your last post really made me realize the massive difference in the amount of side characters different styles can account for
like writing a VN where all the routes are separate would probably make it a lot easier to have more side characters than the sustainable amount for something like WSC where everything is intertwined
I've also noticed that having separate routes like in GS and Changeling, makes it easier for side characters to have more screen time because there's more room for them, they'll also get differing amounts of time per route because its a whole different story, but in WSC there just isn't room for all the side characters to get a lot of screen time or for them to possibly get more screen time in different routes
granted, I know that some side characters got way less time than others in general in both Changeling and GS, but its an interesting difference between styles that I never really noticed or considered until now
Yup! That is definitely true.
It's also the scenario itself of course. If they weren't having a 'squad' trope and weren't a 'crew on a ship' then I might find other ways to handle the side characters but as it is, it tends to be 1x1 scenes or chaotic group scenes.
But obviously one of the main balancing acts for this style of game is reducing the shared content so you aren't skipping through 90% of the content while replaying.
When a character is having "LI-oriented content" - it tends to be 1x1 because this is the only time I *can* have 1x1 time with the MC and love interest. So I tend to not have other characters around for those moments. That's when romance is progressing.
And because I try to make those scenes *count* when they happen, particularly after route selection, it does mean you end up having a lot of 1x1 content without the others.
You are correct that in separate routes you'd probably see more of Gates in Noel's route or more of Cim in Raif's route. But now they share all those 'main path' scenes so you always get whoever is easiest to use for the most part.
With separate routes, each story gets its own side characters, its own antagonists and its own plot line and that offers a lot of freedom to explore the world where shared route games tend to be much more contained in that regard. It's one of several reasons I definitely prefer to have separate routes - the freedom that comes with that style is something I've learned is really important to me as a writer.
