Month: April 2023

Writing Royal Affairs Characters: Dominique de Saint Martel

Note: this post contains character spoilers for Royal Affairs. For a less in-depth introduction to Dominique de Saint Martel, check out their introduction post.

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Dominique was the second of the “approved” potential friendships or romances. With them I wanted to show someone whose family is very embedded in the socialite sphere, and demonstrate the sorts of problems Westerlind aristocrats might typically face.

Dominique’s parents are classic rich people living beyond their means, and Dominique has inherited their blase attitude to life because they’ve never been in a position where they have to think about such things. They’re someone who doesn’t necessarily know exactly who they are or where they’re going at the start of Royal Affairs; in some cases and from some perspectives they might figure that out, though often they might not.

For me Dominique is a character who has got by on charm, a hapless affect, and a sparkling family reputation for most of their life, and in Royal Affairs they’re starting to realise that that isn’t going to work forever. It’s a hard transition to make, especially as they find it hard to focus (the Crème de la Crème setting doesn’t have classifications like ADHD, but some neurodivergent players have seen aspects of themselves in Dominique, which brings me great joy) and there are points where they’re struggling to reconcile their fancy-free childhood and more serious concerns as they grow older.

They represent the carefree side of Westerlind aristocracy, who are content with how things are and don’t think much about how their lives and the system they live in impact others. I also wanted to have a student who simply isn’t suited to the expected Archambault -> leadership pipeline. Dominique isn’t all that sure what they want to do with their life, which is eminently normal for an eighteen-year-old, but the Archambault system expects young people to jump into and excel at whatever life path has been given them.

Dominique was tremendously fun to write. I particularly enjoyed their irrepressible interactions with other characters and the PC. Their romantic interactions with the PC are straightforward and easygoing; they aren’t a possessive character, and for them, knowing that they and the PC like each other is a simple matter. They’re eager to throw themselves into closeness, and to enjoy their quality time together.

I don’t know exactly where Dominique will end up after Royal Affairs – there are several different paths they can go down – but they’re someone who I believe might blossom after leaving school. They might well explore their talents and interests and come to realise more about themselves. With all the characters I wanted to leave a sense of openness about what’s coming in their futures – they’re only eighteen, after all, and who knows what might change in their lives and personalities even in the next couple of years? – but I think Dominique exemplifies this. Dominique truly finding their footing is yet to come.

Writing Royal Affairs Characters: Laurie Beaumont

Note: this post contains character spoilers for Royal Affairs. For a less in-depth introduction to Laurie Beaumont, check out their introduction post.

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I knew I wanted at least one “approved” potential romantic interest as a fellow Archambault student, and I wanted to show someone whose background is pretty typical for people at Archambault. Being from a very wealthy financially-focused family puts Beaumont at an advantage compared to other characters in terms of how much the Queen is likely to be happy about the PC spending time with them.

I knew I wanted Beaumont to be extremely rich; I knew I wanted them to be very focused and hard-working; as I figured those out, I wanted a pinch of additional vulnerability, so I brought in their orphan background and things clicked for me.

Beaumont is the most angst-heavy of the Royal Affairs characters by a fair distance. They’re also the most restrained and withdrawn: maybe they’d have been different if their backstory had gone differently but I think they were likely never much of an emotionally-open or enthusiastic person separate to that. Either way, I loved writing them with their pet, Patch: with their pet, they feel less self-conscious and more able to be openly emotional.

The way they treat the PC was something that needed some care. In early drafts, they ended up sometimes responding so poorly to seemingly innocuous interactions that playtesters were concerned that Beaumont despised them – which wasn’t my intention at all! That said, I did want to show that there’s a gap between Beaumont’s internal life and how they physically behave or what they say. They don’t deliberately show a lot of energy in general; nor do they care much for Westerlind aristocracy’s social niceties. Nor, really, do they find it easy to project a lot of energy if it’s asked of them.

Beaumont is a very determined character, and they have a strong core of conviction about what they value. Although they don’t particularly care about universal suffrage, they may sometimes come to care about Estell Trevelyan, for various reasons, and act protectively of them as a result. They’re a character who can cause problems for the PC under some circumstances, thanks to that determination; under others, they can be a powerful ally. 

Beaumont may be brusque and sometimes prickly, and I had a lot of fun writing some of their more blunt dialogue. But they have a lot going on in their head too. Some of their storyline is about them opening up to vulnerability. They take a lot of pride in being self-sufficient and dealing with things on their own terms, but that isn’t healthy for anyone to do all the time, of course. Westerlin has a culture that rewards stiff upper lips, pushing through difficulties, and being an exceptional achiever. It also has a rudimentary understanding of mental illness or wellbeing. Beaumont (and indeed other characters from the Creme de la Creme series) is a product of that culture, but perhaps they can reach a better state of mind by the end of Royal Affairs.

The hothouse school environment is ideal for showing characters dealing with – or struggling with – the current pressures of adolescence and the looming ones of adulthood. Which is all part of why I return to these rarified settings.

Writing Royal Affairs Characters: Asher Garnett

Note: this post contains character spoilers for Royal Affairs. For a less in-depth introduction to Asher Garnett, check out their introduction post.

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Asher was a character who came about very early on, back when I was first coming up with the game’s concept. They even got a specific shoutout in the pitch: “Or might you even form a scandalous attachment with your bodyguard?”

I knew I wanted a bodyguard romance for the Royal Affairs PC, and I knew this would be a good way to demonstrate the pressures on the PC’s personal life that come from their high standing. Because Asher’s romance would be socially complicated and controversial in the game, I wanted to make their personality appealing and easy to like (for players who are into that kind of thing!). This was the same logic of making Rosario in Creme de la Creme fairly easygoing and friendly; there are social barriers to getting together with them, so I didn’t want too many personal ones. I also knew at this point that there was going to be a more antagonistic major character, Javi, so Asher served to balance that out.

I had a pretty strong sense of what I wanted Asher to be from the start: loyal, sweet, dutiful. When I wrote them, I thought a lot about what it would feel like to have your identity and goals bound up so strongly with another person and institution from a young age. Because of their proximity to the royal family they’re in the position of seeing their weak moments while also putting them on a pedestal.

In a lot of ways Asher sees the royal family as their family too, though they’re in this strange position where they’re subordinate at the same time. Their birth family, the Garnetts, traditionally guard the royal family so are also very much part of that institution; Tristan and Raimund, Asher’s parents, aren’t very emotionally warm or affectionate people. Growing up with that along with the Queen as a boss/almost-parental-figure gives Asher an extremely stable, solid  foundation and sense of their place in the world… which is extremely unusual at the same time.

A lot of Asher’s friendship or romance journey through the game is learning to see the Royal Affairs PC as a person as well as a symbolic figure. The shape of their romance has elements of “we mustn’t!” and there are social hurdles around it too, but as Asher’s personal feelings develop, it also becomes about relating to each other in a way they never have before.

With their friendship or romance with the PC, or their relationship with another character, Asher isn’t used to wanting something for its own sake, for themselves: this may help them recognise that feeling, and do something about it. Asher doesn’t really realise how young they are and what potential they have ahead, because they’re so used to focusing on the here-and-now and what their training tells them. In some paths through the game – whether they go against their training, or double down on it – what they’ve experienced may lead them to think more deeply about whatever the future holds.

Play Royal Affairs – Out Now!

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As the middle child of the Queen of Westerlin, you’ve led a sheltered life in the palace, but now you must spread your wings and prepare for your royal responsibilities with a year at the exclusive Archambault Academy.

Everyone knows your name, everyone has an opinion on what you do, and everyone views you as the face of the new generation of royalty. Your every move is reported in the press, a word from you could make or break a teacher’s career–or the fate of the school itself. You’re being courted by every club and social group on campus; and there are countless students who would love to be in your orbit.

In luxurious armchairs behind ivy-covered walls, you and your fellow students debate political theory—but outside, real trouble simmers across the realm. There are activists fighting to open voting rights beyond the aristocracy, and you can use your influence to sway the government’s decision in either direction. Relations are growing increasingly uneasy with your country’s neighbors, and there are conspiracies around every corner. Why is your mother whispering behind closed doors with the Prime Minister? Have the leaders of the protests really disappeared? Which allies can you trust? There are some secrets that only your royal authority can uncover.

Will you honor centuries of royal tradition and follow the path that your mother the Queen has laid out for you? Or will you be a force of change, leading your country in a new direction as you break free of a lifetime of expectations?

Oh, and speaking of expectations—there’s also the foreign royal that your mother wants you to marry. Who is in your class. And who happens to hate you.

  • Play as male, female, or non-binary; gay, straight, or bisexual; monogamous or polyamorous; asexual and/or aromantic.
  • Find love and/or friendship with your free-spirited childhood companion, a firebrand radical, a dreamy dancer, a financier haunted by tragedy, your devoted bodyguard, or a rival foreign royal.
  • Cuddle and train your pet: a horse, dog, or bird of prey.
  • Put on a lavish play, become a sports star, or run Student Council; and represent Archambault Academy against its rival Gallatin.
  • Become your classmates’ confidante and help them solve their problems—or make those problems worse.
  • Embrace your royal responsibility and carry on your mother’s tradition—and perhaps even take your sister’s place as heir to the throne.
  • Forge a path to the future by supporting revolutionaries’ calls for change, or stamp out the movement with scheming and deceit.

When this tumultuous year ends, will you be Archambault Academy’s crowning glory?

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