you mean like accented letters? like: à, or ü or whatever else? if that’s what you mean then yes you can, but you have to use UTF-8 encoded plain text files (.txt) according to the CoG site
Intrigue check failed.
Since I missed Snippet Day this month, have a thing fresh from the oven
“Oh, please,” you say, disregarding the threat of the pistol’s muzzle pointed at you. “You wouldn’t shoot.”
“I would not enjoy doing so,” he agrees. “But make no mistake, I will do it if I have to. Needs must.”
“Then do you have to?” [E] steps out from behind the corner like a big damn hero, pointing the gun in his hand unwaveringly at [D], and no matter how much it annoys you to do so, you have to admit that in this instance at least you’re glad to see his sorry ass.
“That…” [D] starts and then falls silent for a moment, and you can practically hear the gears turn in his head. “That is open to discussion.”
“Put down your weapon, now, and you won’t be harmed,” [E] commands.
For a moment nobody moves. Then the pressure on your ribs lets go. You turn, sharply, and relieve your would-be kidnapper of his gun; he doesn’t resist.
“That was all I wanted,” [D] finally says. “To not get killed.”
Incredulous. “So in order to achieve that goal, your brilliant plan was to snatch me on gunpoint?” you ask.
“Not the smartest idea, in hindsight,” he admits. “But if my snap-second plans were very good, I would not be in this mess to begin with.”
This has been on my mind lately. How do you feel about using contractions in a fantasy setting? Contractions are great for stories set in modern times, or when you need something to sound casual or informal. The opposite is mostly true for stories in the historical fantasy genre or those with a more “posh” setting. Would it be better not to use contractions at all when the genre is fantasy?
Hi, everyone (sorry for the long post):
I’m still relatively new (so please be gentle) but have made some headway this month on an IF game that is my love letter to both Disco Elysium and Twin Peaks (and, OK, a little old-school “Anchorhead” thrown in ). 16K words so far.
I expect it will be a “love it or hate it” proposition for CoG nerds - and that’s fine - but I’m at a tipping point where I need to start delving into stats, rolls and expanding the game “system.” This is spooky territory because it seems to be a common hangup for new authors (and I’ve checked out the “Big Stats Mistakes” thread et al).
So I’m worried I’m “doing it wrong.”
If I play my cards right, it will be just as interesting - if not MORE interesting! - for players to lose a roll vs. win. (I realize that cuts out a giant portion of the audience right there.) But this is not a game that is intended to be “won.”
So, I would welcome any suggestions and/or cautions based on what I’ve got so far.
I know what I love playing games - primarily exploring the environment, having complex conversations and relationships, plus solving puzzles/mysteries and SIDE MISSIONS. I love good side missions. (Favorite games: Disco Elysium, Witcher 3, Cyberpunk 2077, RDR2, etc. + CoG Werewolf: Hungry Names, Hunter: the Beast of Glenkildove, VtM: Night Road and Parliament of Knives, and my most beloved Choice of the Deathless ← LOVE!)
Since I’ve never done this before, I’m apprehensive it might be too weird or too ambitious right out of the gate.
So here is how the Prologue is shaping up:
Trigger warnings: this content deals with addiction, depression, religious trauma, psychological abuse, etc. WOW, doesn’t that sound like fun?? As a proud veteran of all of those experiences, I have no wish to sound glib about any of the above. And this game is already getting kinda glib. Read no further if thoughts about those things are harmful to you.
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You can play as nonbinary, female or male. More to say on that - and I just deleted a whole long paragraph about it - but it’s important to me that this game be relevant to all gender and non-gendered identities. I am fortunate enough to know a tough-as-nails nonbinary academic whom I will be consulting on special side missions (if you guys think this is a good idea). They will kick my ass if I get it wrong, believe me!
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You are an addict with two chronic pain conditions which you MUST self-medicate. (Akin to vitae in the VtM universe.)
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You choose your addiction. (And you can swap that out early on as that choice does significantly affect the experience.) There is also a non-harmful option for those who would prefer a breezier/less dark experience.
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You choose your occupation.
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You choose your appearance/outfit, etc.
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You choose your religious affiliation (or none) - this is set in an alternate universe near to our own, so all religions are fictitious.
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The initial stats engine is based on how much your cat hates you. The more your cat hates you, the higher your skills grow. (To say any more would spoil it.) I am most afraid of stats mechanics at this point.
As much as I can, I want to avoid repetition, make every object and environment explorable and create not just a funhouse “on-the-rails” experience, but a world in which you want to spend time and explore. I also want the stats to be fun and not frustrating - and for players to feel like they don’t HAVE to “win” every roll to sink into the story.
There is a major plot point, which is simple: you older sister is missing. Though you’re an addict in chronic pain, it’s up to you to find her.
What am I missing? As players and writers, what options would you like to see? Again, I don’t care if this is a best-seller, but it would be nice if a FEW of you read and enjoyed it.
If you made it this far, thanks for reading.
I am sold. Let me have it. I’ll buy it in a heartbeat.
With all seriousness aside (yes, I wrote this intentionally), most readers usually dislike randomness as it may gatekeep certain scenes/outcomes, or just make the game overall frustrating. But if I’m reading your post right, then I think what you mean by “roll” is the success/fail checks, which in my opinion is fine for players not to “win” every check as long as they don’t gatekeep any scenes/outcomes/choices down the line. Maybe add some dialogue options to determine personality traits (but I’m guessing that’s what the interaction with the cat is for)? Just sharing my two cents. I don’t think I have the credibility to give advice on it though. Your game already sounds interesting to me, even without the actual plot mentioned.
tbh this sounds fun so far, but my personal reaction to what you’ve shared just here is that i would probably enjoy it most if you really committed to the weirder/less “traditional” (so to speak) aspects. i like bizarre, unique games, and i like them most when they just do what they aim to do with total focus and determination.
aside from that, this game reads more like a true game than an interactive novel type which a lot of the ChoiceScript archive is. i would like it to lean into the game-y aspects most—side quests, tasks to do or not do, etc. the cat hatred engine in particular sounds brilliant and fascinating.
Honestly, I think the premise sounds interesting, and I imagine there’s more than a few people here who played Disco Elysium and loved it (I certainly had a good time with it), so I wouldn’t be too concerned about not having an audience. Though I will say that there’s likely going to be more than a few folks who won’t like your stat system. A pretty significant chunk of forum users see CoGs more as books than they do games, so the potential for random and/or stat based failure is likely going to rub them the wrong way. I personally don’t mind it, and there’s definitely ways to make failure fun (I highly recommend reading Jolly Good: Cakes and Ale for an example of how to do this), so don’t take this as me discouraging you from that idea.
Regardless of all of that though, I think the main thing I’d be worried about is how ambitious this project sounds. You’ve listed out a number of variables the player can choose, and if all of them are going to play a significant role in the story, it might be tough to make sure they’re all of equal quality. The fewer major choices you offer the player, the more you can make sure those choices have a significant and satisfying impact on the story.
That’s just my two cents though. I’d still be interested in giving your game a try whenever you have a demo ready, so I’m wishing you the best!
I am yet to hear of a single fantasy author who holds this opinion, or a single fantasy story written entirely without contractions. They’ve been used in English since the 5th century, when did they become “modern” and why did nobody tell me?
Beats me but that seems to be the consensus when I read some of the replies to a few WIPs I follow. Your comment on it certainly puts me at ease though. I use contractions a lot and I’d hate to uncontract all instances of them now. Just asked the question to give myself an excuse not to do it lol.
For me that depends on the “vibe” of your characters (brash tavern workers, elegant royals, etc) and the settings inspiration (medieval England, colonial USA, etc.)
Well, even in a fantasy setting, some situations are more formal, and some are less formal.
Great points! I’ll adjust accordingly.
People have always used contractions. Shakespeare used contractions. Chaucer used contractions. There’s evidence that the ancient Romans used contractions in speech, though not in writing.
What language are your characters actually speaking? If they’re speaking modern English (and if they’re living in England from about 1500 on, they probably are), it’s worth researching period-specific language usage to add some authenticity. Otherwise, the words on the page aren’t even a loose approximation of what the characters would actually be saying, so the most important thing is to write in a way that’s clear and natural and feels right to you for the setting and characters.
You probably have an idea in your mind about what “old-timey” speech ought to sound like, and unless you’ve spent a lot of time delving into early modern English literature, it probably bears scant resemblance to how people actually used to talk - but most of your readers probably have a very similar notion. If that naturally involves using fewer contractions than you normally would, that’s fine - but there’s absolutely no reason to take it so far as to make your writing stilted, full of labored dialogue that no one would ever naturally say.
And if the characters in your story are speaking modern English and you want to make it as historically authentic as possible, don’t forget the Tiffany problem. Posh, educated Englishmen of the eighteenth century used “ain’t” quite comfortably in their everyday speech and writing, but your readers will overwhelmingly find it immersion-breaking if your characters do.
Sidenote: the reason [D] in my snippet isn’t using contractions is that he’s speaking a foreign language, with an accent, stiffly, and is being very unsure about himself doing so.
Thanks! This is great advice, and I agree. I should definitely do more research about it if I want authenticity, but I’m most likely going to write what feels natural to me for the setting.
I had to look this up, and I feel enlightened.
I think it’s great that not using contractions can subtly convey things like this.
True, but bear in mind how actual people living today speak modern English in formal settings: an academic lecture, a courtroom, a meeting of Congress or Parliament. They use contractions. They might sound a little closer to what you’d see in formal writing than what you’d hear in an informal context (“I’m going to” rather than “I’m gonna”) but “I am going to” could contribute to a pattern of stiffness. Even formal spoken language, outside of specific ritual contexts, needs to sound natural; the point is to communicate, and a delivery that strikes the listener as unnatural distracts from that purpose.
I spent another day working on my story. Today was about puzzles and how to fit it into the story and mystery of the world. I also reached a point where I couldn’t outline anymore without starting to write. So that’s what I did. The very beginnings of chapter 1 is now officially in the works. (wip thread to come sometime )
One of the trickiest things writing my Chloe character is that she puts on different masks depending on the situation. Chaotic and reckless in fights, elegant and witty as a socialite, serious and businesslike during training. The writing needs to show this change, but at the same time, avoid tonal whiplash or readers seeing the difference as sloppy authorial control. These scenes are particularly slow to write because of this. Averaging 250 words a day.
A few good articles grappling with this:
(I’m mostly with the editor on this one but feel the author’s frustration.)
And my favorite article on the dilemma:
The problem with some contractions is that they fall on one side or the other of Bygonese. Some of the most common a few centuries ago – 'tis and 'twas and 'twould – can be hard to use today without moving your dialogue into stilted, unrelatable territory. Others, like gonna or could’ve, can sound modern slangy regardless of when they first appear in the record. (The -'ve ones in general seem more likely to set people off for some reason.)
Jane Austen made a choice in P&P to have her declassé characters (Lydia, Mrs B) use contractions while almost no one else does. That’s not historical (though it’s shaped reader expectations for Regency fiction), it’s a stylistic choice. I think as long as you keep in mind that you’re making a stylistic choice and stick with it, you can use contractions as you like in your fantasy.
In my novels, it’s a class/fluency signifier: I have foreigners and high nobles speak with nearly no contractions, while lower class people use them more often.
Personally, I’m more picky about the vocabulary my characters use – I check etymonline regularly and try to keep my words as 1600s-plausible as I can (with the early 1700s as the rough limit, and a very, very occasional exception for more modern phrases).