I’m having an urge to make a fixed protagonist, but we’ll see if I’ll even manage to finish the game at all. 
At least I spontaneously created a new city for my setting, so that’s something!
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I’m actually going for a semi-fixed protagonist with some things set in stone while allowing the reader to still customise a bit in other places.
It’ll definitely be a risk but I’m hoping the small size will allow me to craft a more intimate story that will still be fun to play.
Good luck with your project!
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I like playing fixed or semi-fixed characters as much as I do the blank slates. I think it makes sense for smaller projects especially.
That said, I’ve changed my protagonist’s backstory and personality range about three times already, and I really need to pick one soon.
Making these kinds of decisions feels like it should be easier in IF, but there’s always so many implications for which traits get emphasized with a stat bar and which are tracked invisibly – or not at all.
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@poison_mara Are we allowed to give folks private feedback during the Halloween Jam? I’ve got some free time, and I saw ChanceOfFire mention giving feedback to contest participants.
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Usually when I get hit by that, I decide that if I like them all it should be a player choice (if I don’t, I’ll of course pick what I like writing most).
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Oh wait, that’s a great idea! Maybe I can make it work as a player choice between character archetypes, actually. Thanks!
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I’ve officially begun my entry for this years Halloween Jam which I am calling The Hedge Witch.
I’ve got most of the initial stats done and started doing the character customisation.
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When authors are ready to enter private testing I create a private group with people who want to participate in the testing
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That sounds great! Can I join as a tester, if that’s okay with you? I don’t think I’ll finish my story in time, but I still want to be useful for the Halloween Jam. I’m practically twiddling my thumbs here with all this free time.
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Dont worry I just put you in my memo when a beta appears I will put you in
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I’ve nearly done the character creation/prologue part of The Hedge Witch and am about 90% done with the stat screen.
I’ve also got a rough timeline started as the story will take place over a fifteen-hour period from sunset on Halloween 2025 and sunrise on the 1st November 2025.
Because it will be set over a period of time I am using hours instead of chapters (i.e hour_one, hour_two etc)
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My story is tentatively called BANSHEE, though hopefully I can come up with a better name before the deadline. It follows the protagonist as they journey through a Celtic post-apocalyptic world, led by a ghost that is leading them to a place known only as ‘Where the Wild Roses Grow’. But why does the back of your skull burn when you see her? Why do the creatures you encounter seem to know you? And why do you and no one else recall a time before the end?
It’s super weird.
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The Hedge Witch has now surpassed 5,000 words.
I hope everyone’s entries are doing well and I hope you all are having as much fun as I am writing your stories.
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Ok, I have my gam Jam concept, might even turn it into a full game if I ain’t a bum about it.
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@poison_mara how important is character customization to the game Jam? I don’t feel like it’s needed much for the story I am writing.
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Good luck!
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I just remembered I had a super bizarre thing I wanted to pull off here, good thing I remembered before writing it unable to happen.
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Yesterday I was world-building and came up with a magic unique to familiars, only to realise that an earlier scene I had already written broke that lore.
I was lucky to come up with a replacement idea that wasn’t lore-breaking.
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Oh yeah, I’ve been there. (Well, not exactly there - I don’t write familiars - but you know what I mean.)
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I’m on my third story idea and it’s going well. I scrapped the first two because of scope creep, but this one seems promising and doable. I removed personality traits and skill stats to make it simpler, but now I’m worried it might be too simple. It feels like a classic horror story where the protagonist ends up staying at a motel. My entry is titled Room 6. Currently done with 1 chapter out of 4. It’s fairly short.
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