In this case, one of the alien species in my space opera is descended from the elves in my fantasy world. Sometimes they come back when they die. And sometimes they come with reentry in their spaceship when they botch an emergency jump.
Sometimes they are part of a prophecy.
Guys, maybe start a workshopping thread or something? This has gone a bit far beyond āinterest check.ā
Hey all! Iāve had an idea for a short gameā50k words or soārattling in my head for a while, and I would like to see if thereās an audience for it. Regardless of who likes it Iām going to complete it. I love this idea.
Working Title: Veraās Restaurant (seems ill-fitting for the tone of the story, makes it sound like a restaurant management sim. Iāll have to think harder later.)
Genres: Drama, Action, Realistic Fiction(?)
In the near-future American Southeast, you play as a person fresh out of prison and running out of options. You thought moving to the city of New Garner could give you a fresh start, a new life, but the only paying job you found was that of a fixerā for an ambitious young diner owner. This diner owner is insistent on the destruction of a rival restaurant. Youād do it for the money, but someone seems to be standing in your wayā¦
Choose your character-- male, female, nonbinary, with the option of being trans. Nothing too crazy with the details, Iām thinking of also including race, height, and gender presentation. Those details are where I can see flavor text opportunities the most.
Choose the gender of your boss and rival. I may cut this (so Veraās a man and Ollieās a woman)ā¦ I wanted the ability to choose so the player would like them more, in the limited story length I imagine this to have. May or may not actually work.
As for stats? Nothing too complex. Just choose who will you trust and who will you obey. This game will also record your characterās ruthlessnessā¦ These two variables will influence the ending.
When the banks moved out of the New Garner, so did opportunity. The spirit of the nation has moved on to the West, leaving those who cannot move with the times behind, leaving them to deal with the rising sea levels and extreme weather.
In the course of this story, everything takes place within a neighborhood. Itāll probably be Veraās restaurant, the rival restaurant, a house or two, a train station, and a motel. Maybe a church?
Vera (m/f) - the young-adult diner owner who hired you. Having watched too many mafia movies as a child, they have developed ambitions that are borderline unrealistic. It doesnāt help that their diner is successful too. A feminine, calculating, nice-on-the-outside sort of person.
Ollie (m/f) - the young-adult nephling of the rival restaurantās owner. Feeling like theyāre is stuck at a dead-end, theyāre is trying to make the most of it, supporting their uncleās business. A masculine, loyal, and sometimes thoughtless person.
Anthony - the rival restaurant owner. An old man who canāt let go of his pride and joy, The Hot Plate. He canāt admit itās failing, and is blind to the fact that Veraās out to end it for good. A stubborn, kind, man.
Violence, with you as the perpetrator; arson
What are your thoughts? Any potential issues, missing info? Let me know 
Just one question - do you mean āshort game ideaā as āidea for a short gameā, or as āgame idea that is currently shortā?
Idea for a short game! Thanks for the clarifying question.
Hey all!
Iāve been hard at work on a title I first unveiled in this thread quite awhile ago. I donāt often post in here and do not yet have a WiP thread for that title (lack of a playable demo at this moment) for Once in a Lifetime.
Once in a Lifetime is a life-simulator built in ChoiceScript.
Whilst evaluating scope and breadth/depth of content, Iāve realized that releasing OiaL with three eras from the get-go would be brutal to undertake as each will work with unique content of its own.
As a result, I wanted to put a little poll. Iām not someone who likes talking about pricing or anything involving it until Iām much further along, but itāll help me get an idea for interest.
Right now, I am considering shelving prior plans and focusing on releasing the 2004 Era for Once in a Lifetime, this would include:
Thereās so much already burgeoning under the hood for planned content in Once in a Lifetime that itās going to take a few years of development as is. Nonetheless, I wanted to propose my future plans and garner what interest would be (should the original release be loved/successful).
So, here comes my poll. If Once in a Lifetimeās base game is huge, and well built/crafted. Would you be open to purchasing the additional eras as DLC given theyāll essentially be new games in size? Theyād be reasonably priced, of course.
Thanks, everyone!
My opinion is āYes, if I end up liking the base gameā.
Altered the poll to make the Yes option indicative of that more clearly!
I would definitely go for the expansions! Though as someone born in 2002, the 2004 version will probably be my least favorite. There are some āwhat was life like whenā¦ā questions with the other two that simply donāt exist in 2004 version. But I think all versions will be very good and interesting!
Hey Anna!
I hope youāll be pleasantly surprised by what is up my sleeve. Iāve got a lot in the pipeline to be implemented.
On the bright side, the project already has a vast amount of code as Iāve gone to task implementing systems. So hopefully a WiP will be on the horizon in good time.
Good luck making that. You have paid expansions already planned before a demo.
Sus.
Iām planning a significantly expansive base game thatāll take several years to make. Originally, I had wanted to spread this across 3 eras of planned content, but that will significantly pad out dev time.
The point of my poll was to engage the community on their feelings before I even considered that plan. I can split the two eras up into something much more manageable over time when planning them as separate āgamesā. I marked them as expansions because they could be added onto the already existing base.
At least in terms of what my thoughts and ideas were, theyāre not any different from what a sequel would be like. Development does have to end at some point on the base project, if that makes sense.
I merely felt that I could package these additional games worth of content into the base game with a tag on it and reduced price compared to what a sequel would be.
Iām open to feedback.
Dont talk about expansions if the base game not even started yet is all.
Hi!
This content was talked about in the original post announcing the game.
As for where the game is, Iāve got many posts out showing significant development of it and showcasing features as theyāve been built. I brought this post up to get the communityās feelings on my severing the original 1842 and 1921 Eraās of the game from the plans as theyād take too much time to make to include in the base game.
Iām not clear from a quick look at the Tumblr post whether this is planned to be a ChoiceScript game, but if so, this is the thread for it as there is no demo:
If it is planned to be a ChoiceScript game, once you would like to share a demo please create a WIP thread with a link to to demo then.
If not, please post in the āOther Interactive Fictionā category once the game is completed. Thanks!
Hi all! Iāve had an idea for a game bouncing around for a little while but I canāt decide between Twine or Choicescript. Thought Iād post it here.
This game is a fantasy drama inspired by Spirited Away and Japanese mythology. It is character- and romance-driven, and doesnāt have a title yet.
You are the only human in the spirit world. Being there was once your only desire. It is a beautiful place full of yÅkai and kami, living in splendor under endless moonlight. It is somewhere many can only dream about reaching.
But you had to give up everything for it ā including your own freedom.
To exist in this realm, humans must live in servitude under a spirit forever, never to return to the human world. After a tense parting with your previous kami master, you have found yourself working under a new master as a geisha at a ryokan frequented by important and powerful yÅkai. Now you must navigate your life as an outsider and the strange world around you. None of it was what you had bargained for.
You are caught between two worlds and two masters. Which will you choose? Will you find a way to escape the spirit world, despite it all?
My concerns: I love exploring complex relationships and power dynamics. However I know this isnāt everyoneās cup of tea and Iām worried about people being offended by the only ROs being people who seem to have a lot of power over the MC. The actual power dynamics are complicated, as despite being a servant neither Yu nor Kazuki will treat the MC like one or exert power over them. But will people be open to that complexity or will they expect a weird master/servant dynamic and call it problematic? At the same time I donāt want to write perfect relationships I find boring. IDK.
Also I have no idea if this concept counts as slice-of-life, because I want to focus on the MCās job in the spirit world, their daily life, and their relationships, but there is also the dramatic undercurrent of possibly finding a way out (if the player chooses that route). This isnāt necessarily cozy slice-of-life, I guess.
I only have two ROs because this is my first game and while having 4-6 ROs seems to be popularā¦ Iād rather spare myself the pain and keep things approachable! I may add more later as characters come to me.
Iām very attached to the idea of the MC being a geisha but this doesnāt necessitate a gender-lock, because historically geisha were actually men. I plan to briefly mention this in-game because I know some may be confused and think geisha have to be women. I also hope a geisha working in a luxury ryokan makes sense, since theyād need entertainment for high-class guests.
Apologies for how much I have writtenā¦ I donāt realize how much Iāve been thinking about this game until I put all the details down and realize Iāve been a freak about it for the past few weeks lmao
As for the audience for your ROās, you have me totally on board! I love media that explores how power affects relationships. Iām working on a project that deals with similar topics myself, hehe. But anyway, I donāt think you can fully protect yourself from people who donāt get it, or think itās problematic. But on the bright side, the audience that your work is for definitely exists! I believe that you should write what you are interested in, regardless of everyoneās reactions. You canāt please everyone, after all.
This sounds interesting! Iāve wanted to do a story in ancient Japan and Geisha, but I havenāt gotten a good idea yet. So Iām very excited to read one.
On the Geisha note, they started out as men and then transitioned into being women. So I think itās entirely possible for there to be both in this point of time in this world. (Even if it wasnāt, this is more fantasy anyway).
For the ROs, I donāt mind complicated dynamics. Though I am curious about how youāll manage to make the two routes feel different, since theyāre kinda similar
Very true, thank you! I probably should just get comfortable with the fact that I canāt please everyone haha
This is something Iām definitely thinking about! Iāve been mulling over about the project a lot but thereās still a ways to go with developing the two ROs. Iāve wanted to make them foils to each other with opposing backgrounds and motives, so Iām feeling that out. :]
I appreciate the responses a lot!
I am planning A rewrite and expansion on my old WIP, to the point where it will be considered a new project.
As not to break expectations, I wanted to float my prospective paths by those few whom remember Freak: ATNL.
It was a very super-hero inspired project to which I wish to maintain the universe and characters.
I intend to retain the universe as is but take a slightly darker turn in an alternate path with the MC colloquially known as āFirstā.
For those not in the know about ye olde WIP it took on the perspective of the literally silent Protagonist from which you step into the shoes of beginning in a science lab and the events that lead you to a neon tourist City raised from the bottom of the sea filled with heroes and Villain battling for peace justice and Fame along side bitter divisions between those Born with powers (Freaks a.k.a. those whom have been born with Darwinās syndrome) and those that work for large corporations that have bought and bargained their way into superpowered status.
First was to arrive on the scene with a flash and fire, and thanks to the Ruby Shapeshifter/Villain?/buddy Silic that day came in the form of a plane crash in our neon playground.
That was the original premise and introduction without spoiling the fun details between if you havenāt played it.
My intention with Freak: Falling Awake,(working title) Is to take the current universe and characters and create a pre-apocalyptic world (things are wild but everything still works).
Without spoiling what plots I intend, there may be the option to have āoriginsā they may alter the entire course of events that have occured, in a āmirror darklyā kinda way.
Iād like to get questions if youāre worried about me changing something you loved in the original, in fact Iād like to try to maintain those aspects but reintroduce them, but its been forever and its an intimidating project. Feel free to DM me if youāve got a thread derailing question or query Iām happy to answer. I just donāt want to spoil any of you whom prefer the āJust surprise me.ā Method.
