Hope Amidst Desolation (WIP) 11/29

Hello, everyone! I’ve been lurking on this forum for a good probably two years and I’ve finally decided to try my own hand at one of these games! I’ve been a huge fan of Jeantown’s Guenevere since I first stumbled upon it, so I expect this game to be pretty character-oriented as well.

I’ve noticed that a lot of games have given their MCs a sort of superhero-like advantage. Despite knowing a lot of people do enjoy a nice escape from reality, this won’t be the case here. You will have your strengths of course, but I’m taking pride in the fact that you’ll be the only one without “powers”… For now, at least. :wink:

It’s supposed to be reminiscent of a dystopian, apocalyptic society… just for clarity’s sake. I haven’t got everything set in stone yet, so this is just kind of a “rough summary” which will be subject to change at any point.

The story begins with your MC running for their life from mysterious beasts that everyone except you can see. Your MC is able to see quick flashes of the creatures, but only when they dream.

These beasts are enormous, shadow-like creatures that you could easily draw a comparison between the demons from The Mortal Instruments series, Dementors from Harry Potter, and The Silence from Doctor Who all rolled into one. (yep, total nerd here.)

The catch here is: You’re the only one who can’t remember them. The shapes and emotions stick in your mind, but you can’t ever remember why you should be afraid each time you wake up.

The monsters, (I don’t have a name for them yet :sob:) despite being huge with the strength of a thousand men, are actually kind of slow. Still pretty fast compared to humans, but not nearly as fast as they could be, given their size. But when they finally do catch you, you’ll be lucky to get away with your soul, let alone your life. Their favorite food is human, after all.

Your MC is rescued from the monsters by a mysterious stranger in the forest, taken to a sanctuary of all those left in their world. It’s not a glamorous set up by any means, but it’s just enough to survive.

Later on in the game, I plan for there to be another blooming, underground sanctuary that is everything but what it seems. Much like Negan’s army from The Walking Dead, where they capture people to hold hostage and try to gain control of the rest of the living world. So, not fun at all! How fun. :slight_smile:

I have six ROs planned, which is probably WAY more than I can handle, but I’m going to try my best to make sure it’s done right! I’ve always loved having tons of options, so I hope to fulfill any of those romantic fantasies any of you may have.

Here’s just a little taste of these characters. I plan to make them all romanceable by any MC, by the way. :blush:

Autumn; twin to Elijah, light manipulation
Bailey; fire manipulation
Dorian; earth manipulation
Elijah; twin to Autumn, air manipulation
Jackson; shadow manipulation
Tessa; water manipulation

I’m still trying to get down the basics of CS, but I do hope you enjoy what I have so far!

(I feel like I should also mention that there’s some strong language here and there, along with a bit of gore. Just a warning!)
Link: https://dashingdon.com/play/aweepingdalek/hope-amidst-desolation/mygame/

I know it’s still super short, but I just wanted to get everyone’s opinion on my idea before I go any further. What did you like about it? Was the writing awkward and cringe-y? What didn’t you like about it? Which characters are you most excited to meet? And finally, what would you like to see in this game? Whether it be people, powers, or plot-wise.

And thank you for taking the time to read all of this. :joy:

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Yay! More WIPs that I can enjoy! The premise seems interesting so I am looking forward to more of the story.

The demo you have is quite short at the moment so I can’t judge too deeply, but the writing is good so far! :smile: It has a good introduction and intrigue that makes it interesting, so keep it up! :grin:

Well whatever creature that was chasing us reminded me of dementors, so that is a plus :grin:

I certainly didn’t think so.:smirk:

Everyone! :grinning: Memorable characters are my favorite part of the story, so if the characters are interesting and lovable then I will be satisfied :grin: 6 ROs are quite ambitious so I am rooting for you :laughing:

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it sounds interesting from the description you give, though the demo was too short to judge… guess i’ll stick around to find more :grin: Good Luck!

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Good luck with the story @aweepingdalek :grinning:

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what you have so far is great! I can’t wait to see how the story develops! :smile:

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Thanks for the feedback, guys. I know it’s insanely short, but I’m really glad to hear that you find it interesting! :relieved: To be honest, I just wanted to get it up and posted before I could back out of it like I do with most of my writing drabbles that never get finished. But this is something that I really want to finish, so feedback of any type will be highly appreciated! Personally, I think I get too wordy sometimes…

Ironically(?), right before I went to save my files before posting this thread… My laptop died and I lost a few scenes. :’( I guess that’s what I get for not saving habitually.

So, considering the length, I hope to have an update some time later this week with at least a couple more scenes. You should be able to see parts of the sanctuary, customize your appearance/gender/sexuality, and maybe even meet a new character~

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I like the idea of what you have but like some people said, the demo it’s too short to judge. I’ll keep an eye on this though. I mean, I read “TWD, Harry Potter, Mortal Instruments” and you had me. I gotta say though, I’m not a fan of using the “me” or “I” when it comes to CYOA stories but that’s just a whim.
About the character creation, do get to choose our personality as well?

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Ah, it reminds me of the idea I have :slight_smile:

I already imagine myself, screaming at my phone: “Why isn’t there any option to RUN!” while my MC has no clue of what is happening. :joy:

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I liked what you have here. If I may suggest a name for your beasts if you still haven’t decided. Clunkers, shamblers or the like. The beasts kind of remind me of the silence from doctor who.

Also I feel like the stranger doesn’t appreciate me punching them though. Oh and I’m not quite sure how the player interacts with the beasts. You said we can see glimpses of them when we’re asleep but I’m assuming the game won’t take place in the dream realm. I don’t know if I missed something in your description as I have a tendency to read quickly and as a result miss some things.

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It’s sounds interesting shame we don’t have powers

Ahh… Dystopian based story, huh? you got my like there… honestly… i’ve got lots of ideas when it comes to dystopian world, but can’t put it into games… because i’m suck with codings…:laughing:

Oh by the way… why don’t you call the monsters as “The Antibodies” or " The Earth’s Antibodies". They appeared out of nowhere and much more powerful than average humans… as if their reason to live is just to kill humans and eradicate them from existence. Since it take places in dystopian world, it much more make sense, no? Humans did harm things to the earth, and the antibodies appeared to eradicate the problem… that is of course humans themselves…

well… it just my idea though. :smile:

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@Baam You make a good point… I wasn’t sure if most people would prefer the game to be written in 1st or 2nd person. Personally, I don’t really have a preference, so I decided to make a poll. And as for getting to choose your personality… It sounds cool, but I’m not really sure how I’d code for something like that. I’m still pretty new at CS so I don’t want to bite off more than I can’t already chew. :sweat_smile: But if you have any tips, I’d love to hear them!

  • First person!
  • Second person!
  • Doesn’t matter.

0 voters

@Nathan_Morgan Your assumption would be correct… :laughing: I haven’t met very many people who do appreciate being punched. (None, in fact) As for the MC’s interactions with the beasts. It’ll be explained a bit further into the game. I don’t want to give everything away just yet! But I will tell you that it’s not entirely a bad thing that you can’t remember… :smirk:

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This story seems really intriguing, can’t wait to see more! Also, in hindsight maybe punching my rescuer wasn’t the best response.

Hey everyone! So, first things first… I took all of your suggestions into account and I’ve decided that I’ll keep the narrative in first person.

Additionally… Perhaps I lied when I said you all might meet a new character and explore the Sanctuary compound in the new update. :anguished: I’ve been writing a bit and coding small parts of the update almost every day, but yeah… Writer’s block sucks!! It’s still kinda short, but who knew Thanksgiving would be such a great opportunity to avoid family and work on this game instead? :sunglasses:

You should now be able to meet Jackson, find out a bit more of your situation, and customize your appearance and personality (which, admittedly… could use more work but I want to keep things as simple as possible for now).

Also, yay! I finally figured out a name for the beasts, but I still might change it because it’s super original. :joy:

Let me know your honest opinions! I want to keep working on this, but I’ve realized I’m going to need a lot more time to crank this stuff out than I thought I would.

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I think Jackson and I will get along great! At least until he decides to strangle me.

Am very much in love with your title :blush: and the demo so far is interesting.

I really like this so far, but i would change how the genders are chosen. It’s not very clear because someone might have a male mc who looks feminine (or vice-versa), and then accidentally end up with a female (or male) mc instead.
If you want my suggestion (you probably don’t) I would have the gender selection be more straight-forward, maybe add an agender option, and keep the masculine/feminine things for appearance purposes (maybe add an androgynous option). Of course, I’m no programmer, and I don’t know how difficult that would be to code.

NB option whhhhhhhhhhhhhhhheeeeeeeeeeeeen? :blush:

i feel u could really use some fleshing out in scenes. “show, don’t tell”. you seem to be doing a lot of telling. i like doing an exercise where i have to relay something to someone and then they have to doodle it back to me what it looks like so i know what im getting across? you can always ask me if u want help with stuff though i cant code!