanished, he'd be completely dysfunctional. In other worse, he can't live his own life. Instead, his life is comprised of 'what can I do to please these people' and 'don't do things that'll make them not need me anymore'. He's scared to lose the important people in his life and it restricts his actions as a result.
SO what I wanted to try for was presenting this opportunity to change this part of Dusk. He wouldn't change it on his own, because he doesn't really view it as a problem (and it really isn't!), but subconsciously he knows that he could be at least a little... I don't want to say he'd be a better person for sure, but it would be better for him to grow as a person if this part of him changed.
SECOND, I also purposefully designed Dusk's heart to be reminiscent of a JRPG dungeon/game because. He's a jrpg character. Which meant there were random treasure chests in hidden locations, little puzzles to open doors, an inventory system, and mild amounts of backtracking because you found a new Key Item. This was mostly just a for-fun aspect because I wanted an overarching theme to the game! What this also did was make the heartgame a lot more structured than some of the other heartgames I've participated in, because there were clear goals and clear ways to interact with things, with what I hope was just enough room for your own interpretations of how to do things. ONE OF THE THINGS I SUCK ABOUT WITH HEARTGAMES is trying to figure out wtf I am supposed to do with an item or area, so that factored a lot into the design of this game.
Now, a couple of things that were overarching in the game:
Cheagles
The cheagle is representative of Dusk's will to change! Small and determined and willing to DO WHAT IT TAKES, even if it meant setting doors on fire and smashing padlocks. They were also not quite strong enough to accomplish the required tasks on their own, which was why they approached heart-explorers to help them and keep them on task. For the most part, the cheagle's objective was to lead you to an orb. They don't differentiate between the orbs at all; they'll just take you to the nearest one because they KNOW that in order for things to change inside Dusk's heart, all of the orbs had to be given to Dusk. They'd also give you helpful tips for solving the assorted puzzles in the game, because not everyone is an rpg character (sorry Mitchell).
The cheagle was not only a guide, but also a necessary instrument to get through some of the doors/do things. Because they're also an integrated part of the heart, none of the actions they could take would affect the heart! So all of those locks smashed open didn't have an effect on what Dusk keeps locked away and what he's open about, but whatever else you touched in those rooms did.
The number on the cheagle's head was a 'use' number, after a certain number of uses it would pass out and you'd have to revive it! Mostly this was to keep people from endlessly abusing their cheagles, but there were ways to get around that anyway.
Your cheagle also comes with a built-in inventory system. I AM NOT GOING INTO THE PHYSICS/SCIENCE OF THIS but essentially anything you passed off to your cheagle, it would hold onto for you until you needed it again. Just for the sake of convience when it came to carrying out a bunch of orbs and gels.
Orbs
There were 7 orbs in total, representing the 7 people Dusk places as his 'reasons'. The coloring on the orbs was by clothes for the major color, then accent details/hair color for the minor. So, for example, Dawn's is white with yellow and red (his Luke outfit, to differentiate from Konatsu's), while Konatsu is red with black and yellow.
Dawn: White orb with swirls of yellow and red. (Found in Black Sun/Dusk, in a locked chest on a shelf.)
Van (Good): Light gray with swirls of white and brown. (Found in White Sun/Luke, on Van's broadsword statue.)
Van (Bad): Dark gray with swirls of white and brown. (Found in Black Moon/Asch, grasped by the black Van statue.)
Guy: Orange with swirls of white and green. (Found in White Sun/Luke, on Guy's sword statue.)
Natalia: Teal with swirls of white and yellow. (Found in White Sun/Luke, on Natalia's bow statue.)
Konatsu: Red orb with swirls of black and yellow. (Found in White Moon/Drank, in Konatsu's pedestal.)
Tiger's Eye: Pure yellow orb. (Found in Black Sun/Dusk, in Lark's snuggie)
There are two orbs, because while Van is only one person, Dusk holds two very different opinions about him. He's 1) the person who stripped Asch away from the life he knew and loved and sent a replica to fill the gap, and 2) the person who took Asch in, believed in him, needed him and guided him. He both loves and hates Van for this and the conflict in emotions is super confusing to him. So there are two representations of Van in his heart, for the two sides!
Okay I think that is everything; I decided to do the write-up by just tacking on two more columns to the table I used for pre-scripted interactions/descriptions. The first column is the area/items being interacted in/with, the second column are all the pre-scripted interactions/descriptions for that area/item, the third is an explanation of what is symbolizes, and the fourth are the actions taken by characters in the game and the changes made, if any. Enjoy your walls of text.
Quick Changes of Note
+ Recalls his fonder Van memories more clearly.
+ Willing to confide his problems more to Tiger's Eye.
+ Willing to yell at Mitchell sometimes.
+ Altered perception on self-sacrifice and more willing to compromise/seek help.
+ Actively misses Kimlasca now.
+ ... Increased sex knowledge pertaining to Konatsu...
+ Renewed awareness of his attractions to Guy and Natalia, but still will not act on them.
+ N-New awareness of an attraction to Zack and Ferris. And having a boyfriend does not factor into acting upon his attractions.
+ The capacity to change himself.
+ No longer chains himself to the people he holds strong relationships with.
Heartgame was here. For my own reference.