Thinking back on things, there is a lot I would have liked to change and clean up regarding Sincere Deceit. My thoughts are under the cut because I have a lot to say.
Roland's Horrible No Good OOC Day
I HATE how I wrote his scene in Gaius' office. It's out of character and doesn't make sense. Roland isn't stupid. He wouldn't ignore a blatant GUN SHOT WOUND and blame the man who doesn't even have a gun. I seriously do not know what I was thinking back then. It's terrible writing that I am embarrassed by.
I would go back and rewrite that whole scene with him. I think he would be working on some of the more unethical projects in the bowels of the factory, but not go so far as to assist the rebellion in their nastier projects (giving them supplies is on the table though). So he would have never been to the prison before and wouldn't know that they are doing some crazy stuff in there. If he does it was out of ignorance of what they were planning on doing with Gaius (namely his clones, but he would be worried about them discovering the real Gaius at some point as well). If anything, he would be coerced into following them back to the prison because of his life/knowledge of the real Gaius' life being threatened.
This of course would cause some reworking for the Chop Shop. Roland would probably be there, but he wouldn't be some burnt evil master mind. He'd be forced to work and we would need to save him (if the player decides to make that choice). The boss would probably be some elsen running the whole operation that you have to fight (not sure if they would be a burnt or not though). Perhaps they augmented themselves to be a monster, but keep their sanity mostly intact? Could even be an elsen you read about in the prison's files.
This also brings to mind doing more with Gaius' clones. We originally wanted to have an event where a clone would be in Gaius' office after the district was done, but we never put it in. I think it would be a fun event to work in that would lead to some possible interesting side events.
Malachi; Wasted Potential
This poor guy. He barely has anything going for him. I would like to go back and do more with him. Give his personality a chance to shine in some way. The other district guardians have a lot going on with them. Then you have Malachi who's just...there. Sure he has some notes here and there and the residents talk about him, but there could be a lot more I think.
It's just figuring out how to add that in that causes me to draw a blank. He's a secluded being that you don't really get much of a chance to interact with outside of his fight. You learn more about him through the people who knew him, and through his memories later on in the game. I'm sure there is a way I could work in something that gives him more presence, but also doesn't detract from him being a secluded character. Maybe one day I will figure it out.
Blue Living in the Shadow of Red
The game was originally planned to mostly have a couple endings, all regarding the world being corrupted. So it really only had the red route planned for years. The blue route came about when FourEyes and I were talking about how Zaphkiel needed more for his character. Thus the whole church thing and cult was born and grew.
Sadly it did not grow enough. The blue route lacks the meat the red route has, pun intended. Some stuff in the Tower could be changed to allow more wiggle room for Zaphkiel. He needs more characterization and information to explain why he's the way he is. It's been awhile since I've actually looked at everything we wrote for him, and there might be just enough there, but I think diving into his past would help crush inconsistences I left behind.
Speaking of which, there is an event in the Tower I would like to add in. It was something that was supposed to be in the game, but for whatever reason I left it out. It's a mistake on my part, since it would have helped explain how OFF turned into Sindec. Something involving the switch and a certain puddle of corruption that would grow a heart.
Understanding the Timeline
Expanding on the timeline events would help make things less confusing. Stuff like what happened before Arbela was made, how long it took Arbela to be made and how long it had prosperity before things went to hell.
The guardians should be much older than what they're portrayed ingame. They should have more experience and things weighing them down. Perhaps they also need to look more like the monsters they've become.
The timeline's messed up and requires a lot of sitting down and rewriting. If anything to just give a definitive set of years inbetween events. Or even just a vague large amount of time that makes sense.
This is mostly just wanting to go back and trim out the fat. There are a lot of unneeded puzzles that were thrown in just because I thought it was neat. So many could be cut or combined in some way to reduce the time it takes to complete the game.
The Industry District also has a huge pacing issue. It's the largest area and it takes forever to get through. There would be areas that would be removed or condensed. An example would be removing the fishery and just combining some aspect of it into the slaughterhouse. Make that building be the part that leads to the orchards. Perhaps the underground area would be reworked to be smaller (though I think I would add a particular giant multi headed serpent back in there instead of in the prison, as was originally planned). The factory could even be reworked to not take so long to get through. Lots of possibilities.
Another area I would love to fix is the medical ward in the Prison. I hate the chase scene I created because it's so easy to break. And honestly it's kind of dumb and not all that scary. If anything, I would have patrolling enemies that you can choose to fight (and struggle against but maybe have a good reward for killing them), or you can try to stealth around. Might make the atmosphere more tense.
That's honestly all I can think of for now. Regardless of the game being finished it still sits in my mind a lot. I think about a lot of things that could be fixed or expanded upon to make this game a better experience. I'm also just very nostalgic for something that I've grown to love again after a very long time.
It genuinely makes me happy people still care about this fangame and delve deep into not only its story and characters, but also its influences and symbolisms. Gets my brain abuzz with ideas. Y'all are awesome!
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