Interest Check Thread

I really like this idea.

The former lover of a villain, under exile and close supervision from the very heroes that defeated them, must somehow reconnect with their estranged daughter.

I like the idea of a smaller, more intimate, more personal take on the hero myth. I could see this story working really well if no swords are drawn or spells are cast.

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Yeah iā€™m currently working on whether or not I want to have combat in the game or how to work that in, statwise

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Okay, here goes my first forum post and choicescript story.

Itā€™s called Realm of Balance and it closely resembles a fantasy rpg adventure. Iā€™m posting a demo of ch 1 soon so look for it if youā€™re interested!

Summary

The Lowlands is home to five realms gifted with magic to keep the Lowlands in order. In the Realm of Balance, two groups are responsible for bringing night and day, summer and winter, and life and death. The lightbringing Photons and nightbringing Nekrons have kept balance in the Lowlands since ancient times, but after a turn of events, the Nekrons vanished from the realm for reasons unknown.

It is Clans Day, the day young Balancers choose a clan from their respective group. Without Nekrons, an imbalance of lightbringers causes a rift in the Lowlands, threatening to take away magic forever. It is also the day the first Nekron in nearly a decade chooses a clan and realizes the true nature of the Nekronā€™s disappearance. The new Nekron must learn to use their abilities without a teacher, learn what happened to their people, and journey across the Lowlands to restore balance to the realms.

Features
  • gender-choice, orientation-choice
  • inventory (with weapons and consumables)
  • turn-based combat system
  • ā€œclassesā€ with different skill trees and builds (plus skill points!)
  • puzzles and a whole lotta adventuring across the Lowlands
  • your very own best friend character that travels with you
  • two - four different adventure paths (not in demo, sadly)
Possible Features
  • choosing different characters
  • a party system
  • shops to upgrade equipment and buy cool stuff
  • maybe ROs but Iā€™m so bad at writing them and the character travels so much whatā€™s the point
  • randomized encounters, boss battles, and badass mythical creatures
  • collectables maybe (will probably turn into hidden achievements)
5 Likes

Itā€™s an interesting premise with the main character being a (presumably good-aligned) force for darkness in a world of light. One thing though, Iā€™m not really getting a sense of the overarching story. Will it be like a road trip story where each new location is an opportunity to do some fantasy tourism? Or is it more like a fugitive story, where youā€™re being chased by people who want to see you burned away?

As for ROs, the solution is simple: have the option to pick up companion travellers.

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The summary didnā€™t really give anything away, but a road trip story is the closest thing that Iā€™m going for. Whether or not the main character is good, bad, being chased, or actually bringing balance is up to the player and the choices they make.

Duly noted on the ROs. Iā€™ll try my best. Thanks!

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Having lots of choice is good, but itā€™s okay to decide on some aspects of the story ahead of time. If youā€™re envisioning awesome vignettes of being chased by Light Wizards ā„¢ through the streets of a paper lantern town on a snowy night, for example, by all means decide on the aspects of the character that make that happen and donā€™t be afraid to make them non-negotiable. Setting constraints for yourself isnā€™t a bad thing!

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Iā€™d go so far as to say its necessary.

With how easily accesible a public wip is, youā€™ll be getting an avalanche of requests and wishes from everyone. It can be overwhelming if you arenā€™t used to criticism or filtering useful feedback from these kinds of testers.

While I am sure that most mean well, they most likely donā€™t comprehend the amount of effort that actually goes into making a wip or even coding a single option.

Itā€™d be a shame if an author were to burn themselves out from trying to juggle every individuals wants and needs. Lest their game lose its intended significance/vision even.

Confidence in your own games vision is a must.

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I would like to see such a national management simulation game.

1 Like

I hope to be able to make a game where the player/protagonist is only about 10-12 years old. Part of that is it would be interesting to explore the first stirrings of crushes/love.

Of course, the other part to it is the player might exhibit some ability or power, one which would scare their parentsā€¦and perhaps have a government agency chasing after them. Evading them, etc. would also be part of it.

6 Likes

@Lys - Here is an idea:

A really talented and creative author writes beautiful and engaging stories but just as she completes them, she deletes/destroys them ā€¦ meanwhile, this nosy less talented writer peeks into the original writerā€™s work and steals the ideas and stories written and builds a famous career from it ā€¦ :two_hearts:

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I know itā€™s been a while since Iā€™ve posted on this thread, but I want to say that the first chapter for my demo should be out within the next day or two. Iā€™m truly grateful for all of your support. I truly appreciate it, so thank you from the bottom of my heart. It means the world to me and I truly hope you like the demo.

It may be longer now since my computer crashed and wonā€™t start back up. Iā€™ve been trying all day with no results what so everā€¦ does anyone know what to do?

18 Likes

Hello and thank you for taking some time out of your day to read this c:

A few years ago my father was in hospice and a nurse there introduced me to Choice of Games and Hosted Games. Hero Rise, Samurai of Hyuga, and Zombie Exodus were the only things keeping me sane during that time so i have a lot of love for interactive novels and choice games.

And so for this yearā€™s resolution Iā€™ve decided to try and make my own!

I have three stories i have been working on for awhile but i canā€™t decided which to prioritize so thatā€™s why i made this to ask for your help! c:


Here are the three stories.

Daughter of Hercules : You play as Macaria, a daughter of Hercules and Deianira. After sacrificing yourself to Persephone to save your siblings and the city of Athens from an enemy of your father youā€™ve lived a very long and surprisingly happy life in the underworld. Persephone welcomed you warmly with open arms, even Hades himself welcomed you into his world and treated you like his own daughter. More then your real father ever did. Several centuries later you notice that Minos, one of the judges of the underworld, has been acting rather suspiciousā€¦what is he planning? This story has 3 ROs, you will be able to change your name if you so choose, and you will also be given the option to transition to male as the story goes on.

Military Dog : You were just a pup when you were ripped from your motherā€™s arms. You could still hear her cries as they closed the heavy metal door to her cell. She clawed desperately at the cell window as you passed by. The woman carrying you down the blindingly white hall holds you just as tightly in her arms as mother had, but you do not feel safe in this womanā€™s arms. You do not see any warmth in the smile she gives you either. She says you are going to make your mother proud, that you are going to grow up to be a powerful weapon of war. But in truth, youā€™ll just be another of the Militaryā€™s Dogs. This story has 5 ROs and MC will be fully customizable.

Your Ugliness, : You are the princess/prince/Royal Heir of Glenmire. It is currently a small kingdom of little importance, but that is soon to change for your father has managed to arrange a marriage between you and the king of the very prosperous Lokshire! Your little kingdom is saved! Everyone is so excited for your up coming wedding, even your usually mean step mother is oddly happy for you! And your darling little step sister is going to be the flower girl, how sweet! Everything is going well so far, what could possibly go wrong? this story has 6 ROs and a fully customizable MC.


so then, which do you think i should start making first? c:

  • Daughter of Hercules
  • Military Dogs
  • Your Ugliness,

0 voters

if you have any questions about one of the stories please feel free to ask!
And if you have any tips for choice script newbies like myself please pm them to me, i would really appreciate it!

4 Likes

for some reason the poll votes just randomly disappeared i have no idea what happened O.o

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Mightā€™ve happened if you edited your post after putting up the initial poll, I imagine.

Anyhow, of the three, I find the first one to be the most intriguing. A part of it is that itā€™s the only one I can see that, in addition to the setting, also gives a clear hook ā€“ and idea on what the player would be doing (investigating what Minos is up to).

The second one gives a premise ā€“ and while playing as a dog would be interesting ā€“ it doesnā€™t really give me an idea on what to expect from the story itself. Would we be a military dog in present day, or some kind of alternate future? What would we be doing? What kind of missions would we be going to?

The third one is the most vague. From the title, Iā€™d have to assume that it refers to the king the marriage has been arranged with, but even then ā€“ what would we be doing? Does the gameplay take place leading up the wedding or after? In the case of the latter, I suppose it would be about adjusting to the new life in the court, but even then weā€™d need something to intrigue usā€¦

I wish you the best of luck, regardless. Iā€™m certain that whichever one you go with, youā€™ll make something interesting. These observations are more in regards to selling your premise to the audience.

3 Likes

thank you very much! your observation is very very helpful and appreciated! o:

i wasnā€™t exactly sure how vague i should be, i didnā€™t want to spoil too much.

as for military dog, youā€™re actually not a dog, but a werewolf. my friend thought it would be better not to mention that but i see how that could be awkward\confusing now!

4 Likes

I got a bit of a wild sell but hopefully someone else will get attached to the idea.

Keep in mind the name is a work in progress as with everything else, ideas are subject to change.

Maltesevale Basic Premise
Maltesevale is a game taking place in a recreation of Prohibition Era United States with a sci-fi framing device allowing for multiple races to allow for liberties in technology and to allow some slightly more ā€˜inclusiveā€™ concepts.

Brief Synopsis and Goals

You are an immigrant, being teleported to a planet known as Oldboy to live in the singular city-state the planet has, Maltesevale. The planet is under a import ban, all modern technology and recreational goods are banned and thus the city has to remain self-sufficient. You select your characters race, gender, and reason for coming to Maltesevale.

You can go down multiple story paths after becoming acquainted with the city. The biggest players in influencing the city are:

  • The City Government and Police, referred to as ā€˜The Fedsā€™ attempting to eject the criminal elements of the city to reform Maltesevale into a peaceful place to live and remove the import ban on the planet.

  • Sleuth and Associates Private Investigations, an independent PI firm led by Peter ā€˜Sleuthā€™ Sternwood that attempts to take down the criminal elements of Maltesevale without being bogged down by red tape.

  • The Noire Gang, criminals of the lower class that focus on bootlegging, extortion, and gun running. They want to keep Maltesevaleā€™s Prohibition in place and profit off it, while valuing loyalty and appearing sympathetic to the community, making the best of the planetā€™s situation.

  • The Ritz, a mafia backed by a mysterious and rich don that appeared after a many Maltesevale citizens were ā€˜gassedā€™ and gave them unsettling transformations to their biology, forming a gang of professionals and outcasts that have unknwon, but large plans for Maltesevale. Specialize in trafficking technology and drugs, as well as larceny and assassination.

There will be an in-game option at the start to read up on the history and races of Maltesevale in more detail.

Races and The Player Character

Maltesevale features four playable races that all populate the city and will all be briefly described here. Keep in mind these are ā€˜nutshelledā€™ descriptions of each race, taken from what I have already wrote down in more detail.

  • Pericarps, also known as Carps, are a mono-gendered race with no sex organs that reproduces from cloning. Pericarps looks can depend on the DNA used, but will always have a solid segmented carapace that makes them hardy. Traditional pericarps have black or dark gray carapaces, while ones with DNA from other races used in the cloning process have colors ranging from white, soft pink, light blue, and other features such as fangs or small horns, and rarely hair. They are native to Oldboy, their race declaring war against the Quitillians in a bid of expansion and attempted to overwhelm them with sheer numbers but were defeated and quarantined on their now ruined homeworld until they are ā€˜safe enough to be reintroduced to the galactic community.ā€™ While having no traditional gender roles, some carps like to fashion themselves under one after exposure to other races with multiple genders. This also bleeds into their concept of relationships, as the closest thing they used to have to love was having trusted lifelong friends. Concepts such as taking alien lovers and the idea of a sexual relationship itself will confuse as many pericarps as it disgusts.

  • Quitillians, or Quttles/Quitties, are a sea-faring race that is a three-gendered race, as hermaphroditic traits are common enough to the point where being born with only male or female sex organs is more of the minority. They are a slick skinned species with tiny scales and ā€˜hairā€™ resembling that of tentacles that can often also include barbs or suckers. They are a colorful race whose scales often vary in many pastel and stark colors. They are a big player in galactic politics, having a rich culture of both art and science that make them have a dominant presence in space. Pericarps waged war on them to expand on their fringe colonies, and after numerous attempts to make them surrender Quitillians proceeded to unleash some of their worst weapons on the species, making their homeworld a wasteland in the end and putting a martial law on the planet to try and re-educate the species into a more peaceful presence. Despite technically owning Oldboy now, they are the least common members of the population due to a lot of bad-blood between Pericarps and Quittilians. Due to their open-minded nature, they have no issue with romancing any gender or species, though donā€™t often take on lovers for life.

  • Shaggiths, or Shaggi, are a humanoid-like species with insectoid features that can include fangs, horns, feelers, wings, claws, and many more unique genetic mutations. They have leathery skin that is uniquely durable and thick, with colors ranging from light and dark gray, as well as grayed blues, greens, and reds while their hair is monochromatic, being anywhere from stark white to pitch black. The species is dual-gendered, with females being born naturally stronger, larger, and with longer lifespans, forming a matriarchal society where females tend to dominate positions of leadership. Shaggi, regardless of gender, are often fiercely independent, violent, and competitive. This led to the literal detonation of their planet under civil war, and many Shaggi were granted asylum to Oldboy. Maltesevale, after many years, became a popular place for the displaced species to live and is now considered the ā€˜second homeā€™ of the species and are the second most common members of the population. Same-sex relationships are common among Shaggi, and while many view relationships with aliens with disgust, their darwinistic society makes them more open to ā€˜strongā€™ or ā€˜worthyā€™ aliens being taken as consorts, lovers, or partners.

  • Humans are a diverse species despite their dual-gendered biology. With a variance of skin and hair colors and unique bone structures depending on race, they understandably pride themselves on independence. They are a controversial species, but share an amicable relationship with Quittilians. Humans were offered the first of their kind to immigrate to Maltesevale because of this, hoping that the continued diversity brought by them will make Maltesevale a more accepting place by letting in this small slice of outside galactic society inside. Understandably, humans only make up to the third biggest population on Maltesevale, and itā€™s arguable if their presence in it was for the better. They are divided on relationships with other species, as many hating the concept as many as others are accepting of it.

All species have their own takes on romancing aliens, but homosexuality is more commonly accepted to not alienate some players and also for the sake of simplicity. The player character themselves can identify as male or female for all races, non-binary for pericarps and humans, and quitillians are allowed to pick their pronouns should they play one with both sex organs (or go with they/them as well.)

Gameplay

Currently, as knowledge of CS is built, the base mechanics are still being worked on. But the current ideas is that stats are only determined by five base stats and relationship values with groups, individuals, and more abstract things like public opinion on your group. While there will be some stat influence, the aim is to not alienate people into unwinnable situations because of them or force them into a certain playstyle other than one they build in their head.

Boisterousness is your strength stat. Determining your usual feats of strength as well as endurance. It also influences your close quarters combat ability.
Savviness is your knowledge of things both esoteric and practical. Common knowledge in no specialized field as well as your street smarts and ability to think quickly on your feet.
Swankiness is your stand-in charm stat, used for negotiation, charming, and lying, as well as generally looking cool.
Enfilading is your knowledge of firearms both traditional and obscure, as well your ability to use them and lower the chances of them successfully being used on you.
Skullduggery is your ability to do the nefarious. Lock-picking, sneaking stealing, and all other means of shady practices.

I also have written down multiple notable NPCs, including romance options, but decided to not count my chickens before they hatch. If youā€™re interested in hearing of some of the denizens of this setting, please tell me so.

10 Likes

The soldier dog story is something I havenā€™t seen yet. I donā€™t think thereā€™s a COG, HG, or even a WIP on this forum told from the perspective of a dog.

EDIT: Oh itā€™s a werewolf apparently! Can you ā€¦ can you make it a dog instead? Ha ha.

The Hercules story sounds great. I love Greek myths and particularly the weird and up-to-interpretation relationship between Hades and Persephone, and also between the Underworld and the Above World where people can travel between them much more easily than you might think.

The royal wedding story ā€¦ it would come down 100% to implementation, as thereā€™s more than a few stories with that premise. Youā€™d have to do something that makes it uniquely yours and no one elseā€™s.

RE: Maltesvale by @JacobSteakfries: I love it. Incredible. Go for it with all your might.

4 Likes

Author said that the MC is a werewolf. I thought we would play as a dog but apparently the author was just a little too vague with the description.

Female locked games are pretty uncommon, so I highly doubt that it would make it to the 1st place. Iā€™m kind of disappointed because I loved the concept and it seemed so unique! I love Hades and Persephone and I find their dynamic intriguing.

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just for you Fay and your kind words, even if Daughter of Hercules gets the least votes iā€™ll try to make it as well along side which ever of the other two wins the votes ;3 i canā€™t promise itā€™ll b updated as quickly but i will do my best!

also i too really love anything to do with Hades and Pershepone~

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Honestly the best advice here is to ignore the poll and do the one that youā€™re inspired to do the most.

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