Lab Rat Status and Opinions Requested! (Patreon)

Hey everyone! Just touching base here since I'm down to the wire on time.

Lab Rat will still be out soon, though, no worries. I just thought I would let you know and explain the delay since I really wanted to have it out last week and was on track for that but hit a big snag. Mr. Lunan was in a bad way, but is doing better now. Between physical ailments and some less-than-stellar mental-emotional junk, we didn't have a very good run of it for a solid week or so. And, naturally, I decided to change something in Chapter 1 and add a new scene, so… I mean, that's more for you to enjoy, but it does branch and set some important variables, so it's more work too, lol.

In the meantime, I thought I would ask for your opinions on something very important to your MC. Their personality!

So, if you'd like to help me figure out what to do here, please read the diatribe below and comment your thoughts, send them in a DM, or use this form (if you don't want to use the form, the questions are below). You are, of course, welcome to send your thoughts anonymously in a Tumblr Ask (I may not answer on Tumblr, but I will read them and take notes).

​

I'm looking to answer:

What ideas would you like to share on how to customize your MC in Lab Rat?

What's the most important aspect to you for the presentation of your MC's characteristics? (This can be a specific characteristic, how flavor is added to the text, how much it influences the story, etc…)

Are there any quirks, characteristics, even habits or tics that you want to see more of or don't see often enough in the IF world?

Now to my train of thought on this… And I know I’ve asked these things before, but I’m reopening the topic to look for new takes or even some affirmations if you like my current two ideas.

Since I couldn’t settle on how I wanted to code the MC's personality, you won't see variation for it in the new demo yet. Initially, I thought I would work it in like I did for GC and do flavortext responses throughout. Then, I had an idea to break things up closer to the MTBI categories since it's an easily recognized pattern. Just remember that this would only be for certain flavortext, and your MC's choices wouldn't change based on personality (and I will never do personality "skill" checks). Personality is never a 100% sure thing even irl, so I don't want your choices limited. Your MC should be allowed to act outside of their norm if they want, and their social success shouldn't be governed by whether they are serious or funny enough for a situation.

This was the breakdown I was considering for this method's categories:

Social/non-social energy:  extrovert vs introvert

Mind:  pragmatist (observant, down to earth) vs dreamer (imaginative, curious)

Nature:  logic (mind - rationality) vs emotions (heart-sensitive)

Work/decision making:  organized (thorough - list-maker) vs improvised (flexible)

Self-assurance:  high (assertive) vs low (self-conscious)

For the next idea, I wondered about having a kind of archetype. I know when I've asked about this before there were, for lack of a better word, concerns. However, most of the concerns were about the MC's choices. And again, I wouldn't limit those. An archetype might give me more ways to integrate flavor for your MC (this is my theory). I think I could add more "micro" characteristics or quirks here and be more specific in the way they speak and act. The downside is, some of those specifics may not resonate completely with your vision of the MC. This is sort of what I did with the project idea for "Betrothed at 35," only for Lab Rat, you wouldn't choose a background but a character type.

These were some of the ideas I had for the archetypes (but I'm open to more!):

Sad, wet cat – sensitive, shy, extra-traumatized. More introverted and self-conscious.

A good fit for an extra-angsty experience where things can get more interpersonal.

Rebel – Bold, defiant, MC's trauma fuels a more rebellious attitude. More outgoing and argumentative at times.

Might be more fun to add tension to certain moments, and put MC at greater risk for physical harm during conflict.

Jokester – hides behind sarcasm and other humor, avoids thinking too deeply, and longs for freedom and belonging. A mix of outgoing and introverted.

Good for more laughs, and maybe some social tension when things get serious.

Sweetheart – all sugar, considerate, often sunny and always kind and concerned for others over themselves. A mix of outgoing and introverted.

Good for adding some fresh air to a moment, but also demonstrating the unseen weight of carrying a smile for everyone else.

Things like these can help me add more flavor to the MC's thoughts, motivations, and reactions to what happens.

For either method, you'd still be able to select how your MC romances or is romanced (shy, bold, etc.), and make other custom choices for their behavior.

So, that said. Please tell me your thoughts! We're not limited to just these options. I am open to considering other systems and ideas on how to change it up, even if we meld some options together. Though I will say, I probably won't do a "set as you go" sort of thing using points like how GC does. This will be fully set early (I will edit the first chapter to give more variety), and I would want to make a moment or two during the game where the MC's personality can shift, add, or lose aspects.

​

Anyway, that's where I'm at. I'm close to having the final scenes rounded out. I've been editing as I go, though as always with editing, it never actually ends. I've bug-hunted as well, and I am hoping very hard that you encounter few, if any, errors. The character setup was…very large, lol. I hope it's not tedious, but I wanted to give you a solid variety to shape your character. And I might have spent too much time on some visuals for tattoos as well…