Choice of Rebels Part 1 WIP thread

Hosted Games Works In Progress
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Ok I’m late to the party here.

So I start it up and I gotta say, I don’t have an issue with long plots. Enjoy them in fact. But the longer the plot, the more I desire a save option, if only to revisit choices at a later point. And because, replaying through repeatedly for a minor deviation can be a chore, that isn’t to say I wouldn’t replay it but y’know.

However, and I’ve probably missed the argument, so forgive me if I have but;

[Note: this section is currently conceived as an in-app purchase, offering significant extra story, the chance to form positive relationships with a number of significant NPCs, and at least one additional henchman. For the current phase of testing, I’m keeping it closed, to get feedback on how the game flows without it – and also because I haven’t finished writing it yet!]

That’s instantly put me off. I won’t be supporting the game if that’s the end-goal, in-app purchases and bit parts for the story goes against the grain. A part 1/2/3 I can get behind but, that? I’ll pass thanks.

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@RVallant this is a business a industry you as a lawyer would want recieve your honoraries for your work and if that yorequiere aditional features you want money for visit or purchase new features intermediate…
if he added new features to improve the experience make spend hours to authors and that is money. Expect for two euros have all content is childish, if he add plusvalues to your story you could pay it or not is same as a video game expansion or a director cut in a film. You dont want a Dlc or expansion dont buy it but dont act like it was a scam or a fraud when is coherent.

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I dislike in app purcheses for a different reason double transactions. For every transaction, especially the relatively low cost ones like COG, the banks take a disproportionate amount of money, therefore I hope that we will be able to choose between a standard version with the optional in app purchase and a “complete” edition where we can choose to pay for everything up front.

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I’ve already expressed my opinions about in-app purchases. I don’t think that the chrome store supports them though, so it would mean that I missed out on a chunk of the game due to my platform. I would rather pay more for the game upfront than have to pay extra while playing. I would rather pay for a sequel than for a DLC, since DLCs seem as if the game creators are deliberately with-holding content to try and wring yet more money out of you. Especially day of launch DLCs. The exception to that is if the game itself is free, then I don’t object to having to pay for additional, premium content.

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@RVallant, I’m with you all the way on the desire for a save option. I’ll see whether CoG would agree to put one in after Ch 1, roughly halfway through game 1.

Meanwhile, the replays are meant to offer rather more than minor deviation – three different prologues, distinct flashback plots depending on whether you’re a noble or helot, and a range of raiding strategies which you’re unlikely to see on any one play-through.

Appreciate the feedback on the IAP idea; it’s helpful when people articulate their immediate reactions, especially the negative ones. I’ll just say that if the “end-goal” of the game were to maximize money through in-app purchases, it would look very different than it does. Frankly, if the main goal of the game were to make money, period, it would be a lot shorter and less branchy, with much less elaborate world-building.

That said, while I have no expectation that writing what is essentially a full-length fantasy novel series for CoG is likely to turn into a job rather than a hobby, I’m not ashamed to be keeping one eye on what I can reasonably earn from it. As I wrote the tax collector raid, I found it turning into an elaborate enough subsection that I thought it was approaching having a fair 99c value all on its own. Hence the idea of the IAP.

I’m grateful for all the feedback I’ve got so far, especially @FairyGodfeather’s blatant manipulation. I’ll be seeking more feedback once the tax collector section is complete, and will decide then which way to take it.

New page, new link: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/88501596/CoRTest/web/mygame/index.html

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I just wanted to say that I love Choice of Rebels. Of all the games on the site it’s the one I’m looking forward to most. Of all the authors on the site, it’s the one where I’d buy a Choice of Rebels non-interactive novel. I find the world itself fascinating, I enjoy the characters, the plot is one that interests me.

That the story is interactive is an aspect that makes it even more compelling and immersive to me. This is everything I love about interactive fiction and everything I want to see.

I agree fully with you making as much money off it as possible. But… well I’ve already said my piece on the rest. I’m admittedly not one of the typical customers since I play on my desktop, and I use google chrome to make purchases, and this whole modern age of cellphones that can do everything and have more memory than my very first computer feels very much living in the future, one filled with alien sci-fi wonders to me.

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@Havestone There is a possibility. you could launch a Premium version, with acess to the future dlc. Like many modern videogames has with online pases. Then crome people could play them download them free when they are ready.
i would pay four or five dolars for all the future content and the first game.

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FG, really glad you’re enjoying it so much. I have toyed with the idea of a printed novel, but it can wait until after the CoG series is done (i.e. around the time I turn 50).

My phone is a simple Samsung candy bar which holds a charge for 8 days of normal use, which is handy when my day job takes me to places with highly unreliable electricity infrastructure. In other words, I’m a Chrome Store player too, and I hadn’t twigged that IAPs might not work for Chrome Store, in maddening ParadoxFactor style. You sure?

@idonotlikeusernames, the idea of a premium vs standard with IAP is an intriguing possibility – definitely one to add to the list. Mara, I’m unsure of the value of the future content, but I think I’m better off selling it as I write it rather than giving people premium access for $5.

I’m on leave in Dorset this week, and once I wrap up a particularly pressing bit of work from the day job (since you asked), I’ll be spending several hours a day on Rebels… so hope to have something new to show you a week from today!

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There were no in app purchase for Heroes Rise 2 in the chrome version. I’ve never seen any in app purchases there. That said I’ve only played Choice of Games so I’ve hardly experienced all games. I think either Jason or Dan mentioned it somewhere, only I can’t recall where.

I’m sure by the time you’re fifty, printed novels will be an antiquated notion and we’ll all be reading on our cyber-implants. :stuck_out_tongue: I’m hoping that interactive fiction will have broken out into being something that more people read and once it’s done you can just write another one instead.

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@MaraJade - I’m not sure I’d compare law to writing though…

Put it this way, given what I saw so far I’d have paid say £1 or so (the going rate for a CoG effort) for the incomplete effort. If it was going to be expanded on to say ‘novel’ side, and the quality was going to be maintained throughout, I would certainly be looking to put out £5 for it -that is to me, a compliment to your writing Havenstone, I actually felt it was that good and interesting but still in the early stages so far.

But I have to turn my nose up at IAP’s, I don’t want sectioned products. It pisses me off when it happens in video games, it’s double the pain when it’s effectively a book (or a text-only affair), yes there’s a debate available there about whether this is a book or a game or whatever but I don’t consider the medium acceptable for an IAP so I won’t support IAPs.

The thing is, I went into this blind, I wasn’t expecting it to pop up, the fact it has only really put me off the product, the question to be asked is, whether my reaction is going to be the a-typical reaction or would a first-time reader or non-regular on here pick it take the opposite view to the one I present. -shrug-

@Havenstone - Didn’t mean to say ‘each choice is inconsequential’ but rather, say, I’d like to keep 90% of the choices identical but the very last one different! Cos y’know, I want to try beef with gravy instead of on its own even if it might only be a flavour blurb. The problem is, because it’s lengthy (and that’s fine) it usually means excessively clicking to get to the point where I can pick the choice, partially as I don’t need to re-read or, completely forgetting how I got to that point in the first place.

Save-at-anytime system *really* helps out, or at least the implementation of a ‘back’ button. But alas, I know it’s not a CoG Feature per se…

Still, regardless of my disagreement with the IAP’s, I do hope you take my feedback as mostly positive, the story is very interesting, your concepts are good and I have no doubt what you put out will probably be one of the best efforts around here, its just the IAP prevents me from championing the cause I suppose.

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Best to give the upgrade choices on the first page outright rather than having micro-transactions in between reading. I’ll have to agree with the sentiment that it’s distracting at best.

Also, Choice of Rebels looked like a story with serious potential for future sequels and so, since you scaled the world to be pretty huge. However, while I’m hoping to see future CoG games from the same universe, I do hope that this tale won’t end too abruptly. Hero Rise 2 remained the longest and most satisfying read I had out of all the single volume CoG games I’ve read (Take Way Walker: University for example, it’s actually rather short and does not compare to HR2 in linear reading length even if you combine 1 and 2 together), so I hope that CoR can live up to that quality.

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HR2 long and satisfing??? @Crax 0-o In volume of words is shortly. In volume of choices is insanely short. I bet you only read HR2 without replay and same with WW2.

HR2 is same game each replay with railroaded choices and only ONE real choice choose your role…
WW2 have tons of endings even like you end murdered, romances your way affecrs things tons of variables you could end killing Jun sleep with Sem , with your heart broken…known your past lives.
If seem short iis because the game replay makes story focus in your choices. HR2 dont give a damn your choices if you got zero sith BM no matter you not romance him you are with him anyway and love him. I like HR but look code fake choices everywhere so dont say choices matters when clearly nope.

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Thanks for the feedback, @Crax. I’m hoping CoReb game 1 will be long enough to make the HR fans happy and have enough replay variety to make the WW fans happy.

But there’s a trilemma involved here: this makes it very unlikely to be economical. If I were doing this for a living, or with the intent of making money remotely commensurate to the time I’ve put into the game, CoReb would have been released ages ago, a far shorter and simpler game.

Zachary Sergi and J Leigh are both trying to make a living from their stories, and I don’t fault them at all for prioritizing length or replayability rather than putting in massive amounts of unpaid time (@Vendetta style) to do both.

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@Havestone thats why i say you should do a premium edition with so e extra to pay more i would pay more for it, i pay for others gamebooks 6 and 7 euros i thought your game deserve same .

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If it’s a problem I say go for replayability and make our choices meaningful and simply make more sequels. I believe Sabres of Infinity has four planned sequels and that game has imo achieved a nice balance of length and replayability where our choices matter.

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Yes, Sabres is a good example of the balance I’m going for – and I’d be delighted for @Cataphrak to tell me that he’s disproved my trilemma.

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Is it possible to be a noble and get full support of the helots?

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Definitely.

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Good. You’re still here.

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Yup. The bit of work from my day job I mentioned earlier has ballooned, alas… but once that’s done, I’ll use some of the time-off-in-lieu I’ve been racking up with my late night work for a push on Rebels.