2024-04-08 22:22:31 +00:00
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Hot in handcuffs
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================
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2024-05-01 02:35:26 +00:00
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tags: fallout, FO4, mod, ideas, lewd
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Permissions
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This work is public domain, you can do whatever you want with it, even claim authorship.
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2024-04-08 22:22:31 +00:00
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Preface
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-------
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What started as an idea for something simple turns out to become a large conversion;
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still, if I want this project to ever get somewhere, I should keep it at least
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modular, with smaller independent parts having limited scope.
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This project is built around the singular invariant: the player character gets
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handcuffed very early in the game and is unable to ever get free. One optional
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additional notion would be that the game world climate is on the warmer side. While
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not that complex of a premise, this has a lot of implications we will have
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to explore and address.
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Tired to death of merry looter-shooter power fantasies, I imagine a very different
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game play: a limiting but fair sandbox, proper role-play content, a setting that
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makes sense, and a real sense of achievement, should one manages to achieve something.
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2024-05-01 02:35:26 +00:00
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### Update
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I don't think I'll be able to work on this myself. I've been thinking about all this
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for so long it would be a shame just to let it dissipate into the ether, so I will
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tidy this whitepaper up and publish it in hopes it serves any useful purpose.
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2024-04-08 22:22:31 +00:00
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Goals
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-----
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* A novel way to immerse yourself in a post-apocalyptic retro-futuristic fantasy world.
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2024-05-01 02:35:26 +00:00
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* A lewd mod I myself would want to play for extended periods of time.
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2024-04-08 22:22:31 +00:00
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* A project that's actually doable.
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Non-goals
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---------
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* A railroaded cinematographic "experience" for players.
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2024-05-01 02:35:26 +00:00
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* Support for any platforms other than PC.
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2024-04-08 22:22:31 +00:00
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Limitations
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-----------
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* I don't use discord.
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* I refuse to touch C++ with a stick of any length.
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* I have no experience with 3D, animation or any art at all beyond writing.
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* I'm not a native speaker.
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2024-05-01 02:35:26 +00:00
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* I did not find the TV show that great and dropped it after episode 2.
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2024-04-08 22:22:31 +00:00
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Hard questions
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We will have to take away many a game mechanic from the player in a game that was
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designed around these mechanics. We will have to give something new in return lest
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we make a boredom simulator -- I'm ready to develop a boredom simulator, but people
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aren't ready to play one.
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No amount of quests or dialogue helps with making a satisfactory sandbox. All quests
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end sooner or later, and the game shouldn't end with them. We need a new core
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game play loop and ways for people to play out their own stories. What is especially
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unhelpful is meaningless busywork that doesn't lead anywhere. "Radiant quests" is a bad
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solution to the "endless game" problem.
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If we go "second person" way, how do we avoid repetition in a single player game?
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If we go "magic" way, how are we not making it a power fantasy all over again?
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What do we lose?
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----------------
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### Mechanics
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* Power armor for the player
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* Pip-boy
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* Stats
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* Inventory
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* Data
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* Map
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* Radio
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* Vault doors
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* Interaction with large amount of world objects, in particular
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* Terminals
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* Traps
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* Workbenches
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* Picking up and moving objects
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* Workshop interface
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* Sitting down (because of the clipping with many a chair)
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### Systems
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* Combat
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* Looting
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* Using aid items
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* Crafting
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* Building
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2024-05-01 02:35:26 +00:00
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### Integration
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So there are three existing mods that take your hands away.
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* Real handcuffs: mostly gets the job done, but is a bit rough around the edges
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* Devious devices: gets the same job done in different (less optimal) ways
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* Amputator: I don't think it bothers itself with such banalities
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We'd have to account for two different cases:
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* Arms bound behind back, but hands and free.
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* No arms OR arms bound behind back, hands in mittens (or similar).
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Some actions (like smoking) are possible in the former case, but not the latter.
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2024-04-08 22:22:31 +00:00
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Core game play loop
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### Open world
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We lose all three parts of the vanilla loop, widely summarized as shoot->loot->improve.
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While I can imagine some substitutes for that, if replaced directly it would defeat
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most of the purpose, setting the player on a familiar hero power fantasy route. We need
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something new that lies beyond the "content", as all quests end sooner or later. Having
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said that, let's explore said content.
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#### Quests
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These go without saying. Repeatable activities tend to get old rather fast though.
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#### Exploration
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The intention is to have the world mostly empty of lootable objects, but there is still
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room for discovery. Maybe there's a magazine hidden under an odd bed somewhere,
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2024-04-08 22:22:31 +00:00
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or a holo-tape with a new porn clip for the next time you spend a week behind bars.
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#### Building
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It seems reasonable to assign NPCs to slowly convert materials into objects the player
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may then place into the world. Scavenger stations may scrap things in an immersive way.
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#### End-game
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In a world where nothing re-spawns, there comes a point when it's hard to think of ways
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to keep yourself occupied. Not like vanilla can answer this question either, to be fair.
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A successful sandbox allows the player to set their own goals in a world where it's
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enjoyable to simply walk around.
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We have to come to peace with the notion that all games end at some point because
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the player stops playing.
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### Captivity
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2024-05-01 02:35:26 +00:00
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Another hard question is how to keep a player entertained for an extended period of time
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during which they can't change locations. Here's the list I was able to come up with:
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* Listening to radio (using stand-alone radios which can be tuned to stations)
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* Watching VotW
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* Reading smut
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* Smoking on a balcony
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* Chilling in a nice place, watching the world
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* It seems possible to integrate AI for dialogue and AAF scenes, but it's a complex task
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2024-04-08 22:22:31 +00:00
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2024-05-01 02:35:26 +00:00
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Some ideas (developed to different degrees)
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In no particular order:
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### Corruption
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Over time the character's actions, or indeed mere presence, may result in the world
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becoming more lewd in some aspects. The PC themselves, select NPCs, settlements or whole
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factions may start acting differently depending on their "corruption". This is not such
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a radically new thought that I need to explain further.
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### Magic
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In order to replace lost abilities, we may grant the player new ones. Here's something
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that comes to mind:
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* Arms bound behind back grants ability to limited telekinesis: pick up and move things
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* Wearing a blindfold develops "magic" vision over time
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* Similarly, being unable to hear may develop "magic" hearing
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* Bound legs may grant a magic jet-pack
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* Wearing a gag may lead to "combat magic" awakening. Now, this is a touchy subject.
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#### Combat magic
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It's easy to make the player an unstoppable deity. While fun, it kinda works against
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the goals. Maybe "combat magic" means only support effects, maybe it should be balanced
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in some interesting ways. One such way may be using an "arousal" stat to moderate power
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and use it as "mana" for different "spells".
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### Indirect combat
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While it's not very easy to reintroduce turn-based combat into Fallout 4, we may find it
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worthwhile to untether combat results from skills of the player, instead making them
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dependent on the skills of the character. As a trivial example, a pop up may appear when
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the combat begins, detailing what happened, which is then scripted into the game world.
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### Take control away more often
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In the similar vein, it can be useful to enforce the character's personality onto
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the game-play, for example:
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* PC may run away from the combat unless brave enough (and can run)
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* PC may surrender if the danger is imminent (there are several mods that do this)
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* PC may faint under too much stress
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### NPC reuse
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I would avoid adding any new entities to the game without good reasons. When it comes
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to NPCs, one idea would be to resurrect and reuse NPCs that are dead from the start.
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### Prospect dominants
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* Science! Center (playful and mischievous)
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* Mysterious stranger (silent and service)
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* 81 overseer (strict and chastity)
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* Kellogg (PC as a pet, maybe a redemption arc)
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* Maybe one of the many doctors has a medical kink
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### World alive
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* make NPCs actually go out and do something, not just spawn generic patrols
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* slave trade independent of the player
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* make workshops populated
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* make NPCs run away from losing battles
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* hunting parties
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### Pony girls
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It's a rich idea in and out of itself, but I haven't developed it too much.
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It's possible to replace NPCs with other NPCs, there's already a mod that does that
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to select brahmin in the world.
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### RPG: rationalize character actions
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Just because the player wants to achieve something in-game doesn't mean the character
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does the same. There needs to be an intermediate step that explains WHY the PC does
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what she does. As an example, consider using internal dialogue to reflect on things
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and arrive at conclusions. "What do I want to do in the wasteland?" can have several
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options available depending on how the game went so far. This idea has parallels to
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Disco Elysium's thoughts internalization mechanic.
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### RPG: playing as a lawyer
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Being mostly useless in things that require hands leave us useful for things that
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require running your mouth. SS2 pokes at the law already, this idea does the same
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from a different perspective.
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### Game goal: opening a successful business
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Once again, you don't need hands to be a shrewd entrepreneur. There is a clear market
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niche for lewd enterprises, especially once corruption kicks in. Maybe some raiders
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need corrective labor, maybe a new pony express can generate profit? Running a kinky
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office can be entertaining on its own.
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2024-04-08 22:22:31 +00:00
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2024-05-01 02:35:26 +00:00
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### Helplessness as unique qualification
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The PC being visibly helpless can be exploited in-game by a cunning party to different
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ends. Infiltrating hostile environments? Straight up bait? In any case it's another
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possible answer to a question "so you're in restraints, now what?"
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### Pre-war DNA
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Another unique property of the PC is actually touched upon in the base game with USS
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Constitution crew recognizing the citizenship. This can be extended to all robots,
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making them non-hostile to the player. Feral ghouls can be given the same treatment,
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hand-waved away as detecting the PC as non-mutated pre-war specimen or something.
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Having less initially hostile factions opens the game up from just killing most of what
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moves into a more thoughtful sandbox, given some additional effort to fill it with
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meaningful content of course.
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### Just survival
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If nothing else, survival can be a convincing motivator. This needs to be developed
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way, way beyond the vanilla meters, but it can be done in an interesting way, having
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the player involved with basic mechanics and feeling small achievements for fulfilling
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immediate needs. Care should be taken, as it's extremely easy to balance poorly, making
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it a source of annoying busywork instead.
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### Party adventuring
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It could be fun to assemble a party to go on an adventure as a squad, the PC having
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some support role as well, a packing mule if nothing else. This of course raises the
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question as to why the party needs the player in the first place. Maybe as a guide?
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### Rogue-lite
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Starting the whole game over each time you die is not what most people would do. Still,
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it could be made to work to some extent, here's one example:
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* Upon death the PC wakes up somewhere with a semi-random explanation
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* Depending on some previous run metrics she gets buffs or de-buffs, this is
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the hard part to rationalize and balance
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The main benefit would be to make the game seamless, without ever loading a save.
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Unlike the vanilla survival the game state isn't rolled back, the player doesn't lose
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any progress and any decisions they made will persist.
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### Mini-metro
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There's a whole genre of games that are about connecting dots on a map. It would be
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fun to make use of this trope, especially given we already have the supply lines
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mechanic we can hook into.
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### Clicker game
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If all else fails, it's still fun to make numbers go up. This is a rich idea, but I
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didn't explore it too deep, because ideally I would strive for something more
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meaningful than that. It can work on the side of anything else though.
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### Sub-personalities
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I like how they are done in Defenestration. There are many ways in which the PC's
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mind may start hosting some guests that can take over from time to time. Need
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to clear a location from enemies? Become the death incarnate, watch the screen go
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black and observe the results of a battle you didn't fight on your own. Something
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like that.
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### DREAMS
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Maybe the base game is boring, but a girl can dream. This gives an ability to make
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the game play a sharp contrast between phases where you don't necessarily control
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your environment and have to adjust, also giving room to role playing, as you get
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a license to not making much sense and not even caring about the lore consistency.
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Wanna play Skyrim inside your Fallout? Go nuts.
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### REVERSE DREAMS
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The same idea, but the base game is a persistent dream you have. You wake up in
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a completely different world you may craft however you please, completely
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independent of the established lore.
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### Miscellaneous
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* Given that the weather is hot, maybe PC can get a tan. Bonus points for tan lines.
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* Use https://fallout.fandom.com/wiki/Pommel_horse for lewd purposes.
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Modules
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I realize it's not that easy to cut clean across the mod lines, but I would try anyway.
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### Clothes gone
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Even if you can hand-wave away no industrial capacity of the wasteland, where does
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the cloth come from? I would eliminate most of the clothing from the game, only leaving
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it for factions that can be explained to have some, and items that can be made from
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the animal leather.
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### No loot
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Remove most of containers and loose items from uninhabited locations.
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### No ammo
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Remove most of the ammo and fusion cores from the game, guns from NPCs. Removing guns
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themselves would also be immersive, but is less obvious than ammo.
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### Main mod
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Clear inventory and handcuff PC after leaving 111, set up global variables. ESP may
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provide necessary overrides and new forms should some be required universally.
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### Vanilla quests made kinky
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There are so many ways in which vanilla quests suck... It would stand to reason to try
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and salvage something. Here are some ideas:
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#### Kid in a Fridge
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Billy is a teenager looking ghoul girl.
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#### Confidence Man
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* Scarlet turns into a dom and runs the bar, having V.B. sweep instead.
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* Maybe she gets her confidence boost from a gunners boot camp or something.
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* She moves in with Travis, who gets to enjoy being her pet from now on.
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* Travis never gets the confidence boost.
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* Maybe some new radio bits.
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* Maybe adds to DC corruption levels.
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2024-05-01 02:35:26 +00:00
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#### Initial BoS quest line
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P.D. died earlier and is replaced by a synth, covertly working on making BoS stay out
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of Boston. The whole quest line can be made into painful puns, as well as providing
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a reason to leave PC armless.
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2024-04-08 22:22:31 +00:00
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2024-05-01 02:35:26 +00:00
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* Fire Support can be made about letting the other two go.
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* Call to Arms can be made into chopping off PC's arms to make them be able to wear
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power armor again.
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* And so on.
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2024-04-08 22:22:31 +00:00
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2024-05-01 02:35:26 +00:00
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### Commonwealth Ethics Committee
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The wasteland doesn't make sense. Maybe there exists a shadow committee that aims
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to reconcile the factions in order to make it a place people can actually live in.
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The PC would be a useful asset in this project.
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2024-04-08 22:22:31 +00:00
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2024-05-01 02:35:26 +00:00
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This idea is quite far-fetching and deserves its own detailed investigation.
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For example I would make most raider groups non-hostile and give them believable
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backstories and individual agendas. The gunners deserve the same. The institute is
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written so poorly it needs a complete overhaul, but maybe 80% of work can be done
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with 20% of effort.
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2024-04-08 22:22:31 +00:00
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2024-05-01 02:35:26 +00:00
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### Additional quests
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The sky's the limit. Here are some ideas:
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2024-04-08 22:22:31 +00:00
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2024-05-01 02:35:26 +00:00
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* Actually go out and find mysterious stranger with Nick.
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* Vault 81 has a reproduction crisis. Overseer is ready for desperate measures.
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* Science! Center might be able to help with RH collars.
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2024-04-08 22:22:31 +00:00
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2024-05-01 02:35:26 +00:00
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Conclusion
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----------
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I realize that people who can mod are already busy with their own ideas. My only hope
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is to some day see a game I enjoy playing, and as much as I appreciate the modding
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scene and the wide variety of existing games, adult or otherwise, I always want more.
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In this document I have outlined some of my mind map, having thought about things
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for quite a while now, and I hope someone would be -- if nothing else -- entertained
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by its content.
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