It’s completely understandable that the game didn’t quite manage to hook you!
Essentially, yes. That is the core gameplay of IWM.
You interact with Myrddin.
A... rather lengthy little yapping session(sorry!)
And a large part of that interaction comes through simply reading and responding to dialogue. That is, at its heart, the premise of the game.
Of course, the experience gradually expands beyond that, introducing various diversions and additional gameplay elements throughout the chapters, but dialogue remains at the center of it all.
That being said, particularly throughout the first two chapters, Myrddin’s manner of speaking is very deliberate.
He is repetitive.
And that repetition plays an important role in certain revelations later in the story.
Of course, that doesn’t necessarily make the experience any less frustrating when you’re playing through those chapters for the first time, without the context that eventually gives those patterns their significance.
So I can absolutely understand your criticism.
Now, obviously, the “400th time” is a bit of hyperbole, but your comment actually made me curious enough to check how frequently the word “honestly” appears throughout the script.
Across the entire current script, including the still-unpublished final chapter, which brings the total word count to 65,708, the word appears 42 times.
And considering the various branching choices, a player would naturally encounter even fewer instances during a single playthrough.
More specifically, the phrase “And honestly” appears 11 times throughout the script, with 7 of those instances occurring in Chapter I, the chapter you played.
So you are absolutely correct! This particular sentence structure is considerably more concentrated in the opening chapter.
What I will say is that the amount of “…” throughout the game will probably drive you even more insane, haha.
And there, once again, I unfortunately have to hide behind the wonderful excuse of:
“Well… that is intentional.”
The reasoning behind this becomes clearer as the story progresses, with certain aspects receiving further attention in the upcoming final chapter.
All in all, this is simply Myrddin’s voice, and the way I have deliberately chosen to portray him.
Sometimes he is repetitive. Sometimes awkward. Sometimes unnecessarily dramatic.
And sometimes what he says can even feel outright “artifical/fake”.
Yet there are also moments when he sounds genuinely sincere. Vulnerable. Naive. Hopeful.
That contrast is an essential part of how I have written his character.
Of course, none of this means that every instance of repetition is automatically justified simply because there’s an underlying narrative intention. Nor does it mean that the resulting dialogue will necessarily appeal to everyone.
And that’s perfectly understandable!
I hope none of this comes across as me dismissing your thoughts.
I genuinely appreciate you taking the time to share them!
I simply wanted to take this opportunity to offer a little more insight into the reasoning behind those particular writing decisions.
Thank you for giving IWM a chance!
Have a wonderful week!
Warm regards!