Interest Check Thread

Hosted Games Works In Progress
1397

Umm, I’ve never shared an original story (even if it’s just an idea) before so here goes nothing! Also, I’m not the best at giving these kind of descriptions so feel free to ask me anything if I didn’t make anything clear or whatnot. ^^

“The Tale of the Bloodstained Dog”, a historical fiction story set in 18th century (specifically July 4, 1869 to December 31, 1899). It’s about a collage freshmen in modern day who gets sent back in time and gets mistaken for “Bloodstained Dog”. Without a way back home, the MC must become the “Bloodstained Dog” to survive. Be warned, there is no happy ending for this dog.

This story will be female locked, and for the sake of the story, all the ROs will be male only. I’m so sorry if you don’t like it but it’s how I want to write the story since this is the first time I’m doing something like this and I want it to be a little easy for me.

There will be four romance options, do note that one of them will be the husband of “the dog” (the other MC, of sorts) and there is something about one of the other ROs but I don’t know if I should share it yet.

Also I want to be clear on something, the historical characters will not be real people (they may be based on real people but that’s it) and not everything with match it’s real life counterpart. It may have been oblivious but I thought I’d mention it anyway.

The story with a standalone game/book and will end at about, umm I want to say chapter 30 to 35, since I really can’t see this becoming a series and I don’t want to make it one.

Here’s a teaser, to both get a better idea on how I write and to see if this something you guys want to see more of.

This what you’ll see when you first get into the story, umm minus some choices you guys would have and a few other bits (I can’t show everything, you know).

Summary

December 31, 1899.

It feels as if the world is on fire. The smell of death and iron hang in air. Yet you must stand proud for those who can’t, to stand and fight for those who can’t.

If only your body could listen. Your body aches and your blood is turning cold, seeping onto your armor. Your sight is beginning waver and the world spinning.

“Stand down, dog.” exists out of the lips of Aylin, your soon to be killer. In a way you’re proud of her, you almost thought she didn’t have it in her. Even looking down at you, like you used to do.

Aylin looks at you one last time and starts to turn. Her eyes, those like Erol’s and Ava’s, honest. You swear, the only thing she got from you was the color of them.

Ahh… Why did you reach a hand out for her? She stops in her place and turns slightly but doesn’t face you. Kind of, she can be too honest for her own good at times…

“Aylin… I’m so sorry.” The words just come out. “I know you won’t forgive me but-” Not now, not after everything please…

Like I said, honest. Her eyes widen as tears begin to fall before giving a look of sorrow. “I am as well, mother.”

She tries to move closer but you shake you head, “Go, just go. They need you more then I do.” She looks at you one last time before running off.

Lying down next to tree, you do what you do in moments like these. Look up at the moon.

The moon is as bright as ever, almost like that day 30 years ago. Reaching out a hand, as if to touch it.

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1398

Sorry for being dense, but who is the Bloodstained Dog? I get the impression they’re a historical figure, but I couldn’t find any information about them on Google.

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1399

First, I want to say I’m sorry in advance if I sound/come off as rude because I’m not trying to be.

But I said this…

In the context of the story, the bloodstained dog was a real woman, and the same goes for every other character (except the playable MC and another character, who also isn’t a real person but that’s a big spoiler) in the story.

Again, I’m very sorry if I come off as rude.

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1400

nothing rude , you are merely clarifying . its fine :wink:

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1401

Don’t worry, you’re not coming off as rude at all. :smiley: I think I just got confused because the description doesn’t explain who the Bloodstained Dog is, so I though we might be supposed to know her from history.

For the purpose of guaging interest, I think it’d be helpful if you could elaborate on what being mistaken for the Bloodstained Dog means, story wise.

Who is she? A noblewoman? An assassin? The leader of a baked goods cartel?

When we become her to survive, what are we doing? Maneuvering high society politics? Carrying out contract hits? Running other bakeries out of town?

In the absence of more information, I’m imagining a become-Jack-the-Ripper serial killer kind of story, buuuut that’s probably not what you had in mind? :rofl:

Ultimately, though, if you want to write this story, I encourage you to. There’s an audience for everything; write and they will come. :wink:

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@Lan

Ahh okay, I see! I’m sorry about that, like I said in first post I’m not the best at giving story descriptions and well, I didn’t want to spoil things to soon (another bad habit of mine). I really need to get better at that…

Speaking of that, here’s some basic stuff I didn’t put in the first :

*The Bloodstained Dog is known for three major battles. There are few other battles she is known for but other then one, they’re not going to be in the playable part of the story since they already happened. The dog (as I’m going to call her from this point on since her name will customizable) is just a well known soldier turned assassin.

*I think survive might not have been the right word in that sense since you only really need to worry about it in the chapters that take place on the battlefield or well anything to do with the dog’s sister in law. Since up until near the end of the story, the dog is just a known soldier.

*This isn’t a story with any politics in it since I’m going to honest that I’m kinda tired of politics and I’m flat out not interested in politics in general. I mean, there obliviously will be some mention of politics here and there but it’s not the main focus. This is mostly a story about trying fight fate and failing at it.

*I know this will be one of the deal breakers for some people and I totally understand so I have to mention it. The dog is a mother, and in a little later in story the playable MC will as well.

*Also something I thought mention, even tho it’s not a big deal but the whole dog part in her nickname is (mostly) to mean “loyal like dog” and umm, not another reason why you call someone a dog (mostly).

*Ohh, I don’t know why I said there would be four ROs. There’s only going to be three ROs. Sorry about that!

Hopefully this helps clear things and makes things a little more interesting for your guys. If there is anything anyone wants to ask, feel free to do so!

(Also, I hope you don’t mind Lan but I have steal the baked goods cartel idea from you. Don’t worry I’ll give you credit.)

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1403

She is the Lieutenant General…

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1404

Hey everyone! I’ve been lurking around the forums for a while and have finally decided to dip my toes into Choicescript. I’ve got an idea for a series centered around the American Civil War, in a similar vein to Paul Wang’s Infinity series. I wanted to see if any one had any interest in the setting and time period.

My initial focus will be on creating a scenario in which the MC interacts with the conflict, this includes spending time with the other members of your platoon, choosing how to deal with a multitude of stressful (and sometimes lethal) situations, and how they plan to respond to the more vicious and brutal aspects of the war.

Any feedback is appreciated, and please let me know if you have any questions regarding the concept. I also wanted to know if players would like the option to play either side of the conflict, or stick to one perspective. Another thing I would like to know is if people would prefer having the chance to change the outcome of historical battles, or if they would prefer to keep impacts within their immediate surroundings.

A short synopsis of the setting and starting point

The year is 1862, you are a private serving in the worst conflict this democracy has yet seen. The Confederate States of America have just won yet another victory at the Manassas Junction. The Union is struggling to regain the initiative against Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. You have only recently joined up, either voluntarily or by new conscription laws, you’ve been thrust into the war alongside your new platoon mates, each of you struggling to survive or even thrive within the turmoil.
This will be a largely character driven story, as I don’t want to bog people down with an endless flurry of stats. That doesn’t mean that the MC will be safe from consequences or the nature of war however…

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Which side would the PC be on?

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1406

Hopefully it will be a choice between the two.

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As a reader I’d vote both sides, although it will unavoidably lengthen the creation process for you, especially if you aim to provide unique characters and situations to both paths. From character’s perspective, realistically there isn’t that much a private or a single squad can impact on the battlefield, so I’d welcome achievements scaled with that in mind - after all, depending on seize of the army, there’s a lot of people doing a lot of things simultaneously :wink:

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The PC will have the ability to fight on either side of the conflict, and I plan on giving players the chance to choose their motivation for being there.

I’m hoping to give both Union and Confederate playthroughs unique characters and situations! It is going to be a bit of an ambitious goal, so progress is going to be a bit slow starting out, but I’m hoping by the end result there will be tons of replay value.

Thank you all for the feedback!

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I enjoy historical settings, and I think the American civil war provides a lot of fodder for thoughtful reflection and exploration. From what I understand, the infinity series handles a lot of big and sensitive themes well, but I’ve never played it, so forgive me if the answer to this question seems obvious. How do you plan on handling the obvious themes of racism and slavery? Do you also plan to gender lock the game?

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That actually brings me to the biggest question I’ve been thinking on for the project. I want to give players the choice to determine their own views on the subject of slavery, and I also want to show an accurate portrayal of how soldiers on both sides addressed or ignored the subject, as well as showcase the struggle for equality. My biggest goal is handling the topic with the respect and accuracy it deserves.

The game also will not be gender-locked, players will have the ability to be women, however they will have to dress in the typical uniform of the day, and go by a masculine name to avoid suspicion. There will also be other female soldiers that you will encounter over the course of the series. This isn’t particularly historically accurate, but I’ve decided to put character interaction ahead of authenticity for that specific portion of the war.

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1411

This is a sensitive topic, but what about use of the n-word?

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I will not be showing the word itself anywhere within the story, There are going to be implications of slurs, so players can get a sense for the attitude of the period, but currently I don’t have any plans for including slur words within the story. That may change later on but for now it’s a no go. Thanks for the question! I appreciate these harder hitting sort of topics :slight_smile:

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I appreciate that you’re thinking seriously about this and considering the implications of your decision. Let me recommend that if you go forward with this that you work closely with the mods/leaders/sensitivity readers. A potential pitfall I see here is that some people genuinely espouse beliefs that should have died long ago, and they may use your game to feed their delusions.

The question you have to ask is at what point does the MC end and the player begin? And (how) does what you’re writing normalize unacceptable beliefs and behavior? It’s a very tricky line to walk, and while I’m not saying you shouldn’t do it, I am saying that you should continuously reflect on these and other questions, and you should consider that maybe it’s better not to allow the MC the choice to support slavery/be racist, even if it would be an accurate portrayal of the time period. There is no room on this forum for racists, white supremacists, or slavery apologists, and I’m afraid that this kind of choice in this kind of game would imply that there is.

If you’re okay with eschewing historical accuracy in favor of better character interactions (and women), then why not here too? After all, it’s not “inaccurate” to tell the story of an anti-slavery civil war era soldier. It’s one possible story of many, but this one happens to be less repugnant to decent people and leaves less room for bigots to enjoy and exploit.

That’s just the opinion of a privileged white woman. I hope you continue to reflect on all these issues as you write!

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1414

I understand your point, but if the MC has to be anti-slavery, why is there a Confederacy option? The Confederacy is literally built on slavery.

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I absolutely want to play on either side. Resources are completely different, not to mention strategies due to being on the defensive or aggressive more often. I definitely want stats.

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That actually falls into some of the plans I have for Confederate characters, most soldiers serving within the CSA didn’t own slaves, and there were many who joined up simply to protect their homes, or were conscripted. That would be a good way of keeping the character’s motivations away from maintaining slavery and still give them a need to stick with the army.

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