I just wondering how emotions that change in conjunction with your actions will impact Gamespeak puzzles, and Gamespeak within puzzles, from a narrative sense. Exoddus impressed us by having emotions in a game at all, though the added complexity was not all that much. The biggest effect was having to physically get to them to make them behave, before their own actions got themselves (or you) killed. But they were very simple emotions. They were either angry or depressed at slavery, or angry or depressed at you. Narratively speaking, an apology only makes sense when he is angry at Abe. For hitting him or so forth. An apology on behalf of another mudokon is not very believable. "Showing sympathy," as it was called, for their slave circumstances is pushing it. Apologising for killing their friend just shows them to be mind-bogglingly stupid.
We ought it at the time. It was a new thing, the puzzles were fun, and starting fights was hilarious. The suicides were funny the first time, the mass suicides were slightly disturbing.
Now we expect more. Hence the proposal that word of your actions gets around. I don't know how he impact on the puzzles will be believable without entirely independent sets of puzzles. What mudokon will follow an Abe who fully lives up to his terrorist reputation from all possible perspectives? Who will forgive him? Changing your tune halfway through will be that much harder if they won't let you rescue them, and some puzzles just require them to help you. Mass-murderers are faces with a certain level of belligerence from the general public that makes it difficult to solicit aid from them. Which is fine in games where such aid is not necessary. The Fable games always allowed you to acquire a crowd of followers, but if you hated your they would not accompany you at all (unless you were scary enough to intimidate them into it. Abe never will be). In Fable 3 villagers that hate you would resist you with all their might as you physically drag them around.
Quarma has always been little more than a point system in the Oddworld games. Make it more than that and you edge towards RPG elements. With is fine, just be aware of what you are getting yourselves in to, and how sweeping the changes might be if it is to make narrative sense. Dominoes. Story is of utmost importance to the Oddworld games, and that should come through in the gameplay as well. It is a difficult tightrope. After all, the story of Abe the psychpath should come through in the gameplay as well, if that is still a viable option.
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