This idea comes after courting him and not seeing quite as much character development as I thought there might be. Shane is a drunk (let's be blunt and real here), and he works a "dead end" job at JojoMart. While courting him he gives up booze, and begins to feel better about his surroundings, his life, and he has the player for support while he struggles with addiction and severe depression. After marriage his dialogue changes significantly, but there are several lines that I have trouble with. From the Wiki: “<spouse name>, should I do something useful today?... or just nap forever?” “There's a wide, wide world out there... but I'd rather stay in my room.” “Hmm, what's on my agenda for today? I think I see some spicy pretzel snacks and a couple of 'cold boys' on the horizon.” “I don't really feel like doing work today. Maybe I'll see what's on TV.” “Beer or cider? Sometimes life can be challenging.” “Ah... this is the life. No responsibilities, Tunnelers game tonight, fridge stocked with all the goodies a guy could need.” “I'm just gonna have a couple more beers before closing my eyes for the night.” “I spent all day watching TV and now my legs feel like soft dough. Guess I'll have to take it easy until tomorrow.” These are just a few, but they make Shane out to be incredibly lazy, and after all your progress with him it still seems like he drinks too much for someone recovering. My ideas: An AA-esque support group with Shane, the doctor, and generic people (like at festivals) at the community centre on Monday between 1PM and 3PM (if it's restored, else the general store in the area where the women work out). He can still go to the Saloon on Fridays to support Gus and his business, but any other references to alcohol in his dialogue should be removed and replaced with a non-alcoholic drink. More chores and chickens, and less whining about work. Shane is a grown man with a spouse and - someday - two kids, I am sure that he can do it. I know that he can be a responsible and supportive adult. His character is made to be tsundere, sad, and generally grumpy, but maybe a pinch less. Thank you for reading my humble suggestion! See you hopefully in multi-player!
As a Shane-wife, I have to agree. He does come off a bit lazy most of the time - at least some indication that he's working would be nice. I feel like I'm his sugar mama.
I think this was discussed in a thread before (I think in general discussion) and personally I'd like to see Shane have TWO paths in a relationship. A "bad end" where he falls off the wagon, becomes exactly the alcoholic he was, and all of this dialogue and his messy room remains, and finally if it continues, the relationship ends in a divorce within a couple of years or he outright dies. Good end would be as you said - he gets help, gets therapy, stays off the booze, and becomes sober - and the marriage lasts/he stays alive.
@seth0et0holth Ah, yes I found the thread you mentioned. I am very glad that the users of this site are good at tagging. And yes, two ends would be neat! @LuthienNightwolf Haha, I feel the same way. Needs more chickens.
I see where you're coming from, but as someone with anxiety and depression myself, I honestly feel like Shane's post-marriage dialogues are pretty realistic as far as the current game mechanics and design allow. Lack of energy and lack of ambition can both be symptoms of depression. Also, mental illness and addiction don't just go away because something good happens. Shane is probably going to struggle with these issues for the rest of his life. And given the saloon's role as the town's gathering spot, I just can't see him sobering up completely at this point. What I think he does do is make a concerted effort to cut back on his drinking, and he seems to be fairly successful for the most part. I wish he would quit drinking completely, but I still feel like he's making progress up to the point of his marriage. He does seem to plateau after that, though. Having said that, I would very much like to see him get more of an in-game, visible support network, whether he's married or not. I'd like to see him interact more with the citizenry, particularly Sam and Alex, and I would LOVE to have him discuss his therapy sessions, medication, and/or coping strategies. To be completely honest, I think Pelican Town needs a psychiatrist and a psychologist. Between Kent's PTSD, Shane's depression and alcoholism, Pam's straight up alcoholism, Alex's what appears to be body muscle dysmorphia, and Penny's situation.... well, my characters can only solve so many problems on their own.
It's not so much the drinking that gets to me now but the laziness. The impression I get, after three years of marriage, is that he basically stays home most days and sits on the sofa, drinking beer and eating too much. His tough decision for the day is whether to drink beer or cider, or take a nap, and after a long day of watching tv his legs feel like dough, so he better take it easy. I mean, come on. Drink, fine. Be depressed, fine. I get it. But at least some tiny amount of pitching in would be appreciated. Can't he maybe get a part time job covering Marnie's shop on days she's out? I understand that the reality is, this is just a game, and these characters are just sprites and a bit of dialogue. Everything we ask for here translates to additional work with the coding, so I am sympathetic to that. But the dialogue at the very least could be a bit more varied outside of drinking, eating, relaxing...just *something* to give him a little bit of direction. Some indication that he's working at being a better husband and provider for his family. Even some mushy lines where he tells you he loves you would add an element of romance to the relationship that seems to be a little bit lacking with him as your partner. But then again...maybe that's just who Shane is. I married him because I wanted to try something different - and something different was what I got. I can now say, after having done so, I would not likely choose him again. I still like him, we can still be friends on my other saves, I'll always have an understanding of his nature but...marriage-wise, he's just not the one for me.
Yeah, his romance is very 2D and could use some fleshing out. I do like that CA left his character open, but it's a little *too* open in some ways, and you do have to headcanon quite a bit to make it work. I like your idea of his getting a part-time job covering Marnie's shop, @LuthienNightwolf. For myself, I'd like to see him talk more about his blue chickens, maybe try to get them recognized as a new breed or something.
@springacres My brother-in-law agrees with you, except he says the entire game needs more chickens. He may or may not be mildly obsessed with them.
My current farm is a chicken ranch - I have one full deluxe coop for each color of chickens, including the blue ones. The only other animals I keep are two cows so I have milk in case I need it for cooking, and a basic coop with four dinosaurs because I kept finding eggs and wanted to hatch them. And yet, despite all this, Shane only ever spends time with Charlie. lol
It just occurred to me that in MY current game, I need more non-deluxe animal houses. My only coop is fully upgraded, as is one of my barns. I also have Auto-Water installed. ...No wonder Shane spends so much time hanging out around the house, he doesn't have anything TO do. @RavenSterling the reason that option occurred to me is because it's one of Shane's very few canonical accomplishments in-game, and not only that but it seems to have been entirely his own idea. It may not be much, compared to the PC saving the town, but it IS something he can point to. After all, it takes time, energy, patience, know-how, and more than a little bit of luck to develop a new breed of animal. Shane deserves major kudos for that. So with that in mind, I would really like to see this aspect of Shane's character developed more. He would still need to get treatment for his emotional issues and alcohol dependence, but he also needs an arc where he gets involved with regional agricultural and livestock organizations, Ferngill's equivalent of 4-H or FFA, that sort of thing. And definitely more canon interaction with the player's chickens.
