At the risk of being “That Guy,” I’d probably advise against a “stance on fat” choice at game start at this time. It seems like a small thing, but it would mean you’d quite literally double the amount of dialogue you’d need just for a simple yes-no decision at the start. And if you decided to also have a “how you feel about others weight gain” question, now it’s quadrupled.
It’s something that could potentially be broached at a later date, but I’d say get the core game done first, then worry about the details and extras. And, if I’m being completely honest, I’m not sure how well a “yay, fats!” character would fit into the narrative you’re laying out, though perhaps I’m reading too much into it.
Some extra stuff with Ben could be interesting. It might take a longer intro sequence to get the proper feel for the character, but he could easily become a driving force in the narrative. I could see a potential sequence with him as follows:
- You meet him at the park or another area. Egotistical, narcissistic, and a touch overbearing, Ben introduces himself and says how nice it is to meet someone almost as thin and good looking as he is.
- As the PC is still health conscious at story start, they join Ben on a couple runs. Ben continues to be difficult to deal with.
- Various factors see the PC exercising less and their weight rapidly rising. Random events at this point could include bumping into Ben at the Burger Joint, where he really rags on you for your weight, or as @Anonymous264170 suggested, you join Ben for a run and fail hard, and he’s just cruel about it.
- This could lead into a revenge sequence against Ben, though how to semi-realistically start him gaining weight is a question I don’t have a good answer to.
Obviously this would all fall under the “details” category, but it could be a fun sequence.
I know you said the gym is kind of weak right now. Is there any difference between exercising at different weights in the current build? I like the idea that the fatter you get, the harder it becomes to work out and lose weight. Could be a little problematic, I’ll admit, since it might lock you into the immobility end with no way out of it.
And speaking of the immobility end(s), will there be any in-game warning that the player is getting close to it, like with the receptionist? As an example, using the Burger Joint one from the Trello (and cannibalizing my earlier bit of writing):
The cab pulls up in front of the Burger Joint, and you breath a sigh of relief as the engine had been struggling up even the most gradual hills on the way here. You open the door and try to heave yourself out, once, twice, thrice, and fall back in failure, panting heavily. Your fatty features have become so engorged with lard that your overtaxed muscles can’t get enough leverage to shift your blubbery frame from your seat.
The cabbie sighs and helps pull you out with a loud groan. For a brief moment, you become wedged in the car door, and you worry that you might be trapped in the vehicle, but your flabby rolls slowly shift past the metal frame. A slight draft on one massively oversized hip makes you think you must have torn a hole in your trousers, but you can’t see past your fatty extremities to know for certain.
“Alright, Lard-butt, pay up. For the ride, the extra gas, AND the seat.” Looking in the cab, you see that the back seat had completely collapsed under your indescribable girth. Blushing furiously, you fail to meet the cabbie’s eyes as you hand over an embarrassingly huge wad of cash. After counting it out, the cab driver gets in his vehicle and takes off, the engine and shocks making an unhealthy squeal as it moves down the street.
Turning your gargantuan body like a ship in storm, you slowly shuffle one foot in front of the other as you make your way into the Burger Joint. A huge jiggle passes through your fat-stuffed form with each swaying step, and despite the short distance from the street to the door, you still need to stop and lean against the wall while you catch your breath. You can feel sweat pooling between your chins, but your pudgy hand and sausage fingers are having a lot of trouble wiping it away, in particular because your girthy chins and large neck rolls have blurred into a single fatty mass.
Having caught your breath after an embarrassing amount of time, you slowly waddle the last few steps to the front of the Burger Joint. The automatic doors slide open and you step forward. Your hips press heavily into both sides of the frame, and you’re forced to step back and turn sideways in an attempt to get inside. However, you immediately encounter another problem as your huge, multi-rolled belly and country wide ass promptly wedge themselves in the doorway. With a fair amount of undignified grunting and heaving, and the help of the staff, you pop in like a cork, all too aware that you lost yet more buttons from your shirt.
After a brief pause to let your oceanic flesh stop jiggling, you waddle to the counter. You lean on the counter to try and take some of the pressure off your poor feet, your pooling fat and turkey-sized arms eliciting some rather worrisome creaks from the counter as you desperately try to catch your breath. Terry, realizing you’re now looking at him, stops trying the erase the lunch special with a quietly muttered curse and comes to the counter.
“H-hello, vast-VALUED! Valued customer. What will you have today?” You blush as you try to ignore the stares and whispered comments from the other patrons as you place your order. (PC has a choice of orders, and selects the Extra-Large Buffet, which will leave their belly packed to the brim) Terry pauses, his hand hovering just over the keyboard. “Um, are, are you sure? Like, really sure?” (PC has a couple options, giving the possibility to avoid this end)
A loud, echoing growl rumbles from your stomach. A tiny bit of drool slides past your plump lips, half smothered by your softball sized cheeks. “You’re right. Better make it a double order…”
Okay, that wound up way, WAY longer then I anticipated, and far too long for a VN, but I don’t want to delete all that typing, lol. But yes, some written cue before crossing that final threshold would probably be a good idea.
This game certainly has drummed up a fair bit of excitement, and I can’t wait to see what you come up with next.
Edit: One more question: will the immobility ending in the Burger Joint make the Crushing Cabbie’s Car ending nearly impossible to get?
