Interest Check Thread

Hosted Games Works In Progress
3194

Thank you for linking me to this thread! I would prefer writing a non-genderlocked version, too, which is why I’ve put so much thought into things like choosing whether your Daaé is a soprano or a tenor and choosing the gender of their roles in opera productions, as well as simply choosing your Daaé’s pronouns. I want to be as inclusive and considerate as possible to every gender identity, but since I don’t experience any dysphoria whatsoever I’m not sure whether the system I currently have is enough to make all players comfortable. Like, it works for me, but does it work for everyone else?

Genderlocking Daaé, as cheap as that might be, would make my job much easier. I don’t want to, but if people don’t think my current system works (and don’t have any suggestions to improve it), genderlocking and eliminating the system entirely is the only alternative I can see.

Thank you so much for the feedback, by the way!!! Seeing that other people might be interested in this idea makes me really happy!

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3195

I understand being nervous but I personally like the system you’ve come up with and I’m a trans person who does experience dysphoria and usually plays trans characters.

I also just want to assure you that if people don’t like things in your demo, including this system, they’ll be happy to tell you. Very rarely do entire systems need to completely trashed for the improvement of the game. :slight_smile:

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3196

I’m relieved to hear that it works for you, then!! Thank you so much for letting me know, it really is a big relief!

That’s very, very fair, I might have been overthinking things lmao Thank you for the encouragement and reassurement!

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3197

I am a sucker for POTO so I am already ecstatic about this. But you may want to avoid some little things about the Phantom so that his route does not feel extremely noncony. Do not worry too much about the gender selection aspect. You could just seperate the voice range from it. A woman can be a tenor, men can be soprano etc… It is not exactly realistic but I dont think anyone will mind. (Also, do you have an idea of how the stats will be like? Only performance or other skills too? Just curious)

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3198

Oh yeah, that’s a really valid concern. His relationship with Christine in the original novel (and in the musical, which might even be worse because of the romanticization there) is, hm. Not very healthy, to put it lightly. I’ll certainly have one heck of a job lmao

The fact stands though that the Phantom is a character who hasn’t had many positive or healthy interactions with people over the course of his life - not to mention that, at least in the musical, I interpret him as not being very good at separating fiction and reality, seeing that he has spent most of his life with operas as his only frame for what human interactions and relationships should look like.

The Phantom in my game won’t be very mentally stable either (seeing as I can’t take away his past without making him borderline unrecognizable), at least not at the beginning of the game. Daaé’s choices will be able to influence that, but I will not play into the trope of “broken” and traumatized characters being “fixed” by true love. It will not be Daaé’s job to “fix” the Phantom. The way I have it planned out at the moment is that Daaé, and the Persian (who’s reasonably close with the Phantom), will be able to act as his support system. The Phantom may try to pull a possessive stunt or be excessively jealous, but you’ll have the choice to set him straight and show him that that’s not how real, healthy relationships (romantic or platonic) are supposed to work. Like I mentioned, the Persian will also be there as support. I really want to emphaasize that the Phantom will be the one responsible for cleaning up his own act, Daaé (and the Persian) will just be there to help him along the road. Should you choose to, of course.

As an aside note, the characters don’t have set ages but the Phantom will be in his early 30’s at most while Daaé will be in their early to mid 20’s (Daaé’s exact age will be up to headcanon) as opposed to the novel/musical where the Phantom was in his 50’s while Christine was 20 at most, thus getting rid of the (imo) icky age and power imbalance.

But, for players who wish to explore it, there might also be an the option for Daaé to encourage his unhealthy impulses and behaviours, leading to what most would consider a bad ending. I will do my very best to make the main route as healthy as possible, however.

That got a bit long but thanks for coming to my TED talk lmao

To address your other topics, whether Daaé is a tenor or a soprano (regardless of their chosen pronouns) is meant to be simply an opening for people to see Daaé as transgender should they wish to. It won’t actually be mentioned outright in-game.

Lastly, stats. I have some personality stats in mind, but I haven’t given too much thought about skill stats yet! I will say though that since Daaé being a good vocalist is kinda central to the story, there won’t be any stat tracking their singing prowess. It’ll be impossible for Daaé to be a bad singer.

These are the personality stats I’ve thought about including so far (and I’m open to more ideas!)

Humble/Confident - How eager are you to show of your vocal talent? How good are you at taking compliments?
Ambitious/Content - Will you strive for fame and status by climbing the proverbial ladder in the entertainment industry, or are you satisfied to stay in your quiet and relatively unknown life?
Jovial/Austere - What is your approach to life? Do you prefer to live life with a sense of humour and merriment, or do you prefer a more sensible and serious approach?
Cynic/Naive - Do you generally trust people easily and try to see the best in them, or are you more suspicious of people’s intentions?

This reply got really long lol but I hope I was able to answer your concerns and questions in a satisfying way! If anyone has more things to ask, please feel free!

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3199

Thought I would get opinions on this idea I’ve had kicking around for a few months. I have most of the plot, characters, and world fleshed out, but figured I would see if there was any interest or if something similar has been done. I’m still new to this community, so I might have missed something. I’ve never done any IF before, but I code a lot for work so I’m hoping I’ll be able to pick it up once I get started!

Working Title: O.F.N.A.
(The Ornithological Fellowship of North America)

You gain psychic gifts and begin to have disturbing dreams after being inducted (willingly or not) into the Ornithological Fellowship of North America. This is same society that your mother fled from before disappearing entirely, but no one will talk to you about that. As you make discoveries about other members and O.F.N.A. history, it seems more and more likely that the drop of blood they asked for was not just an innocuous tradition. It’s probably not witchcraft… right?

Features:
  • Choose from several bird familiars that will have effects on the story and your character’s growth
  • Learn more about your mother’s disappearance and the history of O.F.N.A. or about ongoing secret projects and internal disappearances
  • Strengthen control of your gifts and improve your reputation within O.F.N.A. or run it into the ground
  • Sell your soul to an ancient deity
  • Romance one of 5 RO options (1 female, 2 male, 2 set by player preference). This will play a fairly big role in the story, but I’m hoping to include a “friendship” route for each RO that is just as fulfilling to play for those not interested in romance.
  • Would be less focused on stat-checks and more character, choice, and story driven

Interested? Not Interested? Boring and been done before?

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3200

Sounds good to me

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3201

There’s been some supernaturally themed games before, but it being set in an ornithological society is a fresh twist. I adore the bird familiar idea especially. :slight_smile: :eagle:

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3202

Okay, so… I’ve been revisiting some old-ish interests and now I’m completely enamored by otome/galge games, lol. I wanted to make a game with vibes like that, in the sense that if you imagine the characters, an anime style comes to mind, y’know? Weeb things, anyways, moving on.

I may or not may also have grown very interested in Asian folklore, especially Japanese — in short, I want to make a game about yokais (Japanese spirits), particularly. But, because I’m yet not confident when it comes to what I know, I’ll simply make an original world based off Japan, with original ‘creatures’ based off yokais.

The plot is still very much subject to changes, but I’d roughly describe it like this:

Summary

MC’s twin brother, Deimon, has been missing for some time now (maybe like 7-ish months?), and MC is looking for him. No matter what kind of personality you ultimately choose for your MC, the thing is that they used to be a bit cold/bitchy towards Deimon as kids, out of childish envy, so they kind of feel like crap for it. MC has a dream that ends up guiding them to an small town in which some disappearances have been occuring. Blabla somehow they meet this person at a random place, MC asks if he knows anything about it, blabla. Blablabla because he thinks they may be involved in the disappearances (he’s secretly part of an investigation agency, along with the other ROS), he kidnaps(?) them. Blablabla thingthingthing SO MC discovers they ain’t human, actually being ‘Holics’ (what I am basically calling these washed out yokais), posing as humans because the higher-ups of their agency believe the disappearances involve otherwordly beings like them. After all that, they all start to work together to discover what happened to Deimon, and well, what is going on in general.

Pretty sure it’s going to be a somewhat long game?? No idea. But I’d like it to be, so the romance routes don’t feel forced.

The ROs are (this is also subject to change orz I just like making characters):

Summary

— Anubis Moonheart.

A tall, playful and teasing man whose eyes are perpetually closed for no reason (yes, a typical ‘fox-eyes’ anime character). His yokai species is the Maneki-neko (I, of course, need to rename these as Holics, but…lazy now). He isn’t that lucky, though. Not easy to read, but reads others himself with surprising ease.

— Remilia Woodweiss.

A solitary, awkward person who brings with them sudden rains, ones that depend on their mood. In general, anyone near them will be able to physically feel their sorrow – you eventually grow used to it depending on how much you interact with them. Their species is the Ame-onna.

— Asra Serkiet.

A sweet, friendly and rather refined lady with an otherwise strong punch and stronger willpower. Her species is the Yanagi-onna. She is fond of animal spirits (like Anubis and Lykke), but seems to have a low tolerance for Remilia for some reason, and…it shows.

— Lykke Govida.

While she might appear sweet, with her petite appearance and pleasant words, she’s actually a devilish, coquettish and mischievous soul. Her species is the Kawauso.

— Ratja T’kka.

A botherly type man (’‘oniisan’’). Similarly to Asra, he’s very kind, however he’s more soft-spoken and doormat-y than her at times. He is searching for his fated lover, but doesn’t like being touched by about anyone, being quite aggressive about his boundaries. His species is the Oni.

— Silvana Athanasius.

Easily the most antagonistic Holic out of all of them, Silvana is sharp-tongued and downright mean, stemming from his anxiousness and abandonment issues. Nevertheless, when he cooperates, he does a wonderful work, being very intelligent, pretty much rivaling the leader (Anubis) in that sense. His species is the Jorogumo.

Weesh. That was a lot. Please tell me what you think! Bored to tears? Interested?

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3203

Do we have to feel like crap about being cold to the brother or could we, well for lack of better word be cold about it

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3204

This sounds really interesting! I’d play for sure

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3205

That concept sounds really cool! Especially giving those with conflicting personality’s the ability to conflict in text (and progressively learn to get along should they so choose).
I actually was thinking of making my own CoG game with a similar mechanic so I feel especially strongly that it can and will work!

One thing I would be careful about is personality and lifestyle. Each new main character (spare the MC) can end up feeling just like the MC if a player is given the choice to dictate all of their moves. To curb this snag, I would suggest writing a base character idea for each additional main character (along with names and individual backstories) and keep with your unreliable narrator idea. Making any choices these characters get tailored to each main characters personality. For instance, say this person, let’s call him Ash, is gruff, icy, and reclusive. The reader is given the choice while in Ash’s POV to interact with their own MC and a few other main characters in the cast.
This choice might consist, at first, of what Ash was coming from doing—like gathering firewood, collecting water, finishing a short patrol, or waking from a nap. From there the choice moves to how they react to something the MC or another main character said. For Ash this would consist of pretending he didn’t hear it, snapping back, starting a fight, grunting their protest, or rolling their eyes. — all reactions that fit his personality while giving the reader the ability to morph their choices.

I might argue on behalf of giving the main customized MC, and only them, the choice to recollect with other main characters and let those interactions change the other main characters demeanor towards the main MC. (For the reason that it would feel less personal if you chose as another main character to forgive your customized MC quickly to avoid tension—tension which could serve as a good way to move the plot especially for a party of travelers forced to roam together, and work together, to gather needed aid in a raging war between their kingdoms.)

With that in mind, I think this is a great idea and that you should give it a go!

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3206

Count me in the “can’t wait to play!” squad. This is a wonderful idea —I haven’t seen too many Yokai inspired stories so I think that’s likely to help your story stand out.

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3207

I have 1 book currently out in WIP form, and 1 in the works. There both in the same world. 1 is about Werewolves, and 1 is about Vampires.
The one that’s out, is called "Freehold. Had to do some alterations, put everything in line_breaks, which didn’t make reading it easy for people, though that’s fixed now.
Basic consept for that, is your a person, get attacked by. Something, you don’t know what, then 4 strangers decide to follow you around. I do mean, follow, at 1 point, and it sort of goes from there.

Other one, working title, the one that’s not out yet is called, “Vailwalker”
Basic consept for that, is your again, a normal person, who goes to sleep one day in bed, and the next thing you know, you wake up on a table. Like, a normal one, not a sergical one or anything. Do to choices made by 1 of the other people in the room, you wind up attacking 1 of them, and when you wake up? You sort of get very, very drained, you have to figure out what’s going on, and how, if at all, you can get home. Or, even if you want to.

Though, that’s just the working summery, and some of that may change. Anyway. Just curious what everyone’s thoughts are. I got some feedback from Freehold, but According to some comments on. Think it was. Blood moon? People seem to want more werewolf stories. So. Feedback/comments/what ever would be aapretiated.

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3208

I am working on a interative game in choicescript and want to make a topic for it in the work in progress category to get feedback but upon reading the about the work in progress topic it says "Are you working on a game in ChoiceScript and looking to get it published by Hosted Games when it’s complete? Post about it in this category!"is it ok to use this category if i have no interset in getting the game published?

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3209

I would PM one of the moderators personally, but I think you’re okay. Many WiP threads get created and eventually die off from lack of activity on the author’s part for one reason or another.

If you don’t feel comfortable with making a WiP thread, then I’d recommend checking out these two threads which might be perfect for you!

@poison_mara’s workshop allows for writers who just want to write but have no interest in getting published. @Autumn19’s thread might be of use to you if you’re new to CSIDE or if you like working with others to set goals for yourself or bounce ideas off of each other.

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3210

The only reason you’re not allowed to post in WIP category is if you don’t have a working demo available (and category abuse such as posting non-WIP in WIP, I suppose). Otherwise, go ham.

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3211

@secretwarlock

:arrow_up: This is the correct answer.

While it is heavily preferred that all WIPs posted onto the forum ultimately have publishing as a goal—this is the Choice of Games forum after all, not merely an IF writer’s forum—there have been numerous instances where certain games wouldn’t have been eligible (fan-games/games set in a universe the author didn’t own) or where the author was simply not interested in getting published for one reason or another, but were still allowed to create their own feedback topic. Had you said that your game was not going to be written in ChoiceScript, then #off-topic:other-interactive-fiction would be the more appropriate category, but as of right now, the #hosted-games:works-in-progress category functions as the repository for all non-CoG (read: contractless) ChoiceScript games that are being developed.

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3212

Hello! This is my first time posting in this particular thread, but I had an idea for my first foray into IF, and wanted to see if there was any interest! I’ll probably still make it for fun to get a hang of coding, but here’s a summary:

Amadora’s Dating Agency For The Lonely and Occasionally Desperate [Placeholder title, probably]

Play as a matchmaker in a magical dating agency in a fantasy world full of elves, fae, trolls, orcs, and even the occasional human or two! You’ll have to juggle between a boss that seems to hate you, multiple clients searching for The One, your Grandmother’s disapproval of your choice of career, an annoying rival from another dating agency with a suspicious success rate, and your biggest quest yet: Trying to get a rebellious prince/princess to fall in love by order of the Queen. Failure might mean certain doom. Or worse–getting fired.

There will be 4 ROs. After all, helping others find love tends to put one in the mood for love too!

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3213

Aww, this sounds so interesting, I’d love to read!

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