Oh, sigh. I’ve started planning and writing a story (impressed by myself that I actually understand Choice Script somewhat, me being what I am when it comes to coding and technological stuff overall). I’ve been stoked to continue, to actually get somewhere, then boom. Covid. A nice little camping vacation with my grandparents and my brother ended up with all of us ill. I wanted to go home from the vacation and write, instead I went home from the vacation and… well, slept. Here’s to hoping I regain my energy, mentally and physically, soon, so I can work on my game to my heart’s content.
Best of luck to the rest of you! I will definitely check out some WiP-threads.
Oh, that’s fortunate. As for myself, it could certainly have been worse; what I have is a cough, lethargy, hives, and a general feeling of illness - but it’s annoying and tiring for sure.
I haven’t made any progress for the past couple of months now. My work has me researching and writing so much (I’m the team’s designated writer in on top of other data management stuff), it’s hard to find motivation to also research and write in my free time.
If writing and research has you burned out, you can still keep the ball rolling in other ways. For example, you can make a chart with the various branches the story will have so it will be easier to write when you get back to it.
I’ve gotten as far as broadly having two different stories in the game depending on which party you side with, though exact timelines still have to be figured out. Can’t get too detailed with characters, arguments, and events without further research unfortunately. That’s what I get for trying to do historical fiction set in a very politically violent era, hah.
Sooooo, I was wondering if something is ok. I’m writing something (just normal text, not a CoG or anything) on my free time for fun (and also so my brain will shut up), but there are scenes of this latest chapter that I’m not pleased with how they turn out, because I feel like they’re not flowing well.
When I’m done with the chapter, is it ok if I link it here so people who feel like it can give me some feedback?
I’m about to take a leap of faith and start writing a CS IF in one or two days. This is my first time though so I’m fast discovering that my previous SOPs for writing fiction either doesn’t apply or have to be modified.
Usually, I would start with an outline, then follow it to write the first draft. After that, I edit twice to produce draft 2 and 3 before hiring an editor to produce draft 4.
I’ve worked out a new SOP for CS IFs: Outline, plan storyline routes from beginning to end, plan RPG elements (if any), produce standardised gameplay loop codes and ‘engine’ codes, write first draft, produce draft 2 and 3 then hire an editor to produce draft 4.
(This looks like a bit of a hot mess, I know lol)
Does this look alright? Anyone have any advice on the process of writing a CS IF from start to finish?
Some author/developers also use basic graphing tools to produce flow charts of their games. Since you are a planner, this might be very useful for you to visualize your story branches and choice mechanics.
There is the wiki (link in my first post of this month’s support thread) for coding help.
You might also want to look into Choicescript IDE (if you are into IDEs) or the Notepad++ Syntax Highlighter, if you use the basic text editor to code/write in.
Thanks a bunch. I’ve heard about those tools. Thanks for referring them to me. Could always use the reminder to check them out. I’m gonna check out those graphing tools. Cheers!
Aw, thanks. But my mental energy is basically inexhaustible, provided I get at least 3 hours sleep a night. I mean, 3 hours sleep leaves me basically falling over, but it doesn’t actually impact my mental energy. Just… everything else.
I’ve been busy with orientation stuff in uni and moving out and all the adapting that comes with all of that, so progress has been slow and honestly I have not been feeling too up for writing lately. I wrote a few short scenes and worked on my non-IF WIP, but that’s about it. I really don’t like my writing right now and I’m not sure how to fix it.
I’m still feeling more tired than usual but I’m fortunate to be mostly recovered from covid. And I’m really pleased that I’ve drafted Chapter 9 of Royal Affairs and am now on the penultimate chapter where big events are kicking off and being resolved. Right now I’ve got it planned and am coding - it’s definitely going to be a big one, as I want to give the plot the space it needs and make sure that the different branches all feel satisfying. Whew!
Holy yarnball, Batman! I’ve just dabbled with ChoiceScript for the first time and I believe my respect for ChoiceScript writers has grown tremendously. There’s a steep learning curve and it’s definitely not like writing a traditional novel, and this is what you CS writers deal with everyday?
I just hope I’ll be able to handle this, 'cause my life is going to become a lot more interesting
