Dispatch characters are so well designed that players became obsessed with a few of them right off the bat, especially when they realized romance was part of this interactive superhero dramedy. While now we know you can make Robert romance Blonde Blazer or Invisigal, Malevola is another hero players have been begging to be able to interact more with.
During Destructoid's interview with Dispatch developers Michael Choung (Executive Producer, CEO) and Pierre Shorette (Narrative Director, Executive Producer, CCO), we've asked the question many fans are dying to know, and that even the AdHoc team had been vague about until now: Can you romance Malevola in Dispatch?
"Malevola is not a romanceable character in season one," Pierre confirmed to Destructoid on Nov. 10. "You know, we're going to listen to the community quite a bit on this one when it comes to what influences season 2, and we've definitely heard it loud and clear."
Malevola's success wasn't planned
Pierre explained how Malevola wasn't part of the core cast but gained more space in the first season of Dispatch thanks to the acting of Alanah Pearce.
"A lot of the stuff that is those little interactions that folks are reading into with Malevola is stuff that came in late," he said. "So it really wasn't that kind of planned for the entirety of the story. It was more like, 'there's a cool character, Alanah is crushing it. Let's add some bits and bobs here and there." Michael added how the game's deluxe edition includes an expanded story for other characters, including Malevola.
A '90s ad inspired Malevola's design
Pierre told us he finds it interesting how people interpret Malevola in the game. "I see Malevola as kind of a jock," he noted. "She happens to be like a hot jock, but all jocks are hot. They're all like physical specimens, their bodies are their tools, you know?"
The Dispatch devs watch how fans interpret interactions between Robert and Malevola as her having a crush on him. One such scene is when Malevola, Invisigal, and Royd show up at Robert's place and find him in his underwear. Some video compilations on YouTube even describe these scenes as "flirting."
"For me, it's funny to see something like a nut tap, which I have had happen to me in non-sexual ways many times, or being sort of really, really red, as very flirtatious," Pierre said. "Maybe it is, or maybe it isn't. I don't want to say."
Still, Malevola's memorable look is intentional. It comes from an equally memorable TV commercial. "Malevola's original design comes from the Cindy Crawford Pepsi ad from the 90s, where she's just in some heels, in a tank top, and some jeans in the desert," Pierre said. That look is so iconic that I still drink Pepsi to this day."
We know a second season of Dispatch is very likely at this point. If romance options between her and Robert don't come by then, fans who really want to see this interaction could hope Pierre's wish that they can publish a spin-off dating sim of Dispatch eventually comes to life.
The post The Dispatch community is thirsting over Malevola, and devs revealed whether you can romance her appeared first on Destructoid.
