Getting a lot of questions about how companions and how they should be used in RPGs, been putting it off because he doesn't have a simple answer. Covers whether or not companions should be in game, how many there should be, if they are controllable, what their involvement is in the questline, etc.
In general, in isometric games, Cain leans towards them being controllable. Didn't do it in Arcanum or Fallout, but found himself liking it after implementing it in ToEE, liked the level of player agency, it's not good if the player dies and feels it wouldn't have happened if someone in the party had just done something else differently. In first person games, for multiple reasons, prefers not to have controllable companions, a good control scheme can be very hard to make. Probably have to implement pause to give orders in real time first person games, it can get complicated.
If you do controllable questions, the next question is if there is a main player in the party. Is there one character that represents the player, or has the whole party become the player. In ToEE, the whole player created party is the main player, as long as one of them is alive the game continues. In other games, there is one player character and companions join them later on. Cain prefers there to be one character that represents you and is special. That character should be special in that when it dies, it's games over, and when dialogue happens, that character (yourself) is doing the talking. Charisma companions can assist you, but you as that character should be the one doing the talking. You may be a chosen one or just happened to fall into a situation, but that character moves the story.
How many companions does Cain prefer to have, both in general and that you can bring into the party? Cain likes 2-4 that can be added into the party, but 3-6 that you can pick from. Likes to have a wide range of companions, but you can't have all of them at once. Likes that you have to choose, doesn't want the player to have 8 different things they have to control at once (Also if you go that high you're probably going to have to go turn based, and Cain generally thinks it is easier to have companions in a turn based game, can do it in RtWP but it's probably going to be the companions running around controlled by AI most of the time.) Gameplay wise, companions should represent mechanic archetypes. You have a good melee guy, a good magic woman, a good charisma guy, etc. You should be able to notice how they can be useful in your party and fill in gaps. Narrative side of things, companions usually come with their own questline. Considers them side quests in the world that explore the world, not the main quest. Doesn't really like companion quests that share the main goals as the player (Such as killing the main villain), feels that is taking away from the player's goals. A companion quest can be used to inform on factions and the setting, good way to deliver lore. Companions can add background lore without feeling heavy handed, but that means there is a tension between companions trying to add narrative/personality and their gameplay needs (The player just needed them because they need a good melee guy.) Make sure narrative doesn't conflict, Cain has to tell narrative people to keep in mind the companion's gameplay needs (Don't write your tough guy melee tank as a soft pacifist raised by monks who gets scared of monsters.)
As a side, knows a lot of people watching the channel are really into romancing companions, Cain never got into that. Finds it a weird add on in many games (you spend 90% of the time with companions adventuring, then go back to camp and they have the hots for you) , also for it to work regardless of player character choice you need the male companions hitting on you, the female companions hitting on you, all the different races hitting on you, and it makes the world feel full of horny people.
If that's not how he feels the world should be, he doesn't want it to be reflected in the companions. Maybe, if you really wanna do it, make 1 or 2 really horny companions that are down for everyone and the rest of the party is a bit surprised by them.
Next, playing without companions. Plenty of people don't like playing of companions, find them annoying or interrupting. Has the same rule for companions as he does for side quests, main quest shouldn't require any of them, should be able to finish it without picking up any companions or maybe even talking to any of them. If you want to play without companions, you shouldn't feel like you are getting a lesser experience. Players should run into companions that feel complementary to their skill set, but not feel like they have to do it. Cain tends not to like games that require you to recruit a companion, even for a brief time.
Very hard to balance a game where you can have no companions or a lot of them. Made the companion limit two in Outer Worlds because if they had made it three or four it would have been hard to balance it between a solo player and someone walking around with a party of five. If you want to force the player to recruit companions, and they're guaranteed to leave an area with a certain amount of companions, that's something else.
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