Destiny of the Exile (WIP with Demo Updated Nov 24)

Lizzy · 2016-10-18T15:52:17.866Z

I just wanted to say I played with the basics of choice script this morning and thankfully the stuff I needed to do so far was rather easy to figure out Downside is that the “clever” outline that I laid out for myself for this story only made everything much more complicated in coding it…I HATE giving validity to blonde jokes So I am actually doing something and not just sitting on my butt and playing games Right now I have my notes from the outline coded mostly.

Soooo all that said, since my plans for the first version of the demo is simply getting through the character customization portion of things I pose this question…As it stands the choices go from physical sex (female/male//both) , gender (female/male/NB), clothing (dresses/tunics and breeches/mix of both) am I missing anything that people think is important in making you feel represented? I mean after all, the entire spirit of this project is inclusion…well except @ParrotWatcher, he’s a meanie

Ariadne · 2016-10-18T16:22:13.488Z

Lizzy:

As it stands the choices go from physical sex (female/male//both) , gender (female/male/NB), clothing (dresses/tunics and breeches/mix of both) am I missing anything that people think is important in making you feel represented?

As far as physical stuff, I like choosing stuff like MC’s skin tone. Whether it’s story relevant or not, I find it comforting. Like proof that the author won’t wax on about MCs " fair skin" or " fine, golden hair" or etc

Lizzy · 2016-10-18T16:31:05.809Z

aprilhare:

Lizzy:

As it stands the choices go from physical sex (female/male//both) , gender (female/male/NB), clothing (dresses/tunics and breeches/mix of both) am I missing anything that people think is important in making you feel represented?

As far as physical stuff, like our character character’s skin tone. Whether it’s story relevant or not, I find it comforting. Like proof that the author won’t wax on about MCs " fair skin" or " fine, golden hair" or etc

See I agree with that in terms of MC, I like setting my hair, eyes, etc (and in my outline I had various choices for several features like that)…the thing about it is IF I put that in then have to also think about if the entire Empire is all the same race (whatever the player chooses)…which I don’t like the idea of since it creates a homogeneous world and that blows (IMO), or do I work out those features for each character I present? If I leave it to the imagination then any character can be any skin tone, hair color, etc but I lose out of descriptors

idonotlikeusernames · 2016-10-18T16:49:30.906Z

if the Empire is huge and old it is very likely that it is multi-racial and if it is old and relatively tolerant about these matters then a lot of internal migration and racial intermixing/interbreeding has likely taken place already. And if the imperial Dynasty itself descends from earlier adopted heirs several times over then it may be just as racially diverse as the society it is presiding over.

Faded · 2016-10-18T16:51:18.959Z

Lizzy:

am I missing anything that people think is important in making you feel represented?

Didn’t see apache attack helicopter in there…

Lizzy · 2016-10-18T16:55:01.870Z

idonotlikeusernames:

if the Empire is huge and old it is very likely that it is multi-racial and if it is old and relatively tolerant about these matters then a lot of internal migration and racial intermixing/interbreeding has likely taken place already. And if the imperial Dynasty itself descends from earlier adopted heirs several times over then it may be just as racially diverse as the society it is presiding over.

It’s really mostly about the workload on ME lol, I don’t want to create a homogeneous world, as I said, but I am also writing out more RO’s in this game then most have characters in them at all, going through them and not only trying to balance their gender identity and orientation, but also give a fairness to race is just…

Wire_Ryse:

Didn’t see apache attack helicopter in there…

and you won’t

SiROSTRiKE · 2016-10-18T18:43:42.001Z

Lizzy:

I HATE giving validity to blonde jokes

Then stop doing it, for the sake of all Blondes out there.

Lizzy:

but I can’t for the life of me understand why anyone would want to actually date someone like that

Oh, believe me, i wouldn’t. But it would make for an entertaining (fictional) scenario.

moonwalkerdragon · 2016-10-18T18:46:31.460Z

I think blondes need a little more recognition, despite all th revolutionary women scientists being brunettes…

Anyways, what have I missed on this topic coz I have forgotteb it for quite a while.

SiROSTRiKE · 2016-10-18T18:47:39.034Z

Lizzy:

clothing (dresses/tunics and breeches/mix of both) am I missing anything

Loincloth. You can’t forget to add that option. That, and a cape.

Jk. Well, not about the cape.

Wire_Ryse:

Didn’t see apache attack helicopter in there…

Ooh, you’re right. That is simply a MUST HAVE for any game where one can choose their gender.

Lizzy · 2016-10-23T13:31:04.300Z

So as I flush out the first version of the demo, which I hope to have done soon I really struggle with the point that @aprilhare brought up about adding physical characteristics to the customization. I myself like to set my eyes, hair, etc, but at the same time there is very much an advantage to leaving it open to the reader to imagine those qualities themselves, so I pose the question, should I had the more cosmetic customization options?

Yes
No
Don’t care

0 voters

Eiwynn · 2016-10-23T13:38:45.693Z

Adding the customization is a great way to establish early ties between the reader and the MC … but the main thing is: how does it affect the story your writing?

As an example: in Fallen Hero by @malinryden, the characterization you do for the MC paints a picture of an attractive but slightly worn MC where the characterization you do for your “stand-in” body then paints a more youthful and vibrant character. This really adds to the story by showing the reader that the MC’s mental fatigue is effecting the physical looks…

Lizzy · 2016-10-23T14:00:17.187Z

Eiwynn:

Fallen Hero by @malinryden

In that story, which I am a big fan of , your physical nature, as well as your doll draws a reader in (at least it did with me, and obviously you) this would be purely cosmetic descriptors. Story was an afterthought when I decided on this project, I wanted more than anything to build a world that it was fine to be yourself, especially for people that seemed to feel left out in other works. If I add these features it’s not like you will get crap for being blonde or being darker skinned, it will simply be another way of having the narrative talk about you.

Part of me is already regretting making such an accepting world, because it denies the struggles that people have to endure on a daily basis (at least where I live). For me I had my family essentially disown me, my sister gave birth to my niece and I learned about it through a friend of ours, she got married and I wasn’t there. Now she is part of my life again along with my mother and a couple of my cousins I feel closer to them because I know that they have chosen to accept me. As I told @ParrotWatcher earlier it’s possible I’m just having these feelings because I went back to my home town for the first time in a few years yesterday and I have a lot of stuff going through my head and heart right now.

Eiwynn · 2016-10-23T14:09:35.440Z

This is a work in progress. You can always rewrite the parts you have down now - others, including me have done this sort of thing.

I’m sorry about you experiencing life intolerance and such. I can relate in many ways - your readers will relate to the world you decide to build as long as you put the passion |I see every day in your feedback into your writing - and I’m pretty sure you’ll do that so I am not worried - if I were, I’d tell you.

idonotlikeusernames · 2016-10-24T03:47:39.779Z

Okay so I voted don’t care and yes, but it really depends on what you want to write. Are the NPC’s going to react at all to our cosmetic choices, or are we always generically handsome, for example, and is that the full extent of their reaction to our appearance, possibly leaving our outfit aside?
If you don’t want to write it and the npc’s aren’t going to really react to our body type or idiosyncratic physical characteristics then skip them and let us imagine our mc’s for ourselves.

Lizzy:

Part of me is already regretting making such an accepting world, because it denies the struggles that people have to endure on a daily basis (at least where I live).

This is true and with your accepting world and accommodating inheritance system you’ve taken out the greatest objection I usually have to playing (former) aristo characters, namely being forced to marry a woman and have offspring with her (owning slaves would be the other big one).
To be fair that need not always be the primary struggle for aristo mc’s. For example in the gender-utopian Myrmidon the aristo path focuses more on courting the royal sibling of your choice and then staving off the pending revolution by improving the lot of the kingdom.

Lizzy · 2016-11-03T14:28:21.169Z

So I wanted to have some legitimate status news before I posted anything and this morning I hit a rather wonderful breakthrough. I started learning CS when I posted this thread so it’s been slow going trying to write, code and debug but it seems that I have all the code I need in place in order to finish out the first showing of this project!

Now I just need to fill in the writing part, which should go much smoother now that everything is in place, and will hopefully be able to make the link public this weekend (fingers crossed) A big thank you to @ParrotWatcher for fielding a lot of my silly questions in trying to get this to work and to @anon57826008 for being my little cheerleader and catching some of my mistakes for me

ParrotWatcher · 2016-11-03T14:33:34.521Z

Lizzy:

A big thank you to @ParrotWatcher for fielding a lot of my silly questions in trying to get this to work

And for putting up with all your insatiable flirting? (Even in threads for WIPs I haven’t read yet… I keep telling you, I’m not interested ;P)

Anyway, great news on the story front; hope to see it soon.

Curious_Boy · 2016-11-03T14:35:00.898Z

YAY!! cant wait for it~

Lizzy · 2016-11-03T14:37:31.890Z

I thought only straight guys had a thing about lesbians

This first part is just going to cover building your MC, since I wanted to really make this about inclusion I want to get feedback on that before I lose my will to live writing out the RO introduction part

Curious_Boy · 2016-11-03T14:40:27.926Z

Lizzy:

I want to get feedback on that before I lose my will to live writing out the RO introduction part

you do know that we are here to help you make this game see the light, right?! so dont worry~

Lizzy · 2016-11-03T14:43:02.870Z

Curious_Boy:

Lizzy:

I want to get feedback on that before I lose my will to live writing out the RO introduction part

you do know that we are here to help you make this game see the light, right?! so dont worry~

Of course, so many in this community have been really helpful and supportive of this and it’s made me feel so great and determined to see this through, I don’t plan on giving up on this, it’s just a large undertaking for a first project