I had hoped that more people would vote Asia,I had an itch to let the Manchurian flag fly once more. With an iron curtain esque setting where you as the Manchurian “prime minister” must juggle the relations between the CCP, PRC, Japan, Just Korea and the USSR. And maybe even potentially be one of the contenders to reclaim China.
But Europe works too. Tho for Europe, I’d have to go back more in History to change stuff. Maybe do a Make-Constantinople-Great-Again? In truth, I’ve got nothing. Any help is appreaciated
I mean, if you’re ever doing a poll or asking the public’s opinion on something, when there’s an option you hope will be chosen, you should probably just do the thing you hope will be chosen. No sense in doing something when there’s an option you’re more passionate about.
Yeah…
Inspiration comes from dead space,Alien quarantine and other related works
Though the weapons will be limited.The mc(a teenager) has to feel helpless and there will be plenty of dying unless the mc can prevent it🙂
Of course it be won’t linear. Explore the ship at your own risk
Hi guys! I’m new here, and I’ve never worked on an interactive fiction project before, but I’ve been wanting to learn. I had a few ideas, but the basic place to start seems to be an interest check.
First idea: I’m not sure if this has been done yet or not, but I’ve been thinking of a Regency era/Jane Austen type of story where the main character has to navigate society, find a good marriage to save her family, or find another route entirely. Possibly, this could involve different backgrounds, stats, etc. I’d like to make more of an overarching plot than just a season in town, but I’m not sure that there’s enough of an interest for this type of thing.
Second idea: A completely different feel, but I’ve also thought of a sort of Dune inspired sci fi one involving politics and a feudal system in space. There’s a lot of potential for worldbuilding and plot for this one, but I feel like sci fi is pretty common on here (and in general).
Any thoughts? Am I foolish for thinking I can do this to begin with?
I like the second idea, personally, but it does run more to my tastes. I’m not sure calling sci-fi very common around here is accurate, actually. There’s been an uptick recently, but published games tend to be majority fantasy.
Anyway, onto your doubts: I assure you, you’re not foolish for thinking you can do this at all. Even if you’re not confident about the coding, people in the community are happy to help, and it’s pretty simple to pick up the basics. As for the actual story, there are many people who have succeeded despite never writing a ChoiceScript game before. Although there are certainly pitfalls, asking for help from veterans and looking at threads about common pitfalls will help you.
Thank you! I really appreciate your feedback. I think maybe sci fi felt more prevalent because it’s what I had seen and played lately, plus there’s a lot of it in this thread, but I’m glad to know I’m wrong! It’s my favorite genre for sure.
Just looking around the forums, I can tell people are really helpful when it comes to answering questions! That definitely makes me feel comfortable wading into the fray.
I think it’s better to be closer to the real world than a quirky idea.
It would also be nice to have the option of being a democratic leader if the player wanted, not just a dictator.
As far as existing games go, we’ve only had a couple in the genre that I’m aware of: the first one in the Choice of Romance series (after that, the focus quickly changes to courtly intrigue, not that it’s bad, mind you) and, in HG, The Courting of Miss Bennet, a Pride and Prejudice adaption. Oh, and perhaps Weyrwood? Though that one is more fantasy with a regency setting than anything else.
Hi guys it shadow king me and another auther are currently co writing a book called the king’s return demon eyes it the first book in the series it’s a book set in medieval times and contains fantasy as well as Syfy elements the plot is like this you are the king /queen of a powerful nation but your nation is one of seven in a coalition formed to repel the empire for hundreds of years the empire has tried to bring the coalition to it’s knees after their last invasion where they where defeated then stopped invading that was a hundred years ago now you must fight the members of the coalition after a bloody battle you saved your kingdom and returned home to your spouse during the feast held in honor of your victory your betrayed by your advisors and your spouse and own subjects your imprisoned and hanged the next morning the reason for the betryal was greed the other kingdoms of the coalition wanted to form one empire now your soul furious about what happened wonders the world as a shade until you stumble upon the dread Lord God of darkness father of demons he tries to claim your soul a breif battle of wills occurs and you come out victorious he then reveals who he is to you and changes you into your true form he tells you have until the next planetary alignment to have your vengeance upon those who wronged you he tells you to awaken and you do rising from the grave you realise twenty years have passed and your body hasn’t aged the only thing different are your eyes you then set out on your journey for vengeance master dark powers such as necromancy,shadow magic as well as demon magic to help u gain your vengeance meet 6 new possible love interests on your journey also build an army ,but beware the other gods are watching and they will try and stop u current progress demo will soon be realeased we have big plans for our book have you guys ever died early in the book and had to start over or want to see possible outcomes to choices well I have the solution the option to go back to important choices.
Interest checking this before I start struggling with figuring out choice script again.
Set in my Fatal Moon universe
You play as a demon high school student, choose your name, age, gender, pronouns, and step into the busy city streets of Grimoire Tokyo in Neo Japan. Your parents are making you attend Grimdark High School, a public magic school, in the human world. Speaking of your parents, you can choose between three different lifepaths which will change how your relationship with your parents goes, delinquent, perfectionist and hellion. You have three different species to choose from in the initial game, Cat demon, Dog demon and a special original type of demon that usually rolls with an in universe mafia like street gang family of large fanged demons called KAR-4OR. One of many types of original demon species who will be revealed after the game releases. In this world humans and demons are currently in a tense peace, but even peace isn’t peace, and demons find themselves the butt of cruel human jokes.
You get a part time job at the 20s-50s era themed butler/maid diner-cafe, The Poodle Skirt Cafe, where it’s rumored human teenagers vanish without a trace some nights. But you don’t care about that, you’re too busy trying not to get on your boss’s bad side or slip up on sales. However one night, you end up serving a human priest, the demon hunters of this world who, thinking you human because your quote ‘human form is just the most awesome thing ever’ according to your friends before you left school that morning, drags you into a in an underground world beneath the cafe…
Once you enter the underground, you remain the same, at first, but the strange residents who appear to be oddly proportioned humans and exotic talking animals, all call you Alice. They’ve been waiting for you, don’t mind that pair of eyes watching you from inside that tree…
Will you get out alive? Why do they keep calling you Alice? Will the priest find out you are a demon? What’s with the earrings? Why are there so many bunnies?!
Find out with more questions than answers as you jump down the rabbit hole in Dead Alice In The Wonder Underground!
Other expansions coming in the months after release!
Other demon species
A Human path, live the life of a high school student who stumbles upon more than he bargained for with appearances by the main cast of the up coming as of yet unreleased manga series!
I just played your demo, and I’m in LOVE with it. I won’t vomit my feels across this particular thread, but I’m keeping my eyes peeled for the WIP thread. <3
Hello again everyone! So yeah. I apologize to the people who were looking forward to more frequent updates. Large scale plans really never work out well for me lol. I think this is a lesson for me to not set goals that I am unsure I can meet. Here’s what I can say for sure. I haven’t written for Entropic Vice nearly at all since I last posted. Until today when inspiration and determination struck and I finished the prologue(which is kinda lengthy tbh) by pulling an all nighter. I hope to spend a many hours this week converting it to choicescript, and finally giving some more details I should have given a long time ago. (no promises) I know you all understand, but I thought those who showed interest deserved an explanation. So, to close, I’m back. Mostly. -LT
Well, I’ve got to start checking (and drumming up) interest sooner or later, so here goes:
You play as a security contractor who’s hit a bit of a rut in life. With no job, no money, and no way to find a new one, you’ve given serious thought to moving on and finding a new life. However, your plans change when a reclusive, superstitious billionaire hires you to work on his security team, just for one train trip- thousands of miles from Vladivostok to Moscow.
Aboard the train, intrigue swells as you’re forced to keep a discordant cast of characters in order, satisfy the demands of your boss, and solve several issues that pop up. Along the way, discover (or maybe don’t… or maybe there isn’t one…) the life-changing truth behind why you were hired in the first place, and deal with events that could reshape the world as we know it.
Features:
-Interact with a discordant cast of characters (and romance some of them)
-Preserve calm and order on the journey… or purposely send it crashing into flames
-Discover who, if anyone, is trying to sabotage your boss
-Witness, and change, the power struggle between oligarchs and organized crime
-Save the world?
I’ll try to release a demo as soon as possible, but that largely depends on how much time I spend working on it and how much I improve my skill with choicescript. Expect it to be out sooner than later, though.
Hello lovely interest check thread, I am back (again (oops)). Here’s a rough sketch of the idea:
basic working title bc I’m bad at titles: Ruin
Two years ago, a blackout swept the nation of Solon. The very next day, another shock gripped the country: a number of healthy, young adults developed superpowers. After these two anomalies, the powered individuals were named the Illumed - light after a darkness.
The day after the blackout, you were one of the few to gain these superpowers. And like all the other Illumed, your powers changed your life. Your powers killed someone you loved.
You spent the last two years on a path seeking vengeance and answers. With the power of death at your fingertips and weather at your call, you let no one stop you. You became a criminal, a murderer, a villain. They named you Ruin.
And now… Now you’re so close to finding out where these powers came from. Your search for answers becomes even more meaningful as the Illumed powers, once a gift, have now developed consequences. Telekinetics get splitting headaches, fire manipulators are burning themselves to crisps, and invisible men stay invisible.
As you chase after the origin of the Illumed, you unknowingly run closer to the secret of true power. You could ruin the world, save it, or just get the normal life you’ve always wanted.
But in the end, what will it cost?
Feature Bulletpoints
Play as male, female, or nonbinary; straight, gay, bi, or ace
Romance one of 5? ROs, including but not limited to heroes, villains, and morally ambiguous characters!
Bestow the touch of death, control the weather, or fight without powers
No consequences to death touch powers but actually, it affects your Humanity (who knew?)
Use a combination of your guile, charisma, and perception to further your goals
Infiltrate a gala, a house, or a corporate office (and maybe kidnap someone)
Fulfill your dreams and bash some heroes; or run away tactically escape because you know you’re outmatched
Begrudgingly team up with a med student, a loser loner, a hitwoman, and a hacker
And More™ !!!
disclaimer: This became unintentionally comical, it’s a serious story I promise
There are already a bunch of superhero/superpower stories, I know, I’m sorry lol
But also because of that the bar seems really high and I’m afflicted with serious self-doubt even when writing the first chapter as we speak :’) Anyways that’s my sales pitch, thanks for reading!
To make your superhero story stand out, you need a good title that will set yours apart. Ruin is fine, but it’s super hard to google.
To make your superhero story stand out, you need a unique setting for superpowers to interact within. I know two things about Solon: it is a country, and its name is Solon. What makes Solon unique? Don’t think about demographics or economics or whatnot, think about something cool like it’s a country that is always under threat of cataclysmic storms, or it’s a country of little towns floating upon rocks in a sea of magma, or it’s on a very tiny flat earth that literally isn’t big enough for everyone, or it’s an entire nation untethered to land made up instead of dozens of enormous city-state zeppelins allied with one another through tenuous peace treaties, or it’s a massive station hurtling through space towards humanity’s new home, or it’s entirely within The Matrix, or …
To make your superhero story stand out, you’ll need something that makes your implementation of superpowers unique. What I know about the Illumed is that they weren’t born with their powers, they are regarded as positive miracles by the general public (unless “light after darkness” is more negative than it sounds) and their powers are random. The X-Men stood out because their superpowers were a thinly-veiled metaphor for the LGBT community (and other such outcasts at the time). The Fantastic Four stood out because they were a family unit. What makes your implementation different? I’d start with the fact that it’s totally random and that the superheroes are idolised by the general public – there’s some really interesting takes that you could write about just starting from this. I’m probably most interested in the story of someone much later in life, like late 40s, whose kids are just starting to grow up and “leave the nest” right when the parent suddenly gets saddled with enormous power and responsibility. Maybe they could relate to their teenagers better, you know, going through major life changes all of a sudden. Could make for some really great personal stories. Might even be fun for an old batty grandma to suddenly get the power of invisibility or something, which she then uses to spy on her neighbours and report them to the HOA. You’re in charge of tracking down Invisible Grandma and bringing her to justice (i.e. giving her her medicine). The point I’m making is the fact that it affects adults at random has the potential for a tonne of really fun interactions.
To make your superhero story stand out, you’re going to need a fresh take on what it means to have superpowers. Gaining superpowers late in life has been done. So has reframing them from a villain’s point of view (and even from a “kill everything I touch” point of view with Rogue from X-Men, and I guess Wolverine, too). So has uncovering a deep criminal conspiracy. I mean, that’s the whole point of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, isn’t it? And the idea of slowly being killed by your own powers, well, that was a major part of the movie Logan … with Wolverine. Hey, are you … are you writing a Wolverine story?
Anyway. The point is, what makes this story something that only you could write? What do you, Aerin, bring to this kind of story that you’ve never seen before? What’s something that you are extremely passionate about that you could bring to the story?
Definitely sounds interesting, the one problem I have with it, however, is this line.
It sounds kind of like the PC has a pre set personality. Honestly, in this situation, if I were a superhero/supervillain, I wouldn’t want to lose my powers, especially after having them for so long. I would advise letting the player choose how their MC feels about things.
Thank you for your reply! (I love TDDUP btw, I really admire your prose and storytelling ;-;). It seems like you have a pretty developed opinion on what new additions to the superhero genre could/should have to offer, and I really appreciate your feedback since it made me consider different parts of my story, like the setting, or its implicit similarities to big franchise movies, that I hadn’t before.
edit: I realized your post telling me in figurative all caps “how do you stand out???” didn’t necessarily require a response, but writing it out helped me think .
Ramblings of enlightenment
I will definitely agree that Ruin, as a title, is lacking, but that’s why it’s more of a placeholder for now, haha. After you point it out, my setting is also not a strong point, as with my planning I’ve tended to focus more on the plot and the characters. Honestly I think I’m just bad at world-building where all the details make sense, so it’s pretty vague and just resembles future-y today… I’ll take more time to think about what could make my setting unique.
I’m going to be completely honest and say that I have not watched many of the X-Men movies in full, though I get the point you’re making. I was mostly thinking in the scope of other CoG/HG, but I suppose I don’t necessarily want to fall too close to big franchise plots and tropes. Then again, I will probably google X-Men plots so I’m not doing that accidentally anyways .
While I really enjoy the invisible Grandma example, I find that my story is more about Ruin’s personal quest/goals and their conflict with the main hero group, Core, and the SciTech industry that has immense sway on Solon given that it’s a more technologically advanced country (also nothing new, I know). In regards to writing a later-in-life protag, my characters are younger adults because (I’m selfish), and compared to a 40 y/o I feel like a baby and don’t know if I can do a 40 y/o outlook justice.
Without making comparisons, the main premise that started the whole story idea was just “super powers with side effects.” All Illumed develop side effects from using their powers, though this doesn’t happen immediately and starts to surface gradually around the time the story starts. Neither are these side effects all severe or fatal. And while seemingly random, in the end the Illumed origin will fall towards somewhat of a criminal conspiracy, which isn’t super original, but tbh I kind of like my criminal conspiracy. :')) This starts to get into backstory territory, so I’ll keep it brisk for the sake of the thread.
Another originally planned mechanic was that while with at first no noticeable side effect, Ruin’s ‘death touch’ power affects their Humanity (% stat). This is complicated even just trying to define ‘humanity’ but it’s something I wish to implement.
I’m going to diverge and answer augustus27 here; starting the MC off as a ‘villain’ was selfishly for my sake, because I needed (motivation) something that spurs the MC onto their quest for the Illumed origin and sets them at odds with the heroes and SciTech. Society sees you as a villain, but I am also a proponent of shaping your MC, and you do get to decide how you take this. Though inconsequential compared to other story branching choices, I just wrote one last night that roughly goes along the lines of “I wish I could be a hero but never got the chance, I was content with a powerless life, I actually enjoy being the villain.”
So do not worry, fellow interactive fiction player, for I too like to choose how I feel !
Extra Answers
You are preset in that your search for answers, obviously, is very important. But you get to decide why it’s important to you, alongside how you want to get there. Are you comfortable killing to get what you need but lose your humanity? Do you use powers but suffer the pain/consequences? Do you not use powers at all but put yourself at an extreme setback when facing other heroes? Are you a ruthless or a reluctant ‘villain’? (Personally I like “anti-hero”). Later you meet a character who’s seeking a cure for the Illumed, which is something you may or may not have considered and can change your view and your desired coughendgamecough goals (to clarify, the choice doesn’t set you on a certain path, it gets you thinking on what you want by the end of the story). Do you want to cure yourself of all powers? Do you want to become more powerful and just get rid of the side effects? Do you wish society never had Illumed in the first place?
The last viewpoint is uncommon in Solon because as will insightfully noted, powers are generally perceived as a gift. You get to be a special snowflake because killing people by touch is not exactly conducive to normal life. :')
I really could talk about this for hours, so if anyone wants to chat or help me by asking critical storytelling questions bounce around story ideas just hit me with a PM (also so we don’t clutter the thread)!
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