College Tennis: Origin Story (WIP) - Updated 21 Dec '23 [468k words]

Hahaa heyy thanks for the great question, and a good reminder to update my descriptions!

I decided to change some of the plot points I had planned for G and Tobin, based on some brainstorming sessions & feedback i received. I will be changing the arc/route for G & will update the descriptions accordingly.

Without spoilering too much: G’s route is meant to be: “is this a fling/how much do u care about non-tennis life”? And Tobin will have a complex relationship w their ex. Regardless of whether MC views them platonically/romantically, this will be a plot point near the end.

Neither will be currently involved in any relationships. (No home-wrecking! :P)

Thanks for the comment :slight_smile:

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Damnnnn so far it was awesome- looking forward to meet sam again!

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Awesome!! Glad you enjoyed it!

I will do my utmost best to return Sam to MC’s longing arms soon-ish however i estimate that any face-to-face meeting between the two will be ~2 updates later hehe so… enjoy the long-distance-longing, heheh (insert elmo burning in hell gif)

I’ll try to splice in little moments/scenes here-and-there though! <3

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Wow this update was so great omg. I’m really enjoying the rivalry dynamic with Rayyan and the scene where you dance with Tobin is really fun too :slight_smile:

I admit to being super surprised I won the footrace with endurance being my lowest stat. But don’t get me wrong, I defs liked winning hahah!! Gives me the serotonins.

I think you have a really good grasp on writing banter and creating atmosphere. I am already looking forward to the next update!!

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Thank you so much!! This comment was so kind! :slight_smile:

Really glad you liked the Tobin scene, and so excited that you thought the dialogue & atmosphere was good! I guess it’s something I tend to start with, and hope the action follows. (Though I rly have to reign in my desire to write 4 ‘snarky lil shit’ dialogue options and provide some other choices).

HM you’re right I think I prioritised the speed/agility stat over the endurance stat in the checks… perhaps that actually shouldn’t be the case considering it’s a 5-mile race xD But yeah, when I play-tested the game myself, I rly got a kick out of having the achievements pop out :joy: may or may not have purposely built a character with high-strength and high-agility just to win both…

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with this last update I’m officially in love, really great writing and cool story so far!

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Awesome!!! Ive converted you! :slight_smile:

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Ah! Oopsies! Thanks for the shout, should be fixed now, but let me know if you run into any other bugs :slight_smile:

So any idea when Guillaume/Genevievé gonna show up, and will they have little screen time like Sam?

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@burninglights – Hi. I really am interested in your game and feel it has huge potential.

I am trying to build a tennis player that is modeled on Stefani Steff) Graf, and one that is based on Chris Everet … do you have any recommendations on which stats to go for?

I know Agility is most likely important for both, but so is Finesse … and from the way you have the choices set up, it is hard to model this type of player?

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Did the save system reset, i had my save near the end of the last demo so that i can continue from there, but its gone now

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@No_This_Is_Patrick Haha, yes! Guillaume/Genevievé will be making an appearance in the next update, which will feature the residential hallmates a little more strongly! There’ll G scenes during the party in Mike & Thalia’s suite, and then during freshman orientation. There’s a chance that the challenge match against Emerson may get really long, though, in which case I might shift the freshman orientation scenes to the fourth (rather than third) update. Quite likely, considering how it’s shaping up :joy:

[Edit: Oops, realised I didn’t answer the screen-time part: G might have fewer scenes than Tobin/Rayyan since they’re not involved in any of the tennis scenes, BUT they will likely feature in most of the scenes outside of tennis, which gives them a bit more screentime than Sam, who’s off in a different state. Thanks for the comment :slight_smile: ]

@Eiwynn HELLO! So honored that you’re interested in the game! I’m a huge fan of your comments on the forum. Super cool question as well, I love thinking about how the tennis mechanics will work.

I’d say each match will usually have at least a couple of individual, detailed shot selection options, especially at crucial points. These should “resemble” certain playing styles, so stats should hopefully not be the only way of defining MC’s playing style (though they will certainly determine whether or not those choices work out well).

But hehe alright, let’s see (and correct me if you think differently about their playing styles)-

Speculations on stats

I agree, I’d say both Steffi and Chris would have really high agility stats.

I’d say Steffi probably has quite a high strength stat, actually - she seemed more offensive/ powerful than a lot of other players of her time, especially on her forehand. (“Fräulein Forehand” haha). Then maybe I’d say she’d be pretty high on endurance as well. Finesse I’d say might be fourth strongest - especially because of that great sliced backhand…

Chris also has amazing footwork, but to me she reads as more of a defensive player than Graf, more a counterpuncher(?) Apart from agility, I agree completely with finesse being a strength - lots of great touches and good angles. Maybe endurance as well, she seems pretty consistent.

Anyway, another thing that your comment made me think about was the spectrum of ‘fiery-ness’ vs. ‘composure’ (which I tried to capture using the ‘intense’ and ‘laid-back’ opposed traits, but I think it ended up being used in social situations as well, and may not map perfectly for now). Thinking of going back to revamp that, and give people the chance to play as an intense, gritty Nadal or as ice maiden Evert (and explore how to allow that to affect the gameplay). That’s something I’ve been discussing with Kevin as well!

In any case! It would be fun to hear what everyone thinks appropriate stats would be for each of the tennis GOATs too!

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@Sidhant Ah oh no! I’m sorry to hear that :frowning: I’m not 100% sure how/when the save system resets, but I edited quite a few scenes from the first update, and added some fresh content as well - I’m guessing that that’s why the system reset!

Yes; I’d love to play the intense ice-queen on the court, then off-court, be a sassy, charismatic type that enjoys flirting. … so maybe have on-court and off-court personalities.

I can see where you get strength’s role in Steff’s game, but then I think of how the game is much more “power” orientated in today’s matches… so that was where my mind was with her.

I honestly did not follow the guys … so I only know them vaguely.

My hope with your game is that it treats the sports part just as important as the social, because there are not many stories that do so in the Choicescript world.

The writing I enjoy in the story so far is both the tennis scenes and the slice-life scenes, so, I’d say you are doing a good job of balancing both so far! Keep up the good work

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Oh! That’s an awesome idea haha. It would certainly solve the problem of having to make sure choosing “laid-back/chill” dialogue options don’t affect the level of passion/intensity/emotion one puts out on court, which was what I was dealing with before. It would even allow for characters to comment if the disparity between on-court and off-court personas became significant!

Ah, totally true, I see where you’re coming from, the modern game has changed so much!

Yes! That’s definitely the aim, I’m glad you’re enjoying the balance so far. And aw, thanks for the kind words :slight_smile:

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If this ever comes out I can so see myself buying it and playing it a stupid amount of times. :laughing:

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Wow, I love the update, just so you know I’m in love with Coach Sy. I am looking forward to the next update.

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Will sure do! I am a fellow med student so I will be happy to check out @bouncyball’s story

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@Max_Jones awwww HAHA this is such high praise what the heck! I would be so very amazed and honored if it does come out, and if you were to play it even just once :star_struck:

@Checkmate hehehe you and me both. i write Coach Sy when im feeling particularly wise/happy and ready to channel some well-adjusted human vibes. So glad you liked the update and thanks so much for the message :slight_smile:

@Popi cool!! you’d love it for sure. everything about the setting feels so real, and the characters are *chefs kiss

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